Chapter Seventeen

"I can think of several reasons why this is a really bad idea."

"Don't be a pussy. Just stab me with the pointy end."

"Can't we do what normal sons and fathers do? Watch football and pretend we have wenches to yell at?" Ambrosius whined impatiently. I rolled my eyes and glanced over at Lucifer, who just watched us with this giddy expression on his face. I had no idea what about Ambrosius and I sparring got this guy turned on faster than a ten cent whore ODing on aphrodisiac. It was his stupid idea. He insisted Ambrosius let loose some anger and that I get back into the game of fighting.

As if I needed to "get back in the game". I wasn't rusty.

"Come on," Lucifer encouraged, "Just one round. We need to be prepared for when the Titans launch their attack and the other gods arrive to prepare for the battle. One round, Hades, and you can spend all evening in the lab." I scowled, putting a fist on my hip as I turned to face him.

"What do I look like to you? A child?"

"Some days."

"This isn't helping your cause."

"Oh, just let him bitch," Ambrosius said, facing Lucifer with a snort, "He's just scared I'll kick his ass."

"If you're trying to goad me into a fight, you suck. I thought I taught you better than that." I drawled. Ambrosius appeared irritated, making me smirk in triumph. Now that is exactly how you goad someone into a fight. It helped that I was a lot more annoying than he was. There was something about Ambrosius that made it difficult to be irritated with him for long. Or that could just be the deeply hidden paternal feelings I held for him. Either way, I was amused by him.

He was wearing another one of those cropped shirt, showing off his abs, with long sleeves, and his harem pants. I blamed Thorn and his desert world for Ambrosius skimpy outfits. He was showing far too much skin, and even though it was rather warm in the large training room at the palace, I still didn't approve, not that my opinion mattered.

I, on the other hand, opted for a black tank top and exercise pants I had Niki fetch from town. Our bare feet touching the cool wood flooring, long white silk curtains billowed away from the long row of open windows that opened to a sleek balcony. It was a nice place, but I hated how white it was. There was something about the purity of the color that offended me. And while my palace was almost entirely black, green was my favorite color. I blamed Persephone for it.

"One round," Ambrosius relented, turning to face me with the sword in his thickly stitched gloved hand, preventing cuts on his hands, "And if I win, you have to stay out of your room for a day." I laughed at that, twirling the sword before clasped it in my hand. The weight of it was a bit strange, but I blamed it on the gloves that barely reached my wrists and only covered my thumb, forefinger, and middle finger.

"Why? So you know where I'm at so you can plot my death?" I asked. Ambrosius scowled, spreading his feet across the floor to find balance. It reminded me of the first time I had taught him to handle a sword when he was eight and he tried to find balance, but kept teetering everywhere and standing with his feet bent inwards. Now he stood with expert stance, knee bent, equal balance, sword facing my direction.

"You're really dead set on us trying to kill you. You know we can't do that without disrupting the balance, and quite frankly, you're not worth it." He replied bitterly. I smiled at that, even though Lucifer flinched. He obviously had no idea what it was like to have your own son curse your very existence, and for a good reason. I accepted Ambrosius's hate. I wouldn't spit or curse at him for something logical.

"Then try and kick my ass." I responded calmly. I didn't bother to get in a stance. I didn't need to. I'd fought enough to where my body was always prepared for an attack. I was used to it. But my lack of interest in the fight and misinterpreted cockiness pissed Ambrosius off, just as I expected.

He lunged at me and swung his sword, but I just stepped out of the way and didn't even need to lift my sword. Ambrosius glared at me and moved to slam his elbow into my chest, but I side-stepped and dropped down sharply before he could swing his sword around the other way. I swept one leg out in front of me and knocked his legs out from under him, causing him to collapse to his knees before he rolled out of the way and hopped back onto his feet again.

There was something odd about his movements, though. He moved fluidly, smoothly. It was almost impressive, but he was still too inexperienced.

He lunged to stab me in the side, but I stepped out of the way and brought my sword down on top of his, knocking it down. I arched a brow at him as he yanked it back and glared at me.

"What?" I asked innocently. He curled his lip.

"You're not taking this seriously."

"How can I when you're dancing and not fighting? Anyone dance."

"Yeah, I'd like to see you shake your hips. Tsk." Ambrosius slashed at me again, but I just bent out of the way, then spun around and swung my sword at him, but he parried and lunged. I caught it with my sword and flung it to the side, dropping my sword to grab him by the wrist and rammed my elbow right into his chest. He gasped, dropping his sword and sinking to the floor. I stepped back, cracking my neck from side to side as I moved back to pick up my sword, giving it a test twirl.

My arm and back were still killing me from Zeus's attack yesterday. The fact that I could move like this was both impressive and depressing. I was so used to being fucked over that I could still fight after having my ass torn open. I grimaced at the thought, then turned to see Ambrosius getting to his feet angrily. He snatched up his sword and went at me again, slashing violently, but each slash was caught by my sword and flung back. He faked a right slash and went for a low blow near my thigh, but I swung my sword down and blocked it before stepping into his open space and slamming my head into his, causing him to stumble back.

Now he was angry. I could feel it roasting the air around me as he dropped his sword and slammed into me. I dropped my sword and let him pin me to the ground. He went to punch me, but I wrapped my arms around his waist, jerked him down so he was on his hands and knees above me now. I hooked my leg around his and spun us around so I was on top of his chest as opposed to him being on top of me. He snarled and bared his fangs at me. I smirked, pushing him down by his forehead as he breathed heavily.

"Not bad. For a dancer." I tacked on. Ambrosius's eyes glowed, in a fashion similar to mine. It made me wonder if he had inherited my night vision. Then it made me wonder what he inherited from Blaine. God, if he gets pregnant, I swear to god I'm going to kill Thorn. I'd like to see him fuck my son without a cock, the asshole.

Ambroisus took advantage of my tiny attention span and mimicked the same movement I'd used on him so he was above me. I caught his fist before he could punch me and sent it flying back into his own face, making him curse as blood gushed from his nose. I frowned as the droplets fell to my cheek.

"All right," Lucifer said calmly, "Let's take a break."

"Like Hell!" Ambrosius snarled at him, then turned back to hit me, but I caught him around the neck and twisted around so he went slamming into the floor and I was once again on top of him. I frowned at him.

"I could easily straggle you or break your neck right now." I stated, disapproving of his method. Ambrosius spat blood at my face and squirmed out from beneath me as I rose to my feet.

"Then why don't you?" Ambrosius demanded. I just stared at him in silence. Even if I told him it was because my son, he wouldn't believe me. No one believed I wanted a son because I wanted someone to actually give a shit about me. If no one believed it then, why would anyone believe it now? I just shook my head and turned to leave, but a tickle in my spine told me to be prepared.

Good thing too. The little monkey jumped on me the moment I did. He pressed his arm around my throat, intending to cut off my blood supply. I just turned my head so he was choking off my air instead, giving me plenty of time to twist myself into his side, leg hooking around his before I was slamming him down on the floor. Ambrosius gave a stranged little "oomph" of pain, peering up at me angrily as sweat streaked his features. I stared at him and a strange fear slid down my spine.

Jesus Christ, this kid looked way too much like me.

The same black hair, same glowing blue eyes, same features. His lips were just a bit fuller than mine, eyes a bit dewier. Despite what had happened to him, there was an innocence to his face that suddenly made me not want him to fight in this war. I'd spent all his life training him for it and now that it came to it, I wanted to lock him in a closet far away from here.

Gods. It wasn't just Ambrosius either. Theo, Malachi, Cain, Abel, Zelios, Cerberus, and Charon. They were all going to stand on that blood soaked battlefield facing down one of the darkest forces in the universe. A cold lump settled in my stomach as I backed away from Ambrosius, who sat up and glared at me past his hair. He could glare at me all he wanted. I'd still kill anyone who came within three feet of him with the intent to harm. Hell, even Thorn, and they were dating. Thorn may be smart enough to pick up on what Ambrosius and Lucifer missed, but he still had the power to cause Ambrosius harm.

Just like Persephone, Eumelia, and Atros had done to me. He was the type of person who weaseled their way past your defenses, tore down your walls. Even though he hadn't done anything to Ambrosius yet, it didn't matter. I had trusted Zeus and he, too, had turned on me. Thorn could do the same thing if he saw fit to do so.

"You're stupid," I heard myself say, making Ambrosius shoot me a dirty look as he rose to his feet and I narrowed my eyes at him, "You let that devilspawn dress you up like you're some kind of doll waiting for her husband to come home and give her attention. You're not even a prince anymore." Ambrosius's eyes flashed angrily as he started toward me, but Lucifer was there to put his arm up in front of Ambrosius, giving him a stern glare.

"Ambrosius, don't. This exercise was for Hades to open up and that's what he's doing." Lucifer warned, making Ambrosius glare at him, then at me. I scoffed at that, taking another step back toward the door without even quite realizing it.

"Hades," Lucifer said, turning to me, "You don't really feel that way about Ambrosius."

"He's stupid," I repeated angrily, "You can't possibly tell me you're blind to your son's attempts to woo him. It's only a matter of time before your bastard tosses Ambrosius in the trash. And damn it, stop telling him what to do! He's not your son!" Lucifer cocked his head at that, but said nothing. He didn't need to because Ambrosius shoved Lucifer's arm out of the way and took a menacing step toward me, blue eyes glowing hatefully.

"Just because no one likes you doesn't mean the same for me! Thorn actually gives a shit about me!"

"Oh, that's how he feels now. Who's to say that next week he won't toss you under the bus during the war? When it comes down to it, everyone is selfish. He will let you die if it means protecting himself."

"That's not true!" Ambrosius cried. My words had hurt him. He looked near to tears of frustration. I could hear his heart rate pick up, his blood pulsing hot in his veins, his rage and hurt heightening. I narrowed my eyes as Ambrosius clenched his fists, his mouth opening, then closing before he gave me a disgusted, bitter smile.

"The only person who never gave a shit about me was you. If you weren't connected to the Source, I would have fucking killed you years ago." He spat, then turned and left the room. I watched him go silently, then closed my eyes before making my way over to the swords laying on the floor. I felt Lucifer's eyes on me the whole way.

"You hurt him."

"Good," I sneered, "That way if I do die, it won't matter to him." Not that that would matter either since the natural balance would be disrupted. Why didn't I just kill myself now? The balance would be ruptured and everything would end, cease to exist, but at least I wouldn't feel like shit all the time.

"Hades, that's not true," Lucifer said gently, making me roll my eyes as I went to return the swords to the nearby case, "If he didn't care, he wouldn't be so hurt by your words."

"Yeah, thanks, Dr. Phil. Next time I need a consult, I'll ask." I sneered at him. Lucifer frowned, but thankfully gave up on trying to instruct me on my own children. I wasn't stupid. I knew they hated me. They reminded me of it each time they looked at me with eyes that begged for an asteroid to come out of nowhere and bash me into the ground. I deserved it anyway, so I wasn't going to bitch to them about it.

Oh boo hoo, my kids hated me. Like actually talking about it would change anything.

I left the training room, tired of Lucifer's stupid nagging, and decided to head to the kitchen for my own snack. Niki was off in town again with Xenon's imp, Dorean. Damn him for it too. First they steal my sons and now they're stealing my servant. Great. Just great.

I managed to find the kitchen after scouting around the gigantic place and opened the fridge, taking out a small thing of pomegranate yogurt. I leaned back against the counter, taking small bites when I felt the air ripple with the approach of someone. I narrowed my eyes as Thorn entered the room, looking sweaty in a pair of sweatpants and a tank top.

"Good timing," He said, "I just wanted to talk to you." I rolled my eyes, licking the yogurt off my lips and lowering the spoon from my face.

"Can this wait until after I've eaten? Oh wait, never mind. I just lost my appetite." I muttered, dropping the yogurt in the sink. Thorn frowned as he lowered the towel he'd been using to wipe his face, laying it over his shoulder. He folded his arms over his chest and gave me this quick up and down look like he was trying to figure me out and it pissed me off.

"Ambrosius wants to know about the hickeys on your throat. Are you going to tell him?" He asked. I stared at him as if he were the stupidest thing to walk the planet, and he probably was.

"Yeah, sure," I said sarcastically, "That makes for a great daddy-son talk. Gods, let's pray Ambrosius can't get knocked up. I don't think I'd like to see you try parenting." Thorn rolled his eyes, leaning on the island counter in the middle of the room.

"I would've told him myself, but first of all, I value my life. And second of all, I think it's your job to tell your son what you just sacrificed for all of us. Not just your sons, or my family, but the rest of the realms." He explained. I laughed.

"Oh yeah, that'll go over great. Hi, I'd like to thank the academy. Oh, and you're welcome to whoring myself off to my brother just so you can all spit at me. Yeah. You know what? Maybe you and Ambrosius are good for each other. You're both stupid." I snorted, pushing off the counter and moving to leave, but Thorn stepped in my path and I met his glare with one of my own.

"Ambrosius is not stupid," Thorn spoke heatedly, making me narrow my eyes curiously at him, "Ambrosius is one of the smartest people I've ever known. He's curious, intelligent. He loves learning new things. And being able to learn how to dance is one of his greatest accomplishments. He's turned dancing into an art form. He's beautiful. If you'd stop being an ass for three seconds and watch him when he's dancing, you'd see all of it. He tells stories when he dances. Even though he's happy, I know there's a part of him that I will never have. And that's the part that you own and right now, you're crushing it."

"Yeah," I said bitterly, "Well, so sorry for hurting his feelings. Excuse me while I do the thing where I don't care." And by that, I meant kick the shit out of myself more or so than usual alone in my room while I waited for my servant to come back and entertain me.

"You're lying," Thorn told me through clenched teeth, "You have to care. He's your son."

"And I'm Zeus's brother, but somehow, that means I'm also his personal fuck toy, yeah? Family means nothing."

"That's not true. Family is everything."

"Then I have nothing. Now leave me the fuck alone before I piss Lucifer off by turning his bastard into a pile of dog crap." I commanded. Thorn appeared to want to argue, but a rift of power went through the air and Ambrosius was coming into the room. He shot me a dirty look and went to Thorn and I walked out of the room. I tried to urge myself to go straight to my room, but I was a dirty eavesdropper, so I just stepped past the wall and concealed my powers as I listened to them speak.

"What was that about?" Ambrosius asked, the sound of him getting into the fridge following.

"Nothing," Thorn paused for a while as I listened to him shuffling around the kitchen, "Actually, I want to know what the hell made you so loyal to him before. I keep telling myself there has to be something about him that isn't made up of asshole, but really." There was an exasperated sigh before Ambrosius spoke.

"He wasn't like that to me before. He was always like that with everyone else, but he wasn't that bad towards me. When he wasn't angry anyway, and locking me in that friggin' hellhole. He actually talked about things."

"Things?"

"I dunno. Science junk. He's a nerd. But it was just nice to see him get excited about it because that was the only thing he got excited about. Now he just treats me like he treats everyone else. He's just pissed that he lost his venting machine. Without me around to absorb his loud-mouthed rants, he's pissed. I think that's all I ever was to him. Someone who listened. Now I'm gone and he's stuck with thousands of servants to listen to him."

Yeah, kid, that's how it works. I force a random fae to give birth to you, watch him scream and cry for months, all because I wanted a venting machine, which by the way was a clever choice of words, but still not true. I had stupidly caved into that percentage of people who thought having children meant having someone who loved you unconditionally.

Silly me. Kids are for suckers. Not for realists.

Oh, and somehow my thirteen servants translated into a thousand. How strange the truth was warped by raging emotions. And a nerd? Excuse me? Did I look like Urkle? I wasn't a nerd. I was... I don't know, but I wasn't a nerd.

"You don't think he loved you at all?" Thorn asked, drawing me back into their conversation as I listened.

"No." Ambrosius whispered. I pressed my back against the wall, hearing something hit the counter and Thorn make a noise of distress.

"Ambrosius, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have brought it up... Come here, I'm sorry." Some shifting of footsteps before I decided not to stick around anymore and moved down the hallway, trying to find my way back to my room again.

A normal person would have walked in and told Ambrosius it wasn't true. A normal parent would have said he was wrong, told him they loved him and would never let anything hurt him. I couldn't bring myself to do it. If I told him the truth, he would use it against me later on. He'd continue to hate me. It wasn't a "what if", it was a "when he did". One way or another, it would turn back and bite me in the ass and I'd had enough of people biting me back. I knew better than to speak the truth, no matter how much I felt like I was bleeding inside at the thought of Ambrosius believing I hated him.

I didn't hate him. I couldn't hate him. I couldn't hate any of my sons, no matter how much I wanted to. It would be so much easier if I did. I wouldn't have given myself over to Zeus. I would've let the world end. But because I'd stupidly gotten close to my own children, I desperately wanted to keep them safe, even if it meant selling the rest of my dignity.

A wave of depression crashed into me and I suddenly felt exhausted. I suddenly questioned whether I should have done what I did back on Olympus. Was it even worth it? Was it worth it to go back to the life they loved, a life that loathed me in turn? If I hadn't of taken the deal, the worlds would ahve ended and I would have finally had some sort of peace in non-existence. But my children would also suffer. They were happy the way they were, stupidly falling head over heels with bastards. Meanwhile, I'd stupidly fallen in love with a goddamn whore that slapped me in the face after he told me he loved me.

Oh right. He didn't love me. He loved Hector.

Damn it, I hate you, Hector.

Why couldn't I have been born as Hector? Why couldn't I have been a vampire with a normal life? Why did I have to be a god? If I wasn't connected to the Source, suicide would have been my first option right off the bat. Instead, I was forced to torment myself by merely living.

I want to be Hector. Please, let me be someone else.

I finally found my room, but Niki had yet to return. I should have never asked for his name, never should have let him worm his way past my defenses like a lost puppy at the shelter. He was just a stupid servant. I'd fallen so low to have depended on a servant for company, and now that he was gone, I felt even more alone and I hated myself for it. Why did being alone hurt so much? But it was much preferable to being around people.

I took a long hot bath before going to bed, despite the sun still being up. Why did I need to be awake anyway? To train for a battle I already knew how to fight? Tsk.

Unfortunately, there was no rest in sleep that night.

The moment I closed my eyes, the moment I settled in and let my defenses drop long enough for me to sleep, I was attacked with a nightmare. I felt familiar rough hands pulling at my hair and sliding over my skin. Lips pressing against my ear as Zeus's voice sneered filthy obscenities and all the things in the world that made me wish I was dead.

You're so stupid. Doing all of this for people who hate you? What are you expecting? Forgiveness? You could get on your pretty knees like you are now and take all their cocks and they would still spit in your face when you're done. No one gives a shit about you, Hades. No one ever will. Our mother rejected you and our father devoured you. I scorned you and, in turn, caused all our siblings and all the other gods of the world to look upon you with disdain. To them, you're not a hidden genius. You're a used whore. A stupid one at that. Trying to save hatred. You really thrive on it, don't you?

Cold hands moved to my face and I felt a mouth fall across my throat. Agony burst through me and I writhed, seeking out flesh to sink my nails into or to punch, but nothing was there. Invisible hands grabbing at me everywhere. My breathing became ragged and it took me a moment to realize I was hyperventilating, which meant I probably was in reality.

Panic rose inside me as I struggled to force myself awake. I managed to force my eyes open as I woke to a pitch black room, which only caused me to panic further. Where was the nightstand? Where were the lights? Was I still dreaming or was I awake?

I rolled out of the bed and slammed into the floor, knocking the lamp off the nightstand so it shattered to the floor. Without paying much attention, I smashed my hands down on the broken shards and heaved myself up on trembling legs, trying to seek out the door. I smashed into the wall twice in a row before I stumbled to the door and threw it open to step out into the hallway with trembling legs. My breathing was wheezy and my mouth dry, parched.

I moved as quickly as I could down the hallway before my heavy breathing got to my head, making me dizzy and I smashed into the floor a moment later, blacking out.

I woke up what felt like hours later to someone shaking my shoulder. I felt groggy and sick to my stomach.

"Hades? Hades, are you all right?" Was that Lucifer's voice? Why the hell was he always there when I didn't want him there? Why couldn't he have left me on the floor? I forced my eyes open to see Lucifer looking down at me in concern that I quickly brushed off before I struggled to get up. Lucifer helped me and while I wanted to punch him for it, I felt too weak and sick to do so.

"Jeez, you look horribly pale. You have a bit of..." He made a gesture with his thumb near the corner of his mouth, indicating there was something on mine, so I reached up and wiped the spittle away before moving past him. My knees buckled and I almost crashed to the floor again, but Lucifer caught me with a curse.

"Are you all right?" He demanded.

"Peachy." I grunted, forcing my legs to support me as Lucifer stepped back slowly, his hand near my back to steady me, but I moved away from it, not wanting him anywhere near my back. I cleared my throat, rubbing at it.

"Water." I said at last. Lucifer nodded and led the way down the hall to the kitchen that smelled heavily of food. I frowned. Food. Breakfast. That means everyone was having breakfast. Wow, gee, thanks for walking past me in the hallway on your way to the kitchen, everyone who had a room near me. Then again, I probably deserved this, so I didn't vocally complain as Lucifer poured me a glass of water and handed it over. I downed it and handed it back to him as I wiped my mouth. He arched a brow, silently asking if I wanted another glass, but I shook my head and leaned on the counter, sucking in deep gulps of sweet air.

"What were you doing in the hallway?" Lucifer asked.

"Sleeping."

"In the hallway."

"Yeah. I hate the bed. Your beds suck. I want a different bed."

"I'll see what I can do," Lucifer said dryly, "Are you sure you're--"

"You don't give a shit, so don't pretend to. It gains you nothing." I snapped impatiently, pushing off the counter and leaving the kitchen to avoid anymore of Lucifer's therapist moments. I had no idea what he thought he was gaining by trying to get close to me. Was he going to trick me like Zeus and turn around and rape me too? Or would he just kill me? I'd rather he just kill me, but not have to get close to me to do it.

But that nightmare... The oneiroi were supposed to protect my dreams. They weren't there to do so, which meant only one thing, and I stopped walking down the hallway as a cold chill crept down my spine.

The oneiroi weren't there to defend my dreams, or anyone else's.

The oneiroi had been taken over.

And the Titans were infiltrating dreams now.