“It should be easier to return,” Len said as we moved toward the edge of the sphere. “Since we’re not technically dead, our souls will want to find their vessels.”
“Mine is at the bottom of a coal pit,” I said with a grimace. “And I don’t have my powers unlocked yet to bust out of there.”
Len rubbed a hand over his crystal covered hair. “Even worse, the surface hardened the moment you went under. Not even the full force of my power could break it.”
I hadn’t known that. There’d been other things on my mind as I fought a shadowy beast dragging me into the depths.
“The Faerie line was at the bottom,” I said. “Fate wanted me to land down there so I would find my memories. I don’t think anything could have stopped it.”
Len was nodding. “I believe you’re right, and I also believe that your body will have been freed the moment that task was complete. But if not, I’ll find you, I promise.”
“I know you will,” I replied. “Even better, we’ll find each other.”
Another of those weird but perfect kisses, and then we pushed our souls from the sphere back to the fire planet. Len took a moment to examine the massive outer structure of the Origin, eyes wide as he shook his head. “I never thought I’d see a source of creation. Look at the worlds.”
That was what all the images were. The worlds. And the other lines were connected to other worlds, all of which were missing their Origin gods, just as Faerie had been.
It was nearly impossible to believe, but after everything I’d learned being here, there was no other explanation.
We left after that, willing our essence along the golden line, and just as Len said, it was almost effortless. We were heading home.
The line grew brighter and brighter as we moved along it, and then when it was completely blinding, everything started to burn. When the pain was too much, a whimpering scream escaped me, and Len let out some curses, so I knew he was feeling it too.
I must have blacked out at some point during the somewhat painful rebirth, and when I came to I was not at the bottom of a coal quicksand pit, or naked as I’d been after my shift. Clothes had formed around me, black pants and a shirt, and I was hovering in the air beside a similar but much smaller sphere to the one on the fire world. This one was completely golden though, and I knew this was Faerie’s Origin of power.
My sphere.
Before I could think it through, I reached out and grasped the beaming golden cord at the top of the sphere, and through it I reconnected myself to Faerie. My severed line was restored, and the glamour fell away, like I was shedding clothes instead of power.
The darkness I’d been keeping at bay was gone. In its place: a shimmering power that connected right to Faerie. I could feel the world. The ebbs and flow of its energy. Energy I could tap into if needed.
“Holy gods,” I cried, my skin glowing so golden it was almost blinding.
Along with the cord to Faerie, I could also feel my mate as if he was right at my side, even though he was standing on a crystal-covered ground with our pack, skin illuminated like those crystals he’d worn in the fire world were now embedded in the surface.
Energy expanded between us. Mate.
He heard me, and I felt his amusement. Someone found her power.
The power and memories had returned. Now I truly understood how painful my decision had been to cast the glamour. It had almost destroyed me at the time.
Thankfully, that memory was fuzzy, just as Sammia had advised.
“Yo!” The shout had my gaze returning to the crowd gathered below. Mera was the one who’d called out. “Anyone going to explain what the hell is happening?” she said, hand on her hips. “And why my sister is shedding light like a glowstick?”
As I decided to move closer, my newly released power kicked into gear, and I vanished to reappear right in the midst of them. Whoa, that was going to take some getting used to.
None of them jumped, but I didn’t miss Shadow angling himself in front of Mera. He wasn’t the only one, with the other males edging in front of their mates.
All the while, Len just smiled with this stupidly proud smile, and I felt like I was a fucking goddess for real under his gaze.
“She’s not dangerous,” he told them as he moved closer and wrapped his arms around me. His skin was smooth and silvery-gold once more, but there was definitely a glow of crystal on the surface. Neither of us had returned from the Great Origin unchanged, and it was exciting to know that we were moving up in the power scale.
Len lifted me against his body, hands under my ass as he held me like I was still Samantha, a mere shifter from Clarity. “It’s a long story, but she’s an Origin god, and we need to help her save Faerie.”
His lips crashed into mine, a kiss that we’d almost died and come back to experience. This time, our mate bond was strong and thrumming between us, a mix of gold and silver, shimmering in our energy. I could also taste him, that minty freshness, with the hint of sweet that was all Len.
This fae prince was the savior I never saw coming, bringing me out of my dark and lonely existence, and gifting me the most precious little girl. All we had to do now was ensure that Dalmia’s spell was destroyed so we had a chance for true happiness.
Our kiss lasted longer than we probably had time for, but what could I do—my mate was sexy as fuck.
A throat cleared nearby. “Did you all say that we needed to save the world?” Reece sounded both amused and exasperated.
“Not that we don’t understand,” Angel added. “The almost dying and rebirth thing definitely takes a toll, and mates need a moment to embrace their second chance, but first things first…”
“Should we smite them all?” Len whispered against my lips, mostly joking I was sure.
“If she’s an Origin god, she should have no trouble with that,” Angel replied, amused rather than defensive.
We will need an explanation of the how and whys soon, Galleli started in my head, and I didn’t even flinch this time. Go me and my rebirth. But for now the darkness is spreading. We must cut it off before it takes over the main source of energy here.
He was right, and with that Len lowered me back to the ground and I took a second to examine this part of the Deep. It was a vast flat space, covered in millions of crystals, the power of them all quite breathtaking. In the center was a drop-off, where the Origin of Faerie hovered, golden and spherical.
As I stepped closer, I could clearly see the dark tendrils winding through the golden energy.
“Before my rebirth, I was Sammia,” I said, still moving closer to the sphere. “An Origin god created through Faerie’s energy. Another Origin god spelled us all so we would take this dark entity back to the source. He was defeated, but the spell remained, and since we had no clue how to destroy it, we only managed to slow its assault by leaving our worlds, effectively weakening them and the spell.”
The others were spread out around me now, and no one said a word, clearly not wanting to interrupt the story. “Now that I’ve returned and reconnected to the source of energy, the boost is going to spread this darkness like it’s on steroids.”
“Did you learn how to stop it?” Simone asked. “When you went… wherever you went?”
I shook my head. “No, we went to the Great Origin. The hub for all the worlds of the Origin gods. But it was only so I could find the memory I’d planted there before I recreated myself as Samantha.”
I felt their confusion, but no judgment at all. Most of them had been reborn in the last couple of years, so they understood in a way no other could. Not even other Origin gods.
“Samantha has something Sammia did not,” Len said as he stepped in behind me, wrapping his arms around my waist, pulling me back into his strength.
“Us,” Mera chimed in. “We’re the strongest pack you could hope for, and with that in mind, maybe we need to, like, Captain Planet this shit.”
Now it was her turn for everyone to stare at her. “Who is Captain Planet?” Shadow asked. “And should I kill him for knowing my mate?”
Mera burst into laughter. “The fact that I find your possessive alpha bullshit sexy as fuck probably says more about my mental state than yours. It’s an old human cartoon that I used to like. They would join all their powers together to form the strongest entity. Their strength was in their group and friendship. I believe it’s the same for us.”
“I believe that too,” I said suddenly. “This group exists because the Origin gods departed from their worlds and left a power vacuum for you all to grow in. You filled the balance by becoming the new gods.” I shrugged. “Apparently I’m the strongest of the Origins left, so it makes sense that I’m part of this story too.”
“It makes all the sense,” Mera agreed, shaking her head. “Fuck, it’s like a giant puzzle we didn’t know we were building, but I can see the final product now. It’s kind of flawless.”
It was. More than kind of.
“Okay, so, how do we join our powers?” Lucien asked.
The knowledge of how appeared in my mind, as if it had been buried there all along. “I can do it,” I told them. “I can connect us all to the Faerie Origin, and from there we’ll be able to act as one. But we will need to move quickly, or the darkness could affect us all.”
A final warning, not that most of them needed it.
I had no idea if this would work, but it was really the best and only option. Maybe if the Origin gods had joined our powers together instead of splitting our energy and moving off our worlds, we’d have been able to best Dalmia when he cast the spell. We screwed up in thinking we were all working alone, and by leaving we only weakened ourselves and our worlds anyway.
At least that choice had paved the path for the new gods, and since they were already learning from our mistakes, I had a feeling they’d do what the Origins couldn’t.
Save the worlds.
With reluctance, I stepped away from Len, and my body lifted into the air so I could touch the golden strand at the top of the sphere. From deep in my essence, I released eight similar but smaller golden strands, which burst out of my chest, hovering in front of me like snakes mid attack. I then sent those strands scooting away, ensuring each one reached the chest of my pack members, connecting us in an instant.
The moment we joined, I felt all of their unique and individual strengths.
Mera was bright, her energy strong and burning, like a new flame being constantly fueled through the power of her mate bond. She was fire that drew you in, warm and giving, but get too close and you’d be burned.
Then there was Shadow, her mate.
He burned as well, but an older, deeper, and more intense flame. There wasn’t much that could change that flame, but it also wasn’t one many could get close to. It warned you to stay away—warned with its depth and the deep flare of strength. There were also intermingling threads of darkness through the deep red of his fire.
The only light in this beast came from the bond he had with his Sunshine.
Next was Angel, and her energy was like a spring day, the most perfect and pure moment of creation. Strong, clear, and without any shadows, Angel didn’t burn, but she was almost too perfect to get too close to. As if she were the literal embodiment of the human lore of angels and God. Her mate’s energy felt ancient. Reece had the original sands of time drifting through his veins, and I was sure he could create and destroy the land. Very natural, very earthy, powerful like nature itself.
Lucien had a newer energy, but no less strong. Blood power filled his veins, and blood was life. It made sense that he would be drawn to this group. He was a powerful master, and as he grew older there’d be very few who could stand against his compulsion, or his speed and strength in attack. His mate, Simone, was animalistic in her energy, but so much more than a regular shifter. Like me, she was a unique mix of two energies: shifter and vampire. She could walk in multiple worlds, and while her power was young, she showed signs of being the strongest of all beasts—one day.
Galleli’s energy was cagey, the only being not to completely open himself up to me, but there wasn’t a way to truly hide when we were connected like this. Galleli, the mysterious one, was a veritable well of power, but he kept it all locked down, hidden away, as if he were afraid of what might happen if he opened himself up and became who he was always meant to be. I wanted to assure him that this world was ready for him now. If anyone knew, it was the being who’d been hiding for thousands of years herself.
“Holy fuck.”
The low groan from Reece pulled my attention before I could examine Len, but I already knew every part of my mate’s energy. From his silvery, light power, to the force of nature that was a budding beat of his heart, he could give Father Nature a run for his money when it came to pure and earthy creation. There were threads of gold in his silver, which was how he’d been able to find me in the Great Origin. It was our bond, the one that not even Sammia’s powerful glamour could annihilate completely.
For which I was very grateful.
“She’s so powerful,” Simone said in response to Reece.
“I am,” I said, finally owning it. “As are all of you. Our powers have been learning each other, and now that we’re connected in this way, I can assure you… each of you are a special piece of the puzzle. We are parts of a whole, and I know exactly how to repair the darkness.”
Individually we never could have fixed this, but together we had everything we needed.
Time to get cleaning.
