Chapter 3
Exton sat across from his father has one of the councilmen entered the throne room. Charles first bowed to Xavier and then to Exton.
"Your grace," he began. "I have just received news from Washington and Arizona...various packs have been reporting strange disappearances and disturbances in their territories."
"Strange how?" Exton asked.
"The packs in Arizona have been reporting sightings of their dead."
"What?" Xavier asked. He looked over at Exton to see the stern focus in his eyes.
"Alpha Jacob have reported that people in nearby towns have seen members of his pack that he buried last year."
Xavier molded the news over in his mind and nodded. "Thank you, Charles. For now have Basil send someone from the King's guards to go and investigate."
"Certainly," Charles bowed.
"Please have the reports sent to my room also," Exton added.
"Of course, your grace." Charles bowed once more before walking out.
Xavier turned to face his son, "What do you think it might be?"
Exton exhaled loudly, "I don't know...but something is not right if multiple packs are reporting the same thing."
"Yes," Xavier nodded as he continued to ponder. "I want you to go to Arizona with the king's guards and see to the matter."
Exton's eyes snapped up to Xavier, "I can't leave."
"Exton," Xavier tried to speak. But Exton was his mother's son...stubborn to his bones.
"No," he stood his ground. "I have to stay here and find Gemma...Caspian and I are close. She might be in the Vail...we just have to somehow open a portal..."
"Exton," Xavier said again firmly. "The vail is a labyrinth...rushing into it without proper knowledge is suicide."
"I'm not giving up."
"No one is asking you to," Xavier said. "Look, there are dead people who are coming back to life...there's only one person, who we know, can do that. Now think for a second."
"You think Gemma and Lafayette may have something to do with this," Exton concluded after a heartbeat.
"Yes," Xavier confirmed. "That is why I want you to go to Arizona and personally check it out."
Exton nodded, "Okay."
"I know you want to find her," Xavier placed a hand on his son's shoulder. "But don't let your emotions cloud your judgment."
Exton was about to answer his father when the door to the throne banged open. The thundering sound echoed through the large hall.
"Daddy!" Mavi shrieked. She stumbled into the room and covered her ears with her hands.
"How did you get down here?" Xavier laughed as he sprinted towards his daughter. "Did you run away from mama again?"
As he picked Mavi up, she giggled to hide her crimes.
"I can't keep saving you from her," Xavier laughed as he smoothed over her wild curls.
"Mama, carrots." Mavi pointed towards the door with her little finger. "No carrots!"
"Mama trying to feed you carrots again?" Xavier asked.
Mavi nodded. "Mavi want juice daddy."
"Did mama say you can have juice?"
Mavi gave him a cheeky smile and hid her face in his shoulder.
"Little miss, are you trying to play your daddy...again?" Xavier chuckled at his daughter's antics.
"Yes, that's right kid," Exton said walking up to Xavier. "Play the system, just like I thought you."
"Eggs!" Mavi picked up her head and smiled at her brother. "Mavi want juice Eggs."
Xavier and Exton both burst out laughing.
"She's trying to play both of us!" Exton playfully pulled down one of her curls.
"Ow!" Mavi shrieked dramatically. "Daddy! Eggs."
She pouted as her brows furrowed together.
"Is he being mean to my angel?" Xavier asked mocking a gasp.
"Mean!" Mavi flung her little arm at Exton. If she had been on the ground, Xavier was sure she would have stomped her little feet.
"What should we do with him, princess?" Xavier asked kissing her cheek. "Should we feed him to the alligators?"
Mavi nodded. She was no longer interested in the conversation. Her attention had shifted to the buttons on Xavier's shit. She picked at them with her little stubby fingers.
Xavier held her close in his arm and turned to Exton.
"Think about what I said...when you feel ready, go to Arizona with the King's guards."
_____________________________________________
That morning, as Gemma woke up, the whole place buzzed with an urgency and eagerness.
After getting ready for the day, she rushed to find her uncle in the main hall.
"What's happening?" She asked looking around. The servants ran around casting simple cleaning spells. The whole place began to shine like new. Old candles were taken out of candleholders and replaced with taller once. Flowers were coming back to life in vases, dishes flew over head and settled down at the dinner table.
"Tobias sent news this morning," Lafayette said. There was a look of urgency in his eyes. "He is coming to the vail to meet us."
"Oh," was all Gemma could say.
"I'll have a dress sent for you think evening, make sure you are presentable. And please be on your best behavior."
Gemma nodded silently.
"Do you remember all your spells?"
"Of course," Gemma said.
"Good," Lafayette's eyes moved around the room, examining all the preparations. "You can take the rest of the day to relax...there's much to do. No training today."
Gemma nodded once more. She quickly exited the main hall and hurried up to her room. Once inside, she pulled out the book she had been reading from under her pillow and laid across her bed.
Her eyes scanned the pages but her mind drifted. No matter how hard she tried to focus on the words, a certain pair of green eyes kept dancing in her mind.
With a heavy sigh, Gemma slammed the book shut and flipped over to face the door. She willed the lock on the door to turn and smiled when she heard the satisfactory click.
In the safety of her own room, Gemma sat up in bed and crossed her legs. She closed her eyes and chanted the spell she had learned from studying the books.
Like memory, the magic began to tickle her mind. She began to think about the way Exton smelled, and his intoxicating smile, his husky laugh, his scolding eyes...
Gemma slowly opened her eyes. In front of her was a screen of smoke. An image of Exton danced on the smoke.
He looked so tired. He was in the stable with his dark horse. In his hands was a brush, but he was seated on a stool with his head down.
Gemma didn't know if the vision was old or recent...that was one of the problems with the spell of sight. It showed you whatever you wanted to see, but you could never know if it was from the past or present.
Gemma inched closer to the screen of smoke and looked at Exton. His hair had grown longer, his arms were bulkier...but his face looked so tired.
An invisible string tugged at Gemma's heart as she watched him. She wanted to run her fingers through his curls and pick his head up. She wanted him to look at her and give her that smart-ass smirk that made her heart do flips.
But suddenly, Gemma remembered what he had done. It was as if someone had turned the light off in the room and drowned the place in darkness.
She frowned at the image of Exton. He did not deserve her sympathy. He could go drown his sorrow in any girl he wanted, Gemma thought. He had hurt her immensely and she knew he didn't give two shits about what her feels were.
With a careless wave of her hand, Gemma dismissed the smoke screen and flung herself into bed. She pulled the fluffy pillow closer to her chest and sighed.
Why couldn't she just stop thinking about that boy?
Exton was no good for her. He had trouble written all over him. Gemma knew he wouldn't hesitate, even a second, to break her heart...in fact he had broken her heart. He had promised her he wouldn't turn her into Lafayette...yet here she was.
After all that, why couldn't she stop thinking about him?
For the rest of the day, Gemma buried herself with independent studies and spell practice. She did whatever it took to keep her mind from conjuring up the smoke screen again and watching Exton.
By evening, Gemma was prepared an hour before Lafayette finally knocked at her door.
"Take your hair out of the ponytail," Lafayette instructed her as soon as she opened the door.
Gemma did as she was told. She wore a fitted lavender chiffon dress that moved like water every time Gemma took a step. The thick straps disappeared under her arms to create an illusion of a backless dress. The dress ended right above her knees. She had skipped the heels Lafayette sent with the dress and wore her silk ballet flats. She was grateful when her uncle didn't notice her choice of footwear.
As she followed her Lafayette down to the main hall, she noticed all the people that lingered in the halls.
"How are all these people?" she whispered to her uncle.
"They are Tobias's followers," Lafayette said. He casually nodded towards the people in the halls as they passed by. Gemma gave them a small polite smile.
Once they entered the main hall, Gemma's nerves kicked in. She had never seen so many people in the main hall at once. Lafayette had kept the place pretty empty in the vail. He didn't want a frequent opening of the portal to allow anyone from the real world to find Gemma.
Lafayette walked Gemma up to the front of the hall and came to a stop in front of a tall man. His back was turned towards Gemma. She noticed his broad shoulders under his dark jacket. She noticed his jet black hair and the way it curled up at the base of his neck.
Whoever this man was, he radiated confidence and power...in a similar way Exton had.
Gemma shook her head to get that thought out of her mind.
"Lord Tobias," Lafayette said in a calm voice, but Gemma could sense the tremors in him.
The man with the broad shoulders turned around slowly. Gemma's peered at him through her lashes.
His face looked as if it was cut from marble. His hollow cheeks would have dominated his features if it had not been for those narrow dark eyes. A cold shiver ran down Gemma's spine when her eyes landed on his dark ones.
They were like two black holes...endless and terrifying.
(Tobias)
The man smiled at her, "She is the one?" He asked Lafayette.
"Yes, my lord," Lafayette put a hand behind Gemma's back and gently urged her forward.
"Gemma, this is lord Tobias...God of the Underworld."
Gemma was frozen under his dark eyes.
Tobias smiled at her once again, "So you are the one who stole the lycan queen back from my grip."
Gemma blinked. She had lost the ability to speak as her eyes stayed glued on Tobias.
The man chuckled, "It's alright...it wasn't her time."
"Gemma has been excelling in her studies," Lafayette boosted. "She has mastered many difficult spells within the span of a year."
Tobias stares back at Gemma as he listened to Lafayette. Gemma gathered all her self control and looked down at the floor. Once her eyes snapped away from Tobias, it was as if she could finally think again. He had her in a trance.
For the rest of the evening, Lafayette and Tobias talked about many great deal of things. Gemma wandered the corners of the main hall, keeping herself away from everyone.
One one wanted to talk to her, and she was completely okay with that. She was never the life of the party, that was all Bella.
The thought of Bella made Gemma stop in her tracks and take a deep breath. She needed to stay with Lafayette, she reminded herself. She needed to know the full potential of her powers.
And Lafayette wasn't the bad guy everyone had made him out to be her whole life. He was family, he cared about her. Tuna and Fanny would understand.
"A penny for your thoughts?" A deep voice startled Gemma.
She turned to find Tobias standing behind her.
"Sorry," Gemma quickly apologized.
"No need to apologize," Tobias smiled. "A mind that gets lost in thoughts is better than a mind that has no thoughts."
Gemma didn't know what to say. She watched him carefully.
"You want to ask me something," Tobias concluded as he watched Gemma too.
Gemma nodded.
"You may ask."
"I...I've read books about you...Lord of the Underworld," Gemma said slowly.
"I bet you have," Tobias chuckled as he took a sip of his drink.
"Your name..." Gemma's thoughts wondered. She didn't know how to phrase her question.
"Ah," Tobias said understanding. "You're referring to my many names?"
Gemma nodded.
"Hades," Tobias said. "One of my most famous names."
The strangeness of the situation left Gemma feeling dizzy. She focused on her breathing as Tobias spoke.
"I have been given many names over the years...some stick, others have faded with time."
"Where is Tobias from?"
"It was given to me by an old friend...I needed a change from hearing Hades over and over since the time of the ancient Greeks."
"So you are him, you are Hades?" Gemma asked breathlessly.
Tobias leaned closer to her and peered into her eyes, "Yes."
"And Persephone?"
Tobias startled Gemma as he threw his head back and gave a hearty laugh.
"The Greeks were hopeless romantics," he said. "I'm afraid no such story ever existed."
"Oh," Gemma said. The ping of disappointment she felt surprised her.
Lafayette approached the pair and stole Tobias away quickly. He introduced many witches to the lord of the underworld, all of whom were eager to pledge their allegiance to him.
For the rest of the evening, Tobias's eyes followed Gemma around the hall. Before dinner was served, he disappeared into the study with Lafayette. Whispers filled the hall as people wondered what they were talking about.
Gemma had to admit she was curious as well.
An hour later, Lafayette emerged from the library. His eyes scanned the crowd until it landed on Gemma. Tobias appeared next to him. Everyone in the room paused and turned their attention towards the pair.
"Ladies and gentlemen," Lafayette began. "You all know my niece, Gemma. The rightful heir of the throne." He held out a hand for Gemma.
Quietly, people parted like the red sea for Gemma to walk up to her uncle and take his hand.
Once she reached him, she placed her hand on his and he placed a careful kiss upon it and he turned her to face the crowd.
"Lord Tobias has asked for my niece's hand in marriage," Lafayette's voice rang throughout the hall. He pushed Gemma in front of him and held up her hand like a victor.
"All hail, The Queen of the Underworld."
Let me know what you think! What do you think Exton will do when he gets wind of this information? :)