Chapter 36

Chapter 36
The Goddess
She sat next to her mate, Mephistopheles, observing Her humans as they gathered in a huge field. She knew what was coming and loved to watch it happen. She knew sending Father Time, Her most loyal servant, back as a way to preserve Keith’s life surprised all of the humans, but She had written it into the stars the day his soul was created. It had taken many lifetimes for this path to be taken, and now there was no going back.
She had never given Father Time such a task as the one he had now, but he showed no hesitation in it as he connected with each of his Elements, drawing on the very essence of their beings as he wrapped himself up in the powers She had granted him on the first eclipse in history. Mephistopheles took her hand, their skin slightly sizzling as the darkness in Him fought the light in Her for a moment before settling into a melding of their souls to create a perfect balance of goodness and evilness.
“It’s almost time,” He murmured to Her.
She smiled at Him as She leaned further over to watch Father Time start to roll back time to when She had first weaved the intricate world that She was given to protect. Buildings disappeared while plants started to grow, gracing the world with a fresh look. Humongous mountains of ice regrew while fire scorched away trash and other things that polluted the earth and waters. The earth swallowed and crushed vehicles, turning them into mulch that sprouted even more plants.
Kennedy breathed in and out slowly, removing impurities from the air while adding nutrients that quickly mended the atmosphere and strengthened the capabilities of the Earth to hold lifeforms again. As Father Time continued to roll the clock back, extinct animals began to roam the planet again. Sabertooth tigers, mammoths, and dodo birds were seen in herds, while Tazmanian tigers, Irish Elks, and Western Black Rhinos could be seen popping out of the ground in small groups of five.
Small cracks in the earth gave forth water that developed into streams full of fish that led to lakes and oceans that were quickly filling with renewed water and sea creatures. Hills, mountains, and valleys reformed as Fire helped Earth shore herself up, strengthening the Earth’s crust with a little heat to make it harder for humans to destroy. When Father Time was done rewinding the Earth to its former glory, Gary held her hands up into the air, calling to the water molecules in the clouds above her to drench the Earth in even more water to help the plants grow and provide the living creatures on it with fresh water. Mephistopheles kissed Her hand, leaving even more sizzles along her skin.
“Is it time?” He asked excitedly.
She nodded. “It’s time. I’ll see you on Earth, my love.”
His body disappeared from Her side as He returned to Hell for the last time to wait for Her to summon Him to Earth. She stepped off Her Heavenly Throne to let Herself glide gracefully down to Earth, landing softly in the midst of the circle. Everyone knelt before Her, and She smiled around at all of them.
“Your family has brought much honor to my reign. You have fixed my mistakes and your own with very little guidance from me. You have found my grandchildren and given them a home and a family that I, myself, never could have.” She reached down to pull Zannie to her feet. “Your mate is a good man, but he worries for your life if you were to remain on Earth. He is selfless enough to let you go if it means keeping you alive. So, I must ask you, Zanaria, do you wish to remain on Earth with your mate or do you wish to go to Hell and be with your family?”
Zannie looked around at the others kneeling in front of the Goddess, letting her eyes linger on Zane. “I wish to remain on Earth with my mate.”
She smiled at Zannie as She lifted her hands to blow on them. “You will retain your Torva Messor side, but you will have to consciously pull it forward. You are free to touch anybody without ending their lives.” She let Zannie go, who immediately reached out to hug Margo, sobbing when Margo hugged her back without dying. The Goddess looked around at Her loyal people again. “Is there anything else that I need to address before I move on?”
Everyone shook their heads, making Her smile. She raised her arms, and light beams shot down to the Earth, leaving people in their place as they faded out. Everyone stared at the people in shock.
“Sasha, Lukas, Kalani, and Sterling, if you would.”
The four of them got up to approach Anastasia, who stood beaming at them with tears pouring down her face. She opened her arms, and the Trio jumped up to run into them while their mates all protectively followed them. Anastasia pulled back to cup Kalani’s and Lukas’s cheeks.
“Look at all of you! I have watched over you for the last few decades. I couldn’t be more proud to be your mother.”
Lukas tearfully reached back to tug Lily forward. “Mom, this is my mate, Lilianna.”
Anastasia smiled at her. “The girl who stole my son’s heart. You are such an angel, sweet girl.” She turned her attention to Aiden and Gregory. “I never thought that there would be anybody who could hold Sasha’s fire in their hands and not get singed. You’ve done well, Aiden. And Gregory is the perfect protector for my softest-spirited child. I couldn’t have created better mates for my children than you three.”
Sasha let out a small sob as she hugged Anastasia again. “Mom.”
Anastasia stroked Sasha’s hair for a moment. “I know, Aja, I know. I wish we could have been better, too, but we have these few minutes. I just want you all to know how sorry I am for how I treated you and how proud of you I am. You have been such a pleasure to watch as you moved through your journeys.”
The Goddess touched their shoulders. “Time is almost up. Let your father have a moment with her.”
The trio backed away, still wiping tears off their faces as their father wrapped their mother up in his arms.
“I should have done better for you, Stasia,” he murmured. “I knew it wasn’t right. I should have fought harder. You didn’t deserve any of what happened. Slonsky knows that. He sincerely regrets what he did.”
Anastasia glanced at the man in question. “I know he does. I forgave him a long time ago. He saved our daughters. His debt was repaid. In life, he gave me our children. In death, he gave my life back to me. I needed to suffer so that we could have this moment now.” She touched his cheek. “I hope that you have peace with everything in the way that I have.”
Sterling glanced at Slonsky and Joy before nodding. “I have.”
She lifted her lips to kiss him softly. “Good.”
She pulled back to walk a few dozen feet away to where her chosen mate and Tiffany stood waiting for her. Her mate took her hand as they faced each other, with Tiffany standing between them. Their bodies all grew, twisting slightly to become three trees, standing close together, with the older two creating an arch above Tiffany’s. The Goddess beckoned the remaining people forward.
“I know a lot of you didn’t get to say goodbye to your loved ones. This is your chance to do so before they become a part of the Earth.”
She watched as her faithful group of people spread out, giving sorrowful goodbyes to their loved ones, while Lily stood frozen in place in front of her with tears pouring down her face as her parents came up to her, smiling. Her mother opened her arms, and Lily flew into them without hesitation.
“I miss you guys so much,” she sobbed.
Lily’s mother laid her head on top of Lily’s head. “I know, sweetheart, we miss you too. We have loved watching your journey. You have grown into such a beautiful, smart, and fierce queen. Your ability to heal and overcome your past is nothing short of a miracle.”
Her father held his hand out for Lukas to shake. “I’m proud to call you our daughter’s mate.”
Lukas’s eyes softened as he gazed at Lily. “She is my heart and soul.”
“We know.”
He let Lukas’s hand go to wrap his mate and daughter up in a bear hug, holding them both closely until the Goddess told everyone that time was up. They squeezed Lily once more before putting her hand in Lukas’s.
“We always wanted to do that,” her mother said happily before briefly cupping Lily’s face. “We love you, baby.”
“I love you, too,” Lily whispered as they rooted in front of her, turning into trees with branches wrapped around each other.
Lukas wiped a tear from her eyelashes. “We’ll come back and visit them whenever you want.”
She leaned against his chest. “Thank you.”
The Goddess cleared Her throat. “There is one more thing that I wish to discuss with you all.” She waited until everyone had gathered in front of her again. “As the most worthy family, I offer you a chance to allow one couple to take over being Goddess.”
They all exchanged looks.
“Why do you need a couple?” Lily asked.
“Because, my dearest child, whoever agrees will not only agree to accept me, but their mate will also have to agree to accept mine. Mephistopheles and I long to be together on Earth.”
Lily knelt at Her feet, with Lukas at Her side. “We will accept you. You have given us more than we can ever repay you for.”
“Does your mate agree?”
Lukas took Lily’s hand. “As long as we are still here to love each other.”
She beamed down at them. “You will be. We will become one, like shifters do with their beasts. We will have our time to be together, just like you will have your time to be together. All we ask is that you provide us the ability to remain together on Earth.”
Lukas kissed Lily’s hand. “Then I will agree.”
The Goddess bent down to put Her hands flat on the ground. A large crack formed as lava bubbled out of it. Mephistopheles slowly materialized in front of them before the Goddess called Gary forward to douse the small amount of lava with a heavier downpour of rain. She pulled Lily to her feet before doing the same to Lukas. She gave both of them a hug before stepping in front of Lily while Mephistopheles mirrored Her actions in front of Lukas. The Goddess took Mephistopheles's hand as she stepped into Lily’s body as he stepped into Lukas’s, instantly melding their minds together. Their minds opened up, absorbing each other’s powers and memories for a moment before turning to Their newly joined mates, who held Their arms open for Them to move into. She put Her hand on His cheek as Her head tilted up to look into His eyes.
“The darkest soul ever created…” She whispered.
He took Her hand from His cheek to kiss the back of it before putting it over His heart with Their fingers tangled together.
“And the purest soul to ever have existed…”
“Bound by a renewed eternity,” They murmured in sync as He lowered His lips for the first of many kisses to be had on Earth.
‘I love you, Lils,’ Lukas linked.
‘I love you, too, Lukas.’
THE END