Chapter Twenty-Nine
"Aww, isn't that just precious?"
I stiffened at the sound of Cyrus's voice and tightened my grip on River, squeezing my eyes shut. I could feel my breath struggling to escape the closing of my throat as panic infected every fiber of my being. There was rage at my reaction, but it didn't stop the trembling. I couldn't believe I was just standing here, shaking like a fucking baby and on the verge of tears. I could feel the sting on the backs of my eyes. Now I couldn't tell if I was scared or angry, just that I needed to hang onto River, who tightened his arms around me in response to my tension.
"Ignore him," River ordered me, making me peer up at him as he stared at me firmly, "His existence will be short. If he's down here, Hades will make quick work of him." I blinked for a moment as that thought settled in and I loosened my grip to look around River at Cyrus.
The guy was bleeding from his mouth profusely from River's kick to the jaw and judging from his lisp, one of his fangs had broken off. He was breathing raggedly, but there was a delight in his eyes that made my skin crawl.
"Why does Hades have you here?" I asked, trying to keep my voice steady. River tightened his grip on me, but he didn't scold me. He just put his arms around me, mostly like he was going to protect me if Cyrus said or did anything.
"Because we're such good friends," Cyrus sneered, making me tense. His smartmouth was starting to piss me off, and thank fuck the fear was starting to subside as my anger surged. I let go of River to step around him and River caught my arm, pulling me back by his side.
"Four, don't encourage him," River ordered.
"I want to know why Hades has him here," I said to River, who frowned, and I turned back to Cyrus, "He's asking you for information on the Mother, isn't he?" Cyrus smirked.
"What're you gonna do? Kill me to protect the Mother? Or have you forgotten your duties? Your loyalties?" He challenged. I narrowed my eyes and approached him. River stuck very close behind me, like he was ready to lash out if Cyrus did anything, but Cyrus just kept that bloody grin on his face as I walked up to him so I was looking down at him on his knees.
"No," I said, making Cyrus raise an eyebrow, "I have not forgotten my loyalties." River frowned, glancing at me. I reached out and grabbed Cyrus by a handful of hair, snapping his head back and making him hiss at me with his broken fangs.
"Because my loyalty has always been and always will be to myself," I said, making Cyrus narrow his eyes and bare his fangs, "So do me a fucking favor, big guy. When you see the Mother in Tartarus, tell her to shove her authoritarian leadership right up her crusty cunt and fucking rot." Without another word, I felt my nails extend into claws and Cyrus froze for a second, startled by the sensation.
"What the fuck--"
"Bye bye, daddy," I jerked hard once and Cyrus's head ripped clean off his shoulders and came off in my claws. Blood exploded like a busted pipe in the air, splattering across River and I. I let my claws return to nails and dropped Cyrus's head to the floor where it rolled across the room into the shadows, leaving a squirting trail of blood behind it and a single broken fang that slid across the floor to my feet. Cyrus's body stayed up on its knees for a second or two, squirting blood in the air, before it toppled over on the side to spill blood across the floor. I stared at his corpse, at the gruesome spray of blood all over the place. I could feel it dripping down my cheeks, down the front of my sweatshirt.
"I hope that was satisfying," a voice said, making me jump and jerk my head up. River spun around too, putting his arm out in front of me immediately like he was prepared to face Hades himself. Which he had to be, because it was Hades who stepped out of the shadows, holding Cyrus's head in his hand. He bounced it on the floor like a fucking basketball, caught it again, then turned it so Cyrus's empty yellow eyes were staring up at the ceiling and his mouth was cranked open to reveal his fangless rows of teeth. I stiffened.
"My lord," River said right off the bat, "My deepest apologies for venturing into your personal space--"
"Save it," Hades said, making River grimace, and those glowing blue eyes swung around the room to me and he frowned slowly, "That's a very unexpected and unwelcome twist." I scowled.
"What? Me killing the dude who raped me? Oops, sorry," I said with a sneer. Hades frowned.
"No. That was expected," he said, making me frown, "What? You think I set this shit up because I watched Scooby-Doo and got inspired? Fuck no. I don't keep rapists in my basement because I'm bored, kid. I keep them there until they're ready to be disposed of. And I think you were more than ready to dispose of him. Right, Mr. Cyrus? You were ready to say bye bye." He tossed Cyrus's head up in the air, then caught it before looking at me and I tensed. River grimaced.
"Your eyes," Hades said, making me frown at him, "You inherited a very unwanted genetic trait from me, as well as Lucy. Interesting."
"What the hell are you talking about?" I asked dryly, glancing at River, who blinked, then turned to look at me.
"You didn't know?" He asked. I frowned.
"Know what?"
"That you have the eye gene," River said, gesturing to Hades and I looked at the big guy, who just raised an eyebrow, "Hades's family is known for their eyes. They glow because they can see in the dark. That explains why you've been able to see this whole time. I assumed you knew." I blinked, then looked at Hades's eyes. Sure enough, they were glowing brightly in the dimly lit cell. I'd seen them glow all the time, actually. I just never thought anything of it. Maybe it was just something he did to creep people out.
"So, what? I get to see in the dark? That's it? Glow in the dark eyeballs?" I asked. Hades gave me a deadpan stare.
"Yeah, sorry, the really cool badass antichrist thing is from the other side of the family. All we get are headlights for eyes and occasionally the power to see the future, but thank fuck you didn't get that one. The last thing I need is to be outsmarted by a fucking kid because he has visions. I already have to deal with Hadrian's wild visions and Theo just being Theo," Hades said dryly. I frowned.
"That's kind of anticlimactic."
"Yeah, like I said, you got the cool shit from Lucy," Hades responded with a shrug, then glanced over at Cyrus's body, "Of course, now I have to figure out what the fuck to do with this."
"Dump him in the sewers," River muttered. Hades looked at him.
"I knew I liked you for a reason," he said, making River blink and perk up, "Not enough to marry Four, but close." River sighed and I rolled my eyes, then glared at Hades.
"Wait, wait, so let me get this straight. You kept that asshole down here cuz you knew I was gonna kill him?" I asked. Hades looked at me.
"Consider it free therapy."
"You're an asshole."
"Also, if you killed him in the streets, I'd once again have the media harping on me," he said, then paused to make a silly voice, "'Ooh, boo hoo, your son killed a rapist and while we in Hades don't support rapists, we don't support killing people cuz that's a bad thing so go to Tartarus'." He shook his head and dropped the act to toss Cyrus's head to his body, then folded his arms over his chest.
"Sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do. Somewhere else. Where it's easy to clean up and move on," he added, walking over to Cyrus's body, "Although, I'd like to do a little digging, because according to my x-rays of this guy, there's a chip in his mouth and a chip in his left buttcheek. It'd like to see exactly what Hera has up her sleeve, so if you'll excuse me, I'll be running some fun tests on his corpse."
"And his soul?" I demanded. Hades paused, then slowly rose to his feet to look at me.
"Where it belongs," he said. He didn't need to specify where.
"And he can't come back?" I asked.
"Not even if the Titans took over and freed everyone again," Hades said, making me blink, "Now get your ass back upstairs to your room," he looked at River, "Alone." River sighed and I glared at Hades.
"I'm not going back to my room by myself," I said, making Hades roll his eyes, "I don't care what you say. River's my husband, whether you approve of it or not."
"Look, kid, marriage isn't just talk talk talk, it involves a fuckload of commitment that you can't even have on what your favorite meal is, let alone a fucking person," he said, making me stiffen and he looked at River, "This isn't personal. You know as well as I do that Four has little exposure to the outside world. He has no idea what marriage truly entails." River frowned and I sighed in frustration, annoyed that River was going to once again simmer down and let Hades take the wheel again. Don't get me wrong; River was probably my favorite person on two legs, but I swear, one word from Hades and--
"Since this isn't personal," River said, making Hades frown, "Then you won't take offense when I tell you, as politely as I can, to please, go fuck yourself." I froze and looked at River startled. He was staring directly at Hades, who rose slowly once more to his feet to stare at River.
"Wow," Hades said, "Could've sworn I just heard you tell me to go fuck myself. But that can't be right. You don't want to die that badly." I looked at River, who continued to stare at Hades without a lick of fear, which caught me off guard. This whole trip down here was just River complaining about pissing off Hades or being afraid of Hades's wrath, but here he was, staring the glowy-eyed motherfucker himself right in the eyes.
"Beg pardon," River said, clearing his throat, "Perhaps I wasn't clear enough. While I personally would have preferred to have your blessing out of respect, I see now that this is not about Four's safety or even his sanity. You are simply refusing the marriage because you yourself are scared of marriage. I'm afraid you don't even see Four in this situation, but rather, yourself." Hades narrowed his eyes slowly.
"Everything I do is for the safety of my children," he said, his voice taking an edge, "Do not ever think I will not be there to protect Four."
"I do not doubt that you will do anything for your children," River agreed, "That's not what I'm saying. I'm saying you are holding Four back from making his own decisions because you yourself are afraid of every decision he makes. You are afraid of marriage. It took you years to marry Lucifer, did it not? I recall from the articles you denied him repeatedly before you agreed. I'm going to assume that you have poor experience with marriage, and I do apologize for that. I am sorry your experiences were frightening and traumatizing, but you cannot project that fear and anxiety onto Four and in case it has escaped your notice, despite his education, Four is still legally an adult and can make and form his own opinions without your constant input. If anything, your helicopter parenting is going to scare him away."
"I'm not scared of him," I snapped. River rolled his eyes.
"Not literally," he said to me, then looked at Hades, who frowned, "My father has told me many stories about you, my lord. From the first time he saw you at a council meeting when he was only five-years-old to the day you stood by his side and defended my mother, not just to my entire clan, but to my grandfather's face. You know what is right and what is wrong, my lord. Tying a leash on Four's neck will only make him get further and further away from you, and need I remind you, I was alive and aware of the time that you had nothing."
"Your sons did not speak of you, did not look at you, did not even refer to you," River said, making Hades avert his eyes for a moment, "I remember the years that you spent locked inside your castle in the mountain, hiding away from everyone and everything. I used to think that you just sat in that big castle, plotting world domination or terror, but when I asked my father, he just told me that you were scared and you were hurt and you were tired. And even now, as I go to my room and sit there and blame myself for why you won't let me marry your son, I have to remind myself of these things. It's not me, it's not even about Four. It's about your inability to stop controlling out of fear that things will go wrong. And who knows? Maybe things will go wrong sometimes."
"Yeah," I agreed immediately, gesturing a thumb to River, "Do you honestly think he's going to agree to everything I say? He didn't even want to come down here."
"Exactly," Hades retorted.
"Because he doesn't want to piss you off or make you think he's irresponsible. He only came down here to make sure I didn't get hurt," I said, making Hades frown, "What would make him a perfect husband? Just doing nothing or beating the shit out of me to stop me?" Hades looked at River, who stared back at him.
"The only reason Four is asking for your permission to marry me is because I told him I wanted to respect your wishes and have your blessing first, but if you are unwilling to do so simply because you yourself are afraid, then I'm afraid I won't be able to abide by your fear, Hades. I will not let you control me, or Four, because you are scared. I can stand here all day and tell you exactly why I want to marry Four," he explained, then paused to look at me and I looked back at him curiously.
"I can tell you that every time his eyes sparkle, I feel alive again, even over something I'd originally thought silly," he murmured, making me tilt my head to study him as he spoke, "Every time he speaks boldly and proudly, I feel envy. I'd grown up learning to watch what I say. I could never ever sing my mother's praises. If I spoke up even once about her, I was beaten for it or I was mocked for it, or worse, they would go after my father. I learned to keep my mouth shut after a while. I stood there while complete strangers told me my mother was a whore, she was filth, she was a liar, a thieving harlot. I stewed in my anger for years. I tried to model exactly what my clan thought of as perfect, because that would make me worthy..."
"Except that's complete bullshit," River said, "Four speaks honestly and directly and he will tell you what is right and what is wrong. If I had had Four by my side, I would have killed anyone who spoke of my mother or my father poorly. He is capable of doing what I cannot, and he fills me with the power to be able to do that myself. If you had asked me a year ago, if I would stand here and speak to you the way that I am today, I would have had a heart attack at the mere thought. But Four has given me the strength to tell you to fuck off and stay out of our marriage." River reached out to stroke my cheek, making me blink and look at Hades, who was frowning at us.
"Oh, and for the record," River added, turning to look at Hades, "My mother was not a whore or a thief. She was a beautiful and kind female who fell victim to a patriarchal society run on fear and control and fuck anyone who ever says otherwise. If there is any threat to our society today, it is those things; fear and control. And that is exactly why the Mother is stepping up. She's ready to have that control and feed on that fear. I will be damned if I fall victim to it once more." Hades glanced between us with a frown.
Wow, did that actually work?
I couldn't tell. It was hard to read Hades's face and weirdly enough, I couldn't come up with any silly thoughts he might be having at the moment, which was weird. Usually I could pull some conversation out of my ass, but Hades was blank at the moment. I looked at River, who reached down to take my hand in his, holding it firmly.
I was briefly taken aback about his mother. I knew it'd been some kind of act. There was something too forceful and sharp about his mother talk, almost like he was forcing himself to say the things he did, and it pissed me the fuck off that someone made him talk about his mother like that. The lady sounded like she was fucking incredible. I made a mental note to suckerpunch anyone who badmouthed Magdelena.
"Fuck," Hades said at last, making me frown. He reached up to scrub his hands on his face before raking it through his hair. He dropped his arms at his sides in frustration and glared at us, like he was ready to whip up a whole new spiel, except a weird sound suddenly went off. It was like super loud rock music.
Fuck me, fuck me up, fuck me, fuck me up!
"Oh, that's Lucy," Hades muttered, reaching into his pocket and taking out his phone, "Yes, hi, I'm in the middle of doing that parenting thing you told me to get started on, so if you could just... What the fuck?" River and I shared curious frowns, then looked at Hades, who groaned and tilted his head back to stare up at the ceiling.
"Are you fucking kidding me. How hard is it to keep a fucking... Okay, yeah. I got it... Four and River. Yes, the guy's dead... No, the guy, not River. Yes... Yes! I swear I didn't kill him, he's right here... Oh for fuck's sake, Luce," Hades growled and hit some buttons on his phone and turned it toward River and I to reveal Lucifer sitting on some stuffed gothic looking sofa.
"See," Hades said, "Both of them are alive and well." Lucy sighed.
"Oh, thank the gods."
"Yo," I said immediately to Lucy, who brightened, "Lucy, tell your husband to let me marry River already. I'm getting antsy here. Can we look at rings now or is it gonna take another week or two of convincing?" Lucy blinked, bewildered as Hades turned the phone back to himself, even when I came over to try and get in the picture.
"Marriage? Wait, did you agree?" Lucy asked hopefully. Hades glared at him.
"I never said that."
"No, but he will," I said, pulling on Hades's sleeve so I could get into the picture so Lucy could see me and smile, "River had a pretty convincing story about love and shit. I think Hades even teared up a little."
"Absolutely not," Hades deadpanned as Lucy grinned while Hades held the phone out of my reach, which was a lot easier to do than I thought, much to my chagrin, "I did not, nor did I say anything. They barely let me talk."
"But that's quite nice," Lucy said with a nod, "That's wonderful to hear."
"I didn't approve of it, Lucy."
"We should start looking at venues. I doubt they'll want to get married at the palace--"
"I want to get married on a mountain," I spoke up, making Hades scoff.
"A mountain," Lucy mused.
"Luce, I didn't even fucking approve of it yet."
"He said yet," I exclaimed, making Lucy laugh.
"I meant never," Hades snapped, then glared at Lucy, who continued to laugh, "Stop doing that, you're encouraging him. If he starts cutting holes in your underwear or dropping shits in your office, you can deal with it yourself."
"Relax," Lucy chuckled, "It sounds like things are alright with you boys then--"
"They are not."
"Anyway, can you get here quickly? I think Malachi's about to have a mental breakdown."
"The last thing we need is him drinking again," Hades sighed in frustration, "Fine, just hold tight, I'll be there in a minute. Gotta tie some shit up here before I leave."
"Do hurry. I love you, travel safe," Lucy said, then hung up. Hades rolled his eyes, mocked Lucy's tone, but there was a softness to his face now as he hung up. He glared at River and I.
"Both of you go back upstairs and wait. I have a situation to deal with--"
"What's wrong with Malachi?"
"None of your damn business," Hades told me, making me scowl, "Go upstairs. Behave for literally five seconds and I'll be back and we can talk about what to do next." I frowned.
"What to do next? You mean, like, wedding plans?" I asked. Hades glared.
"No, like, Mother plans, now go," he ordered, pointing back the way we came. I glared at him, but he wasn't letting up the staring contest and River was starting to shift uncomfortably.
"I am certainly not going back on my word," River said, making Hades and I look at him, "However, I am very uncomfortable standing in the dark in a room full of spiders and rats."
"The dead body doesn't do anything to you?" I asked, gesturing to where Cyrus was starting to stiffen up and stink.
"No, the dead body is also quite disgusting," River agreed.
"There's no rats down here," Hades said, making River look at him, "Rats would get into my business. Why do you think I have the cat upstairs? Oh, but there are spiders and the occasional mutant raccoon."
"Mutant raccoon?" River demanded, but I was already taking him by the arm and leading him out of the room while River called over his shoulder, "That's a joke too, right?"
"He's lying," I assured River, who grimaced, "What's a mutant raccoon?"
"A raccoon that is a mutant."
"What's a raccoon?"
"You've never heard of a raccoon?"
"No," I admitted, "The compound had very few animals, and even outside the compound on missions, I didn't see much. So what's a raccoon? Is it dangerous? Is it tasty?"
"Yes and no," River said dryly, "I suppose there are some who would disagree with the latter, but I'm afraid I am not a fan of raccoon meat... or raccoons in general. They're too smart and get into your garbage more often than not."
"Maybe don't throw away good food."
"Raccoons will eat anything, including bad food."
"Hm. Sounds like me," I said with a shrug, making River smirk, "Anyway, thanks for all that back there. Hopefully it'll convince Hades that our marriage is fine." River shrugged.
"I was simply being honest," he said, making me look at him, "What? You didn't think I was spilling my heart to Hades just to convince you, did you?" I averted my eyes for a moment, but River stopped and turned to face me, taking my face in his hands, which surprised me. Those bright fiery orange eyes met mine and seemed to almost sparkle in the dark, which was so funny because it was dark, but I guess that meant that was how bright my eyes were glowing maybe.
"Four. I know you perhaps do not understand the words I love you or their meaning, but for what it is worth," River murmured, studying my face as I stared at him, "I do love you. And I will admit, at first this marriage was nothing more than a political gain for both of us, but I find myself unable to be away from you. I retire to my room for the night and lay awake, wondering where you are, if you're okay, if I can..." His voice trailed.
"Fuck me?" I asked. River blushed, lowering his head with a chuckle, as if he wasn't surprised I'd said that, then he looked up to meet my eyes.
"If I can hold you and love you the way you deserve to be loved. It is my promise to you, as your husband, that I will love you until the end of days. Even as the universe takes its final breath, I would rather be nowhere than beside you to face eternity in the sky together. It would be the greatest honor, if you should let me." I stared at him as his words sunk in.
I had no idea what love meant. I'd heard it spoken about on and off over the years. I overheard soldiers say it to one another if they were married or dating, or even just sleeping together. I'd heard the Mother utter it to only a select few, like Two, but I'd never quite understood it or wanted it really, because why would I want another weakness? Another soft spot for the Mother to abuse and exploit?
I remembered the way River walked up to Cyrus, kicked him right in the face, that cold tone of voice that I'd never heard directed at me. I didn't even need to say anything, didn't need to ask. River felt my fear and my discomfort and he was going to stop it at any cost. He flinched and he shied away from spiders and rats, but when it came to just protecting my honor, he dropped that shit and went for it.
I remembered the way he stood and faced Hades, called him out on his shit, and held his ground.
I was going to marry River for his army and for his power. That was the plan.
But then I remembered all the time I wasn't with River and yet thought of him. I was hanging out with the Cousins, exploring a whole new world, even drinking alcohol, but even with all that experience and partying, I found myself wishing River was beside me to hold my hand, to dance with me, to enjoy the food. I wanted to hear his stupid rants about how improper it was. I wanted to hear him encourage me or warn me. I wanted to feel those long slender fingers slide between mine, our palms pressed together, his secret smile, those fucking dark curls that, interestingly, he was letting fly free now.
I laughed abruptly, which made River blink and look at me curiously.
"I'm sorry, I'm afraid I don't see what's so funny," River said, his cheeks pinkening like he was embarrassed, and I felt a slow grin come to my lips.
"No, I just think it's funny that this whole time, I had no fucking idea what love was and thought it was totally fucking stupid, and honestly it still kind of is, but then I remembered what we said before; where I said we're fucked together and you said we're stupid together and I just realized that what we got going on is love and this whole time, I just thought we were both weirdos," I said, making River blink as I laughed, "Turns out we're just in love. That's hilarious." River stared at me for the longest time as I laughed, then he slowly smiled.
"Yes. We're just in love, that's all," he agreed, "Fucked together, stupid together."
"Forever together," I added. River's eyes seemed to glow at that.
"Yes," he murmured, then leaned in to press his lips to mine. I savored that moment, the feel of his soft slightly chapped lips against mine. I pressed my lips to his, tongued his lips open a little, and he freely opened his mouth this time so I could explore every nook and cranny, including those oversensitive fangs that made River moan as he pulled me closer to him.
"I like kissing you," I said breathlessly when we broke apart for air.
"I also very much enjoy kissing you," River murmured against my lips. I started to smile, then stopped when I saw something move behind River, making me frown, "So, what do mutant raccoons even look like?" River stiffened.
"Please do not tell me you see one."
"I don't know, that's why I'm asking."
River turned, then hissed as he immediately got behind me.
"That's a spider!" He snapped. I grinned, watching the giant thing slide down its thread to eye us with its multiple eyes, its legs twitching like it was considering jumping on someone.
"I can't believe you're scared of spiders."
"I am not scared. I just don't like them on me."
"But he wasn't even on you."
"He was too close for comfort."
"Wow, he was just looking for rats... or mutant raccoons."
"That's it," River said, putting his hands up, "I'm leaving. I'm tired of being dusty and dirty and surrounded by spiders."
"Wow, you are such a priss," I said with a head shake, but I took his hand in mine anyway as we made our way back through the maze to Hades's office. Surprise surprise, his fireplace was open and ready for us to walk out and as soon as we did, the fireplace clicked and closed back up again. I looked over at where the skull was supposed to have the button, but it was gone now. Scowling, I looked around the room and noted some of the paperwork was cleaned up. A minute after we got closed up in the office, the fireplace clicked again and turned on, roaring to life once more, as if it had never existed.
I went to the bookshelf to look for the skull, or maybe some other button, but it was gone.
"Wow, that's rude," I said, turning to River, who shook his head, "What if I want to go back down there? What if I left my phone?"
"Your phone's in your back pocket and we are never going back there again," River said, leaning his weight on Hades's desk to take deep breaths. I blinked and reached into my back pocket to feel my phone there, then grinned at him.
"How'd you know my phone was there, pervert?" I asked. River blushed.
"I wasn't reaching for your phone."
"Oh, I know," I said, making River blush harder.
"That's not what I meant."
"Uh huh," I said, then paused, "Hey. Wanna do something fun?" River grimaced as he turned to face me. I came over to put my arms around him, which seemed to briefly surprise him, before he relaxed and wrapped his arms around me in turn.
"What?" He asked, resting his head on top of mine.
"Let's go skinny dipping in the pool," I said, making River blink his eyes open and I felt a particular part of him stiffen to attention.
"I was informed there is to be no skinny dipping in the pool," he said, but it was a really weak complaint.
"Yeah, but with Lucy and Hades gone and their kids busy doing their own gross thing, I'd figure we can get dibs on the pool," I said, pulling back to look up at him. River looked at me, his cheeks flushed pink at the suggestion and what it could entail.
"If I laid hands on you--"
"Wow, you really turned me on with all that macho talk with Hades," I said dryly, "Now I'm going softer than a fuckin' rotten cucumber. Except smaller."
"Well, I didn't say no exactly--"
"Great, let's fuck in the pool."
"Wait, I never agreed to that-- Four, wait--" I was already walking out of the office and down the hallway, making my way to the pool as River hurried after me, giving me several reasons why skinny dipping in a pool was wrong, including something about sanitary, but if I wanted to be sanitary, I probably wouldn't be having sex in the first place, right?
Unfortunately, by the time we arrived at the pool, I realized we were too late because a peek through the windows revealed that apparently Cerberus and Blaine had gotten dibs on the pool before us.
"Gross," I said, peeking through the window just in time to get a flash of Cerberus's butt, which was the last fucking thing I needed, "Nevermind. Boner killed." River rolled his eyes.
"Must you behave like a child--"
"Must you behave like a pompous rich dude," I said, turning to River, who frowned, "Look, you can talk all that fancy shit around Hades, fine whatever, but when we're together, I wanna hear the real River, not Lord River. I wanna hear... Prince River." River flushed immediately.
"Oh, no, no, I would never be worthy of such a title--"
"Dude, if we're getting married, and I'm a prince, that's probably gonna make you a prince too, ya know."
"Oh, I could never--"
"Prince River," I mused, walking away from the pool and River hurried to keep up with me, "That's got a nice ring to it."
"Please," River said with a grimace, "Even if that were to be my title, which I doubt Hades will allow, there is no chance my clan will refer to me as such." I frowned in realization.
"Fuck. That's right. I forgot your family was kind of shitty."
"My father's side is anyway, and they're the only ones alive."
"Hmmm," I said, coming to a stop, "What was that dude's name, the dude who wants to kill you and marry me?" River frowned for a moment, then looked at me.
"Abaddon? My cousin?"
"Oh yeah," I said slowly, "Where's he live?" River frowned, arching a brow.
"On the River Phlegethon."
"What is with you people and hanging out in weird places? You dunk your babies in the River Styx, then send 'em to live on the river of flames. Do you guys vacation at the fuckin' River Acheron?"
"I never said anything about being the smartest clan. Just the strongest."
"We'll see about that," I said, turning to head to the lobby as River hurried to keep up.
"Uh, I beg your pardon?"
"Can't get married with a death warrant hanging over your head," I said, making River scowl, "So let's go pay Abbadon a visit." River's eyes widened.
"What? No, Four, no--"
"We killed part of my problem. Now it's time to kill the main source of yours," I said with a shrug, but River hurried to cut off my path to the front door, making me frown.
"Two things wrong with your plan," he said immediately, "A) Hades strictly forbade you from leaving."
"I mean, he said that about marriage too, but you saw how that went."
"I think this is different, Four. Abbadon is dangerous. There is a reason he sits at the head of the clan, right now."
"Right now," I said, "But when I'm done with him, we'll be the heads of the clan."
"It's not that simple."
"Then how do you decide the head of the clan?" I asked. River stared at me in silence and I stared back before he groaned.
"You kill the current head, but, Four--"
"Great! Something we're both good at. Throw on your killin' shoes, hubs, we're gonna go kill us a clan head."