Chapter 7
"What the fuck are these?" Moros snapped.
The dragon winced, making himself smaller than he was but he didn't back off. He looked like he was waiting to snatch his personal belongings out of Moros hand and run off with them in order to hide them somewhere safe and I was surprised he was willing to put up a fight for once in his life time. These items must be very dear to him in order for him to go against his owner and risk displeasing him.
Moros had caught the dragon sitting on the kitchen floor and admiring a thin, golden bracelet that resembled a dragon that wrapped around his wrist and sparkled in the sun. Next to him was sitting a few snacks specifically made for dragons and a small container with some kind of ointment. It looked like the medicine that was used on a dragon's scales and claws to keep them healthy and strong but I wasn't that sure about it. I only knew Moros was very displeased.
The commotion in the kitchen had awoken us from our hangover slumber and I had frowned at the pulsing pain inside my head. Iolas didn't seem to fair better and while I could just magically remove it, he was going to be stuck with it for a while. I was completely fine with that since he had taken the liberty to top me yesterday and I wasn't sure how I felt about that. That wasn't how it was supposed to go.
"Who gave them to you?" He demanded to know.
"Collin." The dragon willingly told him and Moros frowned.
"I told you not to talk to him." He snapped and the dragon took half a step back. "Why are you never doing what you are told?"
He was eyeing his belongings which Moros was still clutching onto tightly, tail whipping through the air. The scales that weren't covered by the jumpsuit he was wearing had turned almost completely white, a few scales on his tail were still black while most of them had lost pigment as well and some were a weird greyish color. The same thing was starting to happen to his hair, his eyebrows and his eyelashes as well. It wouldn't take much longer.
"He is my friend." The dragon insisted.
"You are not his friend!" Moros growled, making the dragon retreat. "He is dangerous, a wanted criminal and most importantly he doesn't have friends. You. Are. Not. His. Friend."
"He is being nice to me!" The dragon persisted. "No one else is being nice to me."
As if to show what he thought of that, Moros dropped the items in the sink and set them on fire with his magic. The dragon whimpered and scurried over to it, trying to put the flames out but he just burned his fingers in the process. He didn't care and tried to grab it again but Moros smacked his hands away, snarling at him as he moved to reach for it again. It was sad to watch him being treated like this.
"No, please!" The dragon whimpered, making Moros scoff. "Please let me keep them!"
I could see Iolas glare at Moros back and I was glad he had gotten fired, otherwise he might have had to endure all sorts of punishments for behaving like this. I could understand why he did it however. It was disgusting to watch Moros treat the dragon like this and I didn't want to know what else he did once no one was there to keep an eye on him. Ew.
"Look at your hands." He huffed. "I'm not healing that. It's your own fault."
The dragon didn't care and inched closer to the mess that was left smoldering in the sink. He made a sad noise and left his wings hanging to which Moros only rolled his eyes. He reached over to touch him and probably grab him by the neck but Collin appeared out of nowhere, using one finger to push his hand away from him while his lip was curled over his fangs in disgust.
I knew he had a tendency to either hang around here or at Thaney's place but it was still creepy to think he was spying on my brother. He may be doing it in order to keep him from hurting the dragon but I was pretty sure he was also doing it to mess with him somehow. I just hoped he didn't watch us last night because that would be embarrassing and very weird. Especially if he enjoyed watching.
"Hey shithead." Collin snarled. "It was really hard to get my hands on that, given the huge bounty on my head."
"I told you to stay away from my house and my property." Moros growled back. "Leave him and me alone."
"You are leaving him alone all day." Collin continued, ignoring what he had just said. "He needs social interaction and something to do. Besides, we had fun, didn't we?"
He said the last part with a smile, winking at the dragon. He blushed and I could see a smile play on his lips before he found Moros staring at him and it disappeared again. He dropped his head, looking to the ground and ashamed, curling his tail around him. Collin rolled his eyes and pushed Moros out of the way to get to the burnt items in the sink. He picked them up and used magic to restore them back to their original state.
"Here." Collin said, handing them to the little dragon. "They are yours. Keep them safe."
He bolted off as soon as he touched the items, probably hiding them somewhere he deemed safe so Moros wasn't going to take them away from him. Moros went to go after him but Collin grabbed him by the front of his shirt, slamming his head right into his nose with a sickening crunch. Moros stumbled back, looking confused for a second that someone actually dared to attack him before he caught himself and growled at him.
"Don't you dare ." Collin snarled. "Leave him alone."
Moros nose was busted and blood running down over his top lip, collecting at the chin before it dropped onto the ground. He looked less than pleased and I was considering helping him out but I didn't want to since I wasn't feeling too well after last night. I also thought he could treat the dragon way better and if Collin decided to teach him a lesson on pet caring that was fine with me. Unless he was beginning to actually get hurt.
"Why would it matter. He is going to die any minute now." Moros scoffed, making me roll my eyes.
Collin winced at his words. I tried not to let it show on my face but I was fairly disgusted by Moros' attitude. If he didn't want the dragon, he could have said something years ago and not waited until he was all grown up. Maybe something could have been done to safe the poor thing or at least he didn't have to suffer this much if he had the mercy to just put him down.
"Give him to me." Collin demanded, sounding pained.
"No." Moros snorted.
"Why?" Collin huffed, increasingly frustrated. "I'd pay you, you don't even do anything with him and he could spent his last days happy."
Moros brought up one hand to his face to wipe off the blood from his face before he just smeared it onto his pants as if he couldn't be bothered. He didn't even glare back at Collin who was basically stabbing him with his eyes and just smirked at him which set Collin off even further. He looked like he was five seconds away from chopping his head off and as much as I wanted to see him freak out, I didn't want my brother to die.
"Because you really want me to and I like pissing you off." He shrugged, pouring himself a glass of orange juice.
"Fuck you." Collin hissed. "Guard your house, asshole because I might just pay you another visit and take him with me."
Moros made a rude noise and Collin flipped him the bird and set the fridge on fire before he teleported off without another word. We all watched it burn for a few minutes and I even contemplated stepping into the fire to let it consume me and free me from this existence for a few seconds before I shook my head and used magic to extinguish it. Now it was just a sad, smoldering piece of metal and it reminded me of the dragon's things earlier. An eye for an eye, I guess.
"Why didn't you let him take the dragon?" I asked Moros. "You aren't interested in him and he wants to make his life less miserable. It would be a win win situation."
"Because I don't want to." He huffed, teleporting off.
I just stared at the spot he had disappeared from before I groaned and rubbed over my face. I felt like shit, it was way too early in the morning and I wasn't in the mood to deal with things like this. Why couldn't I turned out like the Olympians? They never cared if someone else got hurt and they always put themselves before anyone else. I wanted to be like that. I wanted it easy.
"You look like you could use some rest." Iolas said, leaning against the kitchen table and smirking at me.
I didn't have time to rest. I knew it didn't concern him because he wasn't serving in the military but it annoyed me that he just completely blocked out that we were at war. A few meters from our borders there were people dying and he had the audacity to tell me that I needed a break. I didn't need a break, I needed a solution and that as fast as possible to avoid even more death and destruction.
"My ass hurts." I complained to not have to think about it any further. "If you did that to anyone else, that would get you killed."
His smirk widened and he didn't look like he regretted anything. Instead he skipped over to me, wrapping his arms around my waist and pulling my back against his chest. I huffed but that didn't stop him from pressing his lips against my shoulder, slowly making his way up to my ear. I could feel the goosebumps creep up my back and I shivered, using one hand to grab onto him.
"I'm sorry." He purred, biting my ear shell. "I want to apologize."
I shivered in delight at receiving attention and cursed myself for letting myself get distracted like this. He slipped one hand into the front pocket of my jeans and I grunted as he dug his fingers through the fabric and into my thigh. Moros or the dragon could both return any moment and I didn't want them to find us humping each other in the kitchen so I pulled his hand out of my pocket and turned around to face him.
"No, you are not." I huffed, cocking my head to one side.
"I could make it up to you." He smirked, nibbling on my neck.
"Tempting but I still have some plans.". I tried to fend him off.
He pouted but didn't move away from me. Instead he rested his head on my shoulder, just enjoying the moment and I knew this was the calm before the storm. I tried not to get too attached to him because he was going to lash out and I didn't want my heart broken only because this child was having his five minutes and throwing a tantrum. It was better if we spent some time apart.
"Apply for some jobs, start looking for a new flat while I'm out." I advised him. "If you have additional time, help my servants and be somewhat useful."
"Okay." He sighed dejected.
Thankfully, the dragon and Collin sauntered back in before I had to deal with him, with a smile on their face which dropped as soon as they noticed we were still in there. It turned into a defensive scowl as soon as they realized that I had seen the dragon getting on his toes to whisper into Collins's ear. In the dragon's mind they might be friends but I was pretty sure the frowning god next to him had different intentions.
I still didn't know what I was supposed to think of Collin. He just showed up one day and basically declared fatherhood over my sibling with a very weak reasoning. Thanatos seemed to believe him but I didn't. I wanted him to be normal, to be like me and I wanted him to be my brother. If I accepted Collin's explanation of him, my twin's death and Thanatos' birth, then this meant he wasn't part of my family and I couldn't accept that.
"Don't worry, we aren't telling." Iolas assured them but Collin stared at me for confirmation.
Could I really do this to my own brother, betray him and not tell him that someone was trying to woo his dragon. I guess I could justify it, considering how he treated him and how little time he still had left before he was going to die. The question was should I, knowing that might as well end my relationship with him since he held grudges like there was no tomorrow.
"Make sure he is happy." I huffed, making Collin grin like a little kid.
"Don't tell me what to do, Nyx' spawn." He smirked.
The dragon smiled up at him, tail whipping from side to side as he beamed at Collin excitedly. I hoped he was going to be able to show the dragon some form of kindness and teach him what it felt like to be loved before he took his last breath because I didn't want his life to be of waste. It made me sad to know he never had any real friends and only ever relied on Moros who was just cruel.
"We are going on an adventure." Nael hummed, digging through the cabinets to pack some snacks.
"What kind?" I asked, eyeing Collin suspiciously.
I had a hunch the so called adventure involved illegal things, pissing a bunch of people off and afterwards he might just try to get the dragon to leave Moros and run away with him. I highly doubted that was going to happen but he was probably going to try and in the end he may just end up killing him before Moros could. Someone needed to keep Collin in check and I wasn't sure if anyone was even close to matching him in terms of strength.
"I'm taking him to the woods in my son's sphere." He elaborated, making me roll my eyes. "I saw a gigantic wolf there last time."
That so wasn't a good idea. We hadn't had time to explore that new section yet but if it was anything like the old woods, there were going to be a whole lot of dangerous animals in there who just waited for a naïve dragon to stumble in there so they could turn him into their breakfast. Either Collin didn't care or he was willing to risk it and I wasn't sure if I should change my mind and not let them go.
"That's dangerous and Moros won't like that." I remarked dryly, knowing he didn't care about Moros.
"I don't care and I don't care." Collin huffed as if to mock me. "We are going to have a great time."
The dragon nodded along while his tail was creeping towards Collin's leg and curling itself around it. I tried not to stare at it too much but it kind of bothered me that he was allowing the dragon to get this close to him while I had tried to befriend him since the beginning and all he did was being mean to me. I didn't want to be his friend either but Thaney liked him so I had to as well.
"We already went to..." The dragon started to tell us but Collin covered his mouth.
"They don't need to know what we already did." He chuckled, grinning at us. "That might just get us in even more trouble."
Nael mouth went o-shaped while his eyes grew big before he giggled and covered his mouth with his hands. He seemed to be doing very well with this new found friend of his and most importantly he appeared happier. I just wished he had found a friend at the beginning of his life and not the end. Now he had little time left and wasn't going to be able to enjoy it to the fullest.
"Have fun." Iolas smiled and the dragon hummed
"Try to be back before Moros returns home." I advised. "He won't be too pleased to find him missing."
"Who do you think I am? A fucking rookie?" Collin scoffed.
The dragon snickered and I got the feeling they did this more often than any of us thought. Collin just linked his arm with the dragon, stuck his tongue out at me and teleported off with him before I could add anything that might keep them from going on their adventure or more fitting the wooventure where Collin tried to get into the dragons pants.
I didn't want to spend any more time at my brother place and I most certainly didn't want to witness the shit show that was going to go down if he returned before they managed to come back. I grabbed Iolas by the elbow and teleported home, reappearing in the kitchen. It was still too early for my servants to be here since they were used to me sleeping all morning or not being here at all and I decided to just proceed with my day without breakfast. Just as I was about to leave again, Iolas interrupted me.
"Do you have five more minutes?" He asked, looking at me questioningly.
"Yes. Why?" I replied.
"I figured we could eat breakfast together." He suggested, looking unsure.
He was definitively growing too close. Soon enough he was going to flip his shit and push me away again. I guess I should start mentally preparing myself for that since I didn't necessarily want to lose him as a friend and it was going to hurt my feelings. Despite him being an entitled little brat that thought he deserved everything, he had his moments where he was a very good friend.
"Sure." I agreed and sat down at the table.
He started taking out everything he needed and began to work while I mentally went over my day. I needed to figure out when I had to absolve the endurance run, check on Numay and see if she had anything to say about my plans and then I needed to find a way to either win this war or get Heaven to give up since it was costing us too much men and I didn't like that. I didn't understand why we had to participate to begin with.
I could also try and find Iolas a job since I knew some gods and goddesses and they'd probably be more inclined to hire him if he got recommended by someone like me. On the other hand I also didn't want it to fall back on me if he decided he had enough and started misbehaving again. It was a tricky situation and I didn't know if I had what it needed to be solved.
"Scrambled eggs or fried eggs?" He asked, interrupting my thoughts.
"Scrambled." I replied, staring at his back.
If he just managed to overcome his childish rebellious phase, he could do so much better. But telling him that would just result in a lot of anger and destruction of my place. I didn't want him to flip his shit and start smashing my things. It may have been cute in the beginning, this me against the world attitude but now it was just annoying and getting to the point where it was becoming dangerous for him.
A steaming plate was set down in front of me and I stared at it, trying to figure out what it was. It looked like someone ate it and then threw it up on the plate and I wasn't sure if that wasn't something he was going to pull on me. I could make out bits of eggs and what looked like a burnt hash brown but it could also be anything else since it looked like nothing and everything I had seen. But at least it smelled inviting.
"What. Is. That." I asked, poking what looked like an egg with my finger.
"It's breakfast." He huffed, glaring at me. "My dad used to make it like that. Respect it."
I was ninety nine point nine percent sure his dad didn't make it look like some kind of explosive had detonated in there but I kept my mouth shut. He looked satisfied with himself and I was more than willing to let him have this small victory if that meant he was in a more stable mood once I came back. I was probably going to be spent from the day that was ahead and I didn't want to deal with him.
"It's been a while." He said quietly after a few seconds of staring at his plate. "Since he made breakfast for me. Maybe he doesn't do it like that anymore."
I knew I would have to carefully navigate this conversation now in order to avoid pissing him off by accidentally making him aware that he was sharing information he normally kept hidden from everyone. He missed his parents and his siblings and I was very certain he wanted to go back and repair things but he was a stupid, stubborn manbaby that couldn't get over his pride. Nolan would gladly take him back and Mateo was going to come around eventually after getting over Iolas hurting his husband's feelings but he was still their son.
No matter what my family did to me, I'd never leave them. They may not be the best people but I still loved them dearly and just turning my back on them seemed impossible. I had no idea how he was able to do it out of nowhere and I didn't envy him for that ability. I didn't want to be all alone, knowing I didn't have anyone to fall back on and to support me if I had a problem. I didn't like being lonely.
"You can always knock on the door and ask?" I carefully suggested, hoping I didn't say the wrong thing.
"No, I can't." He sighed, poking the supposed egg. "I can never go back."
"Why would you say that?" I tried to encourage him to finally talk about it.
He looked extremely sad for a moment, making me want to comfort him but he snapped out of it within a second and just turned it into anger, glaring at me. I leaned back on the chair to make him feel less cornered but he was still visibly aggressive towards me.
"I don't want to talk about it. Leave me alone." He snapped at me.
I rolled me eyes and just shoveled the food as fast as I could into my mouth. He gave me a little inside into his head but of course he couldn't just let me have it, no, he had to ruin it by snapping at me. No one was allowed to see that he was actually very vulnerable but jokes on him, I knew that he just put up this bad boy façade and deep inside was hiding a little boy that just needed a hug by his parents.
I didn't say goodbye or let him occupy any more of my time and attention and just teleported off to where I needed to be, the training grounds. I couldn't be bothered to waste my time with him if I could safe people.