Page 69 of Gods of Prey
“Have you ever been in love? In all your existence as a god?”
“No. I’ve never experienced love as mortals understand it.”
He had no clue what he’s talking about.
“Ashric was different than anything they described fae to be,” Sebastian calmly interjects. My heart swells in pride that after all this time—all this punishment—my brother is still willing to defend the man I once loved. “He was intelligent, respectful, and wise. His true objective was to bridge the gap that our ancestors created between our realms. He wanted us to coexist again.”
Revel offers my brother a condescending look, as if he can’t believe he fell for the fae propaganda.
“If I didn’t know better, I’d say it was the Divine Council who–” I stop myself, clamping my mouth shut at Sebastian’s warning glare.
“They what?” Revel asks, rounding the counter to stand across from me. “You think they made him sick? That’s ridiculous. The Divine Council has been working toward a resolution with the fae forever. It’sthemwho refuse to compromise.”
I feel my fury burn my cheeks. I’m so tired of hearing all the regurgitated lies that the Divine Council spouts roll off Revel’s tongue. Like he hasn’t had an original thought in all his life. Why should he when Mommy does all the thinking for him?
But he’s wrong about this. I’ll stand by that until the day I die.
“Whatever happened,” Sebastian interjects, as he always used to do to diffuse one of mine and his best friend’s arguments. Funny, regardless of how far Revel and I have come, we’re still stuck in the same spot we’ve always been. Like quicksand. “He got sick. We healed him. The Divine Council was pissed, claiming we affected forty-three other souls by saving his. We were sentenced to pay for each one of those.”
“And the other seven you were assigned?” Jovie asks.
“Those were added on for fun. Seven is the number for balance. That’s the ‘lesson’ they were trying to teach us. It seemed fitting.” Sebastian shrugs.
I roll my eyes and scowl. “Right, like seven more brutal mortal lifetimes are nothing.”
“And Ashric? What happened to him?” Jovie almost looks afraid to ask.
Sebastian’s lips flatten, his glowing eyes meeting mine in a shared grief.Thisis what we’ve been fighting for. Why he’s written off his divine duties. Why he altered timelines. Why we’ve both clung to our lies.
Because we know the outcome when the Divine Council gets their hands on Jovie.
“He was erased from existence,” I say in a cold, detached tone.
Erased. Right in front of us. Leaving absolutely nothing behind. Nothing to mourn or honor. Nothing to cling to. Not a single speck of his soul remains.
“What changed with you? From before you became the Goddess of Death?” Revel had asked me in his dream.
This.I couldn’t tell him then, but it was the devastation of losing Ashric that changed me. It altered me on an atomic level. It showed me how cruel and unjust the Divine Council is. How their power remains unchecked. How the democracy they claim to defend is just an illusion to keep us all in line.
Every second of this punishment has only solidified my beliefs.
“So, you’ve done this before. You knew what was at stake,” Jovie concludes, looking between me and Sebastian with nothing but raw understanding. No judgement. No criticism. That’s why I like her.
Revel is still brooding across from us, his hands crossed over his chest in a pout.
She locks eyes with Bash. “That’s why you’ve been hiding.”
When he nods, she turns to me. “That’s why you’re protecting him.”
I dip my chin. “I owe him much more than that.”
“Then, we’ll win this fight. We’ll make sure they give us what we want and accept nothing less. And when it’s all over, we’ll continue Ashric’s work. In his honor.”
She makes the declaration with such confidence—with pure mortal ego fueling her. Her jaw is set, shoulders stiff—ready for battle. She hasn’t ever witnessed such corruption or prejudice. She hasn’t been jaded the way the three of us have.
But none of us correct her. We only nod, exchanging weary glances between one another at the prospect of what she’s suggesting.
I won’t allow myself to run away with the hope that Ashric’s soul will be honored the way he deserved, but I’ll certainly see to it that Jovie doesn’t meet the same fate.
