Aftermath [malexmale]

Chapter Fifteen

Chapter Fifteen

I stood by Ambrosius's crib while he slept.

He wasn't very small anymore. He looked like he was maybe a year or so old. He lay on his back in his black and blue designed crib that was layered heavily with gold ornaments. A black snake toy was held tightly in his arms while he slept. He was dressed in blue with a little black hat on his head. He definitely looked like the Son of Hades.

And it made me ill.

Something in me told me that this child would not end up like his father, and yet... I couldn't help, but wonder. My powers reached into his future, but not that far. All I saw was a dark looming shadow, outlined by a desert sun. Every so often, I swore I saw a pair of yellow eyes, but it was gone in a flicker, so I wasn't sure if I was actually seeing it or if it was just my pessimisim having an affect on my visions.

Either way, I was still stuck, trapped. It didn't matter what kind of powers I had. Hades was trapping me into a deal I didn't really want to take, and even if I wasn't cursed, I'd still have to take it because he was threatening Dorean. Granted, he still gave one a single favor, but it didn't change that he was holding an axe over Dorean's head.

I kept that from Dorean. There was no way he could know that Hades was using him to threaten me. Dorean would be crushed. I didn't want to diminish his sugar sweet smile whenever he saw me. I didn't want him to hate me for something I couldn't help. I knew he wouldn't hate me, and yet, the feel was still there, like a dark shadow at the back of my mind.

I didn't hate Ambrosius, I thought as I watched the baby slumber. So far, he wasn't like his father. He giggled and kicked his feet. He loved the sound of the birds Malachi had sent him as gifts. He snuggled on the snake plush toy that Theo had sent him. The cradle was forged from the most expensive gems of Tartarus, a gift from Zelios. His blankets and several of his outfits came from Cain and Abel. A gold mobile hung over his crib, decorated with puppies and dragons and phoenixes, a gift from Cerberus. A couple of his toys, his favorites being the ones that lit up orange or played gentle lullabys, were gifts from Charon and Alexion.

Blaine was not allowed anywhere near him.

After awaking from the anesthetic, Blaine had had a panic attack and tried to leave the bed, but he was still weak from surgery. Cerberus had taken him home, and Blaine locked himself in his room for weeks before finally coming out. He didn't speak about Ambrosius and he didn't go anywhere near the palace, even when Hades summoned him. Hades had to go to him.

And try to make another so called "perfect heir", but Cerberus wouldn't have it.

"Give him a fucking break," Cerberus had snarled, "You just took his child!"

"He's my child. Without Persephone's womb, Blaine wouldn't be able to have children anymore. He should be kissing my feet that I allowed him such a luxery."

"You son of--"

"Don't you swear at me. I could easily just take Blaine back and keep him here for eternity. I could make a whole army of children, but instead, I'm only asking for six."

"Fuck. You."

It was a frequent argument. Finally, after an intervention from Persephone, they agreed that Blaine could heal for three months before Hades came to him again. I wasn't sure how Blaine felt about it. I hadn't been there for the argument. An argument over Blaine's body that, even while he was free, he had no control over. It was pitiful. I truly felt sorry for the fae. It seemed, even after he got his happy ending with Cerberus, doom still followed at his heels.

This had all happened last week, when Ambrosius was born. Now he had already grown to look like a year old baby, going on two. He was playful and, sadly, didn't know that his father had a dark heart. It was so hard to watch Hades come visit Ambrosius. He did love Ambrosius, and that was obvious in the way he was acting, both around everyone else and Ambrosius himself.