“Hello, my child. You called me.”
Oh shit! Sober up, Lana! Sober up! You’re talking to a Goddess!
I’m pretty sure I stop breathing altogether for a moment as shock overrides all bodily functions. Am I hallucinating? I crack my eyes open to confirm and gasp.
There, on the edge of my tub, sits Gaia in her full, ethereal beauty. She doesn’t look exactly the same. Instead of cherry blossoms for hair, she now has jasmine blooms. Her skin is also a few shades darker. The contrast of the purple flower against her ebony skin has me absolutely awestruck. I feel a pull to her in my soul. I can’t deny that we truly are connected.
Giving her a bright smile, I try to form a coherent sentence. “Gaia! I can’t believe you’re here!”
Oh my goodness, I’m in the middle of a bath while speaking to a Goddess.
I cover up my breasts with a nervous giggle. “I’m so sorry! I would never purposefully call you and put you in a compromising position like this.”
A tinkling laugh, like wind chimes in the breeze, follows my apology as she strokes my cheek once more. “My child, you are born of my soul. There is nothing that you must hide from me. I accept and love you as you are.”
At her words, I feel radiating warmth in my chest and sense the truth behind her words. I relax back into the tub, not quite ready to remove my arms. “How is it that you are here in this realm with me?”
“You are actually in a dream state right now, which allowed me to come to you. You must have called on me without knowing.”
Deep down, I know I need to apologize to her if I want this interaction to be better than the first. The fact that I had scoffed at her and blatantly disrespected her is eating away at me mentally.
You can fix this, Lana.
I reach out to gently grip her hand in my own and look into her swirling eyes. “Gaia, I am so deeply sorry for the way I treated you in our first meeting. I was overcome by grief and rage. It was easy to direct it towards you before I knew everything and that was wrong of me.”
Overwhelming feelings of love, adoration, and a sense of pride flood my mind as she smiles at me. “Those are my feelings for you, my child. Let us move on and prepare you for the future. What were your questions?”
With the weight lifted off of my heart for my previous indiscretions, all I feel is excitement to truly form a bond with Gaia. She’s the closest thing I have to a mother now.
Time for 20 questions, Goddess-edition.
Bubbling with excitement at the opportunity to get some answers, I start in a rush, “Okay, so my first question is, why are my powers locked away and the guys don’t seem to have that problem?”
Her serene expression darkens slightly. “You are most likely repressing your powers due to your previous life. I believe your soul is scared to go on this journey again. You must find confidence in yourself and your men to know that you can handle whatever is coming.”
Damn, Witch Bitch was right.
Fuck, that’ll take a lot of self-reflection. I nod with a sigh. “Okay, that makes sense. Why does Serenity keep referring to my guys as my mates?”
She smiles at me. I feel a tug on the thread of our connection and feel an overwhelming need to wrap my arms around her. “Do you feel that pull to me?”
“Yes.”
“That is how you and your men are connected as well. Your soul's call out to one another. They need one another to become complete. It is what you may consider a soulmate.”
My mouth drops open in shock. Holy shit. I just stare at her like an idiot for a full minute while I process that. “So, we were fated to find each other? Is that how Beth found all of us?”
“Yes, she felt the connection to all of you, and felt the need to bring you all together. However, she did not know of the true soul bond.”
“That’s so fucking awesome!” I clasp my hands over my mouth, my eyes bugging out of my head. You’re not supposed to swear in front of a Goddess, Lana!
She grabs my wrists and lowers my hands. “They are just words. Without cruel intention, they do no harm. Speak freely.”
She motions for me to carry on so I do. “So, were they in my past life too?”
“Yes, all five of them have followed you into this life from your previous. You share a soul bond that allows all of you to be reincarnated as a group. You would not be able to bear being apart.”
Damn, I officially love them all so hard.
I wonder if Serenity has ever asked Gaia about Reese? Thinking back to my conversation with her, I hesitantly ask, “Is Reese’s soul lost forever? Or will they be reincarnated as well?”
She sighs. “Reese’s situation is a precarious one. I am not able to divulge information on what will happen with his soul. I do not want to tip the balance on what could happen.”
I sober at her answer. That doesn’t sound promising. “Does everyone have the ability to reincarnate?”
She shakes her head, making the purple blooms of her hair swish. “No. In order for me to reincarnate your souls, I had to surrender a fraction of my power. No one, besides you, must know of this. We cannot let word spread that I have weakened. It would cause chaos throughout the realms.”
She did that? For us? There’s no way we’re worthy of such a sacrifice.
“Why us?”
“The Fates visited me at your birth in your first life. They prophesied your first death and warned me of the dire consequences that would follow your death. I was told of a way to reincarnate you all, though it would require a high price to pay. If I did not make this sacrifice, the fall of your realm would start a domino effect and, one by one, the universe would succumb to darkness and despair. It was an easy decision, my child.”
So not only is my realm counting on me, so is the entire universe.
Great. No pressure.
“I will not speak of your sacrifice. Your secret is safe with me.”
She leans over and brushes a soft kiss on my forehead as I feel myself being tugged back into consciousness.
No! I had more questions!
“We will meet again. Train hard, my child. I’m counting on you.”
My lashes flutter as someone rouses me from my dream with Gaia, brushing their fingers through my hair. I had so many more questions but unfortunately, someone felt the need to interrupt me. I will flay their ass for this.
“Can you open your eyes for me, sweetheart?”
At Zedd’s gentle voice, my anger subsides but I keep my eyes closed. He’ll stop brushing my hair if I open them. I could never be angry with my sweet mate. His intentions are always pure and selfless so he must have a good reason for waking me. Now if this had been Ash…
Holy shit, he’s my mate.
Gaia’s explanation of the men being my true soulmates solidifies these deep attachments I have for each of them. My inability to choose between them suddenly makes sense. We really are made for one another.
I open my eyes and take in his tender look, glued to my face, clearly trying to respect my nakedness. The long strands of hair on top of his head hang forward into his eyes as he stays leaning over me. His sharp jawline and hazel eyes suck me in and I get this sense that I need him to breathe.
“Hi, Zedd baby,” I huskily say, my eyes narrowing on my prey.
He breathes out a sigh of relief. “I was just checking to make sure you were okay. When I knocked, you didn’t answer. I thought you may have fallen asleep in the tub. You could have slipped in and drowned, Lana!” His gaze zeroes in on the empty glass of wine and he looks back at me, disappointed. “You were drinking as well? Lana, really, that’s so unsaf—”