(Twenty years later)
Peace continued to spread and grow. Children grew. Lives were lived beautifully. The goddesses and gods at the highest levels could rest and relax. They did not need to hover and watch over every detail. There would be no more wars.
When Destiny sensed a portal opening behind her, she turned with a smile. It had been five years since she had last been visited by her Apexes. The last time had been to invite her to Anna's wedding. She had declined to attend in person, but she had watched from a distance. She still worked with Love and Life to create the perfect soul mates for those who needed them—not just Ruler Cultivators, but also others of particular importance. She had picked out Anna's before she had been born, and seeing them happy and smiling had made her day better.
Nothing and no one came out of the portal initially, and she stepped toward it with a puzzled frown. "Shana? Siobhan? Anastasia?" She took another step closer and then stopped in her tracks as someone stepped out. Her hands slowly lifted to cover her mouth, and tears began to shimmer across her eyes. It was not her Apexes.
The man who had entered her domain was tall and strong shouldered, and he was more beautiful to her than any other she had ever seen. Cornflower hair clung to his face and neck, copper eyes carried a soft glow that her soul recognized instantly, and a familiar birthmark shimmered against the light brown skin of his chest. He began to smile at her, and there seemed to be a promise of forever in the curve of his lips. "You," she whispered. She hesitantly reached out and stopped just before her hand touched him. "Is it you?"
Devin caught her hand and pressed it to his heart under his mark of power. Inside, its rhythms beat at the same pattern as hers. "I'm here now," he said softly. He drew her closer in his arms and buried his face in her hair. "I just knew you were waiting for me. You're not alone anymore, Destiny."
Tears spilled down her cheeks and then she threw her arms around him tightly. "I'm so sorry for what I've done," she whispered against his shoulder. "I took your parents from you."
"There is nothing to forgive." He tilted her chin up and tenderly kissed away the tears clinging to her lashes. "Let it go, Destiny. Everything is the way it's supposed to be." He cupped her cheek and smiled. "What is the one thing you want most?"
"You." Her lips trembled as she smiled. All the pain and loneliness of millions of years were sweeping away. She wasn't alone. Her soul mate had come to her. She had never dared dream she would have one. The incandescent feeling that swelled inside her heart and soul felt shocking in its depths and oddly foreign. Happiness. How beautiful it was. "I want you."
"I'm here," he said simply.
As his arms caught her close and his lips claimed hers, the happiness welled inside her until it knew no bounds. There was no longer only one absolute force for the universe. She was Destiny, and he was Hope. Together they would rule until the end of all existence.
Finally, the last happy ending had arrived.
©Stacy J. Garrett. Do not reprint or redistribute without permission.
Bonus Content: Updated Glossary (Later Today)->
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