“I'm going to be okay, Vervain. Better than okay.” He took my hand. “I feel... I feel as if this is the way things are supposed to be for me. As if I've been heading toward this for a long time.”
“I'm glad, and I agree. I think you have been heading here. To me.” I gave him a soft look.
“I'm glad we're on the same page.” Viper lifted my hand for a kiss.
“More than a page; we're on the same thread.”
“Now, you've lost me.” His expression went blank.
“I've spoken to Faerie and Alaric. They are the Consciousness of the Faerie Realm and the Void respectively. They've been guiding my life; protecting me when they could and leading me down my thread of Fate. Sometimes, multiple threads of Fate.”
“Threads. Okay; got it. So, you're even more special than I thought.” He paused to chuckle then gave me a little frown. “Consciousness? Are they like supreme gods?”
“Not in the way that the Dark Star was trying to be, but yes. They are the sentience of the magic that powers those realms. Alaric also looks after the Human Realm and the Aether, but I usually shorten his title to the Consciousness of the Void.”
“Well, of course, you do. No one likes extensive titles; they sound pompous. It's much better to go with something short and to the point. Like; the Viper.” He winked at me.
“Precisely.” I giggled.
“So, these supreme gods told you that we are on the same thread of Fate?” Viper's eyes went soft, the green darkening to sage.
“Not exactly; I was just waxing poetic. They said—” I shook my head and started again, “You told me once that you were waiting for me in the Void; that you knew I'd come for you.”
“I knew that I was waiting for someone or something important,” he corrected. “When you came to the Void, I recognized you as that someone.”
I went quiet, thinking it through. I was botching this; explaining it badly. I needed to go back just a little further so he'd get the full picture.
“Al told me a long time ago that Toby and I weren't meant to be,” I whispered and looked away. “I brought him into my life anyway. I couldn't...” I shook my head.
“You loved him,” Viper said simply.
I nodded. “But now I understand that I was never meant to be with him. Toby is someone who needed to come into my life and influence me but not become intimate with me. He wasn't meant to stay.”
“So, you're okay with letting him go?”
“Understanding doesn't change the way I feel,” I said softly. “I'm not okay with it, but I will be eventually. I'll be okay because Alaric and Faerie both told me that you were meant to be in my life. I didn't mess things up when I brought you into the world. We are not a mistake or a deviation; we're meant to be.”
“I told you that.” He grinned smugly.
“No, it's more than that. More than romantic words. I...” I tried once more, “Awhile back, my fate got messed up. I had more than one fate, one for each of my souls, and the threads got tangled. Then evil infected my star, and I broke off from Fate completely. But even when I was drowning in evil, separated from destiny, my soul knew who to turn to. It was drawn to you because even without Fate, we are connected. You weren't meant to be in my life so soon, but you were meant to be in it. You helped me realign my threads. You healed them and set me on the right path again.”
“No, Vervain.” Viper stood and pulled me to my feet to face him. “You are my path. You led me out of the Void and brought me back to life. You found me, and we found our destiny together.”
“I suppose we did.”
“I don't care about Fate or the Consciousness of Realms.” He cupped my face with his large palm. “None of that matters to me. You could stand here and tell me that the Universe thinks we're a mistake, that we were never meant to be together, and I still wouldn't care. Toby's a fool; he should have fought for you. He had a chance to love you and be loved by you, but he tossed it aside. For what? To have a woman to himself? What the hell does that matter when the woman won't be you? Fated or not, I'm here to stay, Vervain. You gave me your heart, and I'm never giving it back. It's mine as much as this body that you gave me is. I'll fight for you, or with you, or even against you to keep our love safe. What we have is stronger than magic or some cosmic plan. Nothing, not even Destiny or a supreme god, can take me away from you. I fucking dare them to try.”
Al's voice echoed from my memories, TheViper has forged a destiny for himself as well; a magnificent one. Viper may not care about Fate, but it cared about him. Hearing him declare himself, watching his passion and determination animate his body, I knew that Al was right. Viper was going to shine brighter than even I had expected.
“You're right,” my voice had gone rough with emotion. “Nothing will take you away from me, because we'll defend our love together and together, we are invincible.”
I lifted my lips to Viper's and as the sun sank behind the mountains and darkness covered my territory, I kissed my star god and finally accepted my fate. Despite Viper's protests, I knew that Fate did matter but it wasn't some entity to fight for or against. The pattern formed in my mind; the intricate weave that had brought us together. All of us. Trevor the Wolf. Kirill the Lion. Arach the Dragon. Azrael the Angel of Death. Odin the God of Death and Transformation. Re the God of the Sun. Viper the Star.
