The deity Fate paced the hallways of Death’s palace in the Underworld. No death dealers were permitted on the private floor belonging to Death and Past-Death, the former deity turned human named Deidre, who was trapped in the Underworld for her own safety. Likewise, no one aside from Death and his mate were aware of Fate’s presence.
Fate stood at a window gazing out at the Everdark forest filled with living trees, birds with three wings, and other fantastical creatures. The Underworld was never fully lit by the weak sun above. The last time he’d visited, he’d been helping Gabriel retake the palace after the death dealers revolted.
“The trees don’t like to be stared at,” said a soft voice behind him.
Fate smiled. “Then they should stop waving at me,” he replied. The tendril-like branches of the trees always appeared to be writhing or dancing in a non-existent breeze.
Deidre joined him at the window. The temperature in the Underworld was always the same, no matter what time of day it was, and there were no seasons. It was always cool and pleasant.
“I wanted to be human once,” Fate said, amused. “If I had known this is what it’s like, I wouldn’t have.”
“It’s not so bad,” Deidre replied. “I think all of us should be forced to become human once in an eternity. It helps us understand the effects of our decisions on the world.”
“It makes us weak,” he countered.
“It makes us compassionate.”
Fate snorted. The small former-deity was right – and he hated it. It was easy to manipulate the lives and fates of people when he could maintain emotional distance between them and him, which meant not empathizing. He wasn’t yet convinced compassion would make him a stronger deity, for he couldn’t afford to lose sight of the bigger picture in order to take pity on everyone on a path towards to a deplorable Future. He’d go mad if he tried.
“I’m glad it’s worked for you,” he said and leaned his hip against the window. He peered down at the small queen of the Underworld. Deidre’s blue eyes glowed, and she smiled. “I never would’ve thought you’d make a good human.”
Their relationship, acrimonious for the most part, extended for hundreds of thousands of millennia. They’d worked with each other as often as against one another. Death did not like to be cheated of souls, but Fate played his own game, one no one else could understand. It always pitted him against some deity or another. The stronger the deity, the better the chance he’d pissed him or her off multiple times. Deities lived for very long periods, close to eternity, which gave them plenty of time to plot revenge. They tended to hold grudges that long as well.
“It took some getting used to,” she admitted. “But it’s harder not to tell Gabe what to do every minute of the day. He has to learn to govern the Underworld on his own and I need to let go.”
“Work in progress,” Fate said. He’d seen Death and Past-Death erupt into two disagreements during the past few weeks over how to deal with another deity. “I’m sure, deep down, Gabriel appreciates your opinion.”
“I’m always right,” Past-Death replied with a flare of the arrogance that used to drive other deities crazy. “He’ll figure that out. But in the meantime, I’m stepping back and letting him decide everything.”
Fate grinned, unable to help it. Deidre remained feisty despite the fact she was human and her mate was a deity. She didn’t hesitate to stand up to the god of Death, who was twice her size.
Whenever he watched them interact, however, he was forced to recall his own mate. Being separated from Stephanie made him sick to his stomach, and he spent as much time in Gabriel’s gym as he did in his spacious chamber. No matter how much he ran or how often he lifted weights, Fate couldn’t settle his wired, anxious energy. He barely slept and spent as much time waving at the trees and pacing the top floor of the palace as he did in the gym.
“I need to leave,” he said quietly.
“You can’t,” she reminded him. “Not yet. Gabriel says if you leave, you die-dead. You’re name’s on his list.”
“I feel like I’m going to die-dead if I stay. Besides, no one really wants me dead-dead. They want to extort favors from me.”
“You’re the master of the big picture. That’s where you need to focus,” she replied. “And there are some really stupid deities out there who may not be bluffing if you challenge them.”
Fate said nothing. She was right. Karma had crippled him in more ways than one. He couldn’t See or control the Future. He’d never feared anything before. Karma’s curse had been for him to earn his deity status back. He had no idea how long it’d take – or how long the worlds would survive. The deities abided by three bonds: mates-blood-fate. The true meaning of the trifecta was debatable, but it was universally accepted all three had to exist.
And right now, the deity Fate did not exist. The humanized version of him did, but he possessed no power over the Future.
“That is my true balancing,” he whispered, frustrated. “Being sidelined while the world barrels towards disaster and those I love are caught in the middle.”
“There are no such things as coincidences,” Deidre teased. “Weren’t you the one who taught me that?”
“I want to believe that. Sometimes I think humans are far braver than any of us deities have ever been or could possibly be,” he mused. “How can you wake up not knowing if you live or die-dead that day? Or if the people you care about will see the sunset?”
“It is difficult,” Deidre agreed. “They are rewarded for it by being able to experience the world in a way a deity can’t.”
“It’s still madness,” he said. “They feel hunger, thirst, and fatigue. They feel pain so deep, it takes their breath away and consumes them.”
“They feel love, too. I understood affection as a goddess but not love.”
“I don’t know the tradeoff is worth it,” he replied wryly. “Not if I spend my life in misery.”
“You know that’s not true. You’d give up everything for the woman you love.”
Fate nodded, throat tight and chest feeling as if it were being squeezed in a vice. He had underestimated the strength of a mating bond and what it meant to be torn away from his mate. He’d lived half an eternity, but no amount of time had seemed as long as the weeks stretching between when he’d last seen Stephanie and this moment.
“You’ll see her again,” Deidre reassured him. “Gabe is working on convincing everyone with a contract on you to reconsider. They just need to be forcefully reminded killing Fate is going to disrupt the balance among the worlds. He owes you his life as well as mine. You saved the Underworld. That’s why the trees wave at you.”
“I’ve never been one to turn down a favor and very rarely grant one. I’d grant a million for five minutes with my mate,” he admitted.
“That’s another reason you’re better off down here. Gabe’s down to the last few contracts. Once he has those cleared up, you can leave,” she said.
“Is Wynn one of those?”
“Yes.”
“Then I’ll be down here until my power returns, and I can negotiate with him,” Fate said. “It’s payback for you and I murdering him.” And for claiming his daughter. Fate kept this to himself. He suspected this had been the greater of his two crimes. Wynn had planned to torture him originally in the hopes Fate coughed up a favor to free himself. Wynn’s mind had changed to murder upon learning the identity of Stephanie’s mate. It was a warning to stay away, which Fate never would.
“We both know that had to be done,” she said firmly. “Of all the things I regret, murdering Wynn isn’t one of them.”
“We didn’t stop him, because someone made a deal to bring him back.” He lifted his eyebrows at her.
“It’s part of the game. You know that,” Deidre replied with a smile. “You’ve betrayed me a great many times as well. Besides, you will never convince me you didn’t See this coming in some form.”
Fate had witnessed this chain-of-event and feared it for as long as his sister had existed. In what ways he could, he’d tried to prevent it. But as he’d learned about his own mate, it was impossible to prevent mates from finding one another. The deity code was as much a vague set of laws as it was a warning to anyone who attempted to interfere in the three bonds.
Not even Fate could prevent pre-ordained mates from meeting.
“He’s weaker again but no less ambitious,” he said. “Neither of us is in a position to stop him, if his madness returns.”
“But someone else is.” Deidre’s gaze was steady. “Or dare I say, there are two people who can?”
Fate was silent, agitated by the reminder.
“Stephanie has a good shot,” Deidre continued. “So does your sister.”
“I played my hand too openly, didn’t I?”
“Yeah. You’ve never done anything for anyone else’s benefits but yours. Except when you exiled your sister to my dungeon and again when you all but declared war on Wynn long before your mate was in the picture.”
“I’m not surprised you figured it out. Does the big guy know?” he asked.
“Not to my knowledge. It’s your secret, not mine. I always planned to use it against you,” Deidre said. “I’m not in that position anymore and even if I were, I’m human. I’d pity you.”
“And then destroy me.”
She laughed. “Probably. But it’s too easy now. Not worth my time.”
Fate met her gaze. He’d never tell her, but he liked her better as a human than as a goddess. She’d been one of his greatest opponents, and he’d always respected her mind. Now, he respected her, not just her ability to outsmart him.
“Look at us,” he murmured. “Oh, how the mighty have fallen.”
“Speak for yourself. I’d rather be a human than a goddess any day.”
They stood in comfortable quiet, staring at the trees that hated to be watched.
“I won’t stay here much longer,” Fate said. “Gabe has another week, then I’m gone. I won’t let my mate and sister face what’s coming alone.”
“We’ll figure it out,” she promised. “There’s too much at stake for us not to and for you to leave now. Some part of you knows this.”
When he wasn’t diligent about pruning and focusing his thoughts, Fate’s mind obsessed about his mate, to the single night they’d shared, and every interaction they’d ever had. Stephanie was brave, good and strong, the kind of person the Immortals desperately needed in their ranks, the kind of person who could prevent the society from crumbling. Asking her to take her place where she belonged, however, was easier said than done. She was completely alone, and he couldn’t help feeling responsible for abandoning her to the Immortals and deities who wouldn’t shy away from taking advantage of her.
It was one of the rare times Fate didn’t begrudge Deidre for the plan that resurrected Wynn. Stephanie’s continued existence, and only defense, came in the form of the ruthless Ancient, whose mind rivaled Fate’s. Wynn couldn’t See the Future, but he could predict and manipulate people with precision that made Fate admire him, as much as he didn’t want to.
Wynn was not an Immortal to cross. Fate’s hope was that enough of Wynn’s influence and power remained during this life to ward off anyone who threatened Stephanie. Wynn had always been devoted to his family in his own twisted way. He’d protected behind the scenes and tormented them openly.
The contrast was one Fate never noticed, until he became human and found his mate. In the short time he’d known Stephanie, he’d learned more about family and love than he had in the many millennia before Stephanie.
Even if Wynn protected his sons and daughter, he was also their greatest nightmare. That wasn’t the way it was supposed to be, Fate had recently begun to understand. He wasn’t entirely sure what a functional family looked like. These things were new to him, and he hadn’t had time to learn and explore before being ripped away from his mate.
But he suspected there was a great deal more to love and partnership waiting for him to discover. He wanted that piece of his life more than he’d ever wanted anything. His only real concern: the impact of his duty on his mate. She’d seemed to understand when he explained the boundaries of what he could share with her. It wouldn’t be a problem until something bad or unexpected happened to those she cared about, at which point she might blame or resent him for harboring his secrets.
The balance between his duty and mate would take time and adjusting. If he never made it out of the Underworld, or Wynn succeeded in his plan, none of that would matter.
“She’s safe, isn’t she?” he asked Deidre.
“Yeah, she is,” Past-Death confirmed. “She’s smart, and she has Wynn. She’ll get through this better than you.”
“That’s all I care about.”
“Gabe’s watching over Karma, as you requested. Things are interesting in that regard.”
“Meaning what?” Fate pressed.
“She’s a force to be reckoned with.”
“She’s gone mad, hasn’t she?”
“She’s always been mad. It runs in your family,” Deidre replied. “She’s a little worse than usual. But, maybe Wynn can help there, too.”
“A man as independent as he is won’t want to be chained down by a mate.”
“It’s not a choice. You know that.”
“Then I’d like to see him try to manage her. All his maneuvering with deities won’t matter when faced with Karma,” Fate said, smiling. He hated the idea of Wynn being Karma’s mate, but he also suspected there were only two people in any world capable of handling his fiery sister. He was one, and the other was Wynn, assuming the Ancient stepped up to the plate. “He hasn’t had the advantage of being fully human, either. He won’t feel towards his mate the way we do towards ours.”
“He’s more human than he’s ever been,” Deidre countered. “You’re too worried to see what’s in front of you. Wynn has lost most of his power. He’s vulnerable and has been throughout this life. I think he’s on the edge and needs a push to be the person we’ve always wanted him to become.”
“Or a tornado, which is what my sister is.”
“That’ll do, too.”
“I hate this,” Fate said with a scowl. “I hate knowing she might be the only person who can stop what he’s doing, and I hate that I’m useless to help her.”
“You’ll have to trust her. Maybe that’s your lesson in all this. You need to learn to have faith in people again.”
Fate considered the idea. With the ability to predict the Future, he hadn’t needed faith when he could interfere at will. He’d been content to let Karma do what she wanted and manipulate chains-of-events to ensure she didn’t cause permanent damage, and he planned to prevent any harm or sadness from ever befalling Stephanie.
“Maybe,” he said at last, unconvinced.
Concerned about the only two women in any world he cared about, Fate sank into his thoughts. They were forced to fend for themselves, and he was forced to stand on the sidelines and watch.
There was no safety net for the only two people who mattered, and no solace for the one deity who should have been able to help them.