Fate's Fools Box Set

by Bell, Ophelia

  Sophia was clothed in a silvery gown that billowed around her as if in a breeze. Her black hair was bound up, her angular features luminescent and fierce. Her storm-gray eyes sparked with power, and the familiar glyphs shimmered along her arms.

  “We will be your toys no longer. You have given my grandson a choice, one you must now offer to the rest of the turul race.”

  “What makes you think any of them want it?” Fate snapped. “They are weak-minded fools who need to be told what to do. I will not give up that control.”

  “You are the one who has no choice,” Sophia said. “That is, unless you wish to give Chaos the upper hand. I’m sure he would happily take this chance to see you undone.”

  “He isn’t the one who was wronged; what does he care?”

  “He doesn’t,” Sophia said. “If he cared, he might allow you the freedom to make a mistake, but we all know Chaos doesn’t work that way. The second you slip, he will fill the cracks. If you only allow only one turul to have a choice, you will lose control over all that you have built. There must be balance. Your own rules must be followed, if you wish to have any control at all.”

  Fate’s brilliant rage dimmed and it shrunk back into its chair. “The wrong that was done me will never be balanced.”

  Gently now, Sophia replied, “No, but neither will the wrong done to me or to my grandson. We merely loved the wrong person, according to your laws, and were punished for it. You can atone for those wrongs by giving the turul their freedom.”

  “What about me? Who atones for what was done to me?”

  I’d been numb while I watched the exchange, but Fate’s words caught my attention. Sitting up a little straighter in the chair I’d fallen back into, I said, “I heard about what happened to you. What if I can find a way to help make amends?”

  Fate gave a bitter laugh. “You think you’re powerful enough to challenge a god?”

  “No, but Chaos himself asked me for a favor. In exchange, he offered to help keep you out of my hair after I completed this task. If I exceed his expectations, I think it might warrant a little bonus. Do you think Chaos is capable of carrying out the retribution you seek against the god who wronged you?”

  Fate sat back, thoughtful, though its expression betrayed its inner conflict. “He would never do me any favors. Our goals are diametrically opposed.”

  “I am not you. I think my own goals might be a little more aligned with his—less rule-following, more random beauty. The favor would be for me.”

  Fate scrutinized me. “And what would you request of me? The turul’s freedom is a given, thanks to your deception. I cannot renege on my offer, nor will I. Do you wish for your turul’s soul gift to be returned to you so you can be whole?”

  Fate’s voice tensed, and I was certain that if I said yes, it would give me what I asked. “I thought you didn’t want me to be whole,” I said cautiously.

  “I don’t. But there are other things I want more than you to remain too weak to compete with me.”

  I blinked in surprise. “That’s what this was about? You considered me your competition?”

  “Not yet, but if you claim all five pieces of your soul, your power may yet rival my own, especially since you can command the hounds.”

  “I only have four. You have hundreds.”

  Fate shook its head. “You may have a particularly close link to the four you command, but all the hounds respond to the same power. Mine will answer to you if you focus, just as yours do. But yours will never again answer to me.”

  “Well, it’s a moot point. I don’t want Ozzie’s soul gift back. Not if he doesn’t really want me to have it,” I said, my voice shaking. I swallowed thickly, avoiding glancing back over my shoulder again at the spot where he had been. “I never wanted your job to begin with. I only wanted the bloodline to be safe.”

  Fate clutched the arms of its chair and exhaled through its nose while it regarded me. “That I cannot promise, at least not for the entire bloodline. Many of them are harmless. The amount of higher races blood that runs in their veins is too diluted to matter. But there are others who carry more power—power that must be balanced by soul mates from the higher races, if another member of the bloodline cannot be found who matches them exactly. You’ve already found a few.” It glanced up at the group who stood behind me.

  “Maddie and Bodhi,” I said.

  “And Susannah Dylan. Your hounds succeeded in matching her up with a suitable bloodline soul mate, but her daughter and grandson both have a more unique mix. They needed the mates you have found for them.”

  I turned to look at Maddie then. “Did you know she needed both Willem and Sandor?”

  “Yes, and it’s fortunate you fulfilled that task. And that you chose to hold onto Bodhi. I’d have preferred you didn’t accept his gift, and your dragon mark would have sufficed to protect him for the long-term. The rest of the bloodline with more complex mixes is a bigger challenge. I am not as well-equipped as you are to locate them, much less match them with appropriate soul mates. I rely on my hounds’ sight to find and subdue them. Testing their blood to find the mix of higher races link is tedious. It’s simply easier to reclaim their souls and give them to creatures who I can control.”

  “You mean kill them,” I spat.

  “Souls don’t die that easily. I assure you they are given a second chance at life. But if you are so insistent on preserving the lives of the entire bloodline, I will allow it, under one condition.”

  “I’ll do anything.”

  “You must take responsibility for finding them all soul mates.”

  My mouth dropped open and I stared at Fate. “All—all of them?” I whispered, closing my eyes briefly to view the intricate web of linked souls representing the entire population of the bloodline. There were thousands of them.

  “Yes, all of them. If this is what you want, I will allow it, but only if you agree to these terms, though your lack of a turul soul now might make it difficult. The one true power you had that helped you thus far was your voice and your skill with that guitar of yours. It will be quite a challenge without that magic at your disposal.”

  I wasn’t quite sure whether to curse or say thank you, so I just sat there dumbfounded for a few minutes until Fate pressed its lips into a line and leaned across the desk. “Do we have an understanding, Deva? You will ask Chaos for that favor on my behalf, and in exchange you may have your soul, but only if you agree to never interfere with my work. You never commandeer any of my hounds. And you take care of the bloodline yourself.”

  It was what I wanted all along, only the victory felt hollow. Probably because I felt hollow. Because I was fucking hollow. A piece of me I’d never even known was there a little while ago was suddenly gone, and its absence was all too apparent.

  I nodded and managed to say, “Yeah, I agree.” I stood up from my seat, a little dizzy and not sure which direction to turn. Llyr was at my side, his hand on my elbow, but I shook my head and wrenched it away from him.

  “Not you. I need them,” I said, aiming for my trio of mates. “How the fuck do we get out of here?” I said, staring around at the strange tapestry-decor of the room and seeing nothing but windows with a disconcerting infinity of trees outside.

  A door appeared where one of the windows had been, seeming to weave itself into being from the existing colors of the walls. I made a beeline for it and grabbed the knob. I was almost through when Fate called out to me.

  “Deva, there is one thing I can do for you. Consider this my gift, or consider it a curse; it’s up to you.”

  I turned to see the figure appear before me, the threads of its garment more serene than they’d been just moments earlier. It reached out a hand toward my forehead, and I felt an odd plucking sensation followed by a pleasant pull, like it had just grazed a fingertip along my scalp. While I stood there, I watched a tiny, shimmering thread extend from my forehead, and something within my mind unraveled. Then the plucking sensation ended, and Fate held the thread o
ut and dropped it to the ground.

  “Your memories,” it said when I stared up at it in confusion. “I’ve unsealed the place where they were hidden, but I recommend taking your time digging into them. They may not be what you expect.”

  I nodded and began to turn, but stopped and looked back. “Where did you send him?” I asked.

  “That specific detail I cannot tell you. If I still had control over his race, I would know. I wished to torture him a little longer just for good measure, so I sent him back to whatever place holds the most bitter memories for him. The direction was determined by his experiences, so I’m not privy to the actual location.”

  I wouldn’t have wished true torture on him, but a small part of me felt mollified by Fate’s answer. He knew where we were, and with his blood meld to Llyr, he could drift straight to us if he chose to.

  I turned again, reaching for the door. It opened and dropped us straight back where we’d been before Fate’s abduction—in the half-built high rise somewhere in downtown Las Vegas.

  Without any fanfare, Llyr drifted our entire group back to the hotel, and I retreated straight to the bedroom I’d shared with Keagan, Rohan, and Bodhi the night before. I commanded my conjured gown and headed to the bathroom, then stopped in front of the mirror and stared at myself.

  My hair was a wind-whipped mess and my eyes red-rimmed. I focused my vision on my midsection and simply stared, willing myself to see the fragments of the souls I had, but saw nothing more than smooth, brown skin. I could feel them inside me if I closed my eyes, the power that had awakened my two disparate natures—fire and earth—and the one that bound the two together. But alongside them was the emptiness, once filled with the power of the West Wind. Now there was nothing but a black hole of regret.

  I’d been given something new, though—memories I didn’t know I’d had. I threw caution to the wind and reached into the past, not sure when the memories would have happened, but certain they were tied to Ozzie somehow.

  My earliest images of him were hazy things filled with music. They began on the day I was born and first laid eyes on the real world. I recalled the fear of our flight to the realm of the gods and halted there, my heart racing.

  The memories that flooded forth at that point were not the way I recalled events. I remembered entering and being vaguely interested in my surroundings while talking to Ozzie about music and singing together until it was safe to return home.

  But what surged forth now was far different and explained everything I had questioned since seeing him again.

  That first night in the realm of the gods, he had given me his soul with every ounce of love and raw desire I’d always wished he’d show me since.

  And today, I had thrown it back at him, insisting that he never loved me when in truth, he had.

  Ozzie had loved me all along.

  Fool’s Errand

  Fate’s Fools Book Four

  1

  Deva

  A little over a year ago . . .

  “Do you trust me, Deva?” Ozzie asks, looking into my eyes. I’m struck by how his normally clear blue irises can turn gray depending on his mood, and how the stubble on his cheeks catches the light and looks silver rather than gold. I’ve existed in the real world for a matter of hours, and everything in it is brilliant and new, but him more so than anything else. His voice flows beneath my skin, sinks into my bones.

  My protector. My savior.

  “Yes, I trust you,” I say. “Will they let us in now?”

  We stand outside an enormous wall of stone polished so smooth it reflects the sky. Dionysus brought us here moments earlier, taking us from the ursa Sanctuary where we were under attack. Meri—the nymph turned genocidal mad scientist—was the one who created me, and she wants me back. But I don’t want to go back to the devastating darkness she kept me in. I want to stay with Ozzie in the light and music, him singing to me and me singing back to him forever.

  The god who spirited us away looms large and horned in front of us, negotiating in a low tone with the gatekeeper, a man with broad shoulders, a bald head, and a neatly trimmed white beard.

  “Do it as a favor to me, Ianos,” Dionysus says. “I will bear the burden of any fallout from the other gods if they object. But you and I both know the rest of them are all too wrapped up in their own bullshit to notice one girl.”

  The big bearded man turns to me, his gaze distant as if he isn’t looking at me, but through me. He shakes his head with a frown.

  “I cannot admit her without a soul. It has nothing to do with the other gods or what they think. No one passes through these gates without a soul.”

  Ozzie squeezes my hand and steps forward. His bow reminds me that we’re in the presence of divinity. I drop to my knees, head lowered while I listen.

  “Please, Gatekeeper,” Ozzie says. “There must be a way to admit her. She is only soulless because the enemy who created her wished to use her as its vessel. We can’t let Meri have the level of power Deva’s body would give her. I promise if you allow us entry, I will share my soul with her once we are inside. She will not be without one for long.”

  He reaches between us and grips my hand, squeezing tightly. I squeeze back, blinking back hot tears of gratitude at his offer and hoping the Gatekeeper will accept it.

  I glance up and let out a startled gasp when the Gatekeeper turns around. He has another face, a younger, more handsome one where the back of his head should be. This one looks at me with interest, staring for several moments until I shift with unease under its scrutiny. Is he still judging me for not having a soul?

  “You hold lifetimes of history within your mind,” he says, “yet you are but a day old. Your true magic exists within those ancient bloodlines, Deva—within all the higher races’ pasts. This turul is right; with a soul, your power may rival that of the gods, and we cannot allow a creature as corrupt as Meri to have that power.”

  “I only want to have a life. I ask for nothing more,” I say.

  The Gatekeeper turns back around, the old man’s face looking at me again. He has a kind smile as he regards me. “What you want is honorable, but creatures such as you are rare. You may not have a choice once you come into your power. You are but a pebble whose ripples will travel far.”

  He directs his gaze at Ozzie next, sobering. “I will allow you entry, but I cannot protect you from Fate. You are a turul. As such, sharing your soul with her will be dangerous.”

  “If it will keep her safe, it’s worth it,” Ozzie says. “I’ll take my chances with Fate.”

  He shoots me a glance, and my heart races at the tenderness that fills his gaze. He tugs on my hand, and as we stand, I slip into the crook of his arm. Some of my apprehension fades thanks to his strength.

  The enormous gates swing open and Ozzie’s hold on me tightens.

  “One night,” Ianos says. “She must have a piece of your soul by tomorrow, if you wish to be permitted to stay.”

  Ozzie clenches his jaw and nods. I squeeze him tighter, hoping to return some of the comfort he’s given me through his music and his caring touch. I have no idea what sharing a soul entails, but it must be an ordeal if Ianos says it’s dangerous, especially considering Ozzie’s grim expression.

  “Come on, szívem. Let’s get you inside where it’s safe,” he gruffs, and together we step into the realm of the gods.

  2

  Deva

  Present day . . .

  “I need you inside me, please!”

  I reached behind me, grabbing at Keagan’s hip, but the infuriating ursa just chuckled and twisted away, his hard cock grazing across my ass cheek and out of reach.

  “Patience, princess. I’m not skimping on sex and risking you losing your fucking mind. Not after being at it all goddamn night.”

  “Fuck.” I buried my face in the pillows and let out a primal yell that faded into a groan. My body was on fire, my mind a jumble of thoughts and memories I’d rather not endure. But they were all perfectly rational. “I
’m not fucking crazy.”

  He grazed a thumb between my spread cheeks, sliding it down through my slick folds until he reached my clit, rubbing it in a torturously slow circle. “I’m also not fucking joking. We all heard you talking in your sleep last night. You woke up muttering to yourself. Llyr knows the signs. This fever nymphs can get isn’t something to fuck around with any more than a female ursa’s estrous. Gaia help us if you wind up with both at the same time.”

  I whimpered, my core clenching with the need for more contact than he offered with the teasing strokes of his thumb. With a pleading look over my shoulder, I told him, “I need you.”

  He was covered in sweat, his face flushed and his chest still heaving from exertion. Dark circles ringed his bloodshot eyes. “Princess, you just had me. Twice. I think you broke Bodhi, and Rohan’s dead asleep too.”

  He tilted his head to indicate where my other two mates lay unconscious on the bed. “I never thought I’d say this, but three of us aren’t enough. Let me get Llyr. Fucker can probably take care of you all by himself, if he goes all primal and shit.”

  “Not him,” I said even as my pussy flooded with fresh want at the idea of having Llyr’s cock inside me again.

  Keagan continued stroking me, but his teasing wasn’t focused enough to get me close to where I needed to be. With his other hand, he drifted a soft caress down my spine and over my ass, his voice gentler when he said, “You’ve got to forgive him. He belongs with you as much as the rest of us.”

  “I can’t,” I said, my insides twisting with that other unbearable ache that went even deeper than my need for Keagan to fill me with his dick. Memories flickered in my mind, more vivid now than before, and I put my hands over my head and let out a wail. They haunted me, but not because they were bad. They were good—so good and so sweet it was no wonder I ached for Ozzie so much since losing them.