"You know, I really saw this going differently." Cain breaks the silence that had existed for an uncomfortable amount of time.

Telling him I was pregnant had been hard, and I'd avoided it for as long as I could. There was no avoiding the man on one knee, looking up at me with nothing other than the purest, rawest, truest love pouring off him. There was no avoiding him as he closed the ring box, the jewelry hidden inside once again while my brain managed to not even register it in my memory. There was no avoiding him as he stood in front of me, so close I could feel his breath on my forehead as he sighed.

"No." I shook my head, grabbing onto his shirt.

"A lot differently." He mumbled, stepping back and away.

"No, I mean yes, but no." I blurted, suddenly panicking as I wasn't sure if I wanted to cry, laugh, or throw myself out the window. "Do it again."

"Do what again?"

"The knee thing." I pushed down on his shoulders, attempting to rewind the last minute of my life I didn't want back. "You surprised me, and I needed to process. It's been like a big year, and I wasn't expecting it, why are you not moving?"

"The moment's kind of gone. It's meant to be a surprise and you were going to get all emotional and tell me how wonderful I am, grab the ring?" He held up the box. "Not stand there like, I don't even know what that was."

"Fuck. No, no. That was a happy shock. Like, I can't believe it's happening and when I blink next it'll turn out to be a dream or something, but it's not and please forget this part. I want it. I want you. I want you to give me the damn ring!" I made a reach for it but he held it out of the way. "Cain!"

He laughed.

The jerk actually laughed and a new kind of rage took over. "You know what, fine. Keep it. I'm sure it'll look great on you or you know, your next girlfriend who won't ruin your perfect little proposal moment. I have other things to worry about, like saving the world and growing your child."

Not as if he could find another girlfriend. I'd have her running in the other direction within ten seconds of there even being a chance of another girlfriend. I hate her, I hate him and before I can throw even more hate on the imaginary third person, who is little more than a home-wrecker and his worst idea ever, as I start towards the bedroom, Cain stops me.

"That escalated quickly." He says softly, yet still sounding annoyingly amused as his presence surrounds me like a blanket and somehow that stupid, him, smell only grows. "Elle, babe, there is no next girlfriend."

I've got my nose pressed against the curve of his neck; the regrowth of his beard prickly against my forehead as I hold onto him as tightly as he's holding onto me,

"There better not be." I threaten, yet I'm now safely distracted from the second of insanity that just occurred at the prospect of one.

The thoughts disappear completely as he kisses just above my eyebrow, my cheek and finally my lips.

"Do you want to marry me?"

"Yes." I sigh as at least one little corner of the puzzle of my life starts to take shape. Real shape, like that easy part where it's just all blue sky and you feel confident you can actually do it after all despite none of the other pieces making sense yet.

"Good. Do you want this?" He held up the box again.

"Yes."

I don't breathe as he takes out the flash of diamonds and silver, the metal is cool as he slides it onto my finger yet I only watch him. The fear is hidden well behind the mask of concentration; his jaw clenched before he swallows slowly and his dark eyes meet mine. He smiles.

I smile back.

The ring is familiar as I finally look at it and I slap a hand over my mouth as I realise why. How many times did I break into my parent's safe as a child to play with this fancy piece of jewellery my Mum refused to wear. She preferred the simple, smaller, ring Dad had given her, rather than the over-the-top jewels from his family. So it was kept hidden with priceless artifacts from adventures that made my family famous; pieces that could not be parted with or left in a museum for sentimental reasons and family beliefs.

This ring had been my great grandmother's, and thanks to the platinum band being recently cleaned it showed no sign of its age or neglect how it had when I used to pretend it was mine. It had been the first thing my great-grandfather had purchased for her when he'd come back from a hunting trip as an even wealthier man thanks to a vampire who liked to hoard all kinds of treasures.

"Your Dad said you'd always wanted this one. I could see you wearing it as soon as he showed me. It's a bit different, and if you did want a new-"

"It's," Oh no. Not the tears. "It's perfect. You're perfect."

"And wonderful?" He questions, the grin on his face growing as I manage to nod.

"So wonderful, and whatever else your ego needs to hear." Kissing him now feels different; new and exciting. A first kiss that I end in order to stare at the ring on my finger as I hold my hand up beside his head. "I don't know which one of you is more beautiful to stare at. You're so sparkly and-"

"Please don't start talking to the ring."

His eyes darken as I'm tugged back into his arms, and for a little while I forget about the ring, the shit show we have to return to, Gaia, Uranus - all of it. We sleep then go out for breakfast, wander through a local farmers market and visit my parents for coffee, waiting for one of them to notice what's on my finger. Mum cries more than I did and of course she spots it first, while Cain and Dad did a weird kind of handshake that carried more weight than I think any handshake should.

"No wedding plans until after the apocalypse okay?" I say it lightly, but am completely serious which has Mum laughing before she cries again.

"This was your perfect timing?" Dad frowned at Cain, their moment clearly over.

"It was." He shrugged, not bothered by the shift in Dad's mood.

"We just thought it would be later, once it was all over and we could celebrate. What about an engagement party and we could invite," Mum started.

"Not yet. I wanted to share this with you before we go back. For now, this is all it can be." Cain squeezed my hand as I looked at Dad. "His timing was perfect, but everything else is not. Not yet. We have a future worth fighting for, and we will have to fight for it so be happy for us now and know the rest will come."

"We are, love," Mum promised and as we stood, she was quick to make it a group hug despite Dads refusal to join in. "We are so happy and so proud of you. Of both of you."

"Thank you." I hugged her one more time.

"Who else knows?" She whispered before letting me go.

"No one," I admit.

Mum only nods, clearly thinking that over. "The rest will come, and we will celebrate. All of you."

She smiles as she rubs my belly, Blueberry literally kicking into action which has her eyes full of new tears.

"Mum, what I said before, about helping him if anything happens." I stop, yet the familiar ache of loss and the pain that comes from thinking about Matt's vision coming true doesn't hit how it normally does.

"I know sweetheart, you don't need to worry. He's already family. Before the engagement, and the baby. When you came home with him, I knew. Kara may have warned us, but I don't think she even knew what it meant when she did." She moved to say goodbye to Cain as Dad replaced her.

"She told me everything. You will come home again, Elise." Dad pulled me to him into the kind of hug that made me close my eyes and hug him back just as tight while making me feel invincible and about five years old. "You always have, and you always will."

I wanted to believe him.

We went outside, an act of normalcy more for my parents sake than anything else and instead of going to the Valkyrie bar, I took Cain to ours. No one was there, it was too early and even Paul hadn't turned up yet. Everything was quiet and calm, yet I wanted the noise and chaos of a late Saturday night. I looked beyond the bar, thirsty with the need to forget and get lost within the crowd. Instead, I slid onto a bar stool and Cain sat beside me.

"What do you want to talk about?" He asked softly.

"How do you know I want to talk? I might just be missing that old beer smell or procrastinating our return."

"True, but you mostly come back here to talk."

I roll my eyes and instead run a finger over a small crack in the wood in front of me.

"When I said goodbye to Mum, I had a thought. We are acting like we have to end this before Blueberry arrives, but what if we don't?" I sighed.

"Until Uranus makes his next move, we don't know how much time we have exactly. It could be days, months, years. All we want to do is try and get in first, and keep some control over how it goes."

"Well, we could work on avoiding or postponing for a few months. It will be easier to go into this not pregnant. Mostly so I don't have Kara and Apollo reminding me every five minutes what I apparently should and shouldn't be doing because," I point at my stomach. "Plus, you know, being able to move easier and run without feeling like I'm carrying a watermelon."

"In all the visions,"

I cut him off. "I've died. So we edit the visions?"

"Not being pregnant could change things." He thought out loud, and getting up he drifted towards the stage. "Hades and I talked about this before. The timing of everything could not be a coincidence. If we were planning something like this, now would be a good time to strike. You are their biggest threat and short of waiting for you to age which isn't likely now you're not mortal, or a sickness to take hold, Blueberry would be seen as the next best weakness to use to their advantage. Not just pregnant, but once he's here-"

"The target on his back." I sighed. "What if we could hide him somewhere? I'm not about to feed him to the snake pit, but if I send Alfie, Zane too, and keep Chrysaor away from him. I think Medusa could be a fairy godmother after all."

"No." Cain answered instantly.

"Crossroads? I could get Gaia to take him to Hecate, your mother even. I'd do what she wants, so long as they keep him safe."

"The safest place for him is with us."

"What if there isn't an us or he does arrive before this goes down? Do you want to carry him around in a freaking baby harness thing, strapped to your chest, while taking down the Furies? Call time on the battle because he needs a nappy change or a feed? Rock him to sleep to the sound of death of destruction?" At some point, I'm standing and even though it's so quiet I was yelling at him as if I had a bar full of people to be heard over.

"Why the fuck not? It's better than trusting the one behind it all or a cursed woman that collects priceless items. Where do you think our kid will rank on her wishlist?" He snapped back.

"Oh right, because all my ideas suck and you know everything."

"No, I just don't think these are the best options. They're almost valid ideas, only we need better ones." Cain stepped towards me yet stopped himself, closed his eyes, and took a breath, instantly appearing to go from all to nothing in two seconds which only made me angrier. "Gaia gave you nothing when she took you? Nothing at all that we can use?"

"This cute cashmere coat?" I hugged myself while glaring at him, yet Blueberry's tantrum matched the one I wanted to have and instead I kept my hands either side of my stomach as if that would stop him accidentally kicking a leg out 'Alien' style. "I hate you."

"Isn't that supposed to happen once we're married?" The tiniest edge of his mouth lifted, like he was about to smile but managed to stop himself.

Oh, now he's a comedian.

"Don't you fucking smirk at me right now and look all, like that." I huff, stomping past him to semi-awkwardly hoist myself up to sit on the edge of the stage.

"Look like what?" He holds his hands up innocently.

"Your face is stupid." Stupidly handsome; possibly tasty. I licked my lips instead of his stupid face. "And I hate you. For being right. If he isn't with us, he will be the biggest weakness, because it's all I'm going to think about, and if he isn't with us, they will be looking for him and no matter where we put him, they aren't us. Even Hecate, as Gaia did say she isn't what she was."

"We need to go back with a plan. The Valkryie will be coming within days, and like it or not he's in the best place right now." He said firmly, his stupid face unreadable as he stood just out reach as if knew where my mind was at. "Now more than ever we need-"

"To fake it until we make it. Got it."

"Not quite where I was going, but close enough."

"Your face isn't stupid. I'm sorry for yelling." I sigh, now feeling the crash of the adrenaline from seconds before. "I love your face."

"I know." Serious Cain eases as he dares comes closer. "I wish we could stay here and forget the other realm exists."

"Why couldn't you have said that five years ago or even a hundred?"

He ignores me, instead, resting a hand on my stomach that Blueberry seems eager to use as a target. "I've got more than I've ever had before and I don't want anything else. I've done and seen so many things in my life, and now. Gaia, our visit to Tartarus, this war with Uranus. Blueberry. Engagement rings. Not in a million years did I see things going this way."

"You just listed our baby and your promise of love alongside a war with gods."

Cain shrugged. "All are equally terrifying in their own way."

"I'm not sure if I want to hate you again or agree." I tugged him closer and tilted his chin down so he had to look at me. "Cain. Together. I agree with you, for now, meaning that we need to go back with a plan and I'll just keep my legs crossed if this situation decides to change. Everyone is going to expect me to pull some kind of miracle out of thin air since I went with Gaia and I don't have it. I may be an amazing, hilarious, genius in a cute jacket, but we're at the point where it isn't enough. I understand how it works and if we falter now and quit living up to the whole stupid Empress, Emperor thing we'll lose. So, what's the plan?"

"Debrief with Kara first. She has to know more than the others. Art will want to make her feel left out and thankfully with Ares gone, there's one less around to antagonize her. What did you say about Nieve before?"

"Where do I begin?" I rolled my eyes, yet catching how serious he was I forced myself to focus. "Oh. Gaia. Right. Um, well it was oh! She has to die."

"That's all?" Cain and sarcasm weren't a good match.

"Let me think." Come on baby brain, you can do it. "It was a bit more than just Nieve. The Furies are not what they used to be and the Fourth is pointless now. And that would be because for there to be four, there has to first be three meaning, Nieve has to die and the powers of Fate need to be freed to find new hosts. Being all three, she is untouchable."

"You cut off her hand?"

I smiled, my ego bursting. "That's what I said!"

"That was weeks ago and she'd only just come into full power." He mused. "We need to find out what she's like now. If she is still struggling to manage them, we have a chance."

"And if she isn't?"

"We might still have a chance?"

"And if Gaia is simply setting us up like she had in Tartarus?" It wasn't a crazy idea, and very likely.

"No, she can't afford to lose your alliance. Your threats were facts and she knows it, Tartarus only proves it. That move has cost her more than she'd ever admit and now she has to fix it."

"While making it look like she was right and not admitting she was wrong," I add. "So what will happen if we kill Nieve? Uranus will be pooping himself, and what new hosts or vessels or whatever will become the new Fates? It's almost a plan to get everything moving forward, but I also have this feeling that if I just do it because Gaia wants it, it's not going to be quick fix we are hoping it will be. There has to be more to it."

"Balance." Eirene was the one who answered. "Nevermind me, I only just arrived."

I looked around Cain who turned into a wall in front of me to see the other woman sitting cross legged on a table in the middle of the room. Well it looked like her and sounded like her, but it didn't feel like her.

"What is this place? Death and old magic surrounds us." She pouted, shivering as she looked around. "Who would ever come here, why are you both here? This isn't a good place."

Considering here had always felt like home; a safe haven to escape my everyday life I tried not to be offended or concerned. Cain stood taller as his hands curled into fists at his side at least until I had my arms looping around him from behind and my cheek was pressed against his back. No, it was never about this place.

It had always been about him.

"Why are you here?" I didn't need to see Cain's face to know exactly what he looked like.

The fear on Eirene's face as I peeked around his arm only confirmed I'd be right. The air seemed to thin in the room, the temperature dropped and Eirene noticed. Instead of being unsure and fearful of the bar, she clearly worked out where her biggest threat stood and it was right in front of her. This wasn't the same woman I'd met days ago - then again, that one hadn't done anything to put her on Cain's shit list.

"To help." She dipped her chin against her chest and closed her eyes as she bowed forward. "I am no longer indebted to Gaia and I feel terrible about what she had me do."

Instantly I felt bad for her. I couldn't help it, and Cain was quick to stop me as I made a move in her direction. For someone who was most well known for being peaceful and able to turn into a white dove which is like the angel of pigeons, being Gaias messenger must have been hard for her to deal with. It was the exact opposite to what she stood for.

What could she be that indebted to Gaia for if it led her to that moment in time?

"What? She said she's sorry?" I took his hand off my arm and held it instead.

"And if Gaia has her doing her bidding. Again? I don't like this." He growled, his jaw clenched as he spoke.

I didn't either but I'd take the bait.

"I doubt she'll whisk us away to hell again and I doubt there is anywhere worse than that oh. Um, what was that place Hades said? The Neither?"

"Aether."

"Yeah." I hesitated. "Is that actually a thing or was he being dramatic?"

"It is real, but please be assured I am here now completely of my own free will and no one can enter the Aether. Gaia promised me you would leave Tartarus unharmed, and you did! I was so happy to see you escaped in the Underworld" She said earnestly. "I promise on all that is, I will not fool you again."

"Apology noted. Take your freedom and go elsewhere. I have been more than merciful as it is, do not try my patience further." Cain threatened.

Eirene noticed the light fading from outside the few windows in here as I did. As thunder rumbled in the distance, the tension in here felt like it was close to exploding like the lightning that flashed angrily above us. In the dim light, she looked even paler, the blueness of her hair fading with the colour in her cheeks. Everytime I blinked, I remembered the tent in Tartarus, the vision of the goddes twisting into one of the demons that had formed Gaias girl group.

"Wait a second," I turned to face Cain. "You were the one who told me she was all peace and love and light and whatever. She is no different to the rest of us being used in their games, and she said she was sorry."

"And? We don't have time for this." His voice lowered. "Eirene has made her choices, and now I make mine. Besides that isn't who we think it is."

On that I could agree.

"And what about my choices?" I could practically hear him internally groaning as the grip on my hand tightened. "She seems chatty. I love a good chat. You know me, always making new friends and giving out second and third chances. I'm a great judge of character."

"Elise." Cain closed his eyes, pinching the bridge of his nose as did so.

I reached up and kissed his cheek. "I know. Five minutes, that's all. Calm the storm down, Alfie isn't a big thunder fan."

Spinning back around to Eirene, she'd hugged her legs up against her chest, looking around the room as if she expected the walls to close in on her at any time. My smile only seemed to freak her out even more despite the fact I was going for a more warm and welcoming approach and moving a table beside hers, I sat on that daring Cain to say anything.

"I get it, ignore Cain for a minute." Her eyes darted between us as she turned slightly to face me. "Sorry, Leander."

Eirene hesitated. "I know all of what they have called him. Who he is, and has been. I chose to address him how I knew him, and that man was nothing like the others. Until he was the worst of them."

Her judgement and coldness hadn't been present before and seemed out of place for the thirty seconds of Eirene I knew. If they parted on the terms Cain had mentioned, I also didn't blame her and well, she hadn't tried to directly kill, curse or turn me into a mermaid yet so that was still a win.

"Okay. A lot to unpack there, but for my sanity's sake, let's leave the past in the past." Cain was suddenly behind the bar, and as he took a bottle down from the top shelf the thunder eased. "Eirene, what did Gaia do for you for you to be in her debt?"

"She saved my life."

That seemed to be an ongoing trend. "That was nice of her."

"My immortal life. I nearly joined my sisters in the eternity of the afterlife, no longer able to regenerate. She gave me a fresh start, a new gift. I don't expect you to understand, I feel you have barely grasped the concept of what it means to be immortal. To be a god. Yet you have been crowned as the Empress and completed with your twin flame. Perhaps you do understand."

I didn't.

Not at all.

"And taking us to Tartarus cleared you of owing Gaia any more favours?"

"Yes. She welcomed my sisters and I into her village. The mortals we lived with were so kind. A haven in a world often cruller than it is kind." Eirene sighed. "She ensured we'd all have a new life, and refuge. For centuries we have happily lived as the great mother directed, but recently something changed. She changed and-"

We all looked to the door by the bar that swung open, and a pissed-off bear shifter was near transformation status as Paul barged in. Eirene scooted backward, so much so that she nearly fell off the table until I grabbed her arm and kept her upright.

"Oh fuck. It's you." He greeted, a yawn like roar leaving him as he slapped a hand over his face. "I mean, hi boss."

"Bear shifter and can't even sniff us out?" Cain rolled his eyes.

Paul snarled at him. "Are you paying for that drink?"

Cain laughed and then made a show of pouring himself another.

"Hi Paul. Just pretend we're not here." I glared at Cain who simply shrugged and sat down on one of the bar stools. "We won't be long."

He looked at Eirene, then Cain before slowly nodding. "Is the snake lurking anywhere?"

"Nope. Just us three."

"I'll be in the office if you need me."

He slams the door shut behind him and I take a breath.

"He's a little grizzly in the morning, but a great bar manager." I smile at Eirene. "So, you've been living in Gaias cult, but managed to get out and now here you are, powered up with new immortality and a pile of guilt to deal with post-Tartarus. So what were you saying about balance? The Fates bring balance with the Furies? Sorry, where are my manners? Would you like a drink?"

"No thank you." She whispered, her focus staying on Cain.

No more Leander dearest in the future for these two.

"Eirene, why did you come here?" I kept my voice low, shifting closer to her and in doing so, blocking him from her view so she had to look at me.

"The Furies were created in retaliation for the Fates' existence. Gaia got tired of it all, and so imparted a fraction of her wisdom into three beings to act for her. No one knew the difference until they did. These new creatures came to understand their gift and used it as they so desired. To correct her mistake, a Fourth was born to guide and watch over them to ensure it didn't happen again. Fragments of the three went into creating one yet much like you and your other half, when reunited, they created a new power. Furious, Uranus destroyed the Fourth and nothing was quite the same after that." She shrugged as if it was no big deal, and I struggled to keep a straight face wishing I had recorded this conversation to listen back to later.

"Is that why she doesn't like to talk about the Fourth?"

"There have been many Fourths until the last one. Just as there have been many Thirds, and the others until now when this is only one."

"The last one,"

Eirene shook her head. "We do not speak of her."

"She stopped the Furies, and Uranus?" I pushed, remembering what Gaia had said about this Fourth being the one to trap him that his trio of delights went and released him from.

That had to be a point to Team Gaia when it happened and I guess wiping clean everything that was hers to start all over again would be a huge point to Team Uranus. If he managed to do it.

"Some may say the price was too high. It cost her everything. That is all I will say and take it as a warning."

I looked at her with new eyes, completely understanding that the woman in front of me knew everything I wanted to, but her mouth was now sealed shut and I didn't know how to keep her talking. This was another game, and to move on to the next round, I had to ask the right questions.

"It's all been a power struggle between Gaia and her creations, and Uranus and his." I groan, standing up. I needed to move, to think. "The fate of everything we know, the universe, all of it, is because two primordial beings can't get along?"

"They created everything so it only seems fair." She snapped, confirming my suspicions about her. "Uranus had his chance and time, yet he only seeks to destroy. They had a partnership and he destroyed that to, so he has no right to make any demands."

"You've been in a cult for too long and clearly have been picking up whatever Gaia puts down." The look on her face told me she had no idea what I was talking about. "I mean that in the nicest possible way. So, if Gaia's fourth is off the table, can you tell me if Uranus ever had one? I mean, balance and all would make me think he did."

And I don't want a surprise guest at the party.

"He does now. The Crone has taken that place. Balance has to be restored. They could each have three. It was agreed when the Fourth was removed and why you need to stop wasting your time with it." Eirene blurted. "That's why you need to kill Nieve."

There it is.

"I've always liked the old crone. I don't think killing her is a priority." I look over at Cain, who sat casually on the bar reading a newspaper oblivious to the rest of us. "I am the Empress. Surely that gives me some room to make the decisions around here."

"It's a title Hecate created for her pets. When she bores of you, you will disappear as the others have." Eirene frowned. "Forget the Empress, and the Fourth Elise. Do what needs to be done and maybe your family will be gifted with a life together. You two were destined to unite for this task. Do not do anything to make Gaia regret her choices."

Wow, now she's threatening us?

"Wouldn't dream of it. I'm just a trinket in her pocket. Nothing of significance, much like a pyramid in the desert or a pretty sword." I produced my sword, twirling it at my side before resting it on the table beside me as she inched away from us. "Be sure to tell Gaia I understand everything and would hate for the balance to tip in Uranus or Tartarus' favour because Hecate's pet regretted her choices in thinking she was the right side to stand on. Desperate isn't a good look on her."

Eirene vanished.

"So getting rid of Nieve seems to be a trending topic." I sighed. "Gaia clearly didn't think we were making it enough of a priority."

"There never were any of the Fates or figures in the vision we didn't recognize. Maybe recreating the Fates is the missing part in all of this." Cain sighed as he turned me around to face him. "Is this the plan we go back with?"

"That's all we have to go back with. You knew it wasn't Eirene, and yet you let me go to her."

"I don't let you do anything. Except kiss me. I'll let you do that whenever you want." He smiled. "If you needed me, I was still here. My way would have involved a little more pressure, less chat and maybe a different outcome. Who knows.You wanted to do it your way, you were safe, and I wanted a drink. Win for all."

"Let me taste it." It was as close as I was getting to the drink I was craving and as I tasted the whisky on his tongue, it made me want more. Of everything.

"Great, now you're making out, in here." Paul groaned. "Keep it PG."

"I hate bears." Cain groaned against my mouth.

"We're going!" I called out. "Put those on my tab."

"Done." He answered.

A second later we were in a different bar, and revealing the portal it was time to go back. We had a new goal, and lucky her, Nieve was it. Something was buzzing in the back of my mind, a distant fuzzy thought I couldn't claim just yet.

"Ready?" Cain asked, raising my hand to kiss my knuckles yet as he looked down, he stopped with a frown.

Following his gaze something was on the floor and I stepped back he picked it up and handed it over. It was the Empress tarot card, much the same as the ones from before only instead of a field ready to harvest there was only a dark sky and red earth; her sword was bloody and she was no longer the same symbol of confidence or prosperity from earlier but rather a woman of war. Her face was etched in pain, and despite the battle she had just won, she had also lost.

I felt Hecates presence in the air, a lingering sign she had left this here as a warning; a sign of what was to come. To survive, again, what would be the price I had to pay this time?

And then by her sword, I saw an hourglass that was down to it's final moments. Time was running out.

"I'm ready."