Chapter Fifteen
I woke up cold.
I blinked my eyes open, immediately regretting the decision as a bright light flashed in my face, making me curse and I rolled over. I felt cold stones underneath me, heard chains dragging along the stones, something dripping somewhere. I opened my eyes again, this time focusing on the floor underneath me. The gray stones were slick and wet with water that seemed to be falling from the ceiling somewhere, but I wasn't able to have a staring contest with the fucking light again.
I blinked and let my eyes focus on my surroundings now as I slowly lifted my head to look around. I could make out bars and planks of wood that separated my cell from the ones on either side of me. I looked to the corner of the cell where some hay was scattered between my cell and the next one. My eyes drew to my wrists and sure enough, heavy metal clasps went around my wrists and connected to chains embedded in the wall at the back of my cell.
"What the fuck...?" I muttered, reaching up to rub my head. My head swam a little, like I was moving way too much, even though it was just shifting. I groaned and shook my head slowly to try and gain some control over my body more properly, but fuck, that seemed to only make me dizzier. I turned my head to the cell beside me when I heard something move. I squinted into the darkness of the cell beside me. It was so fucking dark in there, and it looked like there wasn't even a lightbulb in the light socket in there. It was just darkness and a bit of light from my cell, but it was enough for me to see someone.
"Who are you?" I mumbled. Fuck, my tongue felt thick.
"You know who I am." The voice was definitely familiar. I scowled and cocked my head.
"Bait...?" I muttered. There was no confirmation, but there didn't need to be. A second later, something seemed to almost materialize out of the darkness in that cell. Sure enough, it was ol' Bait in there.
Bait was probably one of the most pathetic creatures I'd ever seen in my life. He was small and skinny, emaciated really. His greasy unkempt long black hair was sticking to the sides of his face and there looked like there was something in the corner of his mouth, like he'd finished eating something, but that was hard to believe considering he looked like a fucking toothpick with hair. Something had happened with his genetic sequence and nobody really knew what or how or why, but his leg was seriously fucked up. Like, the bone itself grew in a twisted fashion so he walked with a heavy limp. His fangs were too big for his mouth and stuck out from under his top lip. When he spoke, his voice was warped by his fangs and something was definitely wrong with his throat because he sounded hoarse.
I could go on for hours about why Bait looked like shit, but I had a feeling that if we were both in a cell... Something was wrong.
"What the fuck am I doing here?" I muttered, reaching up to push the hair back out of my face as I sat up. Bait's mismatched blue and brown eyes flashed in the light and he ducked back a little, like the light hurt his eyes.
"Dunno. You must've made a good impression." Sarcasm. How the fuck did that little asshole know sarcasm?
"How did I get here?" I asked. Bait shrugged and I frowned, realizing he wasn't chained to shit in that cell. He was free to walk all around that whole thing, not that he could get far anyway with that leg of his.
"Unchain me," I grunted immediately and Bait looked at me flatly.
"Yes. I'll use the magic I don't have and the keys I don't have and the privilege I don't have to free you."
"I swear to the Mother, I'll break your jaw if you keep mouthing off," I growled. Bait didn't look particularly afraid. He just stared at me with this bland look on his face. Like he wasn't surprised or scared or anything. He just looked disinterested.
"Is this where you live?" I muttered, my eyes adjusting to the dimly lit area. I could make out Bait's well used cell. Even more disgusting, their idea of a chamber pot for the guy was just a hole in the floor that was overflowing out onto the floor, something Bait didn't even seem to notice as he slipped back into the darkness in the corner.
"Home sweet home," Bait's voice murmured from the darkness. I frowned, hearing him shift around and seeing his shadow move.
"What are you doing?"
"None of your business."
"Oh, fuck you," I spat, then looked down at the chains on my wrists with a frown.
This is it, I realized. The Mother knew about what I'd done for Seven. She'd been watching. That was the only explanation and as punishment, I was rooming with fucking Bait of all people. I narrowed my eyes and lunged forward, using the wall to pull myself to my feet. I wobbled and stumbled, but caught myself on the bars of the cell to hold myself up. I looked down at my legs that seemed to tremble for a moment, making me scowl as I noticed something.
"Do... I look smaller to you...?" I murmured, reaching down to rub at my sore knee.
"Dunno. Last time we stood together, you put my head through a wall," Bait responded. I scowled, ignoring him as I felt the muscles in my legs. I felt strangely... smaller. I felt thinner. I had gotten used to carrying around the bulk of my weight in muscle mass from the ichor, but suddenly it was as if I was shrinking.
"I don't understand," I mumbled, "The shots... Did anyone give me my shots?" I looked up to the darkness of Bait's cell. I saw something bright flash for a moment, but it was gone, so I wasn't sure if I saw anything at all.
"No one has come since they brought you here."
"They?"
"Yes. Three males brought you in."
"Who?"
"I don't know."
"Well, you're just a fucking font of information, aren't you, you little fucker?" I seethed. I saw what I assumed was a shrug from Bait, then shook my head.
"No. They have to give me my shots. I need those shots." Bait didn't answer. I cursed and gripped the bars, giving them an angry jerk. Something sharp and electrical shot up my arms and I gasped, releasing the bars and stepping back. The electricity climbed up my limbs and right into my head like it hit some sort of gong and a second later, I was unconscious again. I swam in the haziness of it for a while and I swore I heard voices around me at some point before it all faded and a series of strange and concerning events happened next.
I felt hands on me. Grabbing my arms and legs, my neck, yanking me up by my hips or a mouth that seemed to constantly try and find mine until I turned my head away. I could hear the voices again, but this time they were a jumble of disgusting sneers.
"Look at that cute little mouth," a male snickered, his voice a cross between nasally and whiny, "Hold it open for me, I'm going in." I felt someone's fingers jam into my mouth and hold my mouth open at the same time something shoved into my mouth and I choked. Suddenly things started moving faster around me. I felt more hands, heard more disgusting commentary, felt wetness between my legs and on my face and my chest.
I couldn't see anything. Any time I opened my eyes, I was met with that blindingly bright light. But I swore, for a split second when I tossed my head to the side to get away from that light, that mouth, I swore I saw a glimpse of Bait sitting in the corner of his cell with his hands clamped over his ears, his mouth set in a grim line and his eyes shut tight.
Bait was there.
Bait was there the whole time.
I woke up for real this time with a start. I gasped sharply, my eyes flying open and I was staring at that gaudy diamond chandelier in the room in Hacian. I panted for air, staring at the way the light bounced off those crystals and it gave me a huge sense of anxiety, which was made worse when I saw movement out of the corner of my eye and I snapped my head to see...
A woman?
Not a female demon. Not a goddess. Not a succubus.
Just a regular human female.
I sensed it in every fiber of her being that was nothing more than a plain human female. No magic, no powers, nothing special. Even weirder, she was just sitting at my bedside, stirring something in a little dinky teacup. She was unlike any female I'd ever seen. She was heavy set with huge boobs held in by a peasant top that fell off her shoulders ever so slightly. Her thick brown wavy hair was pulled into a sloppy bun situated crooked on her head, and her green eyes were peering into her teacup before she blinked and looked up to make eye contact with me.
"Oh," she said, as if just noticing I was awake, "Oh, thank goodness." I couldn't speak. My tongue felt thick and my throat dry. I tried anyway and only managed a choking sound before I started coughing and she immediately got to her feet and grabbed a bottle of water off the nightstand. She unscrewed the top and went to hand it to me, but I couldn't even reach for it because I was coughing so hard.
She nodded and surprised me by leaning over to cradle my head in her arm so she could bring the water to my mouth. I immediately chugged every last drop out of that bottle, making the plastic crackle loudly. The woman took the bottle away and set it on the nightstand, switching it out for a phone that she unlocked and typed something into before she held it to her ear.
"Jaques? Hi, baby, I hope you're not too busy, but your brother is awake," she said, her voice oddly soothing and warm, "Yes, I gave him water and I was going to make some tea... Oh? But it's herbal... Oh, okay, I'll just keep giving him water then. Yes. I'll make sure to temp him. Who should I call to bring him food? Me? But... Okay, I'll see what I can do. Take your time, it's no rush. He seems to be alright right now. Should I pop Hades a text too or...? Okay, understood. Wonderful. Please be careful. I love you, Jaques, forevermore."
"And before you ask, no. I'm not telling you where Allison is. She said she wants to do this on her own, sweetie, and that means without daddy to hold her hand... She'll be fine, darling, she's with Danielle. Besides, they're excited. Let them be excited. It's their first time in the mortal realm since ma and da died... Yes, I did just guilt trip you while also kind of telling you where they're at? I didn't say anything, though, nope. Oh, shoot, I think you're cutting out, baby-- Erk sssh Shrk-- no, no, I swear I'm not making those sounds at all-- Errrk-- I gotta go, baby, your brother needs me more right now. Love you--" I watched this woman hang right up on the oldest son of Lucifer with a big smile on her face that she turned to me.
Jesus Christ, she could fuckin' blow the purity right outta those Heaven pigeons. I'd like to see that Bethany bitch make eye contact with this lady. It'd probably strip the bitch right off her.
"Hello, sorry about that," she said with a little laugh, "My name is Naia Versilles. I'm Jaques's wife."
"He married a human?" I asked for clarification. She smiled.
"I was human. Once. Maybe I still am, but it's hard to call myself human when I'm almost sixty-five and look like I did when I was twenty-one."
"Uh, what?"
"I'm human," Naia said after a moment, "Sorry, I over-explain when I'm nervous. Anyway, I was going to make you tea, but Jaques says you're not a fan. You sure you don't want to try this? My grandfather swore up and down that this tea could cure anything. But he also thought that if you whistle at night, the bad spirits of the land would find you. I think he just liked to scare us kids."
"Uh."
"I'm gonna try it anyway," Naia decided without even asking my opinion a second time or clarifying anything she was babbling on about, "Just give me one second. I'm gonna add a little bit of honey to see if that peaks your interest." I scowled, confused as shit. Were all humans this odd? She was sixty-five? Didn't humans, you know, get a little wrinkled after that long? Her skin was tight and glowing like she'd just come out of the tanning salon or some shit. I didn't even know how to tell her that I wasn't about to drink her shitty tea. Or at least, that was my thought process until she brought the tiny teacup to my face and I smelled it.
Holy fuck, that smelled amazing. It was sweet and was that peaches? Fuck yes.
I downed the whole cup, breathing out a long sigh of relief when I was done as she set the teacup aside with a look of triumph.
"My grandfather was right. It was the honey, wasn't it?"
"It tasted like juice."
"Definitely the honey," she said with a smile, picking up the teacup and turning back to the tray it came on. She did an odd thing by tapping her teaspoon against the side of the teacup twice, spun it around in the cup three times, then set it down. I stared at the cup, then looked at her.
"You're a witch," I stated. Naia blinked, then looked at me, a smile coming to her face.
"You could say that," she said, "But that just makes me sound so fancy. I don't really do much aside from a little kitchen magic once in a while and some tricks my grandfather taught me." I frowned.
"Was he a witch too?"
"Sort of. He lived on a reservation in Nebraska until he met my grandmother, Teresa, and they got married, but he kept up a lot of his peoples' traditions at home. I'm glad he did, otherwise, I think my family would've had a heart attack when I introduced Jaques to them," she said with a laugh, then stopped and stared straight ahead for a moment before grimacing, "Mm. No. I take that back. He did try to kill Jaques once when they first met, but that's because he thought Jaques was some kind of shapeshifter hellbent on taking my virginity, but that's a really long story and I'm sure you're starving."
"I have no idea what any of that stuff means," I deadpanned, making Naia grin, "What is a Nebraska?"
"You know? Lived there most of my life and I honestly couldn't tell you," she admitted, then shrugged and picked up her phone, "I'm gonna shoot Hades a text to let him know you're awake. I told Jaques I'd check your temp too, so let's get a move on that." She took a thermometer from off the nightstand and I grimaced when she brought it near my face, ready to tell her to shove that some place real uncomfortable, but she surprised me when she grabbed my jaw and held me still.
"You're lucky this one is going in your mouth, hon, and that I'm not doing it because Ryk offered to do a rectal reading," she commented, making me stiffen. I opened my mouth a second later and she smiled in relief, putting the thermometer in before taking it out so she could read the temp, making her frown.
"Oh shoot, I always forget what's a normal reading for you guys."
"Human temps are different from ours?"
"Oh yeah. Jaques scared the crap out of me the first time I read his temp. 102 is basically emergency room material back home, but he said it was completely normal for him. But then one time I checked Danielle's temp and it was 97 and... Anyway, let me just call Hades to see what a normal temp is." I stared at her as she dialed Hades.
What a weird female... woman. It was weird being around a human. Despite my having gone on errands for the Mother, I realized I'd never come in contact with a human before. In fact, we were always taught to ignore or avoid humans. They weren't deadly by any means, but they could be very difficult to get rid of. Micah had once compared humans to bedbugs. Once you had them, the only way to get rid of them was to burn the whole building down and start from scratch.
"Hi, Hades! Yes, I just had a question about Four's temperature... Yes. Oh! Okay, then he's getting back to normal. Yes. It's low grade right now, but I think some more medication and a couple more days of rest will have him tiptop again. Mmhm... Yes. Oh god, not you too, Hades. Allison has her mind set on this. Yes. Yes, I know exactly what she's getting into... Okay, maybe not exactly since you guys always have surprises up your sleeves, but I promise you she will not get hurt... or hurt anyone else... Yeah, I figured you didn't care about that last part. Anyway, yes, thank you for your professional opinion. It's always a fun time talking to you, Hades. I love you and be safe." Naia hung up and turned to me, making me reel back from her and she blinked owlishly.
"What?" She asked. I grimaced.
"Did you just tell Hades you love him?"
"He's my father-in-law, of course I love him. Sure, he's a little rough around the edges, but he's got the cutest smile," Naia added with a dreamy smile, "And those eyes. He's such a sweetheart. I just can't understand why Jaques doesn't see it." I couldn't help grimacing again.
Cutest smile?
Those eyes?
Sweetheart?
Humans are certifiably insane.
"Anyway," Naia said, waving off her commentary, "He says that's not completely normal, but it's not completely bad either. You're getting closer to feeling all better again." I frowned. All better? Then what the fuck were the nightmares about? I mean, I knew it had to do with my torture to some extent, but why were the nightmares getting worse?
Worse, because they were clearer in the most disgusting and horrifying ways.
My brain was trying to come up with excuses now.
No way that shit really happened to me. Not to me. I wouldn't have let that shit go down. I would've killed myself before I let anyone lay hands on me like that. And besides, how could anyone survive that shit? No, it just didn't make sense. That couldn't have happened, not exactly like that anyway. The Mother would've never allowed it to go that far, right? She saved me for a reason. She needed me. She wouldn't let them go that far.
Oh yeah, because she has such a track record for being fluffy and sweet.
Which was another reason this whole situation with Naia was odd.
Females generally didn't like me. If it wasn't my mouth setting them off, it was my general existence. All my female guardians had hated me to the point of wanting to kill me, or wanting to kill themselves to get away. Any time I'd tried to talk to a female at the compound, I was usually ignored, met with timid excuses, or they would happily try and kick my ass in the ring.
Even Five, another artificial, had wanted to put my head through a wall.
"You are absolutely the most selfish, ignorant, worthless piece of male filth I've ever met in my entire life and I am so, so glad that I am not attracted to males," Five had informed me after a sparring session once, "I would sooner shove a cactus in my vagina than ever have to listen to you breathe again." She said all of that with the flattest expression on her face before she walked away with Six and Three, both of whom cackled like a couple of hyenas.
Fuckin' assholes.
To top it off, the Mother wasn't exactly kind or soft, but she honestly couldn't afford to be. It was hard to scare people away with teddy bears and hugs. She preferred flaying the flesh from bones if someone so much as looked at her the wrong way.
Actually, now that I thought about it, I'd grown up around some pretty terrifying females.
So Naia was a complete anomaly.
"Ooh, I got an idea," Naia said suddenly, making me frown, "Let's make chicken and dumplings. Nothing cures a sickness like chicken soup. The dumplings are just an added bonus."
"You guys pair chicken with the strangest things."
"Chicken goes with everything, sweetie. I'll pop into the kitchen to get it started. I'll call someone to come sit with you while I'm out."
"I'm not a child. I don't need a babysitter," I said sourly. Naia smiled.
"Of course not, but we just want to make sure you're safe. It'll be hard to kick ass and take names when you're not feeling well, right?" She asked. I frowned, but didn't know what else to say as she started to gather up her things. No sooner had she finished, though, did the door open and Jaques came into the room.
Ugh. Jaques.
Lucy's oldest son was a massive pain in the ass for several reasons. Starting with he thought very highly of himself, like he was the cock of the walk and he strutted that shit around this palace, even with Hades and Lucy around. He always thought he knew best. He also said whatever the fuck he wanted and expected everyone around him to listen. He was a tall fucker, but not nearly as tall as Hades or Lucy. Short wavy dark hair, big brown eyes that he narrowed on everyone, especially me. He also seemed to always be in his uniform, even though he was technically retired from the military.
An old man longing for his golden years, honestly.
"Oh! I didn't know you were coming right here," Naia said in surprise, but smiled anyway as she swept over to her stern looking husband, "Excellent. You can sit with him while I go make something to eat." Jaques blinked, then glared at her.
"I have better things to do than sit here with a child," he said firmly. Naia raised an eyebrow.
"That's your baby brother, Jaqy. I don't want to hear it," she answered, making Jaques stiffen while I smirked and folded my arms over my chest, "Besides, it won't be long. I just think it'll be very nice for all of us to sit together and eat dinner. That's not so hard, is it?"
"No, but--"
"Exactly! I knew you'd see it my way. Anyway, I have a bit of tea left, so make sure to give Four another cup just before we eat so he can digest the food better. Oh, and he hasn't been bathed yet, so if you could give him a little sponge bath? I'd do it myself, but I don't think he'd be comfortable with some strange woman touching him."
"I wouldn't be comfortable with some strange dude doing it either," I deadpanned.
"Yeah, I don't think I'm going to--"
"You're so sweet, Jaqy," Naia said, rising on her toes to give him a firm kiss on the cheek, "What a good, caring brother you are. I'll be back when dinner's ready." Without another word, or paying attention to Jaques's stuttered excuses, she walked out of the room and shut the door behind her. Jaques watched her go, in agony, then turned to look at me and I stared at him.
"You gonna wash my ass or not, Jaqy?" I asked. Jaques's cheeks flushed for a second and he opened his mouth, then closed it. He took a deep breath and did this weird thing where he spread his hands out in front of himself, like he was trying to reach into the depths of his soul for some semblance of calm.
Well, that'd be no fun.
"What's wrong? Fantasizing about my ass?" I asked. Jaques's eyes snapped open and he glared at me.
"Mind you, I am only doing this for Naia, and my father. I have absolutely no interest in you whatsoever as a member of this family."
"Oh, ditto, man. I don't need your teas or soups or whatever the fuck else you guys are wasting on me. My plan is to get back on my feet and get the fuck out of here," I responded. Jaques narrowed his eyes, but he didn't say anything. He just stiffly removed his military jacket and placed it over the back of one of the armchairs by the table before making his way to the bed, rolling his sleeves up.
"You better not be thinking of picking me up," I warned, watching him move the blankets aside and scooting away from him. Jaques rolled his eyes.
"How else do you expect me to get you to the shower?"
"I can fucking walk myself."
"Be my guest." Jaques moved away from the bed and folded his arms over his chest to wait. I glared at him, then kicked the blankets the rest of the way off before I slung my legs over the side of the bed. I glared down at the floor, at the way my feet hung just above the thick plush rug. I looked up at Jaques, who arched a brow.
"Well? Go for it, Usain Bolt." Who the fuck was that? I shook my head, then cleared my throat. I put my hand on the nightstand for balance, then slowly heaved myself up onto my legs. A second later, I went crashing to the floor and cursed the second I kissed the floor. I groaned, squeezing my eyes shut before forcing them back up to glare up at Jaques, who surprised me by not laughing or smiling. He just sighed and reached down to grab me up by the elbows to get me onto my feet just long enough for him to scoop me up into his arms.
"Ugh! Get off me! I'm not your ho!" I snarled, shoving at his arms. Jaques stopped at that, then blinked and shook his head.
"You and Hades are so disgustingly similar, I think I just puked a little in my mouth," he muttered, making me scowl and thrash his grasp, but goddamn, the guy had a grip on me like a fucking gorilla. It didn't take long before Jaques had plopped me forcibly on the seat in the shower and he started to turn the water on as I kicked my pants off on the floor. I scowled when I looked up at the spray of the shower and realized Jaques was getting his uniform wet.
"I can bathe myself, asshole," I muttered. Jaques rolled his eyes.
"Yes, yes, and you'll rip my entrails out through my anus and force feed them to me. I've already heard this spiel a thousand times," he said, making me glare.
"From Hades?" I demanded. Jaques snorted.
"My kids," he replied, then squirted a glob of shampoo on my head and I hissed at the coldness of it, but relaxed when Jaques started to massage the soap into my hair. Mostly because it felt fucking amazing. I'd never felt anything like that before. It felt like he was working the tension out of me starting with the top of my head. He detached the shower head and sprayed my hair directly, then rinsed it off my body before he moved onto conditioner and body wash. I was confused why he was going through all this, because usually when people bathed me, they just rinsed me off and tossed me back in bed.
It didn't take long for Jaques to shut off the water and come back with a towel that he used to dry my hair. I expected quick scrubbing, but he took his time drying my hair before he wrapped me up in the towel and carried me back to the bedroom where Naia was setting up three places to eat at the little table by the chairs, making me frown.
"Has Allison called yet?" Jaques asked Naia as he ransacked my closet.
"Yes, dear, she called. She says she and Danielle are doing fine and they're having fun."
"That's not what I wanted to hear. I wanted to hear that she's coming back home where she belongs."
"Baby, the world is her oyster. She belongs wherever she feels she belongs. Oh, honey, not that shirt, it's too warm today, grab him something with short sleeves."
"Sure, but why doesn't she feel like she belongs at home? With us?"
"Because she's a grown female and she can do whatever she wants, Jaques."
"Why doesn't she want to be home with us?" Jaques demanded as he came back into the room with my clothes. I went to put the shirt on, but Jaques was already grabbing it without comment and tugging it on over my head.
"It's not that, sweetie," Naia was saying as she adjusted the chairs and came over to help me put on a pair of socks that I didn't even ask for, "She's just tired of living in a little box. She wants to see the world and it's about time she had the courage to do so."
"But the world is dangerous," Jaques said with a scowl, "What if she gets hurt? What if someone hurts her? What if--"
"Sweetheart, if we lived by all these what ifs, I never would've married you and we wouldn't have the wonderful beautiful family we have today, so quit being such a worrywart. Allison is perfectly capable of taking care of herself. After all, you're the one who showed her how to protect herself. Are you questioning your ability to train your own children?" She asked. Jaques opened his mouth, then closed it with a scowl. Naia smiled up at him and gave him a pat on the chest.
"Your babies will be okay, Jaqy. You prepared them well. Now let them fly the nest," she said, then turned to me, "Alright, let's get some dinner, huh?" I didn't know what to say to that, to anything they were talking about. Nothing they said made sense. Clearly they were talking about their children, but what were they so worried for?
"How old are your kids?" I asked dryly. The way Jaques talked, they were toddlers.
"Well, Danielle is thirty-two," Naia mused, making my eyes widen, "Allison is twenty-seven. Kiana is twenty-two. Jackson, my lone ranger, is thirty-three." That old? Surely they were capable of being out on their own for years now, yet here he is, Lucy's former general, whimpering and whining cuz his grown kids were out in the world. Was he not confident in their abilities or what?
I didn't ask anymore questions as Jaques once again lifted me without permission, but set me in the armchair across from a plate of food that smelled fucking amazing. I stared into the bowl, confused by what looked like little white brains floating around in the hot broth, but it smelled so good I didn't give a shit what it looked like.
I put a bite in my mouth and groaned before I went to work on the soup, going through two bowls before I was finally full and slumped back in the armchair. It was so odd because the soup was so good, everything so quiet and relaxed, and I didn't even realize that Jaques and Naia had sat down to eat with me.
Weird.
These people were weird, I decided. But then, I suppose I already knew that.
They take in a stranger, someone who worked for their mortal enemy, and were insistent on curing them, making them better, despite their protests and denial. I kept telling myself it's because they thought I was related to them, but was there more to it? What kind of person just took care of someone else for no reason? It just didn't make any sense to me.
"Looks like someone is getting sleepy," Naia commented, her voice soft. I realized she was talking to Jaques, and I was almost passed out in the chair.
"He's had an exciting day... year maybe. I don't know," was Jaques's mutter. There was some silence, aside from the occasional clink of a spoon against the bowl.
"Jaques... I have a scary question."
"I probably have a scary answer."
"Do you think... Do you think Hera knew? She knew what Four was? Or... is?"
"Yes. I have no doubt."
"Then... if she knew..."
"Yeah. She knew," Jaques answered grimly as my exhaustion set in, "She absolutely knew what the fuck she was doing. And I sure hope Hades knows what he's doing when the time comes. Because if you want my honest opinion, Naia... I think Hera needs to die. Anyone who can knowingly do this shit to someone does not deserve to be on the same level of existence as anyone else. She is not a mother. She's a monster. And sometimes, monsters just need to be put down, for the good of everyone else."
"Somehow I don't think Hades will agree."
"No. Which is going to make the war that's coming that much worse. Shit's gonna hit the fan, Naia. And it's gonna get messy."
"Well," Naia said after a moment, and I heard some shifting, making me blink my eyes open long enough to see Naia put her arm through Jaques's and she tugged him close so she could plant a kiss on his temple before tucking her head in against his neck, "We've dealt with messy before. We can do it again."
"I hope so, Naia... I really hope so."