Not yet. I can’t leave yet.

  Micah’s forsaking his Eternal Duty. He’s defecting. I won’t leave him.

  Madie’s words ring in my head, reminding me of my mission: “They must fall before they rise.”

  My Genesis family is falling apart. Now it’s my turn.

  I need to let go of Zoe 2.0 to move forward.

  To reclaim Zoe 1.0.

  “Chayah.”

  I turn around, and Cade is still there.

  “Come home, love. Please.”

  I stand frozen.

  Cade moves toward my hidden form. Even shadowed, he’s drawn to me.

  Like gravity.

  The Eternals call Cade’s name, but he ignores them. He reaches for me, his hands hold my chin. My jaw.

  I close my eyes, breathing slow, allowing his touch to warm my frigid skin.

  To resonate into my soul.

  It does.

  “Blue eyes.”

  My Gemini’s touch fills me. Completes me.

  Cade wakes me.

  “Our souls belong together, love. Wake up,” he whispers. “Come to me…”

  A fierce wind sucked my shadowed body and my Origin back from the dark realm.

  I gasped for air as my soul returned to my physical body.

  My head throbbed, so damned bad, I wanted to scream.

  But I woke up.

  My eyes opened, and I sprung up, inhaling a deep breath.

  Gabrielle sat beside me, grinning.

  “Cade? Where is he? Where’s Cade?” I blew out my breath.

  “He’s off to the dark realm to rescue Julian and Micah. And you. Did it work?”

  I gave her a side smile. “Sister.”

  I inhaled a deep breath, releasing the scent of sulfur from my nose, clearing out the resonance of what had been left behind from the dark realm.

  My body was still weak from being gone so long.

  Lailah walked in, trading places with Gabrielle, and sat beside me. “Lie down, sister. Close your eyes. Let me work.”

  I settled back into the bed, closing my eyes, allowing the Angel of Secrets to fill in the gaps of my fragmented memory that just returned.

  Lailah’s hand skimmed over my forehead, pushing aside the beads of sweat that resided there.

  Lightening cracked across the Aravot sky as all five of my lives came crashing back into focus.

  Tears streamed down my face.

  A headache worse than death pierced my temples.

  My body trembled, taking in all the pain, all the heartache and joy five millennia brought with it.

  Every life. Every day.

  Birth.

  Death.

  Every scar, every battle forced through my memory like a freight train. The noise so loud, it was nearly unbearable.

  I cried out in agony, grasping at the sheets beneath me, digging my toes into the mattress as memories overtook me.

  Gabrielle held my hand, squeezing tight while my secrets barreled through my body, attacking my soul.

  But I didn’t block out the pain. I accepted it.

  Embraced it.

  My Origin.

  After what felt like forever, recalling all the good and evil, light and darkness I’d endured over the years, the reels slowed, and I finally caught my breath.

  My heart slowed to a steady rhythm.

  Lailah placed her finger across my lips, spoke her incantation beneath her breath, and lifted her finger up into the air.

  I peered up at the scattering of grey dust rising from my body. It hovered briefly within the rays of renewed sunshine now sweeping in from the French doors.

  With a swipe of Lailah’s hand, the dust that once held my pain and heartache scattered about the room, dissipating into the air around us.

  I inhaled a long, cleansing breath, my lungs taking in the purity of Aravot.

  My head was clear for the first time in years.

  My secrets, the heavy burdens that once laid upon my chest, crushing my soul from within now dispersed into the breeze, because I no longer fought who Zoe 1.0 was before humanity broke her down.

  I embraced her.

  “Welcome home, Chayah.”

  My two best friends stood, heads bowed.

  Our auras exploded above us, and our lights merged. Just like when I matched Gemini.

  Because we we’re soul sisters.

  The Order of the Eternal Motherhood was reborn.

  “Thank you.” I got to my feet. “It’s good to be home.”

  “Chayah.” Lailah pulled me into a hug. “We’ve missed you.”

  My soul found its release.

  My Origin was home.

  “Alright then.” The smile faded from my lips. “Let’s save our family.”

  Chapter Thirty-Four

  Zoe

  “Zoe!”

  Cade’s heated voice echoed through the entire house, bouncing off the walls. Our bedroom door flung open, and he raced through, stopping in his tracks.

  I froze.

  Cade gasped at my aura, blinding even me.

  “Eve,” he whispered, taking two steps toward me. Slow and measured.

  Although we’d technically been together since June, it was as if we were seeing each other for the first time in twenty-one years.

  Only moments ago, over five thousand years of Cade’s love had crashed back into my Origin, but seeing him now, it happened again.

  I took in a breath, appreciating Cade’s beauty. His breathtaking aura. The iridescent indigo light that expanded beyond him, rushing toward me, merging with mine.

  Every memory. Happiness and heartbreak. It all came back again.

  My heart and soul were complete.

  Cade’s amazing cerulean eyes glistened. If I didn’t know better, with threatened tears.

  And my Gemini didn’t cry.

  “Bella occhi blu ragazzo.”

  “It’s you.”

  Cade took a tentative step forward, but I ran to him, jumping into his arms. Tightening his grip as my body shook from excitement, Cade picked me up, and I wrapped my legs around his waist, burying my nose into his neck.

  “My love,” he whispered. “You’re back.”

  I nodded, whispering into his ear. “I love you, my beautiful blue-eyed boy. Damn, I’ve missed you.”

  Cade, too, began to shake—though he held me steady, my protective, loving Gemini—because he knew it was really me. Not Zoe 2.0, as she called me, but my Origin. The woman he’d spent thousands of years loving.

  Adam’s Eve.

  Gabrielle and Lailah left the room, closing the door behind them.

  Cade set me down, and I pulled back, running my hands through his silky chocolate hair. I traced along his face with my fingertips, exploring the curves of his jaw, the beard he’d grown on his high cheekbones.

  I drank in his beauty, the length of his eyelashes, the green speckles hidden within his cerulean eyes. I ran my thumb along his lips then crushed mine to his, kissing him like I’d not seen him in years.

  Because I hadn’t.

  My beautiful Cade. God, how I’d missed him.

  Zoe 2.0, my reincarnation hadn’t appreciated him as I did.

  “Cade.” The pads of my fingers grazed along his shoulders, slowly moving down his arms, feeling the goose bumps rise over his taught muscles. “I need you, bel ragazzo.”

  “Chayah.” He swallowed, shaking his head. “It could jeopardize everything.”

  “No,” I said, low. “It won’t.”

  My gaze locked onto his.

  “Our future. Our destiny. It’s already written.” I touched his jaw. “It’s been written from the Genesis of time. That’s what I needed to accept. And I’m not afraid.” I held his cheeks. “Not of what could be, because our love is protected. We can’t be afraid of us.”

  I ran my fingers through his hair, gazing into his eyes.

  “I need to feel your soul within me. You’ve been hiding from it, too, and I won’t let fear control us any longer. I won’t let fear of what could be keep us from what we need. And right now, I need to Converge with my Gemini. We’re not at our strongest unless we’re together. Complete. And you know that.

  “I’ve seen the war in my visions, Cade. It’s coming. A battle so massive, it could tear all of Genesis apart, and I can’t fight it without you. My Origin won’t be complete until we’ve Converged. And if it results in a child—if that’s the fate of our lives, our journey, then so be it. No more running. We lead Genesis. Not me, but us. Together.”

  I took his hand and pressed it to my heart.

  “Feel that? It’s my heart, and it beats only for you. You’re my world, Cade Adams. My heart. My soul. Don’t be afraid, blue eyes. As long as we’re united as one Origin, we can overcome anything.”

  He understood.

  Cade reached for my hands and pulled me closer. His gaze burned into me. Through me.

  “Come.”

  Cade’s heated tone sent a familiar tingling straight through to my core, to my very soul. He tangled his fingers with mine and led me out of our home toward the Chayah Fountain.

  The scattered thoughts of the Firstborns and Eternals rang clear as they watched us rush to our secret hideaway.

  All of Aravot knew where we were going and why.

  A Convergence.

  Preparing for war.

  There were no words between Cade and me. There didn’t need to be.

  We were at peace with our fate.

  Cade stopped on the pink sands along the shore of the fountain.

  I was always in awe of just how immense the fountain was, the size of a small sea.

  He waved his hands, and our invisible bridge appeared, leading over the water. Cade pulled me across the fountain toward our waterfall, into our secret space hidden just beneath it.

  The cavern was lit with prisms of iridescent lights bouncing between the shimmering walls.

  Breathtaking.

  An exact replica of our secret cave in Italy.

  This was our Aravot. Our very own version of heaven.

  Cade’s and mine.

  He let go of my hands. Stepping back, his heated gaze scanned up and down my trembling body that stood begging for him to touch.

  Man, how I’d missed him.

  “Undress for me, Eve.” His commanding, yet gentle tone always sent shivers racing through my Origin.

  In Aravot and out in the world, Chayah was in charge of everything.

  She called the shots. It was her show.

  And it was exhausting.

  But in here—our secret world—I surrendered myself to my Gemini, giving up that control, allowing Cade to take my body and soul to places I could never go without him.

  Cade needed to retain a sense of control after giving everything up to me when I became the Eternal Mother, so in here, I was more than pleased to give it back to him.

  And he was most eager to accept it.

  Our secret deal filled a need within us both, setting our souls at peace.

  I focused on Cade’s beautiful eyes as I pulled at the hem of my T-shirt, slowly lifting it up over my head, tossing it to the sand. I glanced down as I pushed my shorts and panties off, shoving them to the ground and stepping out.

  “Eyes on me, Eve.” He snapped, teasingly.

  I returned my coveting gaze to his and reached behind me, unhooking my bra and letting it slide down my shoulders.

  Standing before my Gemini, naked and vulnerable, Cade’s need engulfed me. Exhilarated me. Just as it did over five thousand years ago.

  Cade drank in every inch of me, from the dark curls on my head, to my straightened shoulders, down over my breasts, my waist. My thighs to my feet. He circled around me, appreciating what he’d missed for so many years.

  My body tingled, anticipating what waited for it.

  The energy between us hit a peak, growing stronger as Cade’s aura expanded throughout the darkened cave.

  “Eve.” He stopped in front of me, and our eyes met. “So beautiful.”

  Cade pulled off his shirt, tossing it aside. Next went his jeans, pushing them down past his hips and over his thighs, kicking the denim off his bare feet.

  Oh. My. Gawd.

  I bit my lip, ingesting Cade’s beauty—

  The strength of his shoulders. Biceps. Bronzed skin. Firm, traceable muscles outlining every inch from his broad chest to his defined stomach. The curve of his hips that led to his firm ass, which, if I was being honest, was one of my favorite things to admire about his god-like form.

  Cade Adams was truly a work of art.

  He set his hands on my arms, fingers sliding effortlessly low, claiming what was his, forcing goose bumps rising across my sensitive skin.

  One inch at a time, Cade’s lips rediscovered every fragment of his Gemini. Gliding like silk, they dragged lightly, his heated breaths whispering over my neck and shoulders.

  Lower.

  Closer.

  Cade dropped to his knees, continuing his sensuous assault on my deprived form tracing every millimeter with his mouth. With his tongue.

  I groaned, gripping his shoulders to support my shaky knees.

  A juxtaposed mixture of heat and shivers sent my heart into a tailspin.

  My body and soul woke to his touch.

  Cade gripped my hips, fingertips sliding over the curves of my ass while his warm breaths blew across my thighs, to my very core that begged for his return.

  “You’re body,” Cade whispered between kisses. “It calls to me.”

  “Yes, Adam,” I cried out, trembling, while my Gemini discovered secrets held within me, secrets kept only for him. “Please.”

  I closed my eyes and waved my hands in a circle, raising a shimmering light of protection around us, hiding our playtime from spying eyes and ears.

  “Eve.” Cade whispered softly, his gaze searching mine.

  I peered down, acknowledging his fear of what could lie ahead.

  The possibilities were daunting, but it didn’t matter. We needed this.

  Our souls needed this.

  I closed my eyes briefly. Holding his cheeks I absorbed his fear.

  “Don’t be afraid, blue eyes,” I whispered. “Have faith. In us.”

  His fear visibly lifted, and my protective, loving Gemini returned.

  “I do.” Cade gazed up. “I will always believe in us.”

  I reached down for him, and he took my hands, rising to his feet.

  I held his cheeks.

  “I will always choose us, Adam. Above all else. For Eternity.”

  His loving gaze burned into me. He grasped my chin, tilting it up, staring heavy into my eyes, then slowly leading my cheek onto his chest.

  My eyes fell shut, letting Cade’s rhythm soothe me.

  One beat at a time, our pulses linked, syncing together. One heartbeat.

  Twin Souls.

  One Origin.

  “I love you. Bella ragazzo.” I lifted my cheek, gazing into his eyes.

  My Gemini gazed down, his expression becoming heated. Desperate.

  I recognized that look. I often longed for it. Craved it. Sought it out, our random, stolen moments.

  And today—for this moment, we both felt its presence.

  Gripping my hips, Cade lifted me into his arms.

  I wrapped my arms around his neck, and my legs around his waist.

  Holding me in his strong embrace, Cade waded deep into our private pool, prisms of light shimmering off his satiny skin. He moved gracefully toward a stone bench sitting below the surface of the water.

  We reached the wall then Cade twisted us around and sat on the bench.

  I straddled his hips, our bodies immersed in the warm water, letting it envelop us. Hovering above him, I appreciated Cade’s beauty.

  “You’re so gorgeous, blue eyes.” I lightly traced along his jaw. “Ti amo, Adam. I’ll never take what I’ve been given for granted.”

  “I adore you, Eve,” he whispered back.

  Gaze fixed on mine, Cade lifted my hips and with a beautifully synced heartbeat, our bodies Converged, uniting with a force of gravity drawing our souls together.

  One true Origin.

  Immersed in the Fountain of Life, I closed my eyes, and our souls Converged. Our bodies savored the pleasures of the earth, but our Origin transcended to another plane.

  Weightless.

  Uninhibited.

  Free.

  Cade’s body and soul consumed me as our Origin drifted away, projecting into the universe around us. And just for a moment, all the agony of the past five thousand years and the fears of what lay ahead were abandoned.

  Cade and I were united. At peace, focusing on this moment and nothing more.

  Twin Souls.

  Complete.

  Chapter Thirty-Five

  Cade

  “I’ve missed you.” I laid beside Zoe, running my hands through her soft curls, twisting them between my fingers.

  “I’ve missed you, too.” Her blue-green eyes shone brighter today, even in the darkened cavern.

  Chayah had returned.

  I’d sensed her in the dark realm, her body and soul called to my very Origin. Spoke to me.

  My Gemini was just as she’d left twenty-one years ago. No longer the insecure human girl Zoe had succumbed to due to her incarnation, but the strong, confident leader Chayah had evolved to from five thousand years of living and leading an immortal army against the darkness.

  Zoe’s entire demeanor was strong. There was power in the way she carried herself, the intensity in her wide eyes.

  And although fear of the unknown lingered in the air around us, Zoe would not allow it to control us. She believed what we needed to be strong, to strengthen our bond and return the power to our partnership, was to Converge.

  I trusted her beyond all others.

  Deep within my soul, I believed Zoe’s courage and wisdom would always lead us out of the darkness.

  All she ever asked of me was my love and trust. And I would always give her that, because the rewards of the love she gave in return were insurmountable.

  All relationships were about trust. Without it, we had nothing.

  Zoe and I made love for hours in our Cave of Secrets, as we called it. It was our special place, connected to the fountain of life, or youth, as humans often called it, where we would go to escape the duty and sacrifice this life tied us to.