Chapter Twenty-Nine

"I think we should talk to your dad."

Keros didn't even look up from where he was admiring a jewelry case at the vendor's. The sun glinted off the sunglasses sitting on top of his head, his hair tied back, his blue eyes glowing even in the sun. His expression, though, said he clearly did not want to talk about it right now.

Except we'd been ignoring the elephant in the room for over a week now.

A week since our rescue from the Mother. A week since we've even heard from her. It'd also been a week since Blaine declared Keros was no longer allowed to see me. So Keros had simply decided not to tell his father that he was seeing me, and was out with the cousins, all of whom played along with it in support of us, but I was starting to feel incredibly guilty.

According to the cousins, Blaine had been an absolute wreck about Keros having been kidnapped. Blaine had lost his first child and had his second one kidnapped, not counting the multiple kidnapping attempts while Keros and Holly were growing up. He was thoroughly traumatized when it came to his children and it explained his overprotectiveness, and frankly, could you blame him after that amount of trauma? And that was on top of everything else the cousins told me about Blaine.

Now I just felt guilty going behind Blaine's back.

Sure, Keros was an adult and could make his own choices, but it still somehow felt wrong now informing Blaine we were still hanging out... dating, actually. Keros had called me his boyfriend the other day, and I guess that made it official, but it didn't feel official without Blaine knowing. It just felt... wrong.

"Eventually," Keros answered at last, making me give him a droll stare and he frowned, "Why do we need to do it so soon? He's just going to freak out again..." His voice trailed as if he were imagining it and he grimaced. I frowned.

"Okay, but he's just going to freak out even more knowing we've been doing this behind his back anyway."

"I don't need his permission to hang out with people."

"I know that, but he deserves to know who you're hanging out with... who you're dating," I murmured, making Keros glance at me solemnly, "I like your dad, I really do. He may not like me, but... he obviously cares a lot about you." Keros averted his eyes back to the case of jewelry, running his finger along the edge thoughtfully. He couldn't disagree with me and he knew it. He sighed and looked at me.

"He's just going to say really hurtful things. I know he is. He always does when he's mad."

"A few mean words aren't gonna hurt my feelings," I said dryly, "Your dad has a sharp tongue, but my skin is made of cowhide. There's nothing he can say that hasn't already been said anyway." Keros raised an eyebrow, then looked away.

"Alright... If you think it's the right thing to do, I won't stop you," he said at last, "I do feel kind of... I dunno... Uncomfortable, not telling him, because I tell him... well, a lot." I smiled at that.

"You trust him."

"I trust him to do exactly what I know he'll do," Keros said under his breath. I gave him a hopeful smile and squeezed his hand. He squeezed back after a moment, then sighed and inclined his head. We steered away from the street vendors and made our way toward Keros's beach house.

"How're the cousins doing?" I asked as we walked. Keros shrugged.

"Fine as they can be. Hadrian has one last show to do here in Atlantis before he heads back to Purgatory. We're all going to see it on Friday, if you're up to it."

"Absolutely. I'd love to see Hadrian in action. You guys talk a lot about his dancing."

"It makes up a huge part of who he is. He's really dedicated. I think it'd make him really happy to see you there," Keros admitted. I smiled.

"Oh? I'm looking forward to it. I may have only seen a little of his dance moves in clubs, but I wanna see the real deal professional," I said. Keros smirked, then sighed.

"Yeah, he's real good, but don't be surprised if he's pissy after the concert. He tends to be a little grumpy after a show."

"How come?"

"Not sure, probably the paparazzi. They hound him like nobody else," Keros muttered, "You saw what they put in the papers the other day." I grimaced. Apparently someone had followed us out on one of our nights on the town and got a short clip of Hadrian and I dancing. Immediately the paparazzi blew up, claiming I was Hadrian's secret romance and a whole load of garbage that Hadrian vehemently denied. He was offended that they saw his actions as sexual.

Frankly, I didn't see it either. We were just dancing, having a good time, and suddenly there were cameras flashing in our faces and someone demanding if I'd slept with Hadrian, to which I denied, but it didn't matter because the guy was already jotting down his bullshit. Hadrian had pulled back like a cat cornered, he didn't speak, just glared and immediately tried to put distance between himself and the photographers and journalists.

I felt sorry for him. That kind of life sounded like a nightmare. It was like he couldn't even take a shit without someone crawling up his ass.

"I could never be famous," I muttered. Keros snorted.

"Well, get ready. Once they do a formal ceremony for your princehood, you'll be the talk of the town," he informed, making me grimace.

"That's... annoying. I didn't know it was going to be a big thing," I admitted grimly.

Hannibal and Akin had made it official, thanks to some paperwork the other day. Hannibal and Akin were my fathers, and Thirteen's. We were officially princes in the eyes of the law. However, the law also required that we had to make it public with a ceremony, so the ceremony was taking place in just two days, for the New Year. There were fliers about it everywhere, commercials that I had been required to pose for, all sorts of mess that I didn't want to deal with, but was required to by law as the prince.

Yeah. I had a feeling I was about to know exactly how Hadrian felt with those paparazzi.

I wasn't sure what was scarier; facing Blaine or facing the paparazzi.

I was about to find out as we turned onto the path to the quaint little beachside home. We hesitated at that door. I looked at Keros and he looked at me. We had this silent conversation. Did we want to turn back now and keep running around in secret? Not particularly. We both knew it wasn't logical.

So Keros opened the door and led the way into the house.

At first glance, Cerberus was sitting in the armchair in the living room, looking at his phone and saying something in a dull tone to Holly and Ayo, who were clearly arguing over something right behind him. Meanwhile, I could see Blaine in the kitchen, wiping things down all casual and calm until he lifted those green eyes and they locked on me and widened slightly.

Cerberus looked up, looked back down, did a double take and his head shot back up again. Holly and Ayo immediately stopped talking and stared in surprise. Guess they didn't expect this either.

"Ah, Ayo, Holly, make like trees and leave," Cerberus said, tucking his phone in his back pocket. Holly groaned and opened her mouth to say something, but Ayo hooked his arm around her waist and hauled her toward the stairs. Once they were gone, Blaine slowly made his way into the living room, his arms folded over his chest, his expression stern.

"So what happened to not hanging around him?" Cerberus asked, folding one leg over the other and leaning back in his seat. Keros glanced at him.

"I'm an adult. I can make my own choices. And my choice is to be with Seven... We're dating," he added, as if that made anything better. Cerberus stared at him, then looked at me. There was no judgment in his red eyes, no anger or anything. If anything, Cerberus seemed to be keen on the idea, but of course, he didn't say shit because Blaine was the one who wore the pants in their relationship apparently.

"Adults don't constantly need to remind people they're adults," Blaine said, making Keros glare at him, "Adults also know some level of self-preservation, which you clearly don't have right now."

"Seven is safe. He's back home. There's nothing to worry about--"

"Nothing to worry about," Blaine repeated, making Keros sigh in frustration, "Don't do that. Don't give me that. This isn't just about the kidnapping, Keros, and you know it. The kid has a Beast. Do you have any idea how unstable those things are? I've seen what they can do and I will not let that happen to you."

"His Beast likes me just fine," Keros exclaimed, even though my stomach was sinking, "I don't at all foresee the Beast attacking me outright."

"Yeah, Beasts like something, until they don't anymore and what then? What if the Beast gets hungry and doesn't care who you are? What if you deny the Beast and it gets angry? Are you even thinking with your head right now?" Blaine demanded. I swallowed thickly. I hadn't thought of that, but Blaine was absolutely right. My Beast was what scared him, what scared me. We may have gotten it into submission now, but what if it came back randomly? What if it killed Keros? What if it killed someone else?

"Maybe he's right," I murmured. Keros stiffened at my side and looked at me.

"What?" He demanded. I looked at him.

"I don't know my Beast that well, Keros. I don't know if it'll come back, or if it'll randomly change its mind about you and hurt you," I said, making Keros frown deeply.

"Okay, but we can handle that when it comes to that. I highly doubt the Beast will randomly decide to kill me. Contrary to popular belief, Beasts don't kill indiscriminately. They kill based on hunger or instinct. Like, if someone threatens them and I don't plan on threatening your Beast anytime soon," he explained, then shook his head, "Don't tell me you're taking his side right now."

"So what," Blaine demanded, "He's thinking with his head right now. He knows I'm right. Beasts are unstable. You can't trust them, Keros. You can say what you want about them based on what little experience you have, but I've seen them in action. I know a father attacked his own son."

"Because Stanton was infected," Keros exclaimed, "That's the only reason the Beast attacked him! Once he was cured, the Beast didn't attack him anymore! You're just pulling examples out of your ass that suit your argument and not looking at the bigger picture!"

"You're not listening to me," Blaine argued, "And there are plenty more examples of Beasts outright attacking and killing people. Just look at Ares! He's lost his own children because of his Beast!"

"All Beasts are different!"

"That's a stupid argument and you know it."

"So are your arguments! I'm basing mine off the science of a Beast and you're just basing it off a few experiences that you yourself didn't even have!"

"Keros, you're not thinking logically right now because you're blinded by your feelings for Seven, and I can understand that--"

"Don't fucking patronize me," Keros snapped, "I only did this because Seven said he felt bad about not telling you about us, so that's the only reason we came here. I didn't come here for your approval. If you don't like it, it's like you always used to tell us-- tough shit." Blaine pressed his lips together in a thin line, his hands balled into fists. He looked at Cerberus, who blinked and looked up, startled at getting attention now.

"What? I'm not gonna grab him by the neck and throw him in his room," Cerberus said, making Blaine glare, "He's a fucking grown adult. This is his choice."

"This choice is going to get him killed!" Blaine exclaimed. Cerberus frowned at him.

"Look. I get it's freaky. Beasts are incredibly difficult to handle. The only known person who can handle a Beast is Akin, and even then he has difficulties... But look at them now," he said, gesturing to us, "They're fine. The Beast is quiet. It won't show itself until it feels like it needs to protect Seven."

"And what happens when they get into an argument, huh," Blaine demanded, "What happens if the Beast comes out then?"

"Okay, the chances of that are slim as fuck," Cerberus pointed out, making Blaine tsk and throw his hands up in the air in exasperation, "They are. Do you have any idea how many arguments Theo and Cain get into and not once has the Beast come out to go after Cain? Even when the little shit deserves it?" Blaine clenched his teeth, then looked at Keros, who glared at him defiantly.

I swallowed thickly. I didn't like this. I didn't like getting between Keros and his family, being the cause of an argument. Keros loved his family, even when they got on his nerves, but this was just too big of a fight for them to just simmer down and go back to joking around. This could ruin Keros's family.

"I think," I said after a moment, making everyone look at me, "Maybe I should go." Keros looked at me.

"What are you talking about?" He demanded. I looked at him.

"I think it's best I just... leave, Keros," I said, making him study me intently, "Like, for good." Keros looked like he'd been slapped. Those blue eyes glowed so bright they were hard to look at.

"You're just gonna leave," he said at last, "Just like that."

"No, I just... I don't want to get between you and your family," I managed, "You guys are everything to each other. I'm just... I'm just an intruder."

"That is not true at all," Keros argued, then turned to glare at his father, "Do you remember all those years ago? Those nightmares I used to have?" Blaine blinked, then scowled.

"Yes, but what does that have to do with--"

"Those nightmares, all those dreams I had growing up, they were all about Seven," Keros said, making Blaine's eyes widen in surprise, "All those horrible things happening to him. All the dreams of what could be between us when we finally met. I'm not throwing all that away because you're scared. And I get it. I get you're scared. And that's understandable, but that is no reason to just throw Seven out." He turned to me and grabbed my hands, surprising me.

"There's no reason to just give up on us. I dreamt of you for a reason. I met you for a reason. We're supposed to be together, Seven. It's what feels right. It's what is right," he said, then paused for a full second before speaking, withdrawing a ring from his pocket.

"Seven, I want you to marry me."