Chapter 36

Death chuckled as Fate dramatically slid off a black chaise onto the stone floor of her castle.

"For a moment I wondered if I was going to be forced to spend the next few hours recreating our experiment," Life said, rubbing her palms on the layers of gossamer ivory that made up her gown. "If the D'Vaires did not follow The Council, they could have easily died once the dragons found them."

"To say nothing of this being a D'Vaire universe with no D'Vaires," Justice pointed out. "Dravyn would have never used the name to protect his family."

"Noirin would have followed her brother but not used it either," Eternity added. "It would have been a sad D'Vaire household of men and women who ventured nowhere. I never imagined this path for any of them."

"Right?" Fate asked, her red hair spread out like a fiery halo around her as she remained lounging on the floor. "At least Killian and Dravyn are happy. But what will happen next? It is what, still only 1523 or 1524?"

"I did not know they would wind up moving from Europe so early," Justice said. "It took several hundred more years on our real Earth."

"Yes, but Egidius's path veered rather dramatically," Life replied.

"Everyone's damn path had deviated strongly," Fate exclaimed. "A twist here and there, and nothing is at all the same."

"Yes, but we must be careful," Death told her sisters as she stood up to pace. "We are spending so much time here in front of the mirrors that the other goddesses are bound to notice if they have not already."

"Come now, Death, you cannot deprive us of your home," Fate remarked, peeling herself up and nearly floating back to her seat on the chaise.

"Of course I am not disallowing you to visit; I am trying to warn you that if we do not want interference from others, we must act cautiously," Death said. "I'm as excited as the rest of you to watch the future unfold, but we must remember that we have other D'Vaires to attend to along with other realms beyond Earth that you cannot ignore."

"I hate when duty calls," Eternity lamented.

"Is a goddess not allowed to relax?" Life asked.

"Populations will literally die off if you relax," Death reminded her. "Then again, imagine how powerful I will grow while you wither away."

"Sometimes I love you, Death. Yet there are other moments I wish to strangle you," Life retorted without any heat in her voice.

If someone had told Death in the not-so-distant past that any of her sisters would state their love for her—let alone in such a casual fashion—she would have scoffed and called them a liar. But here she sat in her beloved castle with genuine friends and comrades among her sisters. It was nearly as odd as the many twists in their reimagined realm.

"Do any of us have the power to create a doppelganger of ourselves to float through the main palace so we can stay here and watch the ongoings of this world?" Fate asked.

Life shuddered. "If we do, I would rather not know."

"But think of how many couples Fate could pair if there were two of her working instead of one," Death said, lifting a red brow at Fate, who predictably rolled her eyes.

"Fine, I will trot myself off to match up some people and maybe even toss out a few titles," Fate remarked, rising. "But I will be back soon."

"Combine our powers," Justice instructed. "Stop time or allow it to move incrementally slow. Things are too riotous in this realm to allow them to go unchecked for long."

With no argument, Death threw out a bolt of power toward Justice, who easily caught it along with the other sorcery provided by their sisters. The twisted world they'd created froze, and Death smiled. She had not wanted to miss a moment either.

Thanks to where they viewed the realm, Death easily kept watch on her ebirlloba and the rich population of spirits, but the other goddesses had been absent. People depended on them, and though they were not bound to them, their mother had taught each sister that it was an honor to perform her duties.

"Wait, before we return, can we at least discuss which couple we wish to meet next?" Eternity pleaded. "It will be fun to anticipate what type of future will unfold if we at least have an idea of where we plan to focus."

"Hmm, there are so many options," Fate said. "I could make an argument for several couples."

"Death, what is your preference?" Justice asked.

Pleased that Justice had asked, Death shook her head. "I chose the year and the couple last. It is up to someone else to pick."

"How will we choose among us?" Fate inquired.

Life laughed as they stared at each other, and Death shrugged. "Let us try this a different way. Does anyone have one couple in mind they want to see next, or is everyone stuck on a few choices?"

"Perhaps we should ask ourselves if we want any further twists in this world," Eternity suggested after the silence stretched out for several moments.

"Without straying from the fundamental rules we started with, of course," Fate reminded them.

"We are not dolts, Fate, the rules remain unchanged," Death retorted.

"No reason to get testy, Death," Fate complained.

"It would appear that this break comes at a timely spot," Justice stated. "There is much to consider. Let us return to our duties and gather our thoughts. When we are together again, we can discuss options. It may take a vote to narrow it down, but that is fine. Death, since you have decided to allow someone else to have the next choice, you can break any stalemate with your vote."

Stunned that Justice was granting her such power, Death blinked.

"Would you look at that?" Fate asked. "Is that our dear goddess of the dead and underworld with a blush upon her fair cheeks?"

"I know a goddess of matebonds and leadership who may wind up in the ebirlloba if she continues to tease me," Death growled, refusing to acknowledge her heated face.

"Normally I would grow quite irritated at the thought of languishing as a spirit, but now I must consider the advantages of staying in the ebirlloba," Fate mused. "I would have constant access to viewing mirrors without pesky unwanted goddesses figuring out this delightful experiment. As things go, there are worse fates."

"I hate when she uses herself in a sentence," Life said.

"She also wants us to lament about the poor people still missing matebonds to feed her ego about how special her assigned duties are," Eternity added.

"In all the things that have been created since the dawn of magic, sisters were, by far, the worst idea," Fate grumbled, her lips pursed.

"Enough bickering," Justice declared. "Send word to Death as soon as you know which couple you want next and any twists you wish to add within the parameters of the rules we already decided on. Once Death has received responses from everyone, she will call a meeting here in the ebirlloba and we can move to the next chapter of our experiment."

"Work twice as hard while we are parted so fewer will notice how many people remain unmated, Fate," Life teased.

"Go fix some of these tiny populations in danger of dying out, Life, and stay out of my business," Fate retorted.

"You do have many populations on the verge of collapse or with so few it is nearly criminal," Death said.

"Thank you for noticing," Life replied. "Perhaps if Justice were not always creating warriors, we would have fewer wars decimating populations."

"Courage is the one who prods them to pick up weapons," Justice defended.

"At least it is not like our realms and planets prior to matebonds," Eternity said. "Do you remember? Without Fate, Desire was running around filling leaders with lust. They were stealing people's life partners and wars were breaking out so often, even Death was annoyed by the many souls crossing into the ebirlloba."

"At least Desire is not so calamitous as Folly," Death remarked.

Justice bared her teeth. "If I ever find our dear sister, she will know pain."

"I get to kill her," Death stated firmly.

"I vote we take turns killing her," Fate suggested. "Life can rebirth her so we all get a chance."

"Not the worst idea," Life said. "Folly has gone beyond what we believed possible. Although we believe in mischief and do not mind an experiment, Folly grew evil long ago. She delights in nothing but pain. Which is why she must be stopped before she crosses a line that unravels everything. Worlds will crumble. Realms will shatter. Goddesses themselves may become victims."

"Unless she is found or Mother intervenes," Eternity commented.

"We can do nothing about it right now," Justice reminded them. "Anger and distrust are dangerous weapons for anyone who wields power. Remain focused on your tasks."

"Indeed, and get your minds in order," Fate demanded. "I do not want Death waiting an earth millennium to hear from all of us."

Eternity waved at Death as she headed for the door with her sisters on her heels. "I have it narrowed to down to about three choices already."

"Three is not one," Fate argued.

Death would miss them, but there was something about the silence they left behind. It was the peace that eluded the new D'Vaires in the twisted world they'd created. With a sudden desire to look in on the original D'Vaires, Death shifted the mirror to glance into Aleksander and Rafe's glorious mansion.

The High Kings did not know it yet, but the Draconis family had a surprise awaiting them. For some, it would be hours of delight and revelry, while others might find their constitutions not as strong as they believed. It was not the life-and-death battle so often facing their unknown counterparts, but Death was looking forward to the spectacle and living through it along with the extended family that had become the favorite of every goddess.

Or at least Death hoped the D'Vaires were included on the beloved list of each of her sisters. If there were any against the family, they had better steer clear of Death or she would willingly wreak havoc and destroy them with all the vengeance their mother had crafted inside her.