Until Fate

Chapter Seventeen

The castle was like a virtual tornado; the commotion never ended. The fae were infatuated with the idea of a human girl-faery God wedding taking place in their world. Their murderous attempts and quizzical glances dissipated and they regarded Maya and Phina with respect. Klaus, the angel squad, and I never stopped looking over our shoulders though. We were wary of how well we could trust the fae. They were well-known for their sly, impulsive ways. I took their word with a grain of salt. The fact that they couldn't lie meant nothing to me. They were crafty in the manner in which they danced around with their words. I didn't let that aspect fool me.

Phina and Maya both lost to Dahlia in their fencing matches that morning. They weren't bitter about it even though they had some choice words to say about the Unseelie Queen behind her back. Surprisingly, Dahlia hadn't gloated incessantly about her victory. Instead, she thanked them both, bowed, and disappeared to her chambers. She was a tough cookie to read. Klaus still didn't trust her or Ash, though he was growing tolerant of the Dark King, which made our interactions easier. He wasn't a bad guy when you got passed his tricky exterior. He was rather sarcastic and playful in a weird way, much like me.

I also realized that he wasn't faithfully aligned with any of the other courts. Summer and Seelie usually worked together and agreed about the way they ran their courts. Thus, Winter and Unseelie typically saw eye to eye on court matters. The Dark Court shifted between the two alliances. Whenever an issue arose, he listened to both sides and decided which one to support, if any. At times, it seemed like he was the mediator among the other four courts who were always raging a war against the other.

However, for the sake of Artemisia and the final battle, they would all have to come together to work with the angels. It would be a fearsome thing to behold. Lucifer and his demons stood no chance with the fae fighting in the war. I wondered why everyone was so concerned about the end times. We appeared to be the stronger race of supernaturals. The demons were powerful and cunning, but they couldn't manipulate the elements or use magic and glamour like the fae. I knew there were other secrets being kept about what was to come, but I had to believe that my mother, the Atlantean Gods, and other deities had our best interests in their central vision.

I roamed the hallways holding Seraphina's hand. A tall elf-like faery carried our luggage behind us. It was our last day in this world and I was feeling conflicted. A piece of me had a soft spot in my heart for this whimsical, hazardous land and wanted to stay longer, but the other part, the human part, longed for the mundane earth. The castle was still buzzing with life and activity, but I could sense the dampened emotions lingering in the air. The "new God" and his "future human bride" were the gossip of every fae. Now, we were leaving. Their amusement and "celebrity couple" was going back home. I chuckled at the thought.

Phina gazed up at me and kissed my cheek. She had matured immensely in the months since we had been in the fae realm. There was a strange aura that surrounded her that hadn't been there before. She was confident and powerful; mentally, emotionally, and physically. Even the angels had changed. They were more self-aware and better at guarding and fighting. Maya wasn't as rash and vocal. She cooled her impulses a notch. Klaus, well, he was still the same but then again I'd probably be crushed if he were any different.

Even I wasn't the same person. Mother had worked with me on releasing my Godhood. Ever since she started helping me, it had awakened a foreboding side of me that had been dormant for centuries. The way I observed my world was altered. Whenever I zeroed in and looked at someone I could see various things about them; their past memories, their private thoughts, their health, and even if they were virtually good or evil. I found that I could literally create anything I desired and I could control a person just by thinking about it. I could speak telepathically and even had a group of fae that wanted to serve me. My life was forever changed now. Being a God was different than being an angel serving a God. I couldn't look at myself as subservient anymore. Mother said I could even build my own world beside hers if I wanted. It was such a foreign idea.