Katrina

"Well, there's no point beating around the bush." DeGe states, hands folded in her lap, "You are our Goddaughter."

And there goes my heart. Skipping yet another beat. It's a good thing I'm only twenty-one. The Rulers of the Earth Kingdom, Miles' parents, are bound to put me in an early grave.

"Goddaughter?" I question, brows furrowed, as I stare straight at DeGe; this wasn't what I suspected at all. I assumed they'd somehow found out about my bloodlines, not that they were my Godparents.

"Yes, Goddaughter," Ares replies gruffly, drawing my attention to him; his sole focus, however, is on his son as he studies him, waiting for a reaction from Miles, but Miles' poker face was stellar, having been trained by the master of the art himself- Ares. "Michael is my best friend. In some ways, he's more of a brother to me than my own."

"and my mother?" I ask cautiously.

"Lilith is and will always be the love of his life."

They knew. They knew who my parents were. They knew that I was both a fallen and an archangel. And they didn't care. DeGe and Ares were still looking at me like they adored me. Like they were happy that I was a part of their lives.

"Tell us everything," Miles demanded, staring at his father, an undetectable emotion in his eyes.

"There really isn't much to tell. Michael, along with the help of DeGe and I, captured Lilith during one of the many wars against Angels and Demons. When their eyes first met, Michael felt an instant connection to Lilith. He blamed the connection our her succubi abilities, thinking there was no way the other half of his soul could be a demon. Upon Lilith's capture, we were supposed to eliminate her, as per the council's ruling, but Michael wanted to interrogate her. He thought she could give us the information to control the unruly demon population, so we hid Lilith. Michael interrogated Lilith every single day. When she escaped our confines a month later, I confronted your father; our prison was inescapable, and someone had to have let her go. Surprisingly Michael confessed immediately. He talked about this magical pull he felt toward Lilith and how when he held her in his arms, it felt like his soul was complete. I assumed Lilith had somehow managed to feed off of Michael, and he was enthralled by her kiss, but as time passed, the thrall's effects didn't wear off.

Michael and Lilith met again during the next war. I could see their auras intertwining, and I knew then that Michael and Lilith were meant to be. The auras were stunning. The blinding white mixed with the pitch blackness was majestic; two opposite forces blended together to create something new. Unable to stand being apart, Michael let Lilith capture him. I went home to DeGe and told her what I'd found out. We both agreed that if Michael asked for our help, we would do everything in our power to help them; the stars brought them together for a reason. And so their game of catch and release ensued until they could no longer bear to be apart. During their last battle together, your mother and I took part; under the pretense, we were going to rid the world of Lilith. DeGe caused the cave-in that made Michael and Lilith disappear, and I gave them the money and new identities to start over. Michael and Lilith lived a mundane life here on Earth for years. They were happy, and all seemed well."

Ares paused, swirling his glass of whiskey before taking a sip, seemingly lost in his memories.

"Lilith and I became fast friends. You look so much like her, almost her exact clone." DeGe states smiling over at me, "She was a beautiful woman and one of my only friends. The other women feared me, my strengths and abilities scared them, but Lilith understood me. She was also extremely powerful and a badass when it came to fighting. Lilith was there for me during my pregnancy with Miles, holding my hair back while puking, disguising herself and dragging me out of the house, and forcing me on walks to get fresh air, bringing me anything and everything desired. She simply doted on Miles when he was a baby and couldn't wait to experience motherhood. When Ares and I helped your mother and father disappear, she was pregnant with you. It's why they went out the way they did. Their mingled auras were getting harder to conceal, and Lilith and Michael wanted to raise you together as a family."


"What happened? Why weren't they able to raise me?" I ask, swallowing down the lump that always comes when I think about how my life might've been if my parents had been able to raise me.

"Braham and Kek happened. They learned of your mother's pregnancy." Ares states.

The way he says the names sends a cold chill over me, but it's Miles' sudden sharp intake of breath that surprises me the most.

"Kek?" Miles questions as if he couldn't hear his father correctly. "Kek isn't real. He's a story told to frighten little children into behaving."


"Kek is real, and he wants Katrina. He won't stop until she's his."

"HE'LL NEVER GET HER!" Miles yells.

"I'm still here, love." I murmur, stroking his arm to calm him, "Who is Kek, and what does he want with me?"

"Kek is a fable. A diety of pure evil. He wasn't born from the stars but from darkness itself." Miles replies angrily. "Your information has to be wrong." Miles tells his father, "Kek doesn't exist, and we already know Braham is after Katrina. If you have yet to receive an invitation, you'll get one from Zeus soon. We will be announcing my engagement to Katrina after the midterms. It will keep Braham from being able to lay a claim on her."

"Lilith and Michael both mentioned Kek was after them. Perhaps they were frightened, but they seemed positive it was him. I don't see Braham having the resources to hunt Michael and Lilith to the ends of the world." Ares replies.

"You're engaged?" DeGe smiles, reaching across the table and clasping my left hand in hers, turning it to reveal the ring on my finger. "Absolutely gorgeous." She smiles, beaming at her son.

"Do you know what happened to my parents?" I ask hopefully.

DeGe's smile falters, and she shakes her head sadly, "The last time I saw your mother was the day you were born. She made Ares, and I promise that if anything were to happen to them, we would watch over you from afar. She didn't want you being brought into our world. She knew it was unsafe and wanted you to live a normal life among humans. When we learned of the explosion at your house, Ares and I rushed over to help, but there was nothing left. Everyone was gone. It wasn't until an accident on the Golden Gate Bridge involving both angels and demons that we were made aware of your existence in the human world. We erased all records of your existence to keep you safe and undetected. And it seemed to work, at least, until your 21st birthday, when you created quite the stir in our community."

I swallow the lump forming in my throat. My parents were still missing.

"An unknown evil presence was on the bridge that day." Ares states, looking at his son, "An evil unlike any that's been experienced before. Prepare yourselves. There's always some truth behind Fables."

Kek. Ares believed he existed and that he wanted me.