Chapter Nineteen
I'd had many people beg me in my lifetime.
Most of them begged for a swift and quiet death. Some of them begged for their lives to be spared.
But only a couple had ever begged me for the life of another person. As in, to protect someone else.
I'd never followed through with it.
It wasn't my job to judge or to have opinions.
I was hired to do a job. Kill people for the Mother and ask no questions.
But the outside world was so different. You could have your opinions, and yeah, not everyone was going to agree with it, but that's just it.
You can have your own fucking opinions.
And I could make my own fucking decisions too.
Without the Mother.
And without Hades.
"We're getting married whether anyone likes it or not," I said, making Cypress look up at me, "Hades may be a crotchety old dick about it, but in the end, he can't make me do anything. It's my decision to marry River, and that's what I'm going to do." I looked at River, who seemed surprised. It was like he was expecting me to spit on Cypress and walk away from both of them, which made sense I suppose. Clearly they had trust issues, and I understood that.
"Oh, and for the record," I said, making Cypress look up, "Onzo steps foot on this property and I will personally break off all his limbs and make a fucking fuck-you bouquet to leave on your daddy's grave. Nobody threatens me and nobody fucking threatens my husband." Cypress blinked, then immediately rose to his feet. He reached for me without thinking and hauled me up against his chest in what I assumed was some kind of massive bear hug. I grunted when my face planted against his chest and I glanced sideways at River, giving him eyes that asked what the fuck was I supposed to do, but River was just staring at me, like he was caught between confused and impressed.
"Oh, thank you," Cypress breathed, giving me a squeeze before quickly letting go, "I apologize. I know you're not fond of touching, but I am very grateful to you. Knowing that my son is in your capable hands gives me the warm fuzzies." I raised an eyebrow.
"Yup, mmhm, no problem," I responded, feeling awkward and unsure of how to respond to him, so I turned to River, "So, uh, you had something you wanted to tell me about?" River blinked, looking down at the papers in his hands, then frowned and shook his head.
"Ah, nothing. Just logistics that don't matter," he said, making Cypress frown and look at him curiously, "So, do you deem this situation worthy of bringing to Hades?" I scowled.
"Why? Doesn't involve him. It's our problem, not his. I already said; next time Onzo steps foot on the property, he's dead. No ifs, ands, buts, or court dates," I replied. River frowned, glancing at Cypress, who pressed his lips together in a thoughtful line before he inclined his head.
"I will respect whatever decision it is that you make, my prince."
"Good. Then let's start doing some more planning of this wedding ceremony thing," I said, making River give me a droll stare, "What? We didn't have ceremonies where I come from."
"So I've gathered," River answered, then shook his head, "All we can do now is the planning. We went to Inferi and brought the color palettes to our designers and they said they can work with what we've brought to them. Now we should work on invites, any themes or decorations, ah, location would be important." I scowled. Designers? Themes? Invites? Location? What?
"I thought we were going to just get married here," I said, gesturing to the palace. River glanced at it, then looked at Cypress, whose eyes brightened. Gone with the concerned weepy daddy and back with the cheerful dopey Mr. Cypress.
"Oh, that would be absolutely wonderful, don't you think, River? A grand wedding in a palace?"
"Uh," River said and when Cypress gave him a strange look, River cleared his throat and looked at me, "I am uncertain if Hades would appreciate such a grand event being held in his private home. Surely we can find a location less..."
"Threatening," I agreed, making River raise an eyebrow, "Good point. Guess we'll have to start looking at locations first. Good plan. We can go to Hades and tell him we need to do a little traveling to find the perfect location for a wedding ceremony. Thing." Without another word to them, I headed toward the house with a whole new shit plate for Hades. Of course, River hurried to catch up with me, leaving Cypress to just smile after us.
"Four, wait," River hissed, reaching for my arm, which I didn't bother to take away because he was gonna grab me all on his own anyway.
"What now?" I asked with an irritated sigh, turning to face him after we'd gone into the back through the main kitchen downstairs. River paused, glancing around the kitchen to make sure we were alone, and we were; setting aside the kitchen cat named Stevie. She was a tiny black cat with a white paint splatter on her face that hung out in the kitchen to keep the mice away from the stock and given how chunky she was, she did her job well.
"You don't have to go through with this if it is uncomfortable for you," River said after a moment, making me frown, "I understand that this marriage is not something you are interested in for anything more than having an army to help you take down this Mother person. I understand that, but surely you do not need to marry me in order to obtain that army. Hades's army is several times larger than that of the Windstorm clan, and the chances of them actually allowing me to lead them alongside the army of Hades... It's a slim one."
"Yeah, you've been saying that for months, except you're forgetting a few things," I said, holding up my fingers to tick them off, "The bigger and more experienced my army is, the better. You think the Mother is some new sheriff in town? This bitch has been planning a war since you were born, man. Just because we artificials didn't live up to our creator's hopes and dreams doesn't mean her whole army is like that. We're new to the game because they've only just been able to create perfect versions of us that actually survive childhood."
"And your army," I continued, making River frown, "Is ancient. You guys have been training for war since the day Hades swooped in and bought up your shit. I need that level of killer intent and determination. Sure, Hades's army is great and all, but I'm thinking that the Windstorm clan's help will be the last thing the Mother expects. Because I'm not an idiot. I may not be able to read real well, but I can sit through a fucking war documentary well enough. I know all about the Windstorm clan's secret ability. You guys aren't just any old demons." River tensed as I studied him and cocked my head to give him a once over before meeting those fiery orange eyes.
"You guys are descendents of Apollyon, right? The big bad angel hybrid mutant that scares the shit out of Heaven itself?" I asked. River stared at me.
"That's a family legend."
"Bullshit," I stated, "In fact, Apollyon was described as being fucking massive and powerful. He wiped out entire armies on his own, and without anyone's help. He trained his children to be just as destructive. He was also known to be both terrifying and beautiful. His famous trait? Orange eyes the color of hellfire. Weird, though, because only a few Windstorm descendents have those eyes." River tensed his jaw, staring at me for the longest time. I stared back at him.
"You need my protection and I need yours. That's exactly what a marriage is, so it makes sense for us to stick together. Together, we're stronger. Together--"
"Together, we're fucked," River muttered. I smirked.
"We'll get to that part when we get to it," I said, making him roll his eyes, "Right now, we need to work out the kinks before we can actually finalize this marriage and get started on the war. I'm going to keep working on Hades. He can't stop us from getting married." River grimaced.
"You weren't here for the last few of the marriages his children went through. Do you think Hades just let his children get married because he's a nice guy?"
"No, he probably tried to kill their husbands, especially Blaine. The guy has a mouth on him like no other."
"No, I'd say you give him a run for his money," River replied dryly, making me grin, "That was not a compliment."
"Sure felt like one. You flirting with me, River?" I asked as a joke. I was surprised when River's cheeks flushed, which only made me grin more and he scowled.
"Shut up," he responded, "Anyway, our main focus right now is on convincing Hades, because as I've said, this marriage will not work without his approval." I rolled my eyes.
"Hades this, Hades that. You sure you don't wanna marry him?" I asked. River tsked.
"Don't tell me you're jealous," he returned, making me snort so hard River actually laughed as a response.
"Gross," I responded promptly, "No. Besides, he locked me out of his office for the day so I can't go in there and harass him anyway." River raised an eyebrow, folding his arms over his chest.
"Oh? When has a locked door ever stopped you?" He asked. I smirked.
"Not that locked door, but the one to my room if I break down his door one more time," I said, then paused as River shook his head and glanced toward the door like he was preparing to leave, "Hey. What are you doing for the rest of the day?" River looked at me.
"I assumed making more wedding plans," he replied, making me roll my eyes.
"Don't you ever just sit down and relax?"
"This isn't my home. I can't do that here."
"Not yet anyway," I pointed out, making River cock his head, "Or, I dunno. Where the fuck are we gonna go after we're married? Do we stay here or are we going to your place to live or what? I've only ever lived here and at the compound. I don't know what shit is like out there." River shrugged, averting his eyes for a moment.
"Ah... I'm unsure. I hadn't thought that far. We're selling our home in Inferi, probably downsizing to a smaller estate on the outskirts... Do you want to stay here?" He asked. I frowned and looked around the huge kitchen with all its gleaming stainless steel and sparkling clean floors and high-tech equipment. I thought about my gaudy ass bedroom with that huge diamond chandelier, the super old rug spread out under a four poster bed big enough to fit a family of four. I thought about the whole mile worth of garden in the backyard, the two hundred bedrooms, the four kitchens, the twelve staircases and sixteen elevators.
I looked at River.
"Get me the fuck out of here and we can live wherever the fuck you want," I said, "But it better not be this big and full of stupid shit. I hate living like this." River's mouth twitched, his brow furrowed a little, but he wasn't offended or angry by the request. In fact, he looked almost pleased.
"We'll get a nice modest home."
"Good. Single story. I don't like stairs."
"Nor I. And perhaps only three bedrooms."
"Three? Why would we need three bedrooms? Why not one?"
"What if someone comes to visit?"
"Who the fuck is gonna visit us?"
"Family, perhaps," River shrugged, "Your brothers and sisters." I made a face and River burst out laughing at that.
"Absolutely not," I groaned, "They already harass me enough here. No, we'll get a place with two bedrooms. One for sleeping and the other one for working out."
"Wouldn't you want to go to a gym?"
"Not really. I like my privacy."
"As do I," River agreed, "What about the kitchen?"
"I want a big kitchen," I said immediately, and by now River and I were making our way out of the kitchen and toward the stairs, "I want all the fancy shit that they have in the kitchens here, like a gas stove and a big refrigerator. I want one of those fancy flat top grills too. Oh, and a dishwasher. The best invention I've seen since I left the compound. That and donuts. Donuts are pretty fucking amazing." River smiled at that.
"Do you plan to spend a lot of time in the kitchen?" He asked. I snorted.
"Of course. Nobody else is gonna feed us. I don't want servants or whatever."
"Nor I."
"I'm surprised," I admitted, "You and your rich ass are probably used to someone running to all your needs." River shrugged, but he didn't say anything to that, which made me raise an eyebrow.
"What? Your dad doesn't have servants?" I asked. River shrugged again and I sighed, coming to a stop and grabbing River's arm to stop him beside me. He looked at me curiously as I turned to face him.
"Let's get one thing straight. If we're getting married, no fucking secrets, got it? I want to know exactly who I'm marrying and what I need to be prepared for. Do I need to be ready to fight some people?" I asked. River sighed and moved his arm away. He shifted a bit uncomfortably for a moment, then seemed to look annoyed now.
"As you may recall, I am the child of a whore. None of the servants want to serve the son of a whore," he replied, making me frown, "And do not tell my father I called my mother that. I knew nothing of her, save for the way she looked and the stories my father tries to tell me." I cocked my head.
"She doesn't sound like a whore," I said, making River frown, "Sounds like your dad liked her a lot and he did a lot for her because he liked her." River looked away.
"Doesn't matter. Anyway, that answers your question," he replied. I stared at him. I wondered what parts of him he got from his mother. Had to be his dark skin. Cypress was a little paler in comparison. River's skin was so rich and dark. And his hair was dark, like Cyp's, but it seemed somehow darker and thicker and if I didn't know any better, I'd say River's hair was curly, but he was always fighting those curls and trying to tame them with hair wax. He had a strong nose and he seemed to always fight to try and keep a somber expression on his face. He didn't want to seem like he was feeling emotions.
"I kind of wish I had a mom," I said, making River look at me, "Or a dad. I get it, I know what you're gonna say, Hades and Lucy are my dads, but they don't feel like it. To Hades, I'm a nuisance. To Lucy, I'm just blood. I'm not their kid. I just carry their blood. And there's a difference between that and being family." River's eyes flickered, like something I'd said had touched him and I wasn't sure how. I wasn't trying to make him sad or mad or anything. Just that it would've been nice to have had some kind of guardian that didn't try to kill me.
"Well," River said after a moment, "We'll be family when we're married." I blinked at that, because I hadn't thought of it that way and I felt myself smirk.
"Yeah," I said with a laugh, "Yeah, I guess we will be. We'll just be our own family." River smiled faintly at that, studying my face. I stared up at him, because it was like he wanted to say something to me and I waited for him to spit it out, but he just kept staring at me. I cocked my head curiously, watching his tongue dart out over his lips.
"What? Wanna-- Mmph!" I was caught off guard when River leaned in and touched his lips to mine. He didn't smash them together or bite me or anything. He just very gently touched his lips to mine and I was surprised because what was he doing? No, I knew what a kiss was. I saw lots of people kissing. It was just the fact that I'd never kissed anyone. Nobody wanted to kiss me. I'd seen other guardians kiss their charges sometimes, just little pecks on the cheeks. Then I saw the older kids at the compound kissing and sometimes with their tongues, but it had never looked interesting to me and it made no sense because that was something you did with people you liked.
And nobody liked me.
So why was he kissing me?
"Shit," River broke away from me, reaching up to cover his mouth, "No, I apologize, that was highly inappropriate. I--" I reached up to grab him by the face and yanked him down, connecting our lips again, but this time I wanted to try with tongue. I wanted to feel his soft lips on mine again, I wanted to feel his breath against me. I'd never felt any of those things and the kiss wasn't really that bad. I expected it to hurt, even more so when I licked at River's lips to get them to open, which he did, but only because he gasped in surprise. I took that opportunity to feel around his mouth with my tongue and wow, his fangs were a lot bigger than I expected them to be, and super sharp, because the moment I ran my tongue over one, the tip of my tongue split open.
"Ow," I mumbled, pulling away and sticking out my tongue to look at it. River grimaced.
"Why did you do that?" He asked. I blinked, then scowled at him.
"You did it first."
"W-Well, yes, but I didn't mean to--"
"Oh, what, you tripped and fell on my face? Fuck you," I added, annoyed now and River looked bewildered, "Maybe next time you trip and fall you can trip and fall down the fucking stairs, asshole. Good luck with the wedding planning." I turned and went down the hallway to the other staircase across the building because I wanted to put as much space between River and I before I pushed his ass back down the stairs on my own.
Didn't mean to?
Then don't fucking do it, asshole. I knew River didn't like me, but he didn't have to pretend. We both knew this marriage wasn't about liking each other, but about a mutual desire to protect each other and have a badass army.
Didn't mean to?
What the fuck made me think he even wanted to? He was always complaining about my mouth anyway, so why did he pretend to kiss me? That was so irritating. Why kiss someone you don't like? It didn't make sense, and I knew no amount of reading would make it make sense, so I went to the next best person.
"Lucy!" I barked, approaching the door to his office and spotting that it was once again cracked open. I threw the door open at the same time Lucy backed up and slammed into his bookshelves, a few books crashing down on his head and Hades was shooting up from the floor, ramming his elbow into the desk.
"Jesus fucking Christ," Hades growled, grabbing his elbow while kicking the desk chair in front of Lucy, who looked like he was scrambling with his pants for some reason. I scowled, giving them a second to recover from whatever the fuck they were just doing.
"Hey, I thought you were busy," I said to Hades, who shot me a glare.
"I was," he ground out through clenched teeth. I curled my lip.
"Well, I came to talk to Lucy, not you," I replied. Hades rolled his eyes and shot Lucy a look. Lucy was gripping the back of the desk chair now, his teeth ground together. He didn't speak. He looked like he was struggling to find some level of calm, which made no sense because Lucy normally didn't look that pissy. He looked at Hades, who continued to glare at him in silence.
Ah, another telepathic conversation...
"Lucy, do something about that little fucker before I do something about him."
"Honestly, I'm about ready to let you do it, Hades. Just rip his head off and save us all the trouble of dealing with him. Just let me change my clothes. I can't get blood on this white leather. It'll stain."
"Oh my god, fuck your clothes."
"Yeah, fuck your clothes," I said, making Lucy scowl and Hades look at me curiously, "I came because I have a question."
"Four, as you can see, we're a bit busy at the moment and--"
"But I have a question--"
"Four! Out!" Lucy exclaimed, exasperated. I glared at him, then at Hades, who folded his arms over his chest to look at me pointedly. His stare was so fucking judgy. I looked back at Lucy, who just looked at me impatiently, like he couldn't fucking wait to get me out of his hair. Which fucking made sense because it was almost as if the past few months, these two assholes spent all of their time trying to get rid of me, and yet when I tried to leave the fucking property, they wouldn't let me.
"Fine. Whatever. Fuck both of you. I hope you choke on his micro-dick, asshole," I threw at Hades, who frowned and Lucy just sighed heavily. I walked out the door and slammed it shut behind me so hard, I swore I heard a crack. I looked up and sure enough, a nice pretty crack was making its way down the doorframe and one of the screws in the hinges popped loose and tinged across the marble floor.
I pushed off the door and headed to my room in frustration.
Well, son of a bitch. Who the fuck was I supposed to ask about this? I didn't know anything about kissing. And why the fuck did I care about that anyway? I didn't care if River liked me. We were just getting married for political reasons... and so I could keep my promise to his dad, so whatever. He didn't need to like me. Hell, he didn't even need to live with me if he didn't want to.
I'd get my own house and live all by myself.
I didn't need anyone.
Even with that thought in mind, I felt strangely depressed. I suppose there was a dumb stupid part of me that wanted River to like me and I wasn't sure where that came from. I normally didn't give a fuck about that shit. Nobody liked me. That was perfectly normal. Except maybe it would've been nice to have at least my own husband like me, right?
I went to my room and shut the door, walking over to sit on the bed for a moment before I looked around my room. I frowned, glaring up at the ugly ass chandelier, those stupid overstuffed chairs, that unnecessarily expensive rug that was literally walked on all day long. I took out my phone and looked down at it and the contact list that consisted of Lucy and Cypress and River. I tsked and threw the phone on the floor, then cursed when it bounced on the rug and bounced onto the marble, shattering the screen. I groaned in frustration, heaving myself off the bed and walking over to pick it up.
A prickle started up my neck and I shot upright and spun around to face the balcony doors that were wide open, the curtains billowing into the room with the cold winter air. I frowned for a moment, then felt the air shift behind me and cursed. I spun around with the intention to smash my fist into the attacker's head, but he was fast and did a fancy back bend before he swung his foot up into my jaw and sent me stumbling back against the bed, which I bounced right off of.
The attacker, decked out in black from head to toe, with a mask that he wore pulled up over the lower half of his face, lunged for me again and I caught him against me and threw him up over my head and across the bed to the floor on the other side. I pushed off the bed and went to go around the bed to go after him, but he was already on his feet and reaching into his holster to pull out something that looked like a taser.
"Just fucking try it, dickhole," I sneered. The attacker narrowed a pair of dark eyes on me and lunged for me with the taser, but I spun out of the way and swung my foot up to kick the taser out of his hand. I heard a muffled curse, a distorted sound that meant this fucker was using a voice distorter. And the fact that he was using a taser meant he wasn't trying to kill me.
If he wasn't trying to kill me, he couldn't be Onzo. From what Cyp told me, that guy wanted either River or me dead. So that ruled him out.
The attacker swung around to go after his taser again, but I bulldozed right into him and slammed him down on the coffee table, shattering it into pieces. I drew my fist back to punch him in the face, but he snatched up a piece of glass and slashed at my face, catching me right across the nose. I hissed and brought my fist down across the guy's face, making him gasp and drop the glass. I swung my fist into his face again, then picked him up and slammed him back down on the floor against the glass, making him shout in pain.
"Come on, fucker," I sneered, "What happened to the determination? You gonna pussy out on me now?"
"Fuck you," that distorted voice snarled, "You are unworthy of the title prince and unworthy of the Windstorm clan! May you burn in the depths of Tartarus, you fucking whore--" I slammed my fist into his face again and he groaned, turning his face away and struggling to get loose from my grip.
"You have two seconds to tell me your name and who sent you or I'm going to fucking gut you like a fish right here, right now! Speak now or forever hold your goddamn pieces, bitch!" I slugged him one last time as a warning and he shouted again, pushing desperately at my face to try and get me off him.
"You can't kill me--"
"I can kill whoever the fuck I want, you stupid bastard! Now talk!" I picked him up and slammed him back down into the floor where he moaned in pain. I heard the bedroom door open, but didn't dare look away from those dark eyes that met mine with a desperation borne of panic.
"Two seconds gone, asshole! When I find your boss and send him to the depths of the Source with you, tell him I said fuck you!"
"No, no, no!"
"Four! Wait, stop! Don't kill him!" Lucy's voice shouted. I blinked and jerked my head up in surprise as Lucy came sprinting over to put his hand on my shoulder, but I immediately shrugged it off and glared at him.
"This fucker just tried to tase me, asshole," I snapped. Lucy looked panicked as he looked down at the person beneath me, who squirmed harder to get away now.
"We don't know who sent him," Lucy said immediately, making me narrow my eyes on him, then past him to see that Hades was coming in as well, "Once we find out, we'll send him to trial--"
"Fuck that noise, nobody attacks me in my fucking bedroom and gets away with it, go to hell--"
"Four, please, just--"
The little bastard under me shot upright and clocked me right in the mouth with his fucking head, making me gasp and topple over. He shot up and went for the balcony, but a second later, Hades was there to grab him and haul him up against the wall by the neck. I sat upright, breathing hard and ready to shoot up and go after the intruder to put his head through the wall, but there was an odd moment of pause as Hades glared at the guy firmly before he curled his lip and swung the guy around, throwing him across the floor so he slammed into the opposite wall.
"A Windstorm clan member," he said, making the guy scramble around to get to his feet, "His name is Arcaia. His boss is River's cousin, Abbadon. Looks like Cypress has a lot more friends than he thought." I swung around to glare over at Arcaia, who was pressing himself back against the wall, breathing hard and eyeing the balcony in panic.
"Why didn't he try to kill me?" I demanded. Hades didn't take his eyes off Arcaia for a second.
"Because Abbadon wants to marry you after Onzo kills River. It'll return Tartarus to the Windstorm clan and gain Abbadon a throne," he said. I snorted.
"I've never met Abbadon. Also, isn't that another name for Apollyon? How lame can you get, naming your kid after your ancestor," I muttered. Hades paused to consider that and Lucy glared at him, then looked over at where Arcaia was inching for the balcony. Hades threw his hand out and slammed the balcony doors shut, making Arcaia jump back and look at Hades in fear.
"Where the fuck do you think you're going, little guy," Hades asked, lowering his arm and starting toward him and Arcaia gasped, "I may be able to read everything going through that pea brain of yours, but that doesn't mean I'm going to just let you walk out of my fucking house after attacking my son." Arcaia swallowed nervously.
"I-I was only following orders, okay? Okay? I get paid to do this shit, I don't have anything personal against your fucking kid and how was I supposed to know he was your--"
"Don't fucking lie to me. You come all the way out here to Hacian and you think that this big ol' house couldn't possibly belong to the god Hades? You think that someone living here wouldn't be a member of his fucking family? You think I just keep people here as bait for paid assassins? And don't even spew that shit about not being related to them, idiot. You're Abbadon's half-brother, and you can stop referring to River as the bastard child of Cypress. He's more Windstorm than your stupid ass is, so why don't you just get down on your knees and I kill you quickly? Or would you rather I take my time and rip every single little bone out of your body slowly and painfully?"
"N-No! No, I wasn't going to kill your kid, Christ," Arcaia gasped, "I was just going to take him to Abbadon!" Hades's eyes darkened.
"And what did Abbadon have in mind for him, hm?" He asked. Arcaia looked away quickly, but whatever was going on in that head of his really pissed Hades off because a second later, Hades was thrusting his hand out and blood bubbled up Arcaia's throat and poured out of his mouth. He choked and gurgled, grabbing at his throat.
"Hades," Lucy warned, but Hades ignored him and took slow menacing steps across the room until he reached Arcaia, who was grabbing desperately at Hades's leather pant legs. Hades glared down at him.
"I'll be seeing you in Tartarus," he said, then thrust his hand up and Arcaia choked before his eyes rolled up in his head and he slumped to the floor. I stared at him as he lay in a growing pool of his own blood. I looked up at Hades, who turned partially to face Lucy and I.
"You're not getting married to River," Hades said firmly, "And your little games end now. Lucy, get River and Cyp. I want them out. Now." I stiffened and scrambled to my feet.
"No! I told you I wanted to marry River!"
"Tough tits, brat, and you're not sleeping alone tonight, go to Raven's room for now. Lucy, call Raven and--"
"I said I'm getting married to River whether you fucking like it or not!" I barked angrily. A second later, the lightbulbs in the room all fucking exploded. And I mean, glass shattering and raining down on us. Hades blinked, looking up, then looking at me. Lucy's mouth came open for a moment before he turned to look at me as I panted, feeling a strange ache starting up in my back and shoulders. I grimaced a little, then cleared my throat.
"I'm marrying River. So suck it up," I took a deep breath as the pain radiated up towards my head, "Buttercup." I hit the floor a second later. Bye, consciousness.