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“Kaden made the Kings of Yejedin. Yes, I know that.”
The Higher One nodded. “Your father lied when he said it was the Primordials. The Primordials saw the raw power Kaden possessed and knew its potential. Unir’s power grew tenfold with Kaden at his side, and they recognized the threat level. They challenged him, and your father wanted peace, so he locked them all away.” The Higher One formed before me, still wearing Dianna’s face. She reached out, her fingertips brushing my cheek.
I moved my head to the side, avoiding her touch. She pressed against my jaw, turning me to face her. “Think, Samkiel. Why would he lie to so many he claimed to care for? Why lie in the first place? Unless what he hid was so very precious to him. Wouldn’t you want to hide that which you loved so much if the entire realm wished it dead?”
My heart thudded. “Kaden was more than a general to him?”
The Higher One nodded.
My hands fisted. “A lover?”
“No.” She smiled widely and shook her head, her dark hair spilling over her shoulders. “A son.”
Son.
The word echoed through my skull.
Son.
My head reeled back, bile rising in my throat. “Kaden?”
“Is your brother.” A vile, cruel smile played on her lips.
Words did not come. My mind ran over a million and one scenarios before coming to a screeching halt. It all hit me at once. The portal, the power, his ability to create Dianna, heal her sister long enough to use her to control Dianna. He stayed far away from me because he knew I would sense and recognize the power so similar to mine. It was how he knew of the battle, The Hand, and about the Fall of Rashearim. Kaden was not the king I thought he was. No, it was so much worse.
He was my brother.
“How?” My voice sounded so far away.
“You are asking the wrong questions. Your next one should be about your other siblings. Siblings that still exist, maiming and destroying beyond the barriers of the realms you hold sealed.” The Higher One stepped back and raised her hand, holding up three fingers. “Unir had three children long before you, god king.”
“Three?” I choked the word out, holding my stomach. He hadn’t told me. No one told me. “My mother, she never said anything about my siblings. I didn’t know.”
The Higher One tilted its head. “Why would she? You are the only one born of flesh, god king.”
“But you just said—”
“Unir’s power far outreached even the gods closest to him. He saw a vision of the Great War. Only he didn’t realize he would be starting it when he made his precious children. The Great War happened because of them. Unir formed a plan, a way to build weapons to destroy any threat once and for all. Long before you were ever thought of, it seems. But to create life without sharing life is forbidden. He proceeded anyway. He cared for the realms, his people, and others so much that he made a choice, and it ended up costing him everything. The universe takes its debts very seriously. You cannot gain that much without balancing the scales.”
I swayed, and my head began to throb, the shock and the power required to stay here this long taking their toll. But I had to stay. I had to know everything.
“Tell me what happened next.”
The Higher One glanced at me and went on. “Unir made children, creating gods by spontaneous creation. He made some of light so bright it could blind, and others he carved from darkness itself. Three of them were so strong that he lost control of them. Three born from blood—one that sheds it, one that bends it, and one that consumes it.”
One that consumes it—that was Kaden. But who were the other two?
“The others saw what Unir could do. Seeds of doubt spread about the powerful children that he made, and gods turned against gods. Unir hid his children, locking them away. All but one, and that one has lived under your nose for a very long time. In an attempt to bring peace, he sowed hatred and jealousy from those he’d created. Jealousy because true love came and bore fruit. A child so filled with light that it solidified their hate. You are that light. Your birth began the Gods War, and your death will unleash chaos itself.” The Higher One shrugged, picking at her nails. “I guess your name holds more merit now than ever. That’s kind of funny, huh?”
The room spun, my mind trying to process everything while balancing and holding onto this plane. I grabbed my head, willing myself to stay, blood dripping from my nose. I wiped it away and stood straighter.
“I just didn’t see. I thought he meant her. This is how the world ends. But it wasn’t her. It was never her.”
The Higher One looked at me curiously. “Who? Your amata?”
My heart stopped.
“My what?”
