average human’s Reviews > The Gods Veiling > Status Update

Heat coming from my front not my back draws my attention. There’s weight resting on both my thighs and a head is tucked on top of mine.
I’m in someone’s lap.
Slowly and agonizingly, I use the armrest for support to push myself up. I bite my lip to hold in a whimper with each move. My entire body is sore and stiff, but it’s my back that screams with every exhale.
I’m not sure what I thought it’d feel like when I woke up, but I sure was hoping a hell of a lot better than this.
My breath hitches when I finally sit myself straight.
The flame from the fireplace flickers in the room, bathing Amick in an orange light. I’ve never seen his face so relaxed, so smooth. His wavy chocolate hair has fallen over his forehead in a messy but perfect way.
He and Riven have never looked more similar.
My eyes scan his strong jawline, down his neck, and to his chest that rises and falls with his deep breathing. He’s sleeping so peacefully, and I can’t help but lay my hand against his heart.
He wasn’t this peaceful the last time I looked at him. He was a level of angry I can’t even describe. It was like all thought left him. He looked empty, devoid of all emotions.
His whispered reassurances that Riven would take care of me were monotone. He promised he’d come for me as soon as they took care of the Court.
I follow the path down his body to where not only his hand but another is resting on my thigh. I trace that arm back up to Kyzen’s face.
The wrinkles in his forehead aren’t as pronounced as the fear I saw in him when he reached me first, but they’re there like this isn’t a fulfilling sleep for him. If I could reach his face, I’d run my thumb across it to smooth them out, then force his lips into his signature smile.
His repeated apologies make my heart hurt and my chest pulls tight.
I wasn’t expecting a soothing embrace to respond. That awareness has my fingers flinching against Amick’s chest.
“Creed,” I breathe.
“I’m here, Thayla.”
The other couch creaks and I want to look behind me, but imagining how much that’ll hurt forces me to stop. He comes around the back of the couch without me having to ask and kneels behind Amick’s head until he’s eye level with me.
“How long have we been sleeping?”
“You’ve been asleep for about twelve hours. It’s just after midnight. They fell asleep a little while ago.”
“Have I been in his lap this whole time?”
“He wouldn’t let Kyzen or me move you.”
“He’s just been sitting here holding me?”
“Yeah. We’ve brought him food, tea, and some books to read. He’s fine.”
My face softens on Amick’s features. He’s probably exhausted and so uncomfortable. “I’ll get up so he can get to his bed.”
“He’ll be fine there for the night. They both will be.”
I cock my head to the side at his tone. Then I glance at the very deep breaths they’re taking. Neither of them has made the slightest twitch.
“Did you do something to them?”
“Slipped a sleeping remedy in their drinks. They weren’t going to go to sleep until you woke up and I didn’t know when that’d be.”
I snort, then groan when the movement both pulls my back tight and wakes my bladder up. “Fuck.”
“Are you okay?” His dark tone has my body breaking out in chills.
“Define okay.”
His throat bobs as he swallows. “Is there something you need me to do for you?”
“No.”
I don’t want to ask for his help or admit I don’t think I can get myself off Amick’s lap. Although logically, with him having a Healer Designation, he’d be the one I should ask.
I’ve never felt so weak and emotional as I do at this moment. Plenty of the beatings and whippings I’ve taken have left me this helpless, but their company makes this different.
Lambrit’s always been the one to be here, waiting to clean up what I couldn’t without me ever having to voice my needs. He never drew attention to the weakness or insecurities in me.
I don’t even know if he knows yet what’s happened.
Showing Creed this side of me is so much harder.
A pitiful cry tears from my throat as I attempt to push myself up and the painful breaths falling from my lips cause them to quiver.
“Don’t. Don’t do that to yourself. If you want me to fix a drink that will wake one of them, I will. Don’t refuse help because it’s me offering.”
I bite my lip to stop the never-ending tremble. “It’s not because it’s you offering.”
“Then tell me what’s wrong and what you need.”
I slam my eyes shut at his demand.
Which is more embarrassing, Thayla, peeing on Amick or asking Creed for help?
Putting it like that makes the decision seem so simple.
“I need to use the bathroom, but I don’t think I can get up.”
I refuse to open my eyes and look at him, but I sense every move he makes. His body comes behind mine and the touch of his hands landing gently on my sides has my breath stalling in my chest.
“I’m going to lift you up, then hold you steady until you get your balance. Ready?”
I nod once.
He lifts me with an ease that makes his physical strength so obvious in this moment. His touch doesn’t linger, though, as he does exactly as he said he would.
Unfortunately, it was his hands that were providing the stability. A shriek tears through me as my knees give out and I immediately regret my decision to get up.
I throw my hand out to catch myself on the armrest of the couch, but I never connect. Creed’s arm wraps around my hips and he spins me at the same time. The next thing I know, I’m being lifted by the back of my thighs and my legs automatically tangle around his waist.
My face buries into his neck, and it takes everything in me not to bite him just to alleviate my own agony. “Creed.”
“Let me do this. I can’t take your pain, Thayla.”
I take a couple of deep breaths until the burning down my spine subsides. He takes that as his sign he can start walking. “You can feel my pain through my soul? Can they?”
“They won’t feel it to the extent I do, but yes, we can all feel it.”
I groan. “Okay, so I can assume your domain has to do with souls?”
“Something like that, yes.”
“Still not comfortable enough to tell me?”
“Comfortable isn’t the word I’d use anymore.”
The uncertainty in his voice is shocking and I don’t know how to respond. After what he did for me today, I don’t think there’s a domain he could tell me he has that’d scare me.
Of course now I have some guesses, but they’re off the wall if I’m being honest. I have an ugly tendency to think the worst, and I’m not trying to do that to him or any of them anymore. Not after today.
I may still be mad at the situation I’ve been put in, but it could’ve been a thousand times worse had I got a Valtrue of other gods.
What if the god that’s messing with me had interfered with Derivius’s plan and paired me with Mellcom, Jeremiah, Chasin, and Gladian instead of it being Mara?
The thought makes me shiver.
“Reach your hand back and open your door.”
“You can do it.”
“I can’t—”
“I’ve already given all of you permission.”
His chest flinches against mine. “When?”
“A couple days after the Abandon.”
He hums, maybe grunts, as he opens my bedroom door and heads straight for the bathroom. When the lights come on, I squint until my sight adjusts, then I catch my reflection. Well, my face that’s resting on his shoulder.
“Yikes. I definitely look like I went toe-to-toe with the God of Strength and lost. Maybe next time.”
If I didn’t think I could be even more mortified, Creed proves otherwise. Instead of giving me the chance to try to get balanced on my own again, he sets me on the toilet. Then he kneels until he’s eye level with me.
“I’m not the brother to make those types of jokes with. That’d be Riven, possibly Kyzen, depending on the subject. There will never be a next time.”
My lips part as I struggle to find something to say.
Note to self, Creed doesn’t appreciate dark humor in tense situations.
“I think I got it from here,” I whisper.
To my surprise, he flicks on the sink as he passes it by, then perches himself in the doorway with his back toward me. I have half a mind to tell him to get all the way out, but the way my bladder is begging for relief, I decide it’s not worth it.
Slowly rocking from side to side, I grip my pants—not pants, definitely not pants.
Frantically, I pat myself down and take in the state of the clothes I’ve been dressed in.
It’s just an oversized T-shirt with the back cut out, someone’s boxers, and nothing else. One wrong move and I’m going to have a nip slip out the armpit hole.
Just take care of your business, then you can ask questions.
Exhaling harshly, I do just that. Every move I make, though, is made at an agonizing pace and it takes enough energy out of me I grow pissed. I’m literally out of breath when I’m finally able to shimmy the boxers back on and reach behind me to flush.
Fuck, this is humiliating.
That sound was obviously the cue Creed was waiting for. Wordlessly, he turns, cuts the water off, and scoops me up. I already know my face is flaming and I refuse to look at him.
“Did you all help Amick get me dressed?”
“No. He made Kyzen go get the clothes and cut the shirt. I fixed a warm bowl of soapy water and got rags, then he made us leave the living room. I don’t know how he did it. You were in the same spot on his lap when I left and returned.”
Knew he had magic hands and that he’d be efficient as well as respectful.
Creed suddenly stops walking once we hit the end of my bed and I push up on his shoulders to prepare myself for him to put me down. I find his eyes distant and his body stiff, though.
“What’s wrong?”
He shakes his head. “Seismet would like to see you.”
“Really, right now? He just spoke to you?”
“No, Verlet did. He asked him to. Your line of communication will strengthen with time, but for now, he can’t reach you this far. He says you need it.”
I blow out my breath and shake my head. “I’m not walking that far.”
“You just let me worry about that.”
“No. You can’t carry me all the way to the meadows.”
“Well, for one, I definitely can. Two, where we’ll meet them isn’t all the way at the meadows. It’s not far from here.”
I grit my teeth. This night will haunt me forever. “Will you ask him why it’s so important right now?”
He takes a moment, then just starts walking. Right out my back door. He ignores how I repeatedly say his name and grip his shirt.
“I didn’t say I wanted to do this or that this is okay, asshole.”
“Too bad. It’ll help you heal, so this is what we’re doing.”
The dick even has the audacity to put his hand on the back of my head and shove it down until it’s tucked into his neck again.
I do bite him then. Hard.
His feet stop moving and his hands tighten around my thighs. I don’t break the skin, but now that I’ve got his full attention, I push myself up slowly once again.
“Listen here, just because I’m beaten and can barely move, don’t think I won’t find a way to fuck you up. Next time, ask me if this is okay.”
Those dark gray eyes of his are pronounced even in nothing but moonlight and the white rings around his pupils are blazing. I wasn’t expecting that kind of intensity, and I refrain from squirming against him.
“I’m so fucking thrilled to see your fire still shining bright even in this situation. But you listen to me.” He tilts his face a little closer and his breath mingles with mine. “You’re going to do whatever it takes to heal, like it or not. And also…you bite me again and I’m going to bite back, Thayla.”

The way he growls my name dark and low is completely opposite to the sarcasm he had in his tone with his first comment.
My stomach tightens when he starts walking once again without ever taking his gaze off mine. The multiple intentions in his words are clear and I don’t know if I’d love or hate a bite from him.
What I really don’t know is if I’d survive a bite from him. Pretty sure I’d be a goner. In more ways than one.
I lay my chin on his shoulder and tell myself it’s because sitting up is painful—which, to be fair, it is—and so I don’t obscure him from seeing where he’s going.
Really, I can’t just stare into his eyes any longer. There’s too much to unpack in their depths and I can’t handle that tonight.
After I don’t know how many minutes pass, a soft neigh hums through the air, and I turn my head in the direction Seismet and Verlet are approaching from.
Seismet doesn’t stop walking until his nose touches my forehead. The gesture makes a shuddering breath fall from my chest, but a hiss passes through my lips when hot air hits my back.
“I’m deeply sorry you’ve experienced this, Thayla Godrun.”
Verlet lays his muzzle on a part of my back that isn’t damaged, and I fight back the water that fills my eyes.
“Thank you, Verlet. I’m okay.”
“No, you’re not. Seismet, take her. Creed will stay with me.”
“Take me where?”
“You’ll see,” Seismet says as he kneels.
“Do you know where?” I ask Creed.
“I do, but this is sacred, and I’m not allowed to tell you. It’ll help you.”
Of course he knew the whole time.
A rush of pissiness passes through me, but it’s quickly swept away with respect. When it comes to the Veilatara, my whole Valtrue shows them the reverence they deserve, and that’s so endearing to me. Although a heads-up would’ve been nice.
Honestly, I’m just nervous about how painful it’s going to be riding on Seismet and how the hell am I supposed to get off him?
“I’ll take care of you, Thayla. This I swear.”
Creed expertly moves my legs from around his waist, then grips my hips. He sits me gently in front of the contraption wrapped around Seismet’s wings and holds me until I’m steady.
“Lean forward and wrap your arms around his neck.”
I do as I’m told as Seismet’s power washes around me, cushioning me closer, and a deep sigh falls from my lips at the comforting warmth.
I keep my eyes on Creed and Verlet until the darkness steals my sight of them.
“Can you tell me where we’re going now?”
“It’s our sacred hot spring. The water was blessed and shielded by the Valories millennia ago. The only beings allowed to enter are revered creatures and those of our choosing.”
The thought of heat touching my back right now has me cringing. “It’s going to help my back?”
“It is. And there’s someone I’d like for you to meet.”
He laughs at the groan in my mind.
“Oh, come on, Seismet. I’m really not in any shape or mood to play nice and enjoy company.”
“Trust me. You want to know this being.”
I sigh and don’t argue. I don’t have the energy.
It’s only a few more moments until a luminescent light begins to color the dark forest floor. I try to lift my head but find that I can’t.
“Seismet.”
“Hold your breath.”
That’s all the warning he gives me. I get the quickest glimpse of water as clear as glass right before we start to sink and I rush to take in as much air as possible.
Panic sets in as I find myself stuck to his back, unable to lift myself up and swim for the surface. A deep vibration passes through him and into me.
It gradually stops, but it’s replaced by a tingling that spreads through every molecule of my being. The sensation is much like pins and needles, but it’s not painful. It’s electrifying in the best sort of way.
My blood comes alive beneath my skin. The tingling intensifies tenfold as it rushes to my back.
Suddenly, Seismet moves from underneath me, and my eyes fly open. The water doesn’t burn despite its heat, and I watch petrified as he disappears.
My limbs obey my command to move, but I stay trapped, floating underneath the water with no way to go up. True fear settles in, and I force my arms and legs to kick faster. They do, but still, I don’t move.
I tire quicker than I’m proud to admit. My lungs burn and my head grows dizzier by the millisecond. Despite my mental will to fight whatever power this is, my body decides it can’t anymore.
Every move I make becomes more lethargic until I give myself over to the sensation completely. Wholly gambling on the hope in my heart that Seismet would never let me actually drown.
The second I stop fighting, I’m propelled to the top.
My gasping breath echoes all around me and I frantically shove my hair out of my face while I fill my desperate lungs with air.
Sputtering and coughing, I spin in the water, looking for my treacherous companion. “Seismet, what the hell was—”
My shout dies on my lips as my eyes grow wide.
The hot spring is surrounded by a rocky formation. The backside is the tallest and a small, uneven platform is at the bottom right where the water kicks up on the side. The blueish white light radiating from the water casts the creature sitting on those stones in an ethereal glow.
I forget to tread water and my body sinks back beneath the surface. My feet touch the bottom, then I’m shot back to the top. Only this time, my feet somehow stay grounded like the floor of the hot spring followed me up.
Again, I shove my hair from in front of my eyes and blink rapidly, mentally telling myself I imagined that creature in my oxygen-deprived state.
I didn’t.
Shock takes hold of my body. “Impossible.”
“I’ve come to learn in my time that there’s always a possibility in the face of impossibility. It’s my greatest pleasure to finally meet you, Thayla Godrun.”
I sink into the creature’s teal eyes that are brighter than the water I stand in. My chest expands as a ball of power buds in its center. It continues to grow to the point I’m worried it’s going to burst out of me.
And soon enough, it does.
A gasp falls from my lips when that power flows from me, directly toward the creature. It collides with his chest, and he spreads his white and indigo ombre wings wide.
With no say so from me, my arms splay out the same way when I’m hit in my heart. A glow forms between the two of us that shines brighter than the moon.
As that light gradually fades, my arms flop into the water and I sway harshly.
“What…the hell was that?”
Two separate laughs penetrate my mind and I whip my head to the side to seek out the one I’m familiar with.
“Seismet, what’s going on?”
“I shall allow my old friend to explain it. Leave it to him to steal my thunder.”
“I’ve stolen nothing. Your time will come, you old horse.”
“Who are you calling old, you weathering owl?”
I glance between them with utter confusion flurrying through me. The new creature obviously heard what I asked Seismet and now I hear both of them. I don’t think I have the mental strength to deal with this.
“I’m sorry, are the two of you seriously arguing in my mind and using mortal animals as a way to insult one another right now?”
Both turn their all-knowing eyes to me. I jerk my head and raise my eyebrows in expectation of an explanation.
“Sincerest apologies, Thayla girl. I’ve missed my old friend, is all. I’ve waited many, many years for you.”
“You could’ve returned to the meadows at any time. You know this.”
“No, I couldn’t. It wasn’t a part of the path, and I was needed elsewhere.”
My head continues to swivel between the two of them. “I don’t mean to be rude, but can the two of you play catch-up or whatever this is after I’m told what’s going on?”
Again, they both stare at me.
“I always get the sassy ones.”
Seismet laughs at the creature, and I cut my eyes at them.
“What does that mean? What just happened?”
“Do you know what I am, Thayla?”
“As much as I want to say yes, I can’t wrap my head around it. It’s impossible. Despite what you just said.”
“I’m standing right before you, therefore, it’s not impossible.”
I release a deep breath and shake my head. “The Vedarya have been extinct for millennia.”
“All but one.”
His sorrowful tone has tears filling my eyes and my mind continues to deny this. There’s no possible way standing feet in front of me is the last living Vedarya.
The second being created behind the Beginning Gods. In fact, the creature created to guide them and be the center means of communication to the Valories. They are deities in their own right.
No.
“Yes, my dear girl. That’s the truth you’re so fearful of in this moment. I am the last living Vedarya and what we just experienced was our Calling. I’ll be here from now on to guide you. All those important to me call me V. Your journey has truly begun, Thayla Godrun.”
Nope.
My body shakes as I stagger back. I continue to backpedal through the water until my legs hit a rocky ledge and I fall into the nature-made seat. I stare mindlessly into the water as I start to hyperventilate.
“Everything will be okay.”
I lift my head to find V perched on top of the water a foot in front of my face. “How…how could that be remotely true? My life continues to be flipped around, and I don’t have any idea why or what’s going on.”
“If you looked inside of yourself, you’d realize you know a lot more than you believe you do. It has been overwhelming, to say the least, but your mind and heart have already started putting the pieces together. Now it’s just a matter of accepting it.”
A touch of anger bubbles in my belly and I slam my eyes shut. “Why do I have to accept that my fate, my future, my damn soul, everything up to this point in my life has been decided for me? I refuse to accept that.”
“Your fate and future haven’t been decided for you. The Valories quit dictating their beings’ lives for them long ago when they realized the error of their ways. They aligned things, yes, but every decision has ultimately been up to you. I was the only piece of something they set in stone for you. One way or another, Godsden or Oddian, I would’ve come to you. Where we go from here is left in your hands.”
I glare at him incredulously. “I’m sorry, are you trying to tell me right now it was my decision to be put into the Veiling against my will by a meddling god then have my soul split four ways by another meddling god?”
“Those may have not been your direct decisions, but yes, you made decisions that created new outcomes and brought you here. Which is where you should be, if I might add. The night Mellcom devised his plan, had you not originally planned to eat dinner with Lambrit then changed your mind?”
My lips part in shock. “How did you know that?”
“And when you were Chosen, you had the choice to run to the barrier but then decided against it to not bring forth any harm to others in Oddian. Isn’t that right?”
“H-how?”
“Because I am your Vedarya and you are my Vedae. I’ve spent the last two hundred and twenty-five years since my return to the Valorian Veil preparing and evolving. I’ve seen what you’ve been through in preparation for what you will go through. You’ll be my most challenging connection yet because unlike any other, you don’t have a set path for me to keep you on. I’ll be guiding mostly blind for the first time in my existence.”
I’m too overwhelmed to speak, even think. My heart races at an unhealthy speed as fear, panic, excitement, hell, I don’t even know what else, pound through me.
How is it possible to feel both incredibly disappointed and proud to have not one but two revered connections?
Why the fuck is this happening to me?
“Because your parents were the ultimate believers in the Valories and the Valorian Veil itself. The Beginning Gods crushed that faith in them and the Valories promised to restore it.”

Him both responding to my thoughts and bringing up my parents wasn’t even on my list of things that I thought would come out of his mind next. It throws my shock to new heights.
“This is too much,” I whisper.
“For tonight, yes, probably so. I’ll leave you for the night with my first guiding advice. Take some time in the sacred spring to heal more than your body. Gather your thoughts and feelings. Allow your mind to put some pieces together and be honest with yourself about what you want. That includes the decisions on your soul.”
My soul…
“Am I supposed to keep you a secret from my Valtrue or anyone else?”
“I’d rather not be a secret from your Valtrue, but if you want me to be, I can be. I’ll warn you, though, being honest will always make decisions so much easier.”
With unexplainable grace, V flaps his wings once and glides until he sits on Seismet’s back. I gawk, mesmerized and increasingly overwhelmed at the sight.
I’m connected to two revered creatures.
Seismet huffs. “That you are. We’ll leave you for now. You’re safe here in the spring, so do as V said. He’s usually right.”
“Usually? Don’t insult me with such doubt.”
I slowly shake my head as they disappear into the dark forest.
My throat bobs as I swallow harshly and really take in my surroundings. Behind the rocky edge of the spring are woodlands but on what I’d consider the entrance into this little pool is a grassy meadow.
The light provided by the powerful water doesn’t expand far and I convince myself that they’d never leave me out here with the possibility of something or someone bad emerging from the shadows.
Just to be on the safe side, I swim from the edge.
I momentarily forgot about my back, so I stop moving, only for no pain to come.
Tentatively, I flex my shoulder blades, and a sob tries to escape me. Not because it hurt but because the minuscule tug against my skin feels like freedom.
I won’t attempt to lie to myself and say I didn’t enjoy being carried by Creed. There’s something incredibly sexy about a man willing to carry and take care of me when I can’t do it myself.
At the same time, though, it’s hard for me to allow that. There’s been more times than not, I’ve allowed a man I cared about do something nice for me, only for it to be used against me later.
I close my eyes at the thought and sink into the water until it touches my chin.
My favorite thing to do back home after a really hard day was soak in the hot spring and swim until my muscles were too relaxed to function properly. It always made everything better.
There’s no denying that this hot spring is different, though.
The power alone radiating from it is something I can’t begin to explain. It forces my nerves to calm with every stroke and my mind stays focused on one thing at a time. Every time I try to clear or ignore a thought, it comes to the forefront of my mind faster, harder, until I give in and think it through.
The events that have transpired since I got here, the cryptic messages I’ve received, the connections, the relationships, the betrayals, all of it.
I’m forced to face it.
My swimming stops as I sob. I stand in the center of the spring right beneath the moon and cry harder than I’ve cried in too many years to remember. The tears that slide down my cheeks are different from the ones today that I shed while I got whipped.
These are cleansing and crippling.
There’s a weight lifting off my chest, yet I’m bubbling with humiliation, and I hate that I’m allowing myself to break like this.
I release a deep breath when the stream of tears slows. It’s almost loud enough to cover the sound of a limb cracking.
My head jerks and my eyes lock on the one person I really could’ve done with not seeing for a while. At least until all my embarrassment from today was washed away.
“It looks like my angel’s wings have been clipped.”
I can’t force words out of my mouth as Riven slowly strolls to the edge of the hot spring. He doesn’t stop walking as he takes one stone step at a time down. I didn’t even know those were there.
The water cascades around his hips as he finally falls still and cocks his head at me.
“Why are you here?” I ask through a closed throat.
“I could ask you the same. This is my hiding spot.”
“How long have you been hiding here?”
“Twenty years.”
His answer throws me for a loop at first until I realize he means since he and his brothers were brought to the Godsdawn.
“I meant tonight.”
“I just got here.”
Silence fills the feet separating us until he chuckles and I squeeze my fists.
“I can’t do this, Riven. Not tonight, please.”
“You can’t do what, little burden? Enjoy my company?”
“Yes…that. This place has taken too much out of me tonight.”
“Oh, it hasn’t taken anything. Its power knows what needs to be healed, whether it’s body, mind, or soul. You just feel worn out because you bottle it all up all the time.”
“You’re one to call someone out.”
“I never said I didn’t do that. How do you think I know what you’re feeling?”
It’s my turn to cock my head at him. “Is that why you come here?”
“Nosy little thing.”
My lids slam shut and unfortunately the motion forces the water that was still gathered in my eyes to fall. It takes every drop of pride in me to keep from wiping them away.
I will not let him embarrass me in this moment.
“Yes, I come here to release it all. The thoughts and feelings that run through me are better spoken to a hot spring that can’t judge me rather than beings with ears and opinions that can.”
My gaze collides with his at his omission. “I wouldn’t judge you.”
“You just did a moment ago. The second you saw me, your first thought was you couldn’t be bothered to deal with my eccentricity. My chaos isn’t even at the helm right now.”
My lips part and shame sears across my chest. I’m very guilty of constantly assuming Riven’s going to do something to piss me off. His chaotic side is always more present than the other, so I expect it.
There have been very few moments that’ve given me an opportunity to see a more serious side of him. Even then, he’s unreliable when it comes to expressing his true feelings about me being his Binder, our situation, and anything else going on. He keeps me in a state of confusion I really don’t have the energy for right now.
“I’m sorry. I wasn’t trying to judge. I just put my feelings first before I even considered yours. I’ve got a lot on my mind.”
“I can tell. It’s written across your whole face.”
I tear my eyes from his and look into the depths of the dark forest. “I need to ask you something and if you’ll give me an answer, I’d like it to be as honest as you can make it.”
He hums. “That depends on the question. How serious is it?”
“A soul level kind of serious.”
“Souls really aren’t my domain. Wrong brother for that.”
“Yeah, I know, but I’m the Binder to all four of you, not just one of you. This is something I’ll ask them as well.”
“Now you’ve got me intrigued and I appreciate the fact I’m the first you’re asking, so go ahead.”
My slow, steady breath passes through my lips. This is a truth I need from each of them before I decide what to do next.
“If someone could find a way to unpair us, take away our Valtrue tie, is that something you want? Would you like to be without a Binder again?”
“Is this a real possibility or you’re just being hopeful?”
My chest pulls tight. “This is a real possibility.”
He’s quiet for a long moment and I bite my bottom lip as I stare at the trees I can’t even see. My hand unconsciously rubs at the C branded into my wrist as I wait for his answer.
His fingers wrap around my jaw as he turns my head to look at him. His eyes hold no power as they bore into me. One’s burgundy, the other blue.
“Do you find it strange I really want to lick the tears from your cheeks?”
What the fuck?
My mouth falls open. That’s the only thing I can do. I can’t even produce an answer to that question in my mind.
“There they are.”
I blink. “What?”
His thumb rubs my drying tears in a circle. “I may not put stars in your eyes, but I bring color to your cheeks and ‘what the fuck did he just say’ wrinkles to your forehead. I enjoy those reactions immensely. If someone were to take them from me, well…I’d just simply have to take them back.”
The smirk on his face is sickly satisfied by my silence.
And internally, I’m sickly satisfied by his weird-ass answer.
“Well, all right then.”
He chuckles. “Does that answer your question enough?”
“Yeah, I’ll accept that answer.” For now.
The hand that’s still wrapped around my jaw turns my head to the side and he bends down to my ear. “Good. Now go bother Creed and leave me be. When you get out, walk straight that way. You’ll find him.”
He releases me and I go stumbling forward toward the steps. I catch myself two stones up and glare at him over my shoulder.
“You ruined the moment, asshole.”
He stands statue-still, swirling eyes locked on me but not my face.
“Riven?”
“Go, Thayla.”
The low, honestly scary warning has me climbing my way out of the water, not looking back at him as I start scampering through the woods.
Confusing-ass little psycho.
I’m going to crack him open like a nut.

97%

A groggy-ass groan comes from me as I sit myself up on the couch.
My whole body cracks as I stretch myself out, then grip my head between my hands. The light coming in through the windows is far too bright and at any moment I’m going to puke if everything doesn’t stop spinning.
Shuffling beside me draws my attention and I peek my eyes open. Amick’s lids twitch before they fly open and he clutches his chest. His hand swiftly moves from there to his head as well.
“Creed drugged us. Again. I’m going to kill him,” I croak.
“I’m aware. Where’s Thayla?”
That question has me releasing my hair and turning far too fucking fast to look behind the couch.
Fuck.
My power shoots out of me and slows everything around me while I catch my breath. The saliva pooling in my mouth is going to make me lose whatever I ate yesterday all over Amick, then he’s really going to snap.
“Yes, I drugged you both, but I have what will make it better here.”
The dead god himself emerges from the kitchen with a mug in each hand. My glare at him deepens when I watch one corner of his lip curl.
“Don’t make whatever that fucking face is at me. Why the hell did you do that? You know my power reacts badly to forced sleep.”
“You both needed some rest, and you weren’t going to do it on your own, so I did it for you.”
I sneer at him as he hands me the mug and gulp down the lukewarm drink. The effects are nearly instantaneous. Maybe a second passes as my power spreads throughout my body and I sigh.
“Where’s Thayla?” Amick asks again and this time, I can focus.
Creed’s face almost softens and my muscles tighten in confusion. He never looks at anyone like that. Maybe a child, but never one of us or any other god.
“Is she okay?” I ask.
“She’s fine. She’s in her room. She didn’t want to wake either of you, but she’d like to speak to you both.”
His words barely leave his lips as the two of us jump from our seats. We cross the kitchen and get down her hall in a matter of seconds.
“Thayla,” Amick calls. His fist lands against her door, and to my shock, he steps through.
I better have permission too.
Instead of knocking, I press my palm to the wood and smile like the smug little shit I can be when her room accepts me in.
I crash into Amick, who for some reason, decided not to move a step forward when he came through.
“What are you—”
“You need to flip over. You’re not supposed to lie on your back.” He cuts me off to say.
Stepping around him, my smile spreads as my eyes land on Thayla. She’s sitting propped in the middle of her bed with a blanket cuddled around her and a book lying in her lap.
“Good morning to you too, Candyman.”
“Thayla—”
“Why don’t you two just come sit down with me before you start ordering me around, huh?”
I grip Amick’s shoulder and snort as I lead him over to her bedside.
Something’s changed.
I’m not sure what happened while we slept, but the way she’s absolutely glowing right now is evidence enough that something did.
I can’t help but drink every inch of her in.
Her toes wiggle underneath her blanket and my lips tip up as I follow the outline of her legs to her stunning scarlet face.
“You went to the sacred hot spring,” Amick states, stealing her attention from me.
“You’re the smartest person I’ve ever met in my life.”
“Yes, I know. Did Creed or the Veilatara explain to you why we didn’t take you there to begin with?”
Fuck, I didn’t even think about that. I hope they did.
“Yeah, Creed did after the fact. He said that it isn’t like the meadows where we can visit anytime. We have to receive a direct invitation from Verlet, but Seismet told me last night I can come whenever I want or need.”
“Well, aren’t you just a spoiled little goddess? It took years for Verlet to extend that offer to us.”
She shrugs. “What can I say, I’m special.”
I lie back on her bed, laughing, then prop myself up on my hand.
Damn, her bed is comfy. I could enjoy my sleep in here…
“Yes, you’re a very special Binder,” Amick says exasperatedly as he holds his palm out to her. She smirks down at it, then up to him.
“You want to hold my hand again?”
If only she really knew.
“I do and I will momentarily, but for now, I’d like you to let me sit you up so I can see your back.”
The smiles slowly fade from both of our faces. My throat constricts painfully as her eyes mist the slightest bit. She shakes herself out of it quickly, though, and lays her hand in his.
“It’s a lot better,” she murmurs.
“I’ll be the judge of that.”
I push myself up completely and clear my throat. “May I as well?”
She nods rapidly without ever looking at me and I squeeze her other hand that’s tangled in the blanket as I move to her other side. Amick grabs the hem of her shirt and starts to lift, but she holds it down.
“I don’t have a bra on, so no peeking at anything else.”
“I saw you completely naked last night. Today will be no different other than you’re conscious.”
A shiver races through her, and I stare at him. “For the Valories, Amick.”
“What?”
“You can’t just say stuff like that.”
“Why not? I did see her naked, and she was unconscious.”
I open my mouth to explain the importance of sensitivity when you say things, but Thayla grips my hand before letting it go. “Let’s just get the show and observation over with, okay?”
She snatches her own shirt over her head faster than either of us can say or do anything.
Not that it’d matter.
The sight of her now scarred back makes the hair on my neck stand up. I saw bits of them last night, but her whole back was red and swollen, obscuring them. All that’s to see now is the aftermath.
My eyes trace over every inch of the new markings. There are two that are identical. They stretch from her shoulder blades across her back to the bottom of her opposite ribcage.
The third goes right through the middle of them, directly down her spine until it touches the last one that’s straight across her lower back.
I have to close my eyes and breathe through the rage that boils in my blood. Had that one in the middle been deeper than it was, he could’ve done severe damage to her spine.
There’s no doubt in my mind he fucking knows that, and that’s why he didn’t hit there as hard as he did her shoulders.
I should’ve let Creed…
“Why are there more?”
“What?” My eyes fly open at Amick’s question.
His fingers slowly run along several other scars that’ve been there for enough time that they almost blend in with her skin. The four new ones are so much more pronounced that I didn’t even notice those at first, but now I see them all.
Her back is covered.
Who I fucking think is responsible better not be.
“That’s a tale for another time,” Thayla says softly as she slips her shirt back on. “I need to ask the two of you something, then we’re having a Valtrue meeting.”
Amick and I look at each other behind her back. The switch from teasing to serious is obvious, even for him, but an understanding passes between us.
“We need to talk to you as well. Before the family meeting.”
“About what?” she asks as soon as I move down her bed so I can face her. Amick mimics my position.
“You first.”
She exhales sharply and runs her palms across her blanket. This transition into nervousness is new. She never outwardly shows it this much.
“If someone could find a way to unpair us, take away our Valtrue tie, is that something you’d want? Would either of you like to be without a Binder again?”
“No.”
Our answers echo around us. There was no thought, no hesitation, no need to even consider it.
Just no.
My heart and mind race over that question. The thought of our tie being taken from us almost makes me feel sick. Despite where and why this all started, I’ve grown to enjoy and look forward to every moment spent in her company.
From our flirty mornings together to the way we’re now able to look at each other and joke with just our eyes. No. There’s nothing that would make me want to give up what we have growing.
“I don’t know where that question even came from, but no. I have zero desire whatsoever not to have you as our Binder. Matter of fact, I want you to be more than my Binder.”
“Agreed and so do I.”
Her mouth slackens as she does a double take between Amick and me. She stutters a few incoherent sounds before slamming her mouth shut.
“What?” she finally breathes.
“Yesterday after you left Amick’s office, we talked about this. We’re not okay and we’re never going to be okay with you seeing or dating another god. That’s because we want to be with you.”
“We? As in both of you…and you’ve already discussed this. How would that even work?”
I defer to Amick for that explanation. “The logistics are quite simple. You have your own relationship with Kyzen and your own with me. We covered the issue of jealousy and that’s not going to be a problem between the two of us. I’m sure there will be some societal pressures and issues since this isn’t normal, but we’re not of the norm, so that’s nothing new. We’ll treat this as any other relationship is treated and learn as we go.”
The more she looks between us, the redder her face grows, and the more labored her breathing becomes. Her hands tremble as she grips her blanket and snatches it off her legs.
My body freezes as she practically races off her bed and heads toward her door. Amick’s now blank face watches her as she goes, and I scoot to the edge of the bed.
Shit…we fucked up.
She halts before walking out of the room and turns back to us. Her eyes are pinched shut when she spins around and she releases a loud exhale.
“Don’t take my reaction as me rejecting either of you. That’s not what I’m doing at all. I just don’t know if this is my greatest forbidden fantasy coming true or the start of a nightmare.” She opens her glossy eyes and bounces them between us. “I promise I’m not turning this down. I…we need to have our Valtrue meeting first, then the two of you need to reconsider this after that.”
I don’t know what to say.
She observes us as we sit silently, confused. “Are you mad?”
“No, not mad at all. Concerned is the better word.”
She looks at me for a long, tense second. “Yeah, same.”
With that, she does leave the two of us sitting in her room without her. I’m still trying to process exactly what happened when the bed moves as Amick stands and I follow suit.
“This is about to be a very serious conversation.”
“Yes, I did pick up on that. She’s never so fidgety. She almost seemed fearful of our reaction to her reaction. Did I read that correctly?”
“Yeah, you read it right.”
His brows scrunch together as he strides to her door with me hot on his heels. As we enter the kitchen, we come face-to-face with a standoff. Except it isn’t a normal standoff.
There’s a look of desperation in Thayla’s eyes as she peers up at Creed and he stares down at her without a hint of challenge. He glances at us and his shoulders slump.
“I’ll get Riven. Coffee’s already on the ottoman.”
I take a step forward and the scents in the kitchen hit me at once.
It smells like the Akovas’ house.
Cooking is something Creed is naturally better at than all of us, but that’s also because it’s become his nervous habit. He cooks when he’s stressed, angry, nervous, you name it.
He can go one or two ways when he reaches a certain point. Healing life back into the body through food is the healthier version of his coping mechanisms.
Thayla doesn’t take a seat. Instead, she paces in front of the bookshelves. Everything about Creed’s and her behaviors right now has my mind going crazy.
Did something happen between the two of them last night?
“This better be good since my beauty rest is getting interrupted. I had an eventful day yesterday and I’m exhausted.”

Riven plops down on the opposite couch and slings his arm over his eyes. Thanks to that, he misses the daggers Thayla’s shooting him.
“Not the time, Riven,” I grunt.
“Yeah, yeah.” He waves me off.
“Could you two carry on? Whatever’s happening has my chest experiencing a very uncomfortable sensation again.”
Thayla’s head swings to Amick and her bottom lip trembles.
I lean forward in my seat. “Thayla…”
“You each hold a piece of my soul.”
Amick and I tilt our heads to the side as we look at her. Creed presses his lips together and crosses his arms over his chest.
Still not picking up the seriousness in the room, Riven laughs and sits up. “You have the strangest ways of professing your love for me.”
“Riven, please. This isn’t a what the fuck moment.”
The smile on his face instantly dies at the despair in her tone and he turns his glare to Creed. “What the hell is she talking about?”
Creed glances down at her and all our heads follow.
“In the Gods Veil, Derivius didn’t just pair us as a Valtrue. He split my soul and put a piece of it in each of you. We’re literally tied together by my soul.”
My chest constricts so tight I could swear to you I was kicked in it. My power leaks out of me and everything speeds up to match the tempo of my heartbeat.
Minutes fly by in seconds as we all stand and shout. What we say, I don’t know, but whatever it is, it isn’t good.
I watch with no way to stop it as Riven steps up to Thayla and throws his hands in the air. I don’t witness him physically do anything, but she caves in on herself and Creed lays a fist across his jaw.
Chaos breaks loose across the house.
Shit…
Time rewinds back to normal.
“Thayla, come sit down.”
“I need to tell you everything.”
“And you can do it from this seat between Amick and me. Come sit.”
She goes to shake her head, but Creed nudges her with his elbow. “Go. If he’s telling you to do that, then it’s for the best.”
I sneer at him. What would’ve been for the best is if his ass was fucking honest with us. With me. I distinctly remember asking him her very first night here, right when he got back from going to see Derivius, if something else happened.
We felt it.
We fucking felt her soul latching onto us at the Veiling Ceremony. The sensation will be seared into my brain for eternity.
“Start from the beginning, and no one, I mean no one,”—I eye Riven the hardest—“interrupt her.”
I lace my fingers with hers and squeeze. Her breath fans across our hands and she lets it all pour out.
Riven slowly stands from his seat and I hold on to her a little tighter. “This is why you asked what you did last night? You have a way to untie us.”
“This is why I asked, yes, but I don’t have a concrete way. I believe it’d be possible if Creed removes my soul. I just don’t know how us untying ourselves will affect everything else.”
“If Creed does what?” Riven and I ask together.
“I had the intention of removing the pieces of her soul from each of you and putting them with the piece in me. I’d heal it, then put it back together with what she has left.”
I glare at him. “How could you plan this without us? Have you even explained anything to her about souls?”
“Minimally.”
His one-word response has my skin throbbing with anger. How the fuck could he keep something so monumental from us? Not only us, her.
Riven’s eyes narrow dangerously as he casts them between Thayla and Creed. “You’ve both been lying to us. This entire time.”
I sense the fury growing in him. He can’t stand to be lied to. None of us can, but he takes it more personal.
“No. Creed lied. He was the only one asked flat out if something else was going on and said he didn’t know. Thayla made it clear she was keeping secrets and would tell us when she’s ready.”
He throws his hands up. “What’s the fucking difference? It’s a damn lie by omission.”
“Really?” I arch a brow at him. “You need the fucking difference explained. Think about that long and hard for a minute, brother.”
We’re still holding secrets close to our heart. He knows that. If he’ll put his blinding rage to the side for a second, he’ll see that.
He grits his teeth and turns back to Creed. “What’s her soul doing to mine right now?”
“It’s weaving together, trying to stay alive.”
“So she’s sucking the life out of me?”
“No, that’s not—”
“Let him take it out of you, Riven.” Thayla’s quietly murmured words send chills through the living room.
Riven’s chest heaves. “You want him to remove it from me? Just me?”
“You don’t want it inside of you. I don’t want you to punish me, harm me, or hold something I had no choice in over my head.”
“Harm you?” His face clouds in disgust.
“That’s the part we haven’t got to yet. You can pull on my soul, just as I did yesterday to you all when I needed you. It can hurt me, if that’s what you want it to do.”
“The healing villas…” I breathe.
“Yeah, I tried to pull my soul out of you. It hurt even though it wasn’t you pulling.”
“So she can hurt us the same way?” Riven asks.
“Yes,” Thayla says immediately, but Creed shakes his head.
“No.”
Her entire body startles. “What? You warned me not to use this as a weapon against them.”
“I know. I didn’t clarify, purposefully. We feel it if you pull, but it causes us no pain, just awareness. Sometimes it’s greater than others, like yesterday. I wanted to see if you’d do it or not. I’d know if you tried.”
Her face fills with fury and she releases my hand to link her fingers together. “But you all have the power to use this against me. Why does it work that way?”
“It hurts because it’s the last sliver of your soul attached to your bodily vessel. It hurt you when you tried to pull it out of Kyzen because the strength of yours and his soul together in his body are more powerful. It pulled back, bringing you to your knees. All our souls and the pieces of yours inside of us are stronger than the piece left inside of you.”
Her eyes shut as she exhales harshly and lays her head in her hands. If looks could kill, Creed would be dead where he stands from the lethal glares Riven, Amick, and I are giving him.
“What are the ins and outs of this, Creed? Is she or her soul dying? Would removing her pieces remove our tie or do damage to her? What are the side effects of harboring a soul?” Amick asks.
“I don’t have all those answers. I’ve been searching, but we’re once again test subjects for a Beginning God. I’ve tried to pay attention to any and every shift in her. Her soul’s weaved most tightly with yours, followed by Kyzen, Riven, then me. I’ve kept it as far away from mine as possible so I could preserve space for the rest of it so I can heal it. It’s going to take damage if I remove it now. It’s firmly attached to the three of yours. She nor her soul have grown weaker. If anything, she and it are stronger.”
None of us respond until Riven takes a step closer to where we’re sitting. Amick and I stand instinctively and shift in front of her.
His nostrils flare as he scoffs, then bends down in front of her and she lifts her head.
“Despite my brothers’ lack of faith in me, I have no intentions of harming you. If my soul’s allowed yours to make itself comfortable, then that’s where it’ll stay. It’s mine now.”
She watches every step he takes, and her eyes continue to widen when he shoves Creed in the chest. “Don’t touch my fucking soul and don’t ever lie to me again.”
We all watch him as he passes through his door normally, just so he can slam it with enough force to vibrate the floors.
Thayla exhales, then covers her mouth with her fingers. “Do the rest of you want to keep my soul as well?”
“It’s not their—”
“It’s all our choices, Creed. Last night in the hot spring, I was forced to think long and hard about everything that’s happened since I arrived. I’ve come to the conclusion, no matter if you give me my soul back or not, things that involve the five of us are going to happen. It’s been reiterated to me enough, the realm is changing. Seismet says it’s out of order and the five of us will face a choice on which side of this change we want to be on. My parents…” She pauses as her lips pinch together.
“They apparently knew this day would come. They were told by Derivius, or maybe even the Valories themselves, I don’t know. But their faith and the beliefs they had, I suppose way before my time and your situations, set me up to be used right along with all of you. We’re at the center of this change. It’s time we got on the same page.”
“The realm’s been changing for years. We’re not the catalyst of that.” Creed argues.
“No? So it’s normal that every Valtrue is paired by an imitation of the structure built in Elementra. They all get to be Godly Companions to ancient Veilatara, and not to mention, connecting with the last living Vedarya in existence? It’s all just a big, fat coincidence?”
If I couldn’t hear the ragged breaths falling from her, I’d swear my power just froze time. My eyes are unblinking as I stare at her in utter shock and confusion.
“What did you just say?” Amick asks.
She takes a deep breath and tells us everything that truly happened in the Gods Veil, the information Derivius told her about the most unknown realm as well as when Seismet took her to the sacred hot springs. From how it healed her body, meeting this Vedarya named V, the power forcing her to face her reality, then Riven’s sudden appearance.
Shit…our lives just got a hell of a lot more complicated.
I don’t have a compromise for this.
“I wanted to tell you all about my soul first before that because I’m positive Derivius doing this is all calculated in not only his plans but whatever the Valories are trying to accomplish. The problems are far deeper than what’s going on in the Abandon. The entire realm is a problem if you ask me.
“I don’t know the risk or rewards of you all keeping my soul, but I can’t shake the feeling that since this was obviously done with years of thought and planning involved, it needs to be connected other than the fact that’s how it works in Elementra. Think about it, Creed. Better yet, explain it. I still don’t even know how it’s possible that souls can be split. What happens to a soul if it’s split from the god and not put anywhere? What benefit does it do to the god to split it, then tie it to something?”
“I’ll start explaining more about souls soon. It isn’t a lesson I can sit here and explain in a day. This is the part of us that makes us, us. It’s a living, powerful, intricate part of us. Our bodies can’t survive without it, and without a strong body, it can’t survive. It can’t just be split for the fuck of it. Only the Beginning Gods can split a soul and that’s if they’re within the Gods Binding or a creation of it, that’s been blessed by the Valories. I’m the…” He takes a deep, strained breath as his eyes lose focus and the darker half of him creeps in.
“I’m the only god who doesn’t need the Binding to do whatever I want to a soul. If it’s split from the god in punishment, it goes down to Hellveilious where it sits and waits for its judgment. Whether to be destroyed completely or put into the Gods Binding or Veil for healing. If it’s separated too long, the vessel and eventually the soul will die on their own.”
“I’m sorry, where?”

Fuck. She doesn’t know about Hellveilious yet.
“Hellveilious is the punishment area of Godsden. Its location is guarded by both a barrier placed by the God of Boundaries and an illusion veil much like the one that separates the Godsdawn from Godsden. Imagine it as its own region. Tainted souls, Dark Gods, and gods alike are taken there for reprehensible crimes. It’s the vilest place, in my opinion, in the entire universal structure of the realms. Stories have even been fabricated across the nonmagical about it and the beings who are there. It’s where the name and slang use of the word hell derived from.”
Thayla’s face is a portrait of horror as she looks from Amick to Creed. “Do…is that a place you have to go that I can’t or couldn’t go? Or were you only talking about the Abandon?”
“Both.”
His low tone unfortunately chips away at the anger I have for him right now. I’m beyond fucking livid, but it’s easy to make an excuse for why he’d hide this and why he was secretly trying to find a way to separate her soul.
The horrors he’s seen, the things he’s had to do, I know they haunt him. A soul is a tricky thing to mess with. One wrong move and you can destroy it, which in turn destroys the god it belonged to. Or you leave them a mindless shell of a being.
Creed never leaves anyone to face that fate if he can help it.
“I have a theory of why Derivius did this.” The three of us look at Amick for an explanation. “If just a sliver of a soul is damaged, what happens to the rest?”
“Eventually, the remaining will heal the damaged piece. It’ll take time, but it can be made whole again.”
“Exactly. So in theory, you take a soul, split it four ways and leave the smallest piece in its vessel. The other pieces will constantly work to heal it.”
My eyes widen as I stare at Thayla as what Amick is saying clicks into place for me. Those sensations…
My chest tingles as I soothe that little slice inside of me and she slowly turns her head, following the feeling. Her eyebrows draw down in confusion.
“I don’t understand.”
“Fuck,” Creed growls, gripping his hair and shaking his head. “What Amick is trying to say, what he believes is, as long as your body can be healed, the larger pieces of your soul inside of us will constantly keep your piece alive. That’s always been the exact thing I feared. That our souls were keeping your soul alive, otherwise you’d die, but that’s the fucking point. Fuck.”
Her mouth falls open as confusion still contorts her features. “I…Kyzen.”
“Say you were to take a deadly hit. If we have enough time to heal your body, you’ll survive because our souls together would heal the piece in you. You can’t be killed.”
“What?” she whispers. “I mean, I know I joke sometimes about my mouth getting me killed, but is this a real fear we have? Did Derivius seriously split my soul so I couldn’t be killed?”
Amick’s hand awkwardly slides from her thigh to her knee. She watches the move keenly. “Yeah, Mysenta. I’m afraid it is now.”
We each jerk in the direction of the disgruntled sound that just pierced the living room. I don’t know when Riven opened his door, but he obviously heard what was just said, judging by the feral look on his face.
“No fucking one will—”
A knock at our front door cuts him off. It’s such a foreign noise to us. We don’t allow or ever expect many visitors. When they do come, they always bear bad news. The fact there’s someone here now has us glaring at the entranceway.
Amick scoffs, another noise unfamiliar to our ears. “That’s the High Chancellor’s power I sense.”
Fuck us. That really can’t be good.