Chapter Thirteen

Six stood across the room from me, his arms folded over his broad chest, his stance wide and prepared for battle. I glanced toward the door to see if anyone was going to burst in, glanced at the windows to see if anyone was going to bust through and attack, but surprisingly, it was silent. I narrowed my eyes and turned back to Six.

"You're alone," I stated. Six studied me.

"Yes."

"Kind of stupid to admit that."

"You won't attack me, unless I do first, and we both know who'll have the upper hand," Six responded, making me grit my teeth in frustration, "I came here to offer you a bargain."

"A bargain?" I asked. Six inclined his head.

"Come back with me," he stated, making me snort, "Come back with Thirteen. The Mother is willing to forgive you just this once for your insubordination. This is my offer to you."

"And should I deny it?" I asked. Six's hazel eyes gleamed.

"Should you deny it, you will be put to death."

"Returning to that place is death," I threw back angrily, watching Six narrow his eyes, "Don't look at me like that. You think it's fucking paradise because you're not defective. You can stand as equals with everyone there, I can't. I need to be able to see Thirteen, to be with him. He's my brother."

"We're all brothers," Six responded, making me throw my hands up in exasperation.

"No, we're not. Your genetic carriers are not the same as mine. We are not brothers."

"Our Mother is the same."

"She is not my mother," I snapped, making Six's eyes widen for a split second before dropping to the floor for a long moment. He studied the floor before looking up.

"Then consider this your final warning. For your insubordination and denial of the Mother, you are sentenced to death. You, and Thirteen," he said, making me stiffen.

"He's a child," I said. Six's eyes flickered. There was something there that said he really didn't want to do this, that he didn't want to be here, that he didn't want to be telling me all of this. I wanted to reach out to him, wanted to beg him to leave Thirteen alone. Thirteen was just a child in all of this. He didn't deserve to be fucking killed for my mistakes.

But Six was a soldier of the Mother. He was brainwashed too. He was doing what he was told, which was all we ever grew up with. He had no idea that he was being used or abused. It was just life for him. And it was life for Thirteen if they got him back, if they got me back.

At this point, I had to decide. Take Thirteen back to the Mother, and never see him again, except maybe on the wall of fame for having given his life for a useless cause. Or to keep him away from the Mother where he could live his life the way it was meant to be lived... while also always being in danger because the Mother would never let him escape.

It made my heart ache. I didn't know what to do.

"Time," I said, making Six frown, "I need time to think."

"There is no time," Six stated, "You choose death or you choose life. For both you and Thirteen."

"This isn't fair," I said angrily, "You can't give me this choice knowing that Thirteen will be sentenced to death if he goes back to the Mother. He'll be fighting a war he doesn't understand, just like you and I. He'll be brainwashed into fighting and killing people. Thirteen is nothing like us. He doesn't kill people. He doesn't hurt people. He's innocent."

"We all were once," Six replied, "He'll understand if he remains with the Mother and becomes educated. He will know that the Mother is the one true path."

"She's not, though," I exclaimed, "She thinks everyone is her enemy! She makes us live in little boxes without windows! We eat the same fucking food every day! All we do is train all day long! We don't get to go outside and enjoy the world for what it is!"

"Hatred and murder are what you wish to enjoy," Six asked, making me frown, "You know as well as I do that their world isn't just merriment. They also murder. They also torture. They also brainwash. At least the Mother keeps us safe from them. At least we are at peace in our world."

"It's not peace if it's a lie," I returned. Six shook his head.

"You've clearly been out here for far too long. If you choose death over life, that's your problem. I'm returning to the Mother to inform her of your choice," he explained, making me shut my eyes tightly in frustration before opening them to see Six taking a step back, "And we will come for you, for Thirteen. And you will both die. We can't let the world poison what peace we have, Seven. And you know this." Without another word, Six vanished.

I cursed, watching him disappear.

Damn it!

Sentenced to death? Because we wanted a better life somewhere else?

It only solidified the hatred I had for the Mother. It was a slow burn starting in my gut and spreading into my chest. I just wanted to find the bitch and slit her fucking throat. If she thought for one second she could get her hands on Thirteen again, she was fucking wrong. Even if it killed me, I would protect Thirteen. Fuck her if she thought for once second she could kill Thirteen.

He was a fucking child.

Too furious to sleep, I settled for just laying in bed and listening to music from the stereo. It started out angry, because I just laid there and fantasized about all the ways I could kill the Mother. Thought of all the ways she would send someone after us and made a plan for every instance. Because she was going to send her people sooner or later. Sending Six to warn me was just part of her plot to terrify us into coming back to her. It wasn't a courtesy call. She was trying to scare us, terrify us before she killed us or we ran back to her, which fuck her. Neither of those things were going to happen. Not while I was still alive.

I ended up getting no goddamn sleep, which only put me in a further rotten mood. I heard little knocking on my door and managed to swallow my temper down, sitting up on the edge of my bed as the door cracked open and Thirteen poked his head into the room.

"Oh! You're awake! Time for breakfast! They're making waffles!" His eyes sparkled and his grin was huge at the prospect of eating waffles. He didn't even stick around to ask if I slept, he just took off down the hallway, the sound of his bare feet smacking the floor echoing down the hall.

I sighed and heaved myself off the bed. I took a quick shower and put on one of the outfits I'd bought yesterday; a pair of straight jeans and a black band t-shirt I tucked in. I headed to the kitchen, slowing down as I heard Akin talking.

"And it'll be real quick, so don't worry. Doctor's appointments are good for you." I stiffened at that.

"What's going on?" I demanded, entering the room. Akin looked up, briefly startled before he relaxed. I glanced over to see the King by the stove, eyeing me out the corner of his eye, clearly not approving of my tone of voice, which you know, fuck him at this point.

"Oh," Akin said, "Sorry, I didn't see you there. I was telling Thirteen about his doctor appointment today. I scheduled it early so I didn't have a chance to schedule one for you, but I'd be happy to--"

"No," I said immediately, making Akin frown, "Thirteen doesn't need a doctor. He's not hurt or sick."

"No," Akin admitted, "But it's good to have a full health check up to make sure he's alright and there's no lingering trauma or anything from when Hannibal rescued him. Plus, I'd like to run some tests to see if anything comes up genetically that we should know about." I narrowed my eyes.

"No," I repeated, making Akin frown, "He doesn't need a doctor. He's fine. He's healthy. Anything you need to know, you can ask me."

"There are things the doctor can find out that you don't know, though," Akin said gently, "It's perfectly fine. The doctor is a member of the family and I trust him implicitly. He's highly knowledgeable and trained to--"

"Doesn't matter. He doesn't need a doctor. Cancel the appointment," I stated. Akin hesitated for a moment, clearly not sure what to do, despite my having just told him what to do. He didn't want to cancel the appointment, which made no sense to me.

Thirteen didn't need a doctor to poke and prod him and torture him.

I wasn't stupid. I'd grown up around doctors my whole life. They were nothing more than sadists with a medical degree. I distinctly remembered every encounter I'd ever had with a doctor. From the pricking of all my fingers until they bled to taking biopsies without knocking me out first, to force feeding me, then starving me. The list went on. They'd done every test they could possibly think of to try and figure out why I couldn't do magic. The tests revealed absolutely nothing, and I'd been traumatized because of the whole thing.

So no.

Thirteen did not need a doctor.

"Okay," Akin said, clearly ready to try again and I narrowed my eyes at his attempt, "But he does need a check up at least. Just to make sure he's alright. The doctor won't give him a shot or draw blood or anything, how about that?"

"He doesn't need a check up," I snapped impatiently, remembering what a check up was like. It was some stranger grabbing at you, bending your limbs at painful angles, basically molding you like the ball of clay you were not. And besides, doctor visits always came with sharp objects. If it wasn't a needle, it was a scalpel.

"You can stand there and watch the whole time," Akin assured, making me frown, "You can stop him if he does anything you think is uncomfortable or wrong."

"Doctors are okay," Thirteen said, making me blink and look at him in surprise, "There was lots of doctors back at the compound, and then there was the big doctor that came and took care of me when the King got me."

"He's the one who's coming to check up on you," Akin said with a smile. I scowled.

"Who--"

The sound of the doorbell chiming interrupted me and I stiffened at the sound. Akin glanced at me.

"That would be him. I'm going to let him in. Thirteen, finish your waffles," he said, heading for the door. Thirteen nodded and went back to digging into his waffles. I frowned, confused, then looked back over at the King, who was shutting off the waffle maker and turning to face me. He didn't say anything, but his eyes promised me he'd do something if I went bonkers. I glared back at him, annoyed that he had to hover all the damn time.

The sound of heavy boots made me tense. I had a brief flashback to the time I was sitting in my cage in the lab, surrounded by thick metal bars, wearing only a white gown that was open in the back so I felt a cold breeze against my skin. I remembered the sound of boots thumping, and a set of high heels clicking on the floor. I was cold, terrified, cramped into a cage so small I couldn't even stand in it. I was connected to some kind of IV outside of my cage, which was promptly ripped from my arm.

I zoned back in time to see the most terrifying creature I'd ever seen in my fucking life, and it was worse seeing him stand between the King and Akin. He was taller than both of them, especially in a pair of hulking boots. He wore black scrubs that matched his inky black hair that fell all the way down his back in a loose braid, save for his bangs that fell down to his chin. His eyes literally glowed like a pair of blue headlights. There was a scowl on his face that said it never went away.

I was immediately intimidated.

"They're right in here," Akin said, gesturing to Thirteen and I. I backed up right away, coming to stand near Thirteen, who looked up with a smile.

"Hello, doctor person! I'm eating waffles!" He exclaimed, not at all having developed a sense of self-preservation, much to my chagrin. I glared at him, then glanced back at the doctor, expecting him to throw a knife at Thirteen just for talking, but instead, he arched a brow.

"When I said a healthy breakfast, I didn't mean fucking waffles," he deadpanned, looking at Akin, who smiled.

"He wanted waffles, who was I to tell him no?"

"His father."

"Okay, but are you looking at his face? How can I say no to that face?"

"Easy," the male drawled, then shook his head and glanced over at me, "Looks like there's a second one." I tensed. Akin smiled warily.

"Yes. This is his brother, Seven. He's, uh, not a fan of doctors, so I'm begging you for once, Hades, to show a little delicacy here," he explained. I choked on his words.

"Hades?" I asked, looking at the gargantuan creature, who pinned me with a stare.

"Last I checked, yeah, that's my name. Don't go making fun of it when your name is just the number seven," he retorted. I swallowed thickly.

I did not like this set up at all. I did not like the idea of a doctor and even less so the idea of Hades being that doctor. Keros talked a lot of good things about Hades, but I wasn't ready to face that particular demon from my classes, because there was no proof to me that he was a good person.

"No," I said immediately, moving to take Thirteen by the hand, making him protest as I pulled him out of his chair and got him behind me, "He's not going anywhere near Thirteen." Hades raised an eyebrow, clearly ready to challenge that, but Akin put his arm up to stop him.

"Hades," he warned, then looked at me, "Seven, it's alright. He's--"

"He's going to kill us," I snapped, "Don't you know the kinds of things he can do to us?"

"I mean, I could, if you want me to," Hades offered with a shrug. Akin glared at him and he held his hands up in surrender, but said nothing further. I glared at him. Akin looked at me helplessly.

"How could you bring him around Thirteen," I demanded, making Akin sigh, "He's the creator of artificials. He could melt us on the spot if it so pleased him and you let him come around my brother?"

"He wouldn't do that," Akin said firmly, at the same time elbowing Hades in the ribs before the god could open his mouth and Hades cast him a dry stare for it, "He wouldn't. He's been treating Thirteen since we brought him home. He's been very nice to Thirteen, hasn't he, Thirteen?" I looked down at Thirteen, who nodded and looked up at me with a smile.

"He's not mean," Thirteen told me, making me stare at him doubtfully, "He gave me candy cuz I let him give me a shot! It made all my pain go away. Are you here for another shot and some candy?" He looked at Hades now. I expected some smart alecky response, but was surprised as Hades's features softened and he set his bag down on the counter, getting down to Thirteen's level.

"Hey, kid, yeah, I'm here for another shot," he said, his voice heightening an octave, like he was trying not to scare Thirteen, "But don't worry; I brought plenty of candy with me this time. For you and your brother." He glanced up at me and I glared at him warily, still not entirely sure how I felt about him.

"I told Seven he could observe during the appointment, since he's his big brother," Akin explained, looking at Hades hopefully. Hades frowned for a moment, then shrugged and rose to his feet with a nod.

"Sure," he said, "Whatever makes you sit your ass down so I can get to work." I didn't like this god at all. I didn't trust him for a second... But he did completely change when he talked to Thirteen. He was surprisingly gentle, and did he say candy? I'd never gotten candy from a doctor before. Unless you count ipecac syrup, in which case no fucking thanks.

I stood there for another minute or two, still unsure about letting this god near Thirteen, but Thirteen was getting antsy and tugging on my hand to make me let go of him. I released him and he beamed up at me, then hopped up in his chair again, looking at Hades.

"Can Lexi stay too?" He asked, holding up his leopard toy from the table. Hades nodded and Thirteen brightened at that, setting his toy down in his lap. Hades came forward a couple steps, slow, like he was testing my readiness for him and I stepped back to give him space, but stayed close enough to watch him as he approached Thirteen and knelt down on the floor in front of him.

"Alright, how about you open your mouth for me and we take a look?" Hades asked, reaching into his bag to take out a stick. Thirteen nodded and obeyed, parting his lips and baring his fangs as Hades stuck the stick on Thirteen's tongue and did a study of his mouth. I frowned as he took out a swab and stuck it in Thirteen's mouth, making Thirteen squirm a little.

"Sorry," Hades said, surprising me, "That's pretty gross, huh?" Thirteen nodded, licking his lips as Hades stuck the swab in a plastic container and stuck it in another container in his bag.

"Are you gonna do a test on it?" Thirteen asked. Hades nodded, glancing at me out the corner of his eye as I watched him closely.

"Yup, gotta double check everything to make sure it's functioning well."

"Can I have a strawberry candy this time?"

"Absolutely," Hades replied, reaching into his bag and taking out a red wrapped candy. He handed it over to Thirteen, who took it excitedly and stuck it in his mouth while Hades took a swab and rubbed Thirteen's arm. I frowned, then tensed as I watched him pull a syringe out.

"You don't need to do that," I said, making Hades frown and glance at me while Akin sighed, "Just look him over." Hades gave me a droll stare.

"We need to do another blood draw, just to double check my findings. That's all... It won't hurt," he added, making me scowl.

"Of course it will," I said, annoyed, "It's sharp."

"It's so quick he won't even feel it," Hades said, ignoring me now as he pulled the cap off the syringe, making me tense and take a step forward, but Akin touched my shoulder to keep me back, "So, how is Lexi today, Thirteen?" Thirteen rolled the candy around in his mouth, hardly paying attention to the syringe in Hades's hand that was making me tense as he drew it close to Thirteen's arm.

"Good, he says he wants to watch the other show about the doggy, but I wanna watch the cat one. I like going on adventures," he exclaimed, completely ignoring Hades stabbing the needle into his arm.

I felt my stomach drop, and my feet moved me back a little. Anger ripped through me at feeling woozy just watching from a distance, but I couldn't help it. I kept picturing needles puncturing my skin from every angle, restraints clamping down on my wrists and ankles. At some point, they had to fit a muzzle over my mouth to keep me from biting the doctors, but it only increased my panic. The sedatives never worked. They only made me nauseated, which only made them want to poke me more.

The blood draws and bone biopsies were always the worst. The needles were bigger, longer, more deadly in my opinion. They'd strap me down on the table and get to work plunging two or three needles in me at once. I'd usually end up vomiting, which only went back down because of the muzzle, so I ended up choking and they'd have to do everything all over again. Sometimes I'd go into shock and just lay there, watching my blood drain into tubes and they'd shock me to startle me back into the real world.

Fuck, just thinking about it made me sick to my stomach.

"Seven!"

I blinked, suddenly finding myself lying on the floor, staring up at Akin and Hades. The King stood nearby with Thirteen, who was leaning over his chair to stare at me in surprise. I blinked rapidly, moving to sit upright quickly, only for a wave of nausea to swirl in the pit of my stomach. I rolled onto my side and Akin reached out, surprising me when he started to gently rub my back.

"Ssh, it's alright," he said softly, brushing the hair back from my face before returning to the soothing rub on my back, "You're alright. Just take a few deep breaths."

"Well, that was interesting," Hades said, earning a pointed stare from Akin. He shrugged innocently, then got to his feet and went to his bag.

"What happened?" I muttered, sucking in a deep breath and holding it for a moment, afraid it would come out as vomit. Akin offered me a tentative smile.

"You fainted," he admitted, making me stare at him.

"I what?"

"Yup," Hades stated, "The moment I touched him you were flat on your back in two seconds flat" I stared at him, surprised, then felt heat rising in my cheeks as humiliation bled through me. Now that was fucking embarrassing. Passing out over a little needle? And it wasn't even directed at me. I guess the trauma from the compound went a little further than I thought.

"It's alright," Akin told me sternly, making me look at him wearily, "I'm not a fan of doctors either. It takes weeks for me just to make an appointment. But it's alright. You don't have to do anything today." I didn't say anything. Embarrassment kept my lips sealed.

Hades eventually finished up with Thirteen and promised to return again in a couple days with more test results. Akin and the King walked him to the door, but I could hear their conversation from where I was sitting on the floor.

"He's clearly got some unresolved trauma," Akin was explaining, making me grimace, "I would recommend maybe sending someone else to do tests on Seven. He needs someone with a gentler touch."

"He needs to suck it up," Hades deadpanned, "The more tests we can run on them, the better. And for the record, the tests do confirm one thing for certain and that's that they both have your genetics, making them your kids." There was a short pause filled only by Akin's sharp intake of breath.

"They're artificials," came the King's low voice, "That's it."

"Right," Hades replied slowly, "But they're also kind of your kids. I'm not a therapist, though, so take your trauma to someone else who gives a shit. I'm just here to run the tests and get the results. For now, I think its best they stay here. Did you pick up any information from talking to the kids?"

"Nothing useful," the King answered grimly, "For now, we still have no idea who this cult is and what they want with artificials. According to Keros, he's not having any visions around the kid. Something tells me someone is stealing DNA to create specific artificials, but why, I have no fucking idea. So it's not helpful."

"Well, figure it out," Hades replied, "I want to know who the fuck is messing with my science. Creating artificials is not easy. It takes a special touch, and right now, it's between me and someone else out there. And I haven't created any since Daphne."

"We'll talk to Seven as much as we can," Akin explained softly, "But I'm not going to interrogate him. He and his brother are clearly scared of this cult, whoever they are. And it has something to do with Seven's trauma, I'm sure of it."

"Fine," Hades said dryly, "I don't care how you figure it out, just do it and do it soon. Eventually they're going to send someone after those two and this time, I want capture and contain to be the main priority. On top of keeping those two away from that cult."

"Will do," Akin responded, "Keep us updated on the tests."

"See that you do the same," Hades said.

I frowned, listening to the front door open and close.

They were getting so uncomfortably close to all of this. I wasn't going to tell Akin anything more than I already had. The more they knew, the more danger they were in and the more danger they were in, the more danger Thirteen was in. That was something I couldn't allow.

I said nothing when Akin and the King returned. The King simply went right to the kitchen and poured himself a cup of coffee, then made some excuse to leave. Akin watched him leave with a frown, then turned to where Thirteen and I were sitting at the table.

"I'm sorry about that," Akin said after a moment, making me frown, "Hades isn't the most graceful person, but he means well."

"Sure," I muttered, not believing that for a second. He seemed to get off on watching me freak out over Thirteen's checkup. On top of that, he was snarky and I hated that.

"Anyway," Akin continued, "I got a call from Keros. He's going to stop by in a few minutes to drop something off for his dad." I tensed at that, looking up to see Akin smiling at me. I averted my eyes quickly, clearing my throat and nonchalantly folding one leg over the other.

"Oh yeah?" Akin nodded.

"Which reminds me," he said, reaching into his pocket and taking out a phone, "This is for you." I blinked, surprised as he handed the thing over to me.

"What's this for?" I asked. Akin smiled.

"I just want you to have everything you need, and a phone is very important. Just in case you need to contact me, or Hannibal, or... Keros. You know. Or even just listen to music," he offered with a shrug. I nodded slowly, taking the phone and looking at its sleek silver case before I looked up.

"Thank you," I murmured, sincerely appreciating his offer. Akin shook his head.

"No thank you is needed. It's the least we can do. In the meantime, I'm going to get Thirteen set up with some classes with Lea," he explained, making me frown curiously, "Ah, she's not exactly a teacher, but I think she could really help Thirteen process what's going on around him. She's a gentle female, I promise." Lea did seem like a strong knowledgeable female, so I suppose I wasn't against the idea.

The doorbell chimed again and Akin looked up.

"Oh, that'll be Keros. Give me one second," he said, but I got up and shook my head.

"I can get it," I said. Akin smiled and nodded, letting me leave the room. I went to the front door and opened it to find Keros on the other side, wearing black jeans and a tank top while carrying a bag. He looked up when I answered the door, and I watched those blue eyes soften as he stared at me.

"Hey," he greeted, his voice rough. I cleared my throat, unable to resist licking my bottom lip when I thought of our kiss yesterday night.

"Hey," I answered back. Keros's eyes tracked the movement of my tongue, then drifted back up to meet my eyes.

"I, ah, had to deliver something for my dad," he said, "How are you?" I stared up at him.

"Kinda wanting to get out of the house right about now," I admitted, making Keros nod in understanding, "Can we hang out earlier than we planned?" Keros nodded and I smiled in relief, then let him in so he could take his delivery to Akin, who fawned and cooed over him, thanking him for being a wonderful nephew before Keros came back with a warm smile.

"Are you guys heading out?" Akin asked as he followed Keros back to the front door.

"I wanted to get out of the house for a bit, clear my head," I responded. Akin nodded.

"Okay, that sounds alright. Just make sure you're home before midnight. Keep an eye out on things, be safe, if you need me for anything, just call me," he said, making me smile. Gods, he was so easy going and understanding. Relieved he didn't put up a fuss, I followed Keros out of the house.

We headed down the path of the mountain and I was glad he once again opted for walking as opposed to teleporting. It gave me a chance to look at our surroundings, to admire the jungle that bordered the walkway. I could hear monkeys chattering in the trees, see the leaves rustling as they hopped from one branch to another. A phoenix flew by, a streak of red and gold flashing in the sunlight.

I glanced at Keros, who walked beside me, his eyes on the path ahead.

Gods, he was attractive. Was it really okay for us to be together like this? For him to invite me out on dates? Was this what dating felt like? Or was I just getting ahead of myself? Was it safe to call him my boyfriend now, or was this too soon? What if he didn't like that? At the same time, the idea of claiming Keros was... hot. I wanted to claim him, publicly. I wanted to introduce him as mine. I wanted him to introduce me as his. I wanted him to claim me right back, wanted him to be proud of me.

Was that weird? Was any of this weird?

I had no idea. I didn't know how relationships worked exactly. I'd never been in one, never had the opportunity until now.

"You alright?" Keros's question snapped me out of my head and I cleared my throat, nodding and looking at the jungle around us.

"Yeah, just... it's really pretty around here," I murmured. Keros looked around, almost like he was seeing everything for the first time before he looked back at me.

"Yeah," he answered briefly, those blue eyes glowing for a moment before he looked away, "I guess I never really looked around at it before. It's funny what seems normal to me seems amazing through your eyes." I felt heat in my cheeks as I shrugged.

"I've just never seen a jungle before," I admitted, "The area around the compound is forested, but not a jungle." I stopped abruptly, stopped walking and stopped talking. Keros frowned and looked at me.

"That's... surprising," he said after a second, "You don't talk much about the compound." I looked away uncomfortably.

"Ah, I don't like talking about it," I answered slowly, then shrugged, "But it doesn't matter. I'm here now." Keros nodded, but didn't say anything. He seemed curious, but he didn't push.

And I was surprised by how much I wanted to tell him. I wanted to tell someone about the compound, I realized grimly. I wanted people to know about it, wanted people to find the Mother and stop her, but that just didn't seem feasible.

The Mother was powerful. Her reach was unbelievable. She'd be able to stop anyone who came near her, including the King and Akin, including Keros. At the same time, I felt like I wanted to talk about it. I wanted to tell someone about the training, about the tests that were done to me. I felt compelled to share that... trauma.

But that wasn't a smart move. Just because I felt like doing something didn't mean I should. In the end, what would talking about it do? It would just be more information that would be used to hurt the people around me and that was the last thing I wanted, especially given how kind everyone was.

No, some things were just better left unsaid...