Page 321 of The Gods Order

My shoulders rise and fall as tears fill my eyes.

“Your souls are whole.”

They smile softly, then a small hiss passes through each of us. Our attention snaps to our wrists, and my mouth falls open. The swirling C branded on my wrist since the Veiling Day shifts, reshaping into a stunning…O.

My watery gaze meets theirs as my fingers trail over the new mark.

“If it wasn’t clear enough that you all were mine, now you have my mark to show the realm.”

My teasing chuckle morphs into a grunt as four strands pierce my heart.

“Oh, we’re yours, my endling. No doubt about that.”

My gaze jerks to Creed’s blazing white irises.

Kyzen, Amick, and Riven clench their fingers at their sides, still smiling.

My breath rushes out and I sway forward. Creed catches me easily, holding me as pieces of their souls settle and seal themselves to mine.

“I promised them that as soon as I figured out how to heal our souls, I’d attach them to yours. I wasn’t wasting a second,” he says, smiling down at me.

Everything I just felt intensifies tenfold.

I don’t know where my being begins and theirs ends.

We are…one.

A few tearful laughs leave me as they hold and caress me. Riven’s highly inappropriate praises keep me from dissolving into a full sobbing mess.

“Do you all—are you…”

I can’t get the words out, but their softened eyes tell me they know.

“We feel Verlet and…we aren’t experiencing what V experienced,” Amick says.

Relief colors his voice, then the energy around us shifts.

“Their experiences were not the same.”

We all go still.

“The Vedarya’s soul was damaged when it attempted to leave the realm. He was whole when he perished. He possessed memories, identity, understanding of himself. When his soul was separated, the journey fractured what already existed. The damaged pieces remained because a new, untouched vessel waited.”

Creed flinches, and my arms tighten around him.

“Your souls suffered differently. They did not leave the realm. They were entering it. They possessed no memories, no understanding of who they were, no sense of self to anchor them. They were not damaged by losing who they were. They were damaged before having the opportunity to become who they were meant to be.”

A chill races through me. The reminder of what happened to them before birth hurts all over again.

“Over time, they changed. The souls you possess now are not the same souls that entered this realm. Kirabaddon’s corruption was attached to those early fragments. The pieces forced upon you before you understood yourselves. Those pieces were never truly you. Your memories remain, the pain remains, but the corruption is no longer woven into who you are.”

“You knew when we stepped in here you could fix us,” Amick says.

His tone holds no accusation.

“Yes.”

“You didn’t say anything because you didn’t want to influence our choice,” Kyzen says.