Julian thought for sure his head was going to explode. Even with the added assistance of Gabby and Victor, the search of Helman Hall was coming up fruitless. Every room was meticulously gone through, every staff member who had been there three years or longer spoken to, any book that might carry some sort of hint about the Godheart was poured over. Felix somehow managed to maintain his patience, a character trait Julian found invaluable, even when he kept hearing the same thing over and over again.

“Master Natsu never let anyone near those offices. Even Master Ryu limits himself to just the one, especially after our Lords took so many items back to the Veil.”

Julian’s facial muscles were about to spasm from keeping a straight face every time some referred to Hawk and Hero that way. It wasn’t that he wanted to laugh, although he could have, it was more that he knew damn well how much his grandfathers hated being called “Lords.” 

Ever since abdicating the Veil to Havik, they had taken part in more godly duties, risen in rank in Gods Hall, helped with the fallout of the Reconstruction and merge of the Divine Realms, and, more importantly, spent as much time as possible searching for their missing son.

“We thought we’d be able to relax more,” Hawk had told Julian once with a shrug. “We are less stressed out and our responsibilities aren’t as heavy as they once were, but keeping a low profile hasn’t been as easy as we thought.”

When Julian had suggested taking a vacation, Hero’s expression darkened and his eyes welled. 

“When Toji comes home we will,” he’d said quietly, and the matter was dropped.

Now, standing in one of the offices on the second floor, an old book in his hand, he turned his thoughts away from the staff and focused more on the box’s contents; the Godheart. He hadn’t found anything helpful in any of the texts he’d browsed through so far, but there was a lot of old books and scrolls to consider. He also had the library in the former Second Realm of Heaven to consider as well.

When he had called Ruby a few hours after his meeting with Ryu, the news she had provided wasn’t terribly positive. She said she would find something, follow it through a few texts, then lose it again. She hadn’t bothered doing an online search for “Godheart” knowing it wouldn’t pop up with anything remotely relevant to what they were searching for.

“The closest I’ve come so far is an old story from India about a fallen star and a stone,” she said. “It’s incredibly vague and a lot of it is missing, but from what I can gather is that one of their gods saw a star flying along the ground with a stone in her arms, ‘her tears flying from her face that left a trail of colors in her wake.’”

Julian thought for a moment before he said, “Sounds like a story of how the Milky Way was created.”

“Yeah, but she was running along the ground,” Ruby pointed out. “The Milky Way is in space.”

“These are gods we’re talking about, Ruby,” Julian said, the smile creeping into his voice. “‘Ground’ can mean literally anything.”

“That’s true,” she conceded.

“Run with that line, though. You’re right, it sounds close to what we’re looking for, especially after what Ryu told us.” He gave her a brief rundown of the translation adding, “There’s more on the box he didn’t get to translate thanks to Natsu.”

“We can do that together once we find it. Who knows, maybe what’s written is meant for the one born of celestial light to read.” There was a note in her voice hinting at who she believed it could be. Julian wanted to dissuade any line of thinking in that way, but even he had to think that he was the one the box was talking about. After all, he was the last true star child in the known Realms.

He sighed, closing the book and leaning against the shelves built into the wall. He cast his gaze to the ceiling, taking note of the dents and scratches that marred the otherwise pristine surface. They were similar to other signs of damage that he’d seen around this room. He silently wondered to himself what happened in here to cause those marks. As a relic hunter and historian, it was in his nature to question his surroundings, to wonder at every little etching, broken stone, or abandoned building.

His parents had encouraged him in his discoveries, bringing him everything they could about old sites and items he found interesting, even some he didn’t so he could look at a broader picture of the world around him.

If you close your eyes, you miss everything.

A sharp pain lit through Julian’s chest and he inhaled sharply as Ren Nova’s words came back to him. Even with his eyes open, he could see that brilliant smile that had begun as mocking and bemused, to soft and kind. The last smile he gave Julian was tender, meant only for him. He touched the side of his face where Ren’s hand had touched him for the first time. He closed his eyes, recalling the sparks that flew through his body, the way it seemed to radiate with light and heat as his soul awakened, recognizing the man before him for what he was; his soulmate.

They almost kissed…Julian had felt Ren’s breath on his lips…If it hadn’t been for that goddamn thunderstorm, he would have finally tasted Ren, fallen into his kiss, melted into his body, perhaps even…

“Julian…help me…” His eyes…those gorgeous, strange cosmic eyes that never stopped moving, filled with terror and panic as his hand slipped from Julian’s… 

That horrifying moment overshadowed the last beautiful moment they had together, and it was the only thing that continued to haunt his dreams.

He swallowed, breathing deeply as he tried to calm his racing heart. 

“Ren,” he whispered, the name a kiss on his tongue. “Where are you?” He could hear the crack in his voice, the longing and pain that filled his every waking moment carving out each word. Without thinking, he searched his core, finding the faint energy link he knew connected to Ren. They hadn’t touched long enough for it to have grown much larger, even the amount of time they’d held hands hadn’t helped it to grow for some unknown reason, but it was enough to tell him that Ren was still out there. If the celestial elf had died that day, that link would have severed and Julian would be in perpetual agony at the loss of his soulmate.

He let his head fall slowly into his shaking hand as he continued to battle with his racing heart. “Tell me where you are,” he pleaded to the twisting, unfinished cord. “Let me find you, Ren. Please…”

“Are you okay?”

Julian’s head jerked up, turning to the door to see a woman standing there. His shoulders tensed but he didn’t move, caught in her amber gaze, her dark hair floating around her soft face.

“Nora,” he said. “Hey.”

“Hey, back,” the demoness responded with a soft smile. She walked slowly into the room, her hands behind her back. “I heard a rumor you were here. Took me a minute to find you,” she said with a small chuckle.

“Well, this place is pretty big,” he said.

“That it is.”

Julian’s eyes went over her head, out the open door to the world beyond. “Does Arla know you’re here?” He really hoped his second cousin wasn’t far off.

“Yeah, I told her I wanted to say hi and she was cool with it.” She stopped less than a foot in front of him, smiling up into his light blue eyes. “She’s out with Dracon, anyway.”

“Super,” he muttered, wincing at his own tone. The one time he actually needed her and she was nowhere to be found.

Nora didn’t blink. “I’m not here to seduce you, Jules,” she said softly.

His eyes darkened. “Don’t,” he said, gritting his teeth. “Don’t call me that.” He pressed himself into the shelving, the artifacts on one shelf shifting slightly.

Her smile faltered and she backed up a few inches. “Sorry,” she said, not sounding at all apologetic. “I forgot someone else holds the copyright on that name.”

He averted his gaze, his face reddening. “Why are you here, Nora?” he asked, his voice hoarse.

“I already told you, I wanted to say hello.”

“You said it,” he said shortly, still refusing to look at her as his fingers curled around another of the shelves.

She frowned. “Aren’t you going to at least say it back?”

He said nothing, the color returning to his face as his heart rate slowed. She couldn’t hurt him, couldn’t touch him. She’d never been a threat, not in the way most people expected, but her energy was too oppressive, too suffocating. He knew she wasn’t here just to greet him. He knew exactly what she wanted and the fact he wasn’t going to give in was annoying her. If he remained calm and in control, eventually she would get bored and go away.

She folded her arms under her breasts. “I’m not a gorgon, Julian, you can look me in the eye.”

“I’m good, thanks.”

She huffed, rolling her eyes. “Whatever,” she muttered, turning and walking across the room. He sagged with relief, exhaling softly as he loosened his grip and straightened. Nora dropped into one of the overstuffed chairs, folding her legs over the armrest, her eyes locked onto his face, all trace of amusement gone. “I hear you’re looking for something for the Helman’s.”

“Is that a problem?” He put the book he had almost dropped back on the shelf, scanning the wall and letting his fingers roam over the spines as he pretended to search for something new.

“Of course not,” she said. “I’m a Guard for one of their family members, you know.”

He did know. Arla Albright Embers wasn’t just Nora Bella’s best friend, but her charge as well. The demoness had requested to be her Guard following the Reconstruction, much to the angel’s surprise and delight. Alerik Albright, Arla’s father, approved it and Hawk made it official. She trained for a year and had been with Arla ever since. She was loyal, steadfast, and damn good at her job. Not only that, but everyone liked her.

Everyone but Julian, and for very good reason.

“It isn’t here,” she said with an air of finality. 

Julian didn’t turn around. He pulled down a scroll and carefully unwound it. “You don’t even know what ‘it’ is that I’m trying to find.”

“That funky old box that was in Ryu’s office. I heard Felix and Gabby talking about it.”

Julian gave a small, imperceptible shake of his head, his fingers gripping the old parchment. “Why am I not surprised?” he muttered. He rolled the scroll back up and replaced it, walking slowly down the wall, his eyes constantly moving everywhere but behind him. “How do you know it’s not here?”

“Because I’m the one that moved it.”