Page 202 of The Gods Order

“You have been my most freeing Vedae. Every day spent with you was like experiencing the dawn of time all over again. New, courageous, and so free.”

My sobs slash free from my chest and my fingers burrow deeper into his feathers. His soft, soft feathers.

“V…please.”

“I have one more truth to tell you,” he whispers. “My name, my full name, is…Varnie Godrun.”

His last name catches me so off guard that my crying stills for the briefest heartbeat.

“Given and blessed by the Valories. In the way and language of Old, Godrun means the one who carries creation forward.”

His voice is barely more than air now and my brow furrows.

“My purpose was to make sure there was always another way. Kira was my sixth Calling among the Beginning Gods and by that time, I didn’t know if there was another way. Until…”

He takes a deep, struggling breath, and I lay my hand against his chest.

“Until your father. He was my last Calling among them and the one that lasted the longest. The first time I looked into his eyes, I saw you. I have waited thousands of years for you.”

My gaze flicks to my father’s, but I can’t hold his stare. The tears burning streaks down his cheeks cleave my heart.

“He was the only Beginning God entrusted with my full name. And when the time came that he needed to hide his greatest creation…from the greatest destruction…he bestowed you my name so you would blend with society. You were never going to blend, Thayla Godrun.”

His wing trembles as he caresses my cheek. I can’t help but lean into the comforting embrace.

I can’t go the rest of my life without ever feeling this again.

“Please don’t leave me,” I whimper.

“I will never truly leave you,” he mumbles. “Tell me what we taught you about the power of Obliteration.”

Even the mention of the power makes my skin shiver. My rage is desperate to be set free. Set loose on the fucker who did this.

I never want to use that power again.

“D-don’t think like that. Tell me, what is Obliteration’s purpose?” he asks so low.

It takes more effort than I have right now to sift through my mind and figure out the answer to his question.

But I do figure it out.

“It was supposed to provide breathing room for Creation.”

“T-that is right.”

Light beams from V to me, and my chest cracks open as warmth beyond comparison or explanation fills my heart. It’s the greatest and most devastating sensation I’ve ever felt.

“Every creature…every goddess or god…every star in the sky…has a purpose beyond existing. Because of you, I have fulfilled mine.”

His voice grows softer.

“So…fulfill yours, my Vedae.”

The light fades and his wing slips from my cheek.

“No.”

The word leaves me in a whisper.