Steal the Sun (Thieves #4)(87)

“He was my son,” I said, biting off a cry. I pushed at him because I didn’t want him anywhere close to me.

“And he will be again.” Oliver held my hands in his and forced me to look at him. For the first time since meeting him, he had something akin to compassion in his eyes. “Zoey, that small spirit was a gift. He was a unique creation—a brand new soul. The boss doesn’t give those out to just anyone. It didn’t work out this time, but that doesn’t mean he’s gone forever. That’s not the way the universe works.”

“I don’t understand.” And I wanted to. I needed to understand this because nothing made sense.

A small smile crossed his lips. “Would it work if I told you you’re not supposed to?”

I frowned.

“Fine.” He sighed as though he hadn’t really thought his ploy would work. He sought the words to explain it to me. “Normally when something like this goes wrong, the soul finds another vessel, one that’s ready. I don’t know why these things happen. That’s beyond my pay grade. I only know that there is a reason. As I said, usually another vessel would be selected but Rhys prefers to wait.”

“Rhys?” I asked, but I felt a smile spreading across my face. Rhys was a perfect name.

“I probably wasn’t supposed to tell you that,” Oliver allowed with a shrug. “That’s his name. He was allowed a choice and prefers it this way. He would rather wait for his brother.”

My eyes went wide. “His brother?”

Oliver smiled slyly. “Yes, Zoey, his brother. Did you think you could sleep with a fertility god and not have a couple of litters? Your firstborn children will be twin boys. But that ain’t happening if you stay in this bed feeling sorry for yourself. I know it’s not fair. You should probably be allowed to wallow in your grief like a normal person, but you’re not normal. You don’t have time. Things are moving faster than I thought they would. If you want those sons to have a chance a couple of years down the road, you need to get out of that bed.”

“How will that help anything, Oliver?” I was already tossing the covers aside. “Dev is set on his course. I could try to talk to him but he wouldn’t listen to me before and he wouldn’t listen to Daniel.”

Oliver rolled Felix’s eyes. “Do you ever pay attention? I sent you three women to tell you exactly what to do. Do you have any idea how hard it is to get on the washer women’s schedule? They’re busy and they charge out the ass for a rush job.”

I stopped, the truth settling in on me. “I have to find the Blood Stone.”

“She shoots, she scores,” Oliver said sarcastically. “Find the Blood Stone. It will lead you where you need to go.”

“Somehow the Blood Stone can stop the war?”

Oliver shook his head. “No, Zoey, you stop the war. The Blood Stone merely gets you into the place you need to be. Just find the stone. Have a little faith.”

I arched an eyebrow. “I thought that was Felix’s territory.”

When Felix had been an angel, he had represented faith. He had balanced Felicity’s love and Oliver’s justice.

“I have faith,” Oliver said with a shrug. “You met me at a bad time. Felix was gone. We have a new brother now. His name is Jude, and we have found our balance. I suppose I was rude the last time we met.”

“Rude? You nearly killed Danny.” He had unleashed some ultraviolet light that nearly burned my vampire up. It had taken everything I had to keep Daniel alive. It had not endeared the angel to me.

He had the grace to look embarrassed. “About that…you know one of my powers is to be able to filter light around myself. It’s how we do the whole ‘glow like the sun, holy manifestation’ thing. It works really well when I need to get someone’s attention. It’s kind of a parlor trick. It wasn’t exactly God’s light or anything.”

“You know what Daniel thought, you bastard.” Daniel had thought he was standing in the presence of the holy and that burning meant he didn’t have a soul anymore.

“I didn’t have parents so their marital state is of no consequence,” Oliver pointed out. I stared at him. “Sorry. I was in a pissy mood. Tell Donovan his soul’s intact. It would be helpful if he would stop all those assassinations, though. It’s not getting any cleaner.”

“He’s planning his retirement as we speak.” After Danny handled a few more key assassinations, he was planning on hanging it up. I had another question though. “Daniel wants to find Summer.”

Oliver nodded. “And he will when the time is right. Like I said before, all things happen for a reason.”

“Is she safe?” I couldn’t stand the thought that she needed me.

A small smile lit Oliver’s face. “She is giving the Tuatha Dé Danann hell and the tribe curses your name daily.” He shook his head. “She is a light for them now as she will be for the Earth plane one day.”

Tears pierced my eyes, beautiful, healing tears. “I’ll see her again?”

“I believe so, but the bean si were right. You are an undone thread to the universe, one of God’s true miracles. I can’t see your future the way I should. I can only tell you that she is safe and loved and she knows who her mother and father are. She remembers you and hopes to reunite when the time is right.” His sympathy disappeared and he was right back to frowning. “But guess what?”