Chapter Twenty-Six
"You bastard!"
I looked up with a frown as Dania came storming into my office, fists clenched and cheeks flushed with rage. She didn't hesitate to lunge over my desk to grab for my throat, but I pulled out of her reach and she went to move around the desk, but I sent a blast at her, gentle enough to stop her, but enough to make it count. She bared her teeth at me.
"Why are you sending Alexis back home?! He isn't a treacherous dickhead like the others!" She shouted, reaching for me again, but I stepped out of her way, frowning. Judging from her choice of words, she knew about Hades's plan now. I made a mental note to punch someone for that little slip up.
"Dania, I'm doing this for our safety. We can't trust him." I told her sternly. Dania snarled at me and lunged for me again, but I spun out of her way and she shouted in frustration, clenching her fists and slamming them down on my desk, sending a crack rushing through the center. I scowled at that, then looked up meet Dania's flashing angry eyes.
"Alexis isn't a traitor."
"Look, I don't know what Raven told you--"
"Raven didn't tell me, douche canoe! Alexis did," Dania snapped, making me frown, "He told me about Hades's plan this morning. And then you come along and tell him he has to go home? He just betrayed Hades for me! There's no way he's going back there. If Hades finds out he told me, he'll kill him."
"So what? He gave a little bit of information away. That doesn't make him special. I don't want him here." I informed her flatly. Dania clenched her teeth, then curled her lip and pushed away from my desk. She shoved past me, slamming her shoulder into mine. I frowned, turning around to watch her go to the door.
"Fine," She snapped, glaring at me over her shoulder, "It's not up to you anyway. I'm taking Alexis back to my penthouse in Hell." My temper flared at that and I sent my powers out, slamming the door shut before she could walk out. Dania bared her teeth again and I glared at her.
"Don't be stupid, Dania. You've only known him for a week, if less."
"And you only knew Ambrosius a month."
"Dania, that's different--"
"No, it's not," Dania snapped impatiently, coming to stand in front of me, jabbing her finger into my chest as she spoke, "I've waited my whole life to find someone like Alexis, and I'm not about to let my over-protective brother get in the way. I'm a big girl, Thorn. I can take care of myself. If Alexis turns out to be a traitor to me, then fine, whatever. We both know what'll happen to him. Don't jump all over me just because you're pissed about Ambrosius leaving you. Alexis is coming with me and that's final. We'll be gone after Ambrosius leaves, because I want to say goodbye to him. What about you?" Without another word, she snapped her fingers in my face and left my office, slamming the door shut. I grimaced, wanting to go after her, but not sure whether I wanted to apologize or shake the stupidity out of her.
Instead, I sighed heavily and sank down into my seat, elbow on the arm of my chair. No, what I really wanted was to go find Ambrosius and find a way to take him away from here, just the two of us. To forget all about this stupid war.
But responsibility kept me rooted in place. It made my heart ache. I'd never felt like this before. It was a hundred times worse than the pain the wraith had thrust in my face. Because this was cold hard reality and I loathed it to my very core.
Fed up with my self-loathing, I got up from my chair and left my office, taking a walk to the stables, only to slow down when I saw Ambrosius there with Xenon. I concealed my presence and walked to the outside of the stables, remaining quiet as I listened to Ambrosius vent as he fed Bethani.
"... isn't fair," He was saying, "He wasn't supposed to come for a few more days."
"Trust me, Ambro, it's better he comes now than later. It'll only hurt worse."
"I don't think I can imagine anything worse than this... I finally feel like I'm on the right path and suddenly he has to yank me off it. I can't believe I'm saying this, but I just fuckin' wish he'd leave me alone. Is it wrong to want to stay here with Thorn?"
"Absolutely not."
"Then why does he act like it is?"
"You're his last shot at victory, Ambrosius. You're his only chance, and surprisingly, the only person who gives two shits about him and he knows that. It's why he wants to keep you so badly. It's why you want to keep Thorn so badly, because you love him as much as he loves you."
"Then how come all my brothers get to be with the one they want and I can't?"
"Because they're defective, in the words of the almighty Hades."
"They are not," Ambrosius protested, "I mean, I don't know them, but if I had the chance, I'd prove they weren't. Thorn told me they were doing a lot of good in the world to make up for what happened with that whole near apocalyptic disaster caused by them trying to save the world, not trying to destroy it like Hades is doing. Why is he like this?"
"I'm surprised you don't relate," Xenon admitted, "Hades was treated like garbage by his family. And I'm not gonna sit here and lie to your face. Persephone doesn't give two shits about him either. They're more like business partners than an actual couple. Hades loves her, but she doesn't love him. She'd turn on him as fast as his own family did. If you live in the darkness as long as Hades has, you become part of it and there's no fighting what is familiar and comforted you all this time."
"That still doesn't give him the right to ruin my life."
"No, it doesn't," Xenon agreed, "But I'm telling you why he is the way he is, which is what you asked for. I know someone who suffered worse than Hades, and he somehow manages to hold his head up high when he walks down the street and gets spat on by ignorance. But some people are just stronger than others. And Hades is just one of those weaker people."
"He'd kill you if he heard you say that."
"Of that I have no doubt. Or at least, he'd die in the attempt."
"If you're so powerful, why don't you just tell Hades off?"
"Hades threatened someone close to me. And I'd rather degrade myself to a piece of mindless shit than let him go anywhere near that person."
"It's Dorean, isn't it?" Ambrosius asked. There was silence. I frowned, resting my back against the wall, closing my eyes and trying not to sigh out loud. That explained Xenon's persistence at his job. I actually started to feel a little sorry for the god. Hades was fucking us all over, and enjoying it the whole time.
"Thorn?" I jumped and snapped my head to see Ambrosius standing there with Xenon behind him, arching a brow over his sunglasses at me. I cleared my throat, shifting uneasily.
"I... wanted to see you." I said. Ambrosius stared at me, his expression sorrowful. It hurt. Xenon just nodded to us and left us alone, much to my surprise and relief. We stood there in total silence for what felt like nearly an hour before Ambrosius came at me, throwing his arms around my neck. I caught him against me, hugging him tightly. He buried his face against my neck, hiding it from whatever ghosts would be hovering. I cradled him to me closely, listening to his dry sobs.
It had been so hard to let go before and now it felt impossible.
Hades was coming tonight, in less than five hours. I had less than five hours to spend with him and I wanted to give him everything I could. I teleported us from outside the stables to my bedroom and set down a sound barrier. Our hands trembled, moving fast, clothes ripping and tearing and falling to the floor in useless tatters. It took everything in my power not to weep in pain as Ambrosius clung to me, as I tugged at his cock in time with each deep thrust inside him. He caught me around the waist and flipped us over so I was on my back and he was riding on top of me, breathing hard. Tears wet his cheeks and darkened his lashes, cheeks flushed and sweat running down the center of his chest. I fingered his cock and cupped his sac, reveling the soft warmth of him.
Our breathes came out in desperate pants, Ambrosius crying out and whimpering every so often as I growled and met him thrust for thrust. The way his muscles bunched and quivered was scrumptious, his cock leaking out onto my stomach and hand as I stroked him into an orgasm. He tilted his head back and moaned. I sat up and grabbed his hips, pushing in deeply. His fingernails found my back and reopened old wounds that I wouldn't allow to heal, because nothing pleased me more than having him carry my mark on me.
And I noticed, as we made love a second time, that the bruised mark I left on his throat was still there, but I knew it wouldn't be the moment he left. He'd have to conceal it, otherwise, Hades would find out what we'd done and what he could do made my throat want to close.
I pushed the bastard's face out of my mind and focused on Ambrosius. His tear-stained face and glowing blue eyes, the heartwrenching sorrow and passion behind each moan that spilled past those perfect plump lips, swollen from rough kissing and biting. I groped and relished in every nook and cranny of his body, kissed and tasted every part of him. We rolled around in the bed so that every corner smelled like Ambrosius, that masculine musky scent combined with just a bit of ash and sweat.
I held him in my arms, so he knew that nothing was more precious to me than he. I lost track of time with how long I stared into resplendent sapphire eyes, listened to him moan and purr each time I invaded him. I let him taste my blood and he let me taste his. The sweet ichor putting any other meal to shame.
"Here," Ambrosius held his hands out, laying on his stomach on the bed beside me, conjuring a small vile with a glittering gold liquid inside, attached to a gold chain, "For whenever you need it." My heart clenched as he rolled over and draped the necklace over my head, both of us watching the way the blood glowed in reaction to touching my skin. I placed my hand over the crystal vile, then lifted my eyes to meet Ambrosius. How I wanted to send something back with him...
I leaned in and kissed him. He kissed me back.
"Thorn!" Raven's voice outside my door made me curse under my breath. Ambrosius scowled and rolled over to look at the door.
"What?" I called.
"I reeeally hope you're not doing the you-know-what, when the you-know-who is approaching the gates." Raven replied. Ambrosius paled. I cursed again and we scrambled out of the bed. Our clothes were unfit to be worn, so I scrambled into a pair of baggy pants and a long sleeved shirt, draping Ambrosius in one of my robes and sending him quickly to his room so he could change into his armor.
My heart hammered in my throat as I went down to the lobby to meet with Raven, who was watching me grimly.
"Thanks for the warning." I said, breathlessly. Raven shrugged, then averted his eyes.
"His royal pain in the ass is here and wants his kid." He muttered. I pressed my lips into a firm line, walking past him and letting him follow me out into the yard where all of the soldiers were lined up on either side to greet Hades, with Lucifer following right behind him. Hades looked less than pleased, but blissfully unaware that we knew of his plans to tear down the underworlds. Or maybe he was just so confident in his abilities that he didn't care. And that thought disgusted me.
"Where is he?" Hades asked me directly, pinning me with those icy cold eyes. I was tempted to retort with something snarky, but the door opened and closed behind me. I turned to see Ambrosius making his way out of my home. He was once again adorned in that steel form-fitting black armor with the gold cape clipped to his shoulder. I swallowed hard at the sight of him. I struggled to maintain composure as Ambrosius walked past me to approach Hades, who frowned at him a bit suspiciously. Ambrosius met his eyes fearlessly.
"Are we leaving?" He asked. Hades relaxed to a degree, then looked past Ambrosius at me. His eyes narrowed, but a smirk tugged at the corners of his lips and I could hear his voice in my head.
Checkmate.
Without another word, a dark column of smoke engulfed them and the last thing I saw was Ambrosius's eyes looking at me, a glint of pain in them that stung me to the core. We waited in silence as the column vanished, and much to my relief, all of his troops vanished as well. Alexis and Dania, of course, were nowhere to be found, but I couldn't find it in me to be angry.
If I couldn't have Ambrosius, at least Dania could have Alexis. That should've made me happy, but it did nothing to ease the pain crushing my chest.
Lucifer came forward and touched my shoulder. I didn't particularly want comfort, but I couldn't find it in me to pull away. I was suddenly too exhausted to fight even his embrace. He held me to him tightly.
"I'm sorry, Thorn." He murmured. I knew it was all he could find to say, but I couldn't help, but wonder why people kept apologizing. They hadn't done anything, and they could do nothing. Neither could I. There was no need to apologize. I just let him hold me until he chose to step back, cupping my face and studying me before retreating and vanishing in a sharp curl of white smoke. I watched him go, then turned and went inside with Raven following me every step of the way.
"Do you want a drink?" He asked me. I almost smiled at that, pausing to turn and face Raven, who looked at me hopefully.
"Yeah," I said at last, "Yeah, a drink sounds good." Raven looked relieved and nodded. I followed him to the kitchen before I let him make his own toxic concoction as I drifted into the living room. Walking into the room, I was suddenly reminded of the movie night Dania had triggered here. Hours of drinking, eating, laughing, dancing, watching ridiculous movies and listening to Dania and Alaric argue, or Dania and Remi singing. I remembered the way Ambrosius had felt draped over me, tilting his head back to look up at me with a drunken smile as he informed me that po'boys were officially his new favorite food. And the fact that I had to help him upstairs to his room, listening to him talk about the movie Tangled and how he too wanted to run away from a tower and go on an adventure, one that I thought would never end, and I suddenly felt incredibly foolish for ever having held onto such a childish hope.
"Here." Raven came to stand beside me, handing me a shotglass liquor. I nodded my thanks before taking the shot and savoring the burn as it fled down my throat and sloshed into my stomach. I held my hand out and summoned Remi, who appeared before me, looking a bit sad, his eyes lowered.
"Hey," I said after a moment, making him tilt his head, "Could you make some sandwiches? Raven and I are going to hang out in the living room for a while." Remi nodded slowly at that, passing Raven a curious look, which he returned. I wasn't sure why they were confused by my request. I went over and sat on the sofa, Raven taking over the one opposite after he'd fetched the bottles of liquor, because instead of taking shots, I decided to swallow it straight from the bottle.
"Has Dev been flirting with you again?" I asked, noticing Raven discomfort with the silence. Raven rolled his eyes at me.
"He flirts with everyone, Thorn. I told you that."
"Well, either he flirts with just you or not. I don't trust him, or like him."
"Nothing's going to happen between us, Thorn. Besides, I'm a big boy now. I'm perfectly capable of taking care of myself." Raven assured me. His words sounded just like Dania's and it tugged at my heart. Because I knew they were right. They were no longer the little kids who ran to me in the middle of the night after a nightmare, or the children who ooed and ahhed at my show of power. They stood shoulder-to-shoulder with me now.
"But," Raven said, suddenly, making me frown and look at him to see him staring at me, "Even adults like us need someone to lean on when we're feeling like shit." I stared at him, then smiled faintly at that, taking a swallow of alcohol.
"I guess so."
"I'm sorry about Ambrosius, Thorn. For the record, he was pretty cool."
"He is." I murmured, then slumped back on the sofa, closing my eyes against the headache that came with swallowing down that eternal lump in my throat. I settled in, listening to Raven reluctantly turn on the television to a random show. He laid back on the sofa and passed me another bottle as Remi came in with the sandwiches. Ones that were difficult to swallow past the tears caught in my throat.
This is it.
Ambrosius was gone.
And even with Remi and Raven to keep me company, it was just like a predicted... There was a hole in my heart that not even my family could fill.