Chapter Twenty
"He's coming into his powers. He's in danger now more than ever."
"He's also standing right here," I said flatly, folding my arms over my chest. Hades cast me a sour glare that I returned, and those glowing blue eyes swung back around to Lucy, who was sitting at his desk and rubbing his temples as if dealing with both of us was giving him a headache.
"I do not want him leaving the property," Hades told Lucy again sternly and Lucy glanced up at him with a grimace, "I do not even want him to leave the fucking building, let alone go running around Inferi or Portius planning a wedding that is never going to happen."
"Okay, I thought this was a free world," I said, "What happened to I can do whatever I want if I take your guys' side?" Hades closed his eyes for a moment, then shot me another glare.
"That's not what we meant. If you didn't have every able bodied prick in the world hunting you down, you could fuck off to wherever and do whatever, but your life is in danger. The safest place for you is here in the palace."
"Really? Because that's how many times now I've been attacked in said palace?" I asked. Hades's eyebrow twitched and he turned to face me fully, like he was trying to intimidate me with his height, not that it did shit. Didn't matter if I was glaring up or down, his size didn't mean shit to me.
"Yes, but each time we were able to put a stop to it immediately because you were right here where you belong. If you're running around town, how the fuck am I supposed to keep track of you and be there when something goes wrong?" He demanded. I rolled my eyes.
"Oh, don't pretend you give a shit. The only reason you're hanging onto me is because I'm connected to your fucking sister. If the Mother was some dude in a wig, you wouldn't give a rat's ass about me." Hades ground his teeth together and I caught a glint of light on his fang before he pursed his lips and turned to look at Lucy, who peered up at him. They stared at each other for a second and I groaned, making them both look at me.
"For fuck's sake, stop with the psychic talking bullshit! I'm standing right here! You have no right to make decisions about my fucking life without even talking to me!" I snapped. Hades glared at me.
"You're hardly mature enough to make your own decisions. Including marriage."
"Are you fucking kidding me? You think I don't know how marriage works?"
"No, you absolutely do not," Hades replied coldly, "You only know whatever the fuck Hera crammed down your throat, which need I remind you isn't how things work around here."
"Yeah, yeah, you guys do a big ceremony and hold hands and kiss and live happily ever after... in this weird fantasy world you idiots have," I tacked on, then put my hands on my hips, "I'm marrying River for political reasons. I know you're not that stupid, Hades. You know all about the Windstorm clan's connection to Apollyon." Hades stiffened and Lucy blinked, then snapped his head to stare at Hades.
"Apollyon? As in, the Apollyon? The harbinger of destruction, Apollyon?" He demanded, making Hades close his eyes in frustration before pinning me with a menacing glare.
"That's just a legend they tell themselves so they sound better than the other royal families. It's hardly based on truth--"
"You're gonna stand there and tell me you don't believe in an ancient angel hybrid when you're fucking staring one right in the face?" I demanded. Hades glared, but said nothing. Lucy looked at me.
"You're not a hybrid angel--"
"I have the blood of a god and the blood of an angel running through my veins. What the fuck do you call that?"
"Apollyon was the hybrid of an angel and a demigod," Lucy said, shaking his head vigorously, like he wanted to pretend everything I said was bullshit, "You are nothing like him. He was the original Antichrist."
"And I'm the new and improved version," I deadpanned, making Lucy grimace and I looked back at Hades, "We need to defeat the Mother and we're not going to be able to do that sitting on our fucking thumbs and spreading the word of love, asshole, and you know it. The Mother's been planning to take you down for fucking centuries. You think because you can handle us artificials that this war against her is gonna be easy? You think you can talk her off the cliff because you're her fucking brother?" Hades tensed as I got up in his face, or at least, the best I could with his face being a whole fucking foot higher.
"Hera doesn't give a shit about you and your fucking love, Hades. In her eyes, you are weak and pathetic and you fucked her whole life up. She's going to come gunning for you hard and she's going to make you and all your kids pay for throwing her life into the shitter." Hades's blue eyes glowed at that and there was a twitch in his nose that went up to his brow, like my words hit a little too hard, but he had to stop pretending that love would always win. Hera didn't want his love. She wanted his death. And it was time to stop pretending he could help her.
Hera didn't want help.
She wanted revenge.
"We need an army," I repeated, stepping back and looking at Lucy, who had risen to his feet, "A badass army that can tear through hers like tissue paper. The Apollyon legend is true. According to the texts, and by texts I mean the documentaries I watched on iWatcher, Apollyon started the Windstorm clan. He married a female demon named Lilith and together, they named their first born son Windstorm and from there, the Windstorm clan expanded and grew into what it is today. And those two bred some pretty fucking crazy demons, considering Apollyon was an angel hybrid and Lilith was the first demon created by Yhwhwa or whatever his name is."
"That is true," Lucy said slowly, making Hades snap his head around to glare at Lucy, "No, no, I mean that they married. Lilith was banished from Eden for disobeying Adam. She was cursed and cast out of Eden and disappeared for a while, only resurfacing in the mortal realm to try and corrupt the churches. Eventually, she met Apollyon and they settled, but I didn't know they settled in Hades. I thought they'd settled somewhere outside of Sheol."
"They aren't in Hades," Hades said, making me scoff.
"Bullshit. Maybe not anymore, but they sure as hell were at some point because they have a whole lineage of kids," I said, making Hades tsk and I glared, "Apollyon was known for having orange eyes. River has fucking orange eyes."
"Yes, and some species of succubi also have orange eyes, so that means nothing--"
"Oh bullshit. How convenient for you to throw it on his dead mom and not his dead ancestor, you fucking--"
"Four," Lucy said, holding his hand up for me to stop and I glared at him, "Getting angry will not change his mind. If you want to discuss this, you have to maintain some level of calm." I threw my hands up, then threw them over at Hades, who folded his arms over his chest and cocked his head at me.
"Me?! What about this asshole? Just because you're fucking banging doesn't mean you should always side with him! You know I'm right! Apollyon was fucking badass. He scared the shit out of Heaven. That's why that Bethany bitch showed up here to try and kill me, right? This isn't about nephilim or your daddy being pissed at you. This is about the fact that I'm the only other angel god hybrid to survive this long and turn!" I exclaimed. Hades stiffened and looked at Lucy, who grimaced and glanced at Hades.
"And don't fucking start talking in your heads," I snapped, "I'm right here. Talk to me."
"Look," Hades said with a frustrated sigh, making me glare at him, "We have too many problems at once, so we need to split them up and solve them one at a time. And for the record, getting married isn't going to solve any of your problems. If anything, it's going to escalate them. So the first solution to a few problems is going to be canceling these marriage plans you've been making behind my back."
"No!"
"If we call off this marriage, River's people will leave you alone."
"Then they'll target River!"
"That's their problem, not mine," Hades said dryly, making me tense, "You have absolutely no reason to devote yourself to him. He's just trying to woo you so he can find safety in your marriage--"
"Who gives a shit," I snapped, making Hades frown, "I'll protect him, if he gives me his army. That's a perfect exchange. I don't see what's wrong with it at all. People get married for political reasons all the time."
"There's a lot more to marriage than--"
"I don't need your bullshit love stories," I snarled, "That shit isn't on the table for me. In case you haven't fucking noticed, nobody likes me. I don't get why you can't see the fucking logic in my getting married to River. Not only will it keep him safe, but it'll keep all of us safe to have Apollyon's army on our side. Not to mention, getting married to River will get me the fuck out of this shitty house and out of your hair, so tell me again what exactly do you see bad about this marriage aside from the fact that you can't control it and you have control issues?" I put my hands on my hips and waited, watching Hades glare at me with glowing blue eyes. Lucy frowned for a moment, then looked at Hades.
"He's got a point, Hades," he started and Hades's eyes flashed as he whirled around.
"Do not fucking side with him. Not on this."
"I'm not agreeing with the control issue thing... exactly," Lucy said slowly, making Hades's arms drop at his sides, "But I think this could be a good thing for him. I've seen plenty of political marriages lead to great things, including love, and they already have decent chemistry. You don't watch them together because you're so busy worrying. I'm not trying to undermine you. I'm trying to help you see things from someone else's point of view. Four is absolutely right that we should not be making decisions about his life without consulting him first--"
"Do you even know what goes into marriage," Hades demanded, turning on me now, completely ignoring Lucy, who sighed and rubbed his face with his hands, "Do you know what River is going to expect of you as his husband? Do you think you'll just hold hands and go to war together? Did it escape your knowledge that River is going to expect you to serve him as his husband?" I frowned, folding my arms over my chest.
"If you mean sex, yeah, I'm not a complete idiot. I've done it before and I can do it again," I replied.
"What you have experienced was not sex," Hades snapped. I tensed.
No. Maybe not exactly. I knew what I had experienced in those dungeons by now. I wasn't an idiot. But to me, there was no difference between that and sex. Either way, yeah, I'd have to spread my legs for River, or whatever he wanted to do. Fine. I could do that. As long as I got my army and River was safe, that's what mattered.
Although, that did bring some issue to head.
I was raped. River didn't know that, and he never would. If he knew, he would immediately back out of the marriage. If not for the fact that I was a used piece of toilet paper, but the fact that he would lose faith in my ability to protect him. If I couldn't protect myself, how the fuck could I protect him as a husband?
That's what the marriage battles were all about back at the compound.
If we survived the battle together, we could survive marriage together. I was worthy of protecting him, and he was worthy of protecting me.
This whole thing would fall apart if River found out about what happened in those dungeons.
"River won't know about that shit," I said at last, making Hades narrow his eyes, "He won't, and nobody is going to fucking tell him. I can protect him. I wasn't strong enough before, but I am now." Hades blinked, looked away for a second, then looked back at me.
"What the fuck are you..." His voice trailed for a moment before he closed his eyes for a second and took a deep breath, like he was coping with my words.
"I'm strong enough to protect River, and I will be strong enough to protect your family as long as I have the army that I need to do it," I said firmly, "Don't fucking worry about any blowback on your family. Yeah, my motives are just to kill the Mother for revenge, and the assholes who tortured me, but in the process, I can save your family too. I can do this. I know I can, but you have got to give me the shit I need in order to do it. And that includes marrying River." Hades snapped his eyes open and turned his head to Lucy, who was frowning the entire time, like he was in pain or something.
"You won't regret this," I added, "And once the Mother is gone, I'll be out of your hair for good. That's what you wanted, right? Ever since I came here, I've obviously fucked up your happily ever after, and my fucking bad, but I can make things right. I'll get rid of the Mother and you can go back to doing whatever."
"Four, this isn't..." Lucy's voice trailed, like he was struggling to find words. I frowned, folding my arms over my chest to wait for him to say something, but there was a sudden ripple of power in the air and Hades groaned out loud and smashed his fist down on a marble paper weight on Lucy's desk that shattered to pieces.
"Not again," he snarled and breezed past me for the door. Lucy cursed.
"What? Who's knocking now?" I demanded, turning to watch Lucy head after Hades. I hurried to keep up with them as we made our way out into the hallway and downstairs to the main lobby just in time for a bright flash of light to come out of nowhere, making me hiss at the brightness.
Gods, why did people have to be so bright around here? It was hard enough dealing with the sun first thing in the morning and now they were what? Bringing their own suns in?
"Absolutely not," Niki was saying when we entered the main lobby, "You are not authorized to even be in this building. If you do not leave, I will have to use force."
"Oh, please," came a familiar sneer, "You're nothing more than a worthless imp. I could plow your face into the floor and kill you in a second."
"Bethany," a voice warned.
We entered the lobby in time to see Niki blocking the path of not one, but two angels this time. The first one was Raven's mother, aka the resident cuntface, Bethany. She always reminded me of the Mother the way she dressed for business, when in actuality, they just wanted to look cool while killing people. Losers.
The second guy was familiar somehow. He was tall, about Lucy's height, with super back hair all curls around a soft, but stern face with bright blue eyes. He was also dressed like he was late for a meeting with his accountant.
"Gabriel?" Lucy asked in dismay. I remembered him now, from the documentaries. Gabriel was Lucy's brother, one of the archangels of Heaven. And he looked a lot like Lucy with his stern nose, but soft eyes. At the same time, I got a creepy feeling from him. Almost like I knew he could kill me if he wanted to, or at least, he'd try.
Nobody said he'd succeed.
"Lucifer," Gabriel breathed out in relief, then paused when he saw me come in behind Lucy and he stiffened, "Fuck." Lucy scowled, then glanced back at me before looking at Gabriel, his expression becoming confused.
"Don't... Don't tell me you believe Bethany's bullshit," he said, pausing to stop in front of me. I bumped into his backside, then cursed and stepped back to glare around him at Gabriel, who stared at me like he was seeing a ghost.
"I just... I mean, he looks just like you," Gabriel murmured, taking a step forward, but Niki immediately got in front of him and put his hand up.
"Another step and I'll blow your head off," Niki warned.
"It's alright, Niki," Hades said, approaching him to place a hand on his shoulder, "They have permission to be here... For now." Niki frowned, glancing up at him before looking at the two angels with a disgusted sneer before he backed off. Bethany harrumphed and stuck her nose in the air, arms folded over her chest like a haughty cow. Gabriel continued to stare at me.
"What the hell are you doing here?" Hades demanded. Gabriel blinked, then looked at him before looking at Lucy.
"That child is your son?" He asked, gesturing to me.
"Yeah, not a child," I reminded dryly, "Also, I'm right fucking here. You got something to say to me, then fucking say it." Gabriel looked startled. Bethany curled her lip.
"He may look like Lucifer, but his mouth is entirely Hades. See, I told you. He's just another mutant... the Antichrist," she tacked on. Lucy's eyes flared as he took a step toward her and Bethany took one at him in return, but Gabriel threw his arm up to block Bethany.
"Please tell me that's not true," Gabriel said, making Lucy pull up short, "Please tell me he isn't yours and Hades's." Lucy glared at him.
"He is our son," he said. Gabriel closed his eyes like he was in pain and he dropped his arm from in front of Bethany, who smirked triumphantly.
"I don't understand," Lucy said angrily, "Nikias is also made with the blood of Hades and I--"
"Nikias's god blood is stronger than his angel blood. He could never reach his turn because of that, so we didn't have any reason to worry about him," Gabriel said grimly, "But that right there... Has he begun the change?"
"If you mean am I going through angelic puberty, then yes," I said, making Lucy wince and Hades slap his forehead, "Why? You guys got angelic tampons I can use? Or maybe some Pamprin? Kind of tired of passing out when I get pissy. Do you have any idea how hard it is for me to control my temper when I have to deal with literally everyone trying to kill me?" Gabriel blinked, then grimaced and looked at Lucy, who rubbed his temples in irritation.
"And you would dare hide this from us," he whispered, "You know the dangers of an angel/god hybrid. Was Apollyon not enough of a deterrent for you? You were alive when Apollyon defected. You saw what he did when he left. And yet here you are, protecting another one." Lucy tensed.
"I did not protect Apollyon."
"You spoke to him before his defection."
"I was trying to keep him on our side," Lucy said in distress, then shook his head, "I should've just let him go. He was right the entire time when he spoke of the horrors that awaited Heaven and our Father." Gabriel tensed, clenching his teeth so hard his jaw ticced before he cleared his throat and shook his head.
"It doesn't matter. This time we're ahead of the game," he said, making Lucy blink and look up, "We cannot allow another Antichrist to walk the realms, Lucifer. We are still picking up the pieces of Apollyon's rampage. The last thing we need is that creature taking over where he left off." I smirked at that, cocking my head as Lucy took a step back to get in front of me. I ignored him and came around, making Lucy curse.
"Listen, asshole," I said, making Gabriel look at me, "I don't give a flying motherfucker about your stupid little corner of the universe. Y'all angels can get fucked for all I care. My mission is to kill the Mother. Nothing more, nothing less." Gabriel scowled.
"Who?" He asked.
"Wow," I said, dragging the word out, "You angels really do not give a shit about anyone but yourselves, do you? You completely missed the fact that--"
"No," Hades blurted, making me blink and look at him curiously and Hades glared at Gabriel, moving to get between him and I, "As you can see, he poses no threat to Heaven or Yhwhwa. He's got his own agenda."
"Wait, who was he talking about--"
"No one," Hades said, making me narrow my eyes as he faced Gabriel head-on, "It's none of your fucking business. Family issues, and you lost the right to get involved in those when you and Michael catapulted Lucy out of Heaven." I blinked, then looked at Gabriel, who winced at the accusation.
"Don't be ignorant," Bethany scoffed, "Lucifer may no longer be an angel of the Lord, but he is still a member of our family far more than he is yours. Anything that threatens him, threatens us. And that includes that mutant."
"That's Prince Mutant to you, bitchface," I said to her, making her flush and start towards me. Hades was right there to block her path and she bumped right into him before she leapt back with a hiss before jerking her head up to glare at him. Hades's eyes flashed so bright, I actually had to blink my watering eyes for a second.
"If you touch one hair on his head, even look at him the wrong way, I'm going to rip your spine out and shove it down your throat," he warned in a low voice. Bethany glared up at him, but I could tell she was uneasy with the threat. She took a step back and Gabriel glanced at Hades.
"If you touch her, I will end you," he said, making Hades glare at him, "And we both know what'll happen if that's the case." If that was the case, that would be a declaration of war, no doubt, and while I loved a good bloody battle, the last thing we needed right now was another enemy.
"If the Mother gets over on us," I said, making Hades glance at me, "They'll gun for Heaven next and you know it. If you think the Mother is going to stop at the Greek pantheon, you are sorely mistaken."
"Who is this Mother?" Gabriel demanded.
"No one," Hades snapped, then looked at me when I started to open my mouth, "Enough." I glared at him, then looked at Lucy.
"I told you he was a pussy," I said, making Lucy grimace. I turned back to Hades, who glared at me.
"You don't even gotta worry about a thing, Hades. When the time comes, I'll do what you can't and if that means slaughtering your fucking sister in front of you, I'll do it. And I will do it with great relish." Hades's eyes glowed at that and Gabriel's eyes widened. Bethany scowled.
"Get him the fuck out of here," Hades said to Niki without looking at him.
"I can finally walk on my own," I said when Niki approached me, "I don't need anyone's help." Niki inclined his head and gestured for the door out of the lobby back into the palace. I turned to start to go, then paused and looked over my shoulder at everyone who was watching us disappear.
"My goal isn't Heaven," I said, making Gabriel and Bethany frown, "I've read all about your paradise in the clouds. I don't need that shit. But come for Lucy, and you can bet your fucking ass that I'll rain a hellfire down on y'all so hard, you'll fucking wish Apollyon was here to protect your asses." I turned back around and went into the palace. Niki sighed behind me.
"You really shouldn't have said that."
"I'm not real good at keeping my mouth shut," I said dryly, "Especially when I'm being threatened." Niki shook his head, but escorted me back upstairs to the family wing. We were walking down the hallway when I noticed River coming round the corner from the other end. He was looking down at his phone and looked up when he saw me.
"Yo! Future husband!" I called. He furrowed his brows, but this time he wasn't frowning. He just smiled, like he found me amusing.
"Don't let Hades hear you call him that," Niki said under his breath.
"What's the point of calling him that if Hades doesn't hear it?" I asked. Niki sighed.
"I'm so glad I'm sterile. Each day I spend with you reminds me that children are little monsters and I much prefer cats," he said, then gave me a little wave, "And stay out of the lobby for now. Try not to cause too much trouble, at least for the next few hours." He vanished on the spot just as River approached.
"What happened to the babysitter?" River asked, pocketing his phone.
"It's your turn now," I said with a grin. River grimaced.
"Oh, goody. Have you eaten yet?" He asked. I shrugged.
"I had some toast at breakfast."
"Four, it's two in the afternoon."
"Huh, fancy that," I said, then headed toward the kitchen with River right beside me, "So what were you thinking?" River cocked his head thoughtfully and I glanced up at him.
He looked really good today, and it took me a moment to realize he hadn't waxed the shit out of his hair. In fact, those curls were almost free. Almost meaning he had done something else to keep them down, but I could see whatever it was wasn't holding as well as the wax, so the curls were one by one starting to spring up on their own and it made him look younger, more wild.
I liked that.
It was like being around a wild animal. He was tame for everyone else and that was so boring and lame, but it was like around me, he let loose a little. It was almost like there was a person underneath all of that rich aesthetic... and hair wax.
"Let's do something light," River decided at last as we walked into the kitchen, "No more fried foods."
"Wow, lame," I deadpanned, making him roll his eyes, "Fine. You got any recipes?"
"You can follow a recipe?" River asked. I scowled.
"I follow recipe videos all the time."
"I didn't mean-- Okay, fine, that works," River said at last, shaking his head with a smirk, "Let me see what I have saved on my video feed." We sat at the table as he scrolled through his videos, and he very quickly scrolled through them until one caught my eye.
"Oh! What's that?" I asked, reaching for his phone. River pulled it out of my reach.
"Nothing, it doesn't matter--"
"The fuck it doesn't, that looked like a baby River--"
"It most certainly was not--"
"It most certainly fucking was, gimme that," I managed to reach over him and snatch the phone back, making River curse, "Where was it... Oh!" I flipped to the video and it immediately played. It revealed a very chubby dark baby in nothing more than a diaper sitting on a female's lap. The female was fucking gorgeous. Her hair was black as night, thick and curly and fell all the way down her back and framed her dark heart shaped face, a pair of red painted lips and bright brown eyes.
"Aye," the female said with a laugh, "Pero tan lindo. Look at him, Cypy. He laugh like little lamb. Look at him cheeks. Look at papi, Rio, say hola, papi!" The little baby giggled and clapped his hands and made grabbing motions for whoever was holding the camera, who I assumed was Cypress.
"Rio, look over here," Cypress's voice said from behind the camera, confirming my suspicions, "Look at daddy!" The baby squealed with delight, then threw himself back against the female, who grabbed him in her arms and cradled him.
"Aye, mi bebe precioso, mi lindo Rio de Fuego," she crooned as the baby scaled her chest to rest his head on her shoulder, "Ah, Cypy, you have never given me such good gift. Look at him little fingies, him little nose. He has your eyes, mi amor." There was a chuckle behind the camera.
"He has your spirit," Cypress responded with a loving sigh, "Your beautiful face, your beautiful hair, as rich as the night sky." The female blushed and gave him a shy smile until the baby screeched and tugged at his mother's hair, making both the female and Cypress laugh. The video abruptly cut off.
"Oh," I said in surprise, "That's your mother?" I looked at River, but his expression had become dark. He snatched the phone out of my hand and shut it off.
"It's nothing--"
"How did you guys get a video at that time? Was it one of those things that you can get pulled from your memories? Hades said--"
"No," River snapped suddenly, making me blink and look at him as he stood up, "My apologies. I just remembered I have something I need to do." I frowned, folding my arms on the table.
"Remember what I said about secrets?" I asked dryly. River tensed for a moment, then closed his eyes before blinking them open and pinning me with a strange stare.
"Magdalena is not a secret. It is simply a subject I do not want to discuss."
"You know, I hear therapy can help that," I pointed out. River glared.
"You're one to talk," he responded, but instead of being offended, I grinned.
"Maybe we can do couples therapy," I said, making him frown, "I can cope with the trauma or whatever of being tortured and you can cope with your mommy issues." River tsked.
"I do not have mommy issues."
"Yeah, no," I said with a nod, leaning back in my seat, "Everyone gets super pissy when you ask about their mothers. Totally normal." River rolled his eyes.
"I don't need your sarcasm right now. Can we just let it rest? I do not want to talk about... Magdalena."
"Fine," I sighed, "But you're gonna have to tell me about her eventually. I need to know exactly who I'm getting married to. So no secrets." River averted his eyes, giving a half shrug.
"Well, the same goes for you," he said, then cleared his throat, "Ah, fine, let's just make something with chicken. How about chicken carbonara?" I frowned as I watched him go to the fridge to start fishing out ingredients and I rose to my feet to follow him.
I wasn't keeping a secret from River to hurt him. I was doing it to protect him. That's what a marriage was. Protecting each other. Besides, my being violated brutally against my will had nothing to do with him and it never would, so there was no reason for him to know. Plus, I was stronger than I was back then. I was strong enough to protect both of us.
It was never going to happen again anyway.
River is going to expect you to serve him as his husband.
Of course. I knew that was going to happen sooner or later. I could handle it. Sex with my husband was different from sex with those guys. This I would allow, therefore, it wouldn't reflect my ability to keep us safe. There was no sign of what those guys did to me, so River would never know.
Right, I reminded myself as I glanced at River, who smiled questioningly at me before I smiled back.
He'd never know.