VEE

Ironically, I return to my burnt flat too, ending my time living here where I began. I’m the only one with possessions left to take with us, wherever we decide to go next.

The landlord tried to contact me a few times about everything I left here; his insurance company want to begin repairs. Luckily, the fire here was minor compared to what I witnessed yesterday, and I have more to salvage since my initial move to the guys' place was a hastily packed bag.

I rummage through the boxes someone placed my possessions in, unsure if I want any reminders of that life. Most of my clothes also stink of smoke, but I’ve no option. At least I have more clothing choice than the guys do now.

"Do you want me to take your stuff and stash it at the Collector’s?" asks Heath. "He offered."

I chew my lip as I pick out a few items of clothes and shove them in a backpack. "I guess. The landlord said he’d dump everything if I didn’t collect the boxes by the end of the week."

Heath nods and crouches down to take a large box. "Finish up. I’ll take them to the car."

Today feels oddly like the last time I moved from my flat. If everything was screwed up then, now it's a hundred times worse. Where do we go now? I can’t see us staying at the Collector’s more than a day or two before Xander moves us on. We’ve discussed heading to the States and are prepared to take a step closer to Seth. Maybe that’s what Seth wants, but he’ll have a bigger fight on his hands then he expects.

As I stand in my old bedroom, I run a hand through my hair and look around. The curtains are burnt rags, and there’s a scorched trail across the carpet. Oddly, my bed and dresser survived, as if the fae who attacked me focused the damage on pushing me from the room. Why didn’t it spread?

I open a dresser drawer and peek inside, but the contents must be in one of the boxes. There's a soft tap on the half-open door, and I turn to see Heath standing, hands in pockets.

"Everything okay?"

I shake my head. "No. I’m struggling to hold myself together right now, but I don’t want to tell everybody."

He steps in, before closing the door behind him. "You mean you don’t want to tell Xander and Ewan?"

As I expected, they’re the two not dealing by using denial, and that’s holding them together. How long can the pair keep the denial going? Xander’s comes through in outbursts, but I worry about Ewan.

As Heath pushes hair from his face with both hands, he looks, eyes filled with a sense of sadness that's worse than when I see them worried.

"Heath, it’s okay. I’ll be okay."

"I can stop this," he says and strides over.

I gasp as he catches me in his arms and hugs me to him, holding as if I might disappear, the way he did the first day I arrived in their lives, outside the house when I almost ran.

"I can bring the others back. If you die, I'll bring you back." His hand moves to the back of my head and presses my face against his shoulder. Heath's heart races faster than I've ever heard.

"We can try," I whisper.

Heath tips my face so I can look him in the eyes. "We have to believe we can. That I can."

I don't want to say the question that instantly fills my mind: what if Seth kills Heath first?

"I don’t want to talk about dying, Heath."

Instead, I push my mouth on his desperate for the comfort he can provide. We kiss as if this is the first and last time, gripping each other as our hearts pull together terrified they’ll be broken and lost. I’m lost to him and to focusing on the Heath who I wanted from the beginning; on the man who, in a small way, connects me to my old life.

I pull away. "Remember the first time? When I said I wanted to be Vee and be human?"

He plays his fingers across my cheeks and lips, nodding as our eyes meet again in a memory of that night.

"Right now, do I feel less human than that day?"

Heath laughs softly. "You know you feel a hundred percent human to me. Maybe this power can be let go instead of...." He pauses and swallows. "Then you can go back to being just Vee?"

I close my eyes. "Heath, I never was just Vee, was I?"

He steps back and pinches the bridge of his nose. "You know what? I want to destroy whoever made you into this as much as I want to end that fucking god."

"But if they hadn't created me, I wouldn't exist."

That’s one truth we can’t deny. Heath sits on the bed, and I sit on his lap, arms around his neck. Lying his head against my chest, Heath circles the small of my back with his fingers. I am human. Whoever did this created someone who could feel all the human emotions—the ability to love, desire, hurt, hate... everything. If I was just a power sent to end a god, why give me this?

But as I hold Heath, I know why. The intensity of my need to hold and be held by him, to be with and share love with the four guys, shows they made a mistake. Perhaps my creator decided an emotional connection would help Truth walk in and steal all the Horsemen’s powers.

Wrong. Their plans will backfire. We've been through a lot dealing with Chaos and building our strength as the Horsemen and their Fifth—but also as Vee, Ewan, Xander, Heath and Joss.

We won't be beaten easily, prophecy or not.

"You know what I'm going to ask now?" I whisper against his stubbled cheek, as the hurt inside is replaced by something else.

"You never need to ask, Vee. Just tell me what you want. Always."

As we kiss again, the tears build, and I'm thankful Heath can't see, but I’m grateful they do because they mean I’m more than any prophecy tells us.

The book talks of Chaos, Truth and Order. But what about Love?

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