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I turned to Lucian and Rumir. “But I thought the Executives of the Imperium were the creator gods. Doesn’t that make them the strongest in the realm?”
“They are,” Lucian answered. “But there are other things in this universe.”
“Like what?”
Rehema’s stool scraped loudly across the floor as she stood up. "I need some air."
She walked from the room, and Brian stood up as well. "I'll go with her."
I stared at the kitchen entrance and my ears twitched when I heard Rehema crying softly in the other room. I understood how overwhelming this was for her. She’d grown up in a place filled with peace and harmony. I, on the other hand, had lived on Earth, where death and violence were daily occurrences.
Now, the possibility of death—permanent soul death—was being thrown at Rehema, as well as Brian and Rumir. While both men were handling it well, at least on the surface, Rehema was caving.
How could anyone blame her for having that reaction? The threat facing us was unlike anything she’d ever known. Who wouldn’t be terrified under those circumstances?
Rehema was right. Souls born in this realm wouldn’t react well if the gods made an announcement. They’d panic.
After Brian and Rehema left, Rumir, Lucian, and I sat silently in the kitchen. I held my head in my hands and breathed deeply, trying to calm my troubled thoughts.
It wasn’t working. "I understand what you’re saying, Lucian. This could be really bad for everyone. If the gods tell anyone about this virus, people will wonder why they haven’t just gotten rid of it," I whispered. "It’s not a large leap to go from there to assuming that the gods can't get rid of it. And then what will they do? Panic.”
"Exactly," Lucian said. "This is far more complicated than it seems. I'm going to the caves today to let the Goddess know what's happening. She's still asleep, but I know she'll hear me. If the realm is in danger, she must return."
“And I’m going to speak to the Imperium, or at least one of them,” Rumir added, walking around the island to stand by my side. He took a few strands of my hair and wrapped them around his finger. “I’m sorry I wasn’t there for you last night.”
Behind me, Lucian sat down and wrapped his arms around my waist. He lowered his head onto my shoulder. Rumir released my hair, but he pinched my chin before stepping back.
I didn’t want their guilt. I felt bad enough as it was. "I know, but I don't want either of you to blame yourselves. No one saw this coming. It could have happened to anyone."
"But it happened to you, a woman with two mates," Lucian growled.
I reached up and put my hand against his cheek. Us being here, like this, would have been almost perfect—if it hadn’t been for a certain deadly virus. Yet, even amid this chaos, I was happy to have two amazing men by my side.
They weren't directly speaking to each other, but they weren't at each other's throats, either. And that was good.
"From now on, I think you should be with one of us at all times. And don’t even think about arguing about it," Lucian said.
"I wasn’t going to," I replied. "I think it’s a good idea to be very careful now that we have some idea of what we’re dealing with. Unfortunately, other souls aren’t as fortunate.”
