Page 64 of Gods of Prey
The implications hit me like a physical blow. “Do you have any idea what they’ll do if they discover this? Binding divine essence to mortal objects is forbidden for exactly this reason!”
“I know,” Sienna whispers. “That’s why Sebastian and I made a pact. Whichever of us died first, the other would hide the locket, so I could find it in the next life.”
Sebastian runs a hand through his hair, looking stricken. “But in our last life, when you were killed by The Order, I was so consumed with grief. With rage. I forgot about our agreement.”
“And you gave it to me,” Jovie finishes, understanding dawning in her eyes. “You gave me a piece of your sister’s soul.”
“More than that,” I say grimly, my mind racing through all the ways this could go wrong. “Jovie, you’ve been carrying Death magic for over a year. It should have killed you.”
“But it didn’t,” Sienna says quickly. “Don’t you see? She’s been protected by it. The locket chose her, accepted her. That’s why she could see me as a spirit in the previous timeline. That’s why she can see me now.”
Jovie stares down at the pendant, and I can see her processing everything we’ve just revealed. “This is why I’ve been having those dreams,” she says slowly. “The ones about shadows and cold places. I’ve been dreaming about Umbraeth.”
“The locket creates a connection,” Sienna confirms. “It’s been showing you glimpses of my realm, preparing you in case ...” She trails off.
“In case of what?” Sebastian demands.
“In case she needed to understand what she was getting into by loving a god,” Sienna replies simply.
I feel anger slowly consuming me. Not just at the deception, but at the sheer recklessness of it all. “Sienna, if the council discovers what you’ve done, they won’t just extendyour punishment. They’ll unmake you entirely. Erase you from existence.”
“I know,” she says again, but there’s a stubborn set to her spectral jaw. “But it was worth the risk.”
“Worth the risk?” I’m on my feet now, pacing again. “You’ve endangered not just yourself, but Sebastian and now Jovie. That locket is evidence of direct defiance against divine law!”
“Revel’s right,” Sebastian says quietly. “Sienna, we have to tell the Divine Council before they find out on their own.”
“No.” The word comes from Jovie, surprising all of us. She’s standing now too, her hand still protectively covering the locket. “If this is really a piece of Sienna, then I’m not giving it up.”
“Jovie—” I start.
“No,” she says more firmly. “Do you know what this locket has meant to me? It was the first real gift Bash ever gave me. I wore it through every horrible thing that happened after Sienna died. It was my comfort, my connection to both of them when I thought I’d lost everything.”
I see tears gathering in her eyes, and despite my anger, I feel my heart clench.
“If it’s really been protecting me, if it’s been showing me Sienna’s world, then maybe it’s not rebellion,” Jovie continues. “Maybe it’s love. Maybe it’s exactly what I’ll need to survive in Aurelys.”
Sienna drifts closer to Jovie, her form shimmering with emotion. “The council will never see it that way.”
“Then we don’t tell them,” Jovie says simply.
“Absolutely not,” I interject. “Jovie, you don’t understand the consequences?—”
“I understand that Sienna risked everything to keep a piece of herself alive through centuries of punishment,” Jovie interrupts. “I understand that this locket has been protecting meand connecting me to the divine realm I’m about to enter. And I understand that sometimes love means taking risks.”
She looks directly at me, her gaze unwavering. “You want to bring Sebastian back to maintain the cosmic balance? Fine. But I’m going with him, and I’m keeping this locket. It’s my choice.”
“It’s not that simple?—”
“Itisthat simple,” Sebastian says, standing to put his arm around Jovie protectively. He’ll take her side, regardless. “She’s right. The locket has been protecting her, preparing her. Maybe that’s not a coincidence.”
I look between the three of them—Sebastian resolute, Jovie determined, and Sienna watching with something like hope in her ethereal features—and I realize I’m fighting a losing battle.
“This is insane,” I say finally. “You’re all willing to risk everything for a piece of jewelry.”
“Not jewelry,” Sienna corrects softly. “Hope. The locket represents hope that love can survive divine punishment, that some bonds are stronger than cosmic law.”
She floats closer to Jovie, her expression gentle. “Keep it,” she says. “When you go to Aurelys, you’ll need something to remind you that there’s more to existence than duty and divine order. Let it remind you that sometimes, the greatest act of rebellion is simply refusing to let love die.”
