In the days that followed, word spread throughout the Divine of the two new gods that had essentially been born, along with the truth of Hawk and Nox and Lucifer’s hybrid experiments. It was decided because of that, Lucifer would be completely banned from the Veil forever, nor could he handle the judgment of any soul that came through Hell for a thousand years. That task would be handled by the Fifth Realm and its new King and Queen, Nox and Charlotte. Nox hadn’t wasted any time in accepting the post from Hawk and Hero, and was thrilled when the decree to revoke his exile came through.
The demon who brought it explained that there had really been no choice in the matter as, technically, Nox himself had never been exiled, the Blood King had. When the newfound knowledge of how the Blood King had even come to be, it was easy to accept his death and bring Nox back home where he belonged.
Before they left, however, Charlotte met with Hawk and Hero to ask for a favor, one Hawk had promised months ago.
Hero tapped his finger on the arm of his chair, not sure where to begin with her request. “So, you want us to remove your soul and wipe her memories?”
“She was alone,” Charlotte said, her hands fidgeting in her lap as she sat across from them. “She had no mate, and there were no other soul pockets around her. It may be why Lucifer chose her for me, probably the kindest decision he made during this whole ordeal.”
Hawk humphed and averted his gaze, suddenly interested in the documents on the desk in front of him.
“I did horrible, terrible things in the centuries she’s been with me,” she continued. “There’s no reason for her to have to remember any of it.”
Hero stared at her, watching her. Charlotte had changed so much since he had first met her at the store close to a year ago. She had once been so cold and ruthless, uncaring and callous, especially toward Hawk. Since then, she had learned how to care for those around her, to accept their affection, even made friends. More importantly, she managed to finally find and save the man she loved.
“Maybe she can be taken back to the Veil, back to the Soul Garden? She deserves a chance to be placed in the right body, to live a normal life, free from all the terrors I inflicted upon her.”
Hero looked over at Hawk. “Can that be done?”
Hawk shook his head. “Honestly, I don’t know. The best person to ask would have been Toji. He knew everything about the Veil.”
“But you created it,” Charlotte pointed out. “And Ynda created you and the rest of the original souls. Surely there has to be someone who lives in the Veil who knows if this is a possibility.” She reached out a tentative hand to Hero’s, grasping it tightly. “Please, my Lord, I’m begging you. Give this soul a new life, one separate from mine. She deserves so much better.”
Hawk sighed. “I’ll see what I can do. Separating you two will be pretty easy, actually. It’s what to do with her after that’s the question.”
Charlotte immediately brightened. “Will it?”
Hawk nodded. “Hero can do it.”
Tears welled in her bright amber eyes. “Hero, is that true?”
Hero nodded, smiling at her. “Apparently I can do a lot of things I couldn’t do before. Soul extraction is one of them. But Hawk is right, we need to know what to do with her when I do take her from you. You have to remember, Hawk isn’t a soul, he never really was. The separation from Nox was a literal physical separation.”
“And it hurt like hell,” Hawk said.
“Taking your soul won’t be like that at all. But you’ll still feel strange afterwards.” Hero stood and Charlotte followed suit. “Give us a few days, yeah?”
Charlotte nodded, bowing over his hand. “Thank you, my Lord.”
After she left, Hawk leaned back in his chair and sighed. “I’m not going to get used to this any time soon.”
“We were Devil Kings for months,” Hero said, turning to face him, leaning against the side of his chair.
“Devil Gods.”
“Whatever. Now we’re actual gods.” He shook his head, running a hand through his hair, toying with the beads at the end of his braid. “Everything we built has to be either handed off to someone else or dissolved completely. We’ve only been back a few days and already there’s too many decisions to make.” He jerked his thumb toward the door Charlotte had left through. “What to do with her soul is just one of them.”
Hawk swiveled his chair slowly back and forth, his gaze out the window. He toyed with the stone wrapped around his wrist. “He would know,” he said quietly.
Hero pushed himself off the chair and walked around the desk, pushing Hawk away from it so he could sit in his lap. He wrapped his arms around his neck, letting Hawk rest his head on his chest as he hugged Hero around his middle. They sat that way in silence for a few minutes, both of them not wanting to talk about it, but knowing they had to.
“I should have been there,” Hawk said.
“I was there,” Hero said, “and I couldn’t do anything to stop it. None of us could.”
“Why did he ever doubt how much I cared about him?” Hawk squeezed a little tighter, Hero playing with his hair knowing how it calmed Hawk. “We’d been together for so long, gone through the worst shit. I relied on him for almost everything, and he was always there for me. He was never afraid to tell me the truth, to kick my ass when I needed it, to support me and help me. Hell, if not for him, I would have screwed things up with you way early on. I enjoyed having him around, playing with him, hanging out and talking for hours. He was my best friend…” He swallowed back the tears and inhaled deeply. “He really was like my son, Hero. I should have told him that.”
“He knew,” Hero said, kissing the top of his head. “He was thrilled to be a big brother, remember?”
Hawk nodded, a smile gracing his lips. “I thought he was going to destroy the furniture for how much he was running around after we told him.”
Hero rested his chin on the top of Hawk’s head. “You know,” he said after a few moments of careful thought. “They’re going to need a nanny.”
“You still want two?”
Slowly, Hero shook his head. “Three.”
Hawk sat back, taking Hero’s chin in his fingers and kissing him gently. “Let’s start with one and go from there.”
Hero smiled, his red eyes shining. “I can agree to that.”
“You’re right, though,” Hawk said, his eyes going to the door. “No matter how many kids we have, they’re going to need a nanny. Or a governess or whatever the hell they’re called for gods.”
Hero laughed. “It’s the same thing, I think.”
“I dunno, I think one gets paid more than the other.” He kissed Hero’s neck. “I think I know someone to ask about this. She’ll be here this afternoon anyway so I can ask her then.”
“Mimi?”
Hawk nodded, his expression turning serious as he gazed down at Hero’s hands. “There’s still another thing we need to think about,” he said, his fingers running over Hero’s ring finger. He didn’t need to complete that thought, either out loud or through their link; Hero already knew.
When Mimi came to see them that afternoon, Hawk asked her two questions: What to do with a soul that’s been removed from a body, and how to physically enter the Veil. As expected, she had an answer for both. Hero called Charlotte two days later.
-*-
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