I lifted my hands to my sides, and the sky suddenly went from bright and sunny to dark within a moment. Both of them looked up, concerned about the change of weather. I smiled as I focused on Kira, ready to evaporate her with lightning.
“What the—” Haden’s sentence was cut off when lightning flashed between the two of them, making Kira fall to the ground. I readied my magic again to send a bolt of lightning directly intoher cold fucking heart, but Haden stopped me when his eyes looked directly into mine, and he froze.
I swallowed hard as his eyes traced over me again. He seemed to realize that I was the cause of the weather change and lightning.Okay, note to self: I can’t lose control of my emotions around my mate because he can see me.I lowered my hands and stared at him, unsure of what to say.
“Storm,” he whispered, and it instantly shot through my mind, replaying a moment I did not want to remember. I shook my head and focused on him. Why did he call me that? Did he remember me? No, that was impossible.
“I don’t like the way she is talking to you,” I muttered.
Haden’s mouth opened like he was going to answer me, but Kira stood and looked at him, then to where he was staring.
“Oh, my gods, you’re seeing a woman again, aren’t you?”
His eyes turned icy blue, surprising me. He had magic again. When he breathed out, his breath could be seen as if it were cold outside. Shit, he was feeling overwhelmed. Was it because he was seeing me or because Kira was questioning him?
“Sorry,” I whispered before making myself disappear. Haden turned around quickly, looking for me, but frowned when the only woman he saw was Kira. Her anger at his rejection was clear on her face.
“You’re a freak,” Kira snapped.
I could feel the anger bubbling up, but Haden didn’t say anything as he turned and practically ran away. I went to follow him, but Kira’s comment made me stop.
“You’ll fucking regret that,” she said with a sneer in the direction where Haden disappeared. She turned quickly on her heel, and I followed to see what she was up to. Kira walked with confident strides through town before she came across a group of men that were Haden’s age. She smiled and walked up to them.
“Kira.” One of them smiled.
“Did you guys hear what happened with that freak, Haden Vale, today?”
Their eyes widened with excitement at the gossip. She told them all about how he was seeing a woman who wasn’t there. They laughed and made jokes about Haden. Fury engulfed me at how cruel they were being. I wanted to kill them all. Would the heavens understand if I slaughtered the lot of them?
I was about to do just that but stopped. I was the Goddess of Life; I was not supposed to be killing the fae. So instead, I smiled and lifted my hands, causing a huge gust of wind to knock into Kira. She cried out in pain when her body fell awkwardly on a pile of wood, snapping her arm. I stood over her as she sobbed loudly. The men rushed to help her, and all I could think of was how good that made me feel. I could already tell she was going to be a fucking pain in my ass.
No one was going to treat Haden like that. He was to be a god, even if he didn’t know it yet.
?????????
When I arrived at Haden’s old family home, which was only a few villages over, I felt overwhelmed. There was still the grief of losing Haden in my heart, but now it was colored with the new possibilities I would have with him. The home had not changed in the nearly 300 years I had been visiting. I paused at the gate and smiled as images of when Haden and I first met flashed in my mind.?Grief flooded me at the memories playing out in front of me.
I knew a part of me would always grieve my first life with Haden. But I also knew that this was my chance at happiness, one where I did not need to worry about not having a bond or him dying. Haden was mine in every single way this time—for his entire existence.?
I pushed the gate open with images of Haden and me playing on repeat, as if my mind and heart knew I could think about it without falling apart because he was back. His family knew about the bond to Holden. I had waited hundreds of years to bring it up, but it needed to be told. Holden did not understand why I wouldn’t save Haden first, so I told them what happened. I did not tell them about giving the bond to Haden or taking a sliver of his soul.
And this was one secret I could not keep from them either. They had saved me from a path of destruction after Haden died. They were my family. They deserved to have a part of their heart healed too. My chest was tight with excitement and fear. I couldn’t wait to tell them, to see their faces when they saw that he was exactly the same.
I didn’t bother knocking; I hadn’t knocked on this door for hundreds of years. Everyone would be here already. I was usually the last to show up for family dinner night. I breathed in the smell of delicious food, but my stomach was too queasy to eat. Haden’s family had no idea that there was a possibility he would come back to me. I could never bring myself to tell them, just in case he didn’t.
When I walked into the dining area, everyone turned to me as if they sensed me.?
“Ardella!” Holden stepped forward, lifting me into a tight hug. Sara came over and smiled fondly before tugging me to her for the next hug.
“You two look well.” I smiled.
“Sara has never felt better; thank you for healing her.” Holden looked at his wife with nothing but love.
“Della.” Henry smiled fondly at me as he gripped me and lifted me off the ground by a few inches.
“Henry, you're going to break my spine,” I wheezed. He chuckled and set me down.?
“Sorry, Della, it's just so good to see you.”?
