Chapter Twenty-Two

"Then why are we all standing around here," I managed in disbelief, "Why aren't we doing something?" Everyone shared wary looks at that, but no one answered me right away. Not until Akin decided to do it.

"Sweetheart, we don't know where they took him. They didn't leave any trace behind. Nothing was left behind, except you and a destroyed bedroom," Akin explained gently. I looked at him, confused.

"But... Why? Why did they leave me and take Keros?" I asked.

"Simple," Hades said, making me look up, "They want to do a trade. They clearly had some trouble taking you and took Keros instead, in order to do a trade, so it'd be easier for you to come to them."

"Then do it," I said, "Why just stand around? Offer me."

"First of all, no," Akin said firmly, making me look at him incredulously, "We are not making deals with terrorists. And second of all, they didn't leave behind any way to contact them. Clearly they want us to wait for them to contact us."

"But why wouldn't you trade me for him," I asked, stunned by that logic, "You don't need me here. Keros is your nephew, isn't he? Surely--"

"And you're my son," Akin said angrily, making me stiffen, "We're not trading. I love Keros to death, and we are getting him back one way or another, but we are not trading you for him. That's absolutely ridiculous. We'll find a way to get Keros back without sacrificing you." I glared at him.

"I am not your son," I threw back, making him tighten up, "I'm just some random kid that showed up on your doorstep one day, and the nephew you've known since he was born was kidnapped. How could you possibly see me as anything other than dispensable?"

"I'm not arguing about this," Akin said after a moment, like he was struggling to compose himself, "You're staying here at the hospital until we can figure out what the hell they did to you. I'm going to go back home to check on Thirteen. Hannibal, stay with him. Hades, you too. I'm just. I'm leaving." Without another word, Akin vanished on the spot, making me slam my fist into the bed, only for the room to spin after a second from the energy I expended in doing so.

I cursed and slumped back down on the bed as the King turned to look at Hades, who looked back at him, then shrugged before looking down at his tablet.

"Leave him alone," Hades said at the King's concerned stare, "You go after him, you'll just piss him off. And don't get me wrong; I want Keros back right here, right now, but panicking isn't going to bring him back. All we can do right now is wait for their call. All the lines here at the hospital have been tapped, and so have the ones back at your place. If they call, we'll know and we'll be able to run a trace on it."

"I hate waiting," the King muttered.

"Ditto," I agreed, reaching up to rake my hands through my hair before dropping them down on the bed, staring up at the ceiling as guilt swirled like a tornado in my gut, making me sick to my stomach.

Keros was gone.

They'd taken him.

Son of a bitch. I'd been so focused on them taking me, that the thought of doing a trade hadn't occurred to me. Of course the Mother would realize this was the best way to get me to come home, and fuck... She knew about the Beast now. She didn't care about Thirteen now, though. She cared about getting me back, to use me.

Granted, the idea sounded fucking horrible. I was bound to be threatened if I didn't comply with what they did, and something told me they would use Keros as that threat. If I didn't comply, they would hurt him. They would hurt Akin, the King, Thirteen, probably Hades too. Unless I returned without argument and did what they said.

It seemed easy enough. Just trade me back for Keros. I had no idea why Akin didn't see it as an obvious choice. Clearly the King had to see it logically, same with Hades, so why was no one stating the obvious? Just make the trade. What use was I here anyway? What use was I to them? I had a Beast, sure, but the King had a stronger, better Beast. He didn't need another Beast to work under him, so my Beast was useless to him. Me as a person? I wasn't their child. The King was happy to remind me of that whenever he could.

What, so he sang, or rather, recited a lullaby. That meant nothing. He was just trying to calm me down so I'd quit pulling a spider monkey move on him. The words meant nothing to him, and neither did I. So why was he wasting his time with keeping me?

"You know what the right choice is," I said suddenly, sitting up a little to look at the King, who turned to me with a frown, "I don't know why you're wasting your time. When they call, just accept the trade and you can have Keros back and I'll be gone." The King stared at me for the longest time, then looked over at Hades, who was glancing up past his hair, like he was waiting to see what the King would say.

"No," the King said at last, "We're not doing that."

"Then you're stupid," I stated, "It's the only way you can get Keros back. Keros is the important one here, he--"

"And what are you?" Hades asked. I looked at him with a scowl.

"Nothing and no one. You've all only known me for a week or so. Keros is your relative. He's your grandson, he's your nephew. He's more important to you than I am. And this is the easiest way to rescue him."

"And what about you," Hades asked again, making me frown, "This Mother person will have a Beast in her possession."

"A magically useless Beast," I reminded him, "Once she realizes my having a Beast doesn't change who I am, she'll just go back to using me as a punching bag. I'm not a threat to anyone."

"You were clearly terrifying enough to scare away the Mother's people," Hades disagreed, "They grabbed Keros instead of you because you were too difficult to capture. And Keros is no easy person to defeat. So they clearly had an easier time getting him than you. You may not have magic, but your Beast is all raw strength and speed. It's just as dangerous as any other Beast."

"I... I'm not a threat," I repeated, making Hades raise an eyebrow, "I'm not. Even if my Beast could do something useful, I wouldn't do it because the Mother told me to. She'll realize she can't use me."

"And she'll kill you," the King stated. I looked at him.

"So?" I asked. He stared at me, then looked at Hades, who gave a long, heavy sigh as he wiped his hands down his face and reached for his phone.

"That's it, I'm calling Jo, I'm not cut out for this kind of problem," Hades said, dialing a number.

"That's not necessary," the King said, but Hades seemed keen on ignoring him as he held the phone to his ear.

"Yeah, yeah, I know it's only for emergencies, but this is an emergency. We need you to meet us at the royal hospital... yeah, the King's Wing downstairs. Yup. It's one of those kinds of problems."

I scowled, confused as to who he was calling and why. Would it be someone who could help us find the Mother? Perhaps call her back somehow and make the trade? I wasn't sure what was happening at this point. I had no idea who this Jo person was or how they could help.

Not that I had to wonder for long because the air rippled with an intense power and a plume of smoke formed beside Hades before vanishing, revealing probably the most beautiful creature I'd ever seen on the planet. They were stunning, all long legs, long snow white hair, flawless porcelain skin, brilliant reddish-pink eyes, plump pink lips. I'd never seen a creature like this.

"And here I thought you called me for you," the creature said in a deep baritone voice, turning to Hades, who snorted.

"I don't need help," he said, then gestured to the King and I, "But these two. These two probably need more help than you can give. In the meantime, I'm gonna go run some more tests and see if I can find anything out." He rose up from his seat and headed out the door, making the King glare after him. Jo, as the creature was called, watched Hades leave, then shrugged and looked at the King, giving him a warm smile. Something about this creature was... calming. He didn't seem to be a threat.

"Sorry about him, you know how he can be," Jo said, then looked around before he met the King's eyes once more, "How about we take a seat?" The King shrugged a little, folding his arms over his chest, not making a move to sit down. Jo didn't seem to mind and took a seat where Hades had been sitting previously. His reddish-pink eyes swung over to me, scanned me from head to toe, then rose back up to my eyes again. And in that moment, I knew he could read my mind. Those eyes told me he saw everything, knew everything. It was incredibly disconcerting. I didn't like the idea that someone could see into my thoughts. It felt like an invasion of privacy.

"My apologies," Jo said suddenly, making me blink, "It happens without my even realizing sometimes. Just know that everything you wish to remain confidential will remain so unless you say otherwise." I blushed, and somehow found myself glancing out the corner of my eye at the King, who frowned and looked at Jo curiously.

"Why did Hades call you here," I asked at last, "Are you going to be able to help get Keros back?" Jo considered that.

"I believe I can help, but it's going to be a lengthy, difficult process. Both getting Keros back and getting to a place where you can feel at peace. This goes for both of you," he explained. I frowned curiously at that, but he didn't expand on it.

"So, does anyone want to explain the situation to me in their own words?" Jo asked.

"Keros was kidnapped," I said immediately, "By the Mother. She was trying to capture me, but she couldn't and now she's taken Keros so we can do a trade, and for some insane reason, Akin doesn't want to do the trade." Jo frowned.

"Trade you for Keros?" He asked.

"Yes."

"Is that the only option?"

"I mean, I don't see any other options," I admitted, "And Keros can't stay with her for long. I have no idea what she'll do to him."

"You probably have an idea," Jo responded, making me grimace, "It's why you're so scared of her. Enough to take your brother and run away from her."

"We have to get Keros back."

"Absolutely," Jo agreed, "But you think we should do the trade. Why is that?" I stared at him.

"Why not," I asked in disbelief, "Why does no one see this logically? It makes perfect sense. You don't know me. These people don't know me. They've only just met me, but they're treating me like..."

"Family," Jo inserted. I swallowed.

"I get that it's hard, when you think you know someone, but Akin doesn't know me. Plus, the King agrees, I know he does, we just need to wait for the call, the Mother will ask to trade, and we'll perform the trade and everything ends well," I explained. Jo stared at me.

"Do you honestly believe things will turn out just fine if you do the trade? Do you think this Mother will just go back to hiding and keep her Beast all to herself?" He asked. I pressed my lips together tightly, not entirely sure what to say to that. Jo studied me, then looked at the King, who said nothing the entire time. Jo stared at him, and the King stared back. It was almost like they were having a silent conversation before the King finally looked away, down at his feet, almost like he was ashamed. I frowned. Jo looked at me now.

"The Mother will make the trade," he said, making me look up as Jo sat back in his seat, folding his hands and placing them on his knee as he folded one leg over the other, "She will take you, but she won't give Keros back, because it doesn't benefit her to do so. Keros is her major playing piece right now. She'll have you return and she'll use Keros to control you. If you don't do what she wants, she'll hurt him. If you do, she'll perhaps leave him alone. Depends if she keeps her word on that one. But in the end, nothing will turn out well. Keros will be a prisoner, and frankly, so will you."

"But, she said--"

"And do you believe her? Do you believe she'll just give Keros back to his parents and take you away and not use you to benefit her?"

"But... But Keros..."

"We will rescue Keros," Jo replied calmly, "There is no doubt of that in my mind. But we won't do it by performing a trade. The Mother will not keep her word. Keros is too valuable to just hand over, especially if she knows she can use him to control you. No, I know there's another way around this."

"Then what is it? Enlighten me," I challenged. Jo studied me.

"Even if I offer you a solution, you'll still default back to trading with the Mother and I think it stems from the fact that you're afraid of completely breaking away from the Mother," he said, making me stiffen. The King frowned, glancing at me.

"I don't know what you're talking about," I said, frustrated, "I broke away from her for a reason, I escaped for a reason--"

"To protect your brother," Jo replied simply, "You had to protect him from the world that was created by the Mother. A world you grew up in, and despite knowing that they're in the wrong, you can't completely rule out the fact that you grew up there. Some of their rules, some of their teachings, are still sitting with you, even if you won't admit it." I swallowed thickly at that.

His words scared me, because I'd had that thought cross my mind numerous times since leaving the Mother. The fact that I was so used to being with the Mother, and now that I was away, I was scared and uncomfortable and confused. The world was just so big, so complex, so full of things I didn't understand. It gave me a new sense of anxiety, a new sense of fear. I didn't know how to handle all of it, and the King and Akin were at the top of that list. I didn't know how to handle having parents, or having Thirteen around me all the time. I didn't know how to handle having... friends, family.

It was easy to say I was running away, saving Thirteen, going to get a job, a home, take care of a child. But it was a completely different story to do it on my own without resolving any of my own issues. There were just too many concepts I didn't understand in this world for me to be able to do anything on my own.

"I'm not trying to hurt you," Jo said suddenly, making me blink and realize my eyes had welled up, so I quickly rubbed at my eyes, "And don't worry about being upset about it. It's perfectly alright to be upset, to be afraid. And you're absolutely right; this world is very big. It's endless. And so is everything in it. And you've never been exposed to it. You've been locked up in a bubble your whole life and it's what you know, even if you didn't like it, it's what's comfortable, it's what's normal... for you. But what you grew up believing, what you grew up living, is not normal and it is not comfortable, and you know that, because you saw it with Thirteen and you knew you needed to break away from it fast before Thirteen, too, got too comfortable with the atrocities the Mother's committed."

"But now everything is so messed up," I managed, "Keros is the one who approached me first. He's the one who found me and saved me. And now because of me, he's gone..."

"And we will get him back," Jo assured.

"How do you know?"

"Because I know a lot of things," Jo said, "It comes with time. And right now, I can assure you Keros will return. But we have to tread carefully. This Mother is unpredictable. All we know is what you've told us. And that is very little."

"I just... I don't like talking about her," I whispered, "I just... Even saying her name scares people."

"She can't hurt you here," Jo replied gently, "She has no way to reach you here."

"She does if she has Keros."

"But she won't know that you've spoken about her until it's too late; she'll be defeated and buried. The way every evil has been since the beginning of time."

"She... I just... It's so hard," I said softly, "I've been told time and time again, don't talk about her with others, don't share unnecessary information with others, don't do this, don't do that."

"And yet they're still controlling you, even now that you've escaped. Doesn't that infuriate you?"

"It does."

"Then when you're ready, tell us what you know. Don't do this for us, either," Jo added, "Do it for yourself, and do it for Keros." I looked at him, letting those words sink in. Jo smiled faintly.

"In time, you'll be ready. For now, all we can do is wait to hear back from this Mother person to see what she has to offer."

"But you'll deny her offer," I said. Jo inclined his head.

"Like Akin said; we don't make deals with terrorists. We destroy them," he responded simply, then rose gracefully to his feet. I watched him, feeling an eerie chill at his words.

We don't make deals with terrorists. We destroy them.

"As for you," Jo said, turning to the King, who tensed at the attention, "We need to talk. Privately." The King grimaced, but he didn't argue as he just followed Jo out of the room, leaving me alone with my thoughts. I laid back down on the bed and stared up at the ceiling, swallowing compulsively as I sought some semblance of calm.

Except how could I stay calm knowing that everything was happening at once? Keros was kidnapped, the Mother wanted me back, I had a Beast inside me. What was I supposed to do? I was just one person. Jo made it seem like we were in this together, but it was my fault. He didn't deny or agree to it, but in the end, this whole thing was my fault. The reason Keros was kidnapped, the reason the Mother hunted us down. All of it was on me.

I slammed my eyes shut and reached up to rake my fingers through my hair, sucking in a deep breath.

What was I supposed to do? I didn't have a choice. Jo made it seem like there were plenty of options, but he didn't cover them. Did he know something I didn't? Why didn't he just tell me? No, I couldn't trust people I'd just met. I couldn't trust them to think logically about this situation. I had to figure it out myself. I fucked it up so it was time for me to fix it.

I just had no idea where to start--

Wait, I did have an idea.

I just needed to get the hell out of this hospital and over to the Peace Headquarters. If I was at the Royal Hospital, I was only a kilometer away from the Headquarters. It would only take me about half an hour or so to get there on foot.

I waited in bed for a while, waiting to hear back from Hades or Jo or the King or someone, but after two hours, I got fed up waiting. I threw myself over the side of the bed and started to yank out the sticky pads and IV when I realized how they'd found out I'd gotten out of the bed in the first place. The moment I removed one, a little alarm went off, so I stuck it back on and the alarm stopped. This time, I reached over and managed to figure out how to shut the machines off, so when I pulled everything off, no alarm went off. Relieved, I started to go for the door until I realized I wasn't wearing any clothes. Well, nothing suitable to be running around outside undetected.

I poked around in the room, didn't find anything, so I opened a door that opened up into another room on the other side of the room. This was where the two way mirror led to, and thankfully, there was no one inside. But there was a closet with scrubs, so I threw the hospital gown off and changed into a pair of navy blue scrubs. I twisted my hair up and pulled a surgical cap on before I slipped out of the room, back through the room I'd been laying in, and out into the hallway, where thankfully Jo was no longer present with the King.

I quickly made my way down the hallway, back where I had gone earlier, and came into another hallway, but this one had plenty of signs, indicating which way was which. I followed the signs until I found myself going upstairs and into the main lobby area. It was massive inside, full of chairs and different check-in desks. A lot of people sat in chairs, some milled around, others were checking in for appointments. I spotted the exit and hurried along, but not noticeably. I headed out of the hospital and was met with heat and sunlight. I blinked rapidly against the sun, getting nearly blinded by it after having been locked downstairs for so long.

I shook my head and looked around, spotting the street and quickly hurrying toward the Peace Headquarters. I'd only been there once to stop and see Keros, but I think I knew exactly where to go in order to do what I needed to do.

It didn't take long to reach the Headquarters. It was a huge four story building made of white brick with wood accents and a lovely garden out front. It wasn't too crowded, so there wasn't many people, but that would just make it harder to blend in with others.

I took off the surgical cap and tossed it in the nearest trash bin, then took a deep breath and headed inside. Right away I was met with a couple security guards, but thankfully they didn't stop me. In fact, they both bowed their heads to me and gestured for me to go ahead inside. Confused, I looked at them, then slipped inside. I looked around and spotted the holding cells and headed for it, only this time I was stopped by some guy in khaki shorts and a Hawaiian patterned shirt.

"Yo, hold up," the guy said, pushing off his desk and approaching me, "What's the prince doing at PH?" I looked at him curiously.

"Prince?" I asked. He gave me a droll stare.

"You're Seven, right? You're the prince."

"Uh... Sure. I'm looking for the prisoner named Four. He was brought in about a week or so ago," I explained. The guy paused to consider that.

"Ah, yeah, he's still around, somehow... But, why are you here to see him? He's not allowed to receive any visitors, according to the King," he added, giving me a quick once over before meeting my eyes. There was a sparkle in his eyes. Like he liked what he saw. I stared at him.

"I've got important information I think we can use to get him to talk, but I need to do it alone."

"No one's allowed to be alone with him."

"I'm the one that subdued him in the first place."

"Yeahhh, except the King specifically said--"

"The King is the one who wants me to do what I can to get him to talk," I said sternly, making the guy pause, "Even if it's dangerous. I'm going to talk to him. You can't stop me. You said I'm a prince, right? So I have the right to do what I can to protect my people. And this will help." The guy studied me warily.

"Something about this feels off..."

"Because it's so sudden," I reassured, "Just give me five minutes and I'll be out." The guy looked over my head, seemed to examine the area and who was in it, before he looked at me.

"Only because you're cute as fuck when you're mad and bossy," he said, making me grimace. He turned and gestured for me to follow him toward the steel door that separated the cells from the rest of the office. We headed through the door and started to pass cells. Most of them were empty. A couple appeared to have drunk people babbling away, someone was drawing sexually explicit scenes on one of the walls, and another guy was muttering about the world ending.

"By the way," the guy said as he led me through the cells, "My name's Todd. I'm new around here. So, do me a favor, maybe give me a good word to the King? I'm trying to get into the Royal Guard." I nodded, but didn't say anything. Yeah, I thought dryly, I'm gonna tell the King to hire the guy who let me, a strange kid who looks like the prince, in to see a questionable convict.

Not.

"Cool," I said. Todd seemed to like that and smiled, then led me through to another room with only three cells. One of which was occupied by exactly the person I wanted to see.

"Five minutes," Todd reminded me as he stepped back toward the exit. I nodded, watching him turn and walk out. I waited a moment to make sure he was gone before I turned to face the cell, where I heard a low, menacing chuckle. I didn't say anything right away, just approached the bars to look inside where Four was seated on a small stiff mattress in the corner of the room. He practically dwarfed the bed, even more so the tiny sink and toilet in there for him.

"Looks like our bedrooms back at the compound," I commented. Four snorted and looked up through his hair, his eyes sharp and judging.

"Our rooms are much cozier," he said, "Plus, my nightstand isn't a fucking toilet." He rose to his full height and approached the bars, but stopped short before touching them. I frowned.

"Bars are cursed," he grunted at my confusion, "Touch 'em and you'll fall flat on your face for six hours. Trust me." I didn't need to ask how he knew.

"I came to talk to you about the Mother," I said. Four rolled his eyes.

"Yeah, like I'm gonna talk to you. What, did the big scary Hades tell you to come talk to me? Get me to spill what I know? Yeah, that shit won't work considering I fucking hate you," he responded. I gave him a deadpan stare.

"First of all, Hades is fucking terrifying. Second, I'm not here to get information... I'm here to share it," I replied. Four frowned at that. He looked around, confirming no one was spying on us, then looked back at me curiously.

"Share information?" He asked. I nodded.

"I need to get in contact with the Mother," I said, "I want to come home."