Chapter Quote:
"I only need one shot to put you out of my misery." ~Papa Bear
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Chapter 31

Kyrian

"Mom?" Julian repeated, staring at my former girlfriend in shock. I could only imagine what my face looked like at the moment. How could she have a son? I mean, I know she married before and all, but how was he alive? That was centuries ago... unless he'd been an immortal at some point too?

"What are you two doing?" Kiara hissed, not budging from the doorway to let us in. Her hazel eyes flickered with an unsaid fury. We needed to tread carefully. But before we could respond, I guess the answer dawned on her, because she shouted at the top of her lungs, "ACHERON PARTHENOPAEUS!"

My boss walked into the foyer. He nodded to me and Julian before saying, "Glad you two could make it."

"What in the hell were you thinking? I told you not to invite them. We don't need their help. We'll be fully capable of taking them on with the people we have now," Kiara growled.

"That may be the case, but I'd rather not take out chances."

"Julian is human, and Mr. Hunter has been too brash in his decision-making recently. You do not get to make judgment calls for my missions. We're going to have a murder on our hands, and it'll be before the battle even begins."

"Kiara, you can control anyone in this house, as can I. Tell them they can't, and they won't."

"Go. Now. We're going to need a buffer between them and him," Kiara said, pointing angrily at the kitchen. Ash listened, winking at the two of us once her back was to him. Staring us down, she said, "There are going to be some ground rules. There will be no maiming or killing anyone in this house, do you understand me?"

"Who would we want to kill besides Valerius?" Julian asked. "He's not here... is he?"

"He's Killian's father. Adoptive father," Kiara hastily corrected.

"How is he his adoptive father, and how do you have a son?"

"Before I became what I am, Valerius's grandfather kidnapped Killian from me and his father when he was just a little boy. Valerius is the one who raised him. Despite my hatred for the Romans, Valerius and I have been making amends for the sake of Killian."

"He was stolen in the dead of night, wasn't he?" Julian said softly. Kiara's eyes locked onto him.

"Yeah, how did you-"

Julian interrupted her. "The day before, he fell out of a tree."

"How do you-"

"I remember. At least some things. Like I remember the night I found out my wife was pregnant, and you went to find your fiancé outside because you two had been arguing. He was leaving soon on a campaign, and you didn't want to leave things on a bad note. I remember a few nights before that, one of your former friends had tried to take you for his own and you weren't having any of it, especially when it caused you and your fiancé to fight. You punched a marble column when they both left, bloodying your knuckles on your right hand. When your friend came to apologize, you punched him with your left hand, bruising it pretty nastily. I will never forget the sheepish look on your face when you told me about that. Well, I won't forget it again." Julian smiled wistfully up at Kiara in reminiscence of the memory. She stared back at him in silent enthrallment

"Julian..." Tears were forming in Kiara's eyes.

"We were best friends, Princess. I was meant to protect you when you were around. I still plan on fulfilling that promise. I may be human, but I can still fight. Please let me stay for this battle."

"What about Grace and the kids? What do I tell them if you die?"

"Tell them that I fought fighting for what I believed in and that I will always, always love them."

Kiara contemplated this for a moment. "Fine, but there will no maiming or killing in this house. Not to other Dark-Hunters. Follow me. We're expecting a few more."

To my surprise, she moved aside, allowing both of us to enter her grand house. I appreciated all the Grecian influence. I'm pretty sure some of the vases she had were actual antiques from her time period. Kiara was careful to stay in front of us, making me wonder why. Who could be in the kitchen that she felt the need to be a barrier between us other than Valerius? Then I realized she never actually denied him being in her kitchen, and sure enough, Julian's suspicion had been correct. My arch nemesis, the man I vowed to kill, stood in front of me, leaning back casually against the sink. But despite his seemingly relaxed body posture, I recognized the signs of a man tensed up to fight if need be.

Without really thinking it through, I lunged for him. Julian did the same. Kiara and Acheron blockaded our path, barely restraining us.

"I said no maiming or killing!" Kiara growled. "That's enough!"

With a Herculean effort, I stopped myself from going after him. Killian stood behind his mother and in front of his father, acting as another barrier. He watched me with calculating green eyes. It partially annoyed me, partially piqued my interest as to why he was so fascinated by me.

"That went better than expected," Valerius remarked casually.

"The minute this is over, you better run, boy. I'll do to you what I did to your grandfather next time I see you," I snarled.

"Stay away from him," Killian warned.

"Knock it off, Mr. Hunter," Kiara snapped.

"Yes, knock it off Kyrian," Valerius repeated.

"Hey, that means you, too."

"That's my girl," I blurted out. Then, realizing what I'd said, I hurriedly glanced down at the map on the table laying in front of me. I could feel my ex's eyes staring a hole through me, but I ignored it.

"So what's the deal?" Julian asked. "Kyrian comes to my house saying there's a battle to be fought, but I don't know what the battle is?"

"He didn't tell you?" Kiara demanded.

"In my defense," I protested hotly, "Ash didn't tell me either."

"So you went and got Julian to help you in a fight that you don't even know the details of? Did you not think to ask what the battle was about or were you just going to go head-first like you've been doing normally?"

"Acheron didn't tell me jack shit what was happening other than a battle was taking place later, and plans would be discussed here. I grabbed Julian because other than my boss, he's the only one I trust to watch my back. Now, do you want to tell us the plan or continue railing me?"

"Do you two want to take this lover's quarrel upstairs?" Zarek interrupted. Kiara glowered at him but said nothing other than, "We still have a few more people coming. Once they're here, we'll go over the plans. Julian, can I talk to you in private?"

"Lead the way," my friend said, motioning with his hand to the foyer. The two of them left the room, leaving me in the kitchen with a group of people who all disliked me in some way, shape, or form. An awkward silence descended over us until an extremely familiar and welcome face showed up.

"Nick, what are you doing here?" I asked.

"I'm here to help Kiara. Ash said you'd be coming, so I figured you wouldn't mind me helping out." His eyes scanned the room. "This is a nice family reunion."

"You knew?" I kept my tone neutral even though I wanted to lose my mind. It seemed everyone knew everything before me. Then again, I reminded myself Kiara and I weren't on the same page anymore, so of course, anything pertaining to her, I'd be the last to know.

I wondered what she and Julian were talking about- probably the past and everything he remembered. I tried to use my enhanced hearing to eavesdrop, but nothing happened. Instead of hanging around my arch nemesis and Kiara's son who wouldn't stop staring at me, I announced I'd be waiting in the living room to prevent myself from murdering anyone.

I'd barely been in the luxuriously decorated room before Killian joined. I waited for him to start the conversation because anything coming out of my mouth right off the bat would most likely be rude or insulting from my annoyance at his constant staring.

"So what happened with you and my mom?" Killian queried immediately, but he didn't sound angry. Just genuinely curious, which surprised me. "She won't tell me anything. The only thing she did tell me was that you were an ass and that you called her insane. But other than that, she won't tell me why. And every other time she's talked about you, she's always had a small smile on her face. I don't even think she realized she was smiling. When I talked to other people about you, all they had to say were nice things. So you seem like this super great guy, but she acts like she hates you, so what happened between you two?"

"Your mom and I were seeing each other for a few months. We got very close, very quickly. One night, she collapsed after I touched the tattoo on the back of her neck. I'd never seen it before, and I was curious. She was out for a week. All her memories came flooding back, with the exception of her husband. His face and name were garbled, but she told me about how she died, and that when she did, she screamed out her husband's name. My name." I took a breath, not knowing why I decided to spill this all to a guy I barely knew. Kiara hadn't told him for a reason. She'd probably be pissed that I did, but I was too deep in this to stop now. "I told her it wasn't true. We argued, I called her insane, she left. The meetings we had after that were barely cordial. I still love your mother, more than I can say or explain. But I can't be her husband. I can't understand how, even with a god putting a mental block on everyone she knew, how I wouldn't have some form of recollection of her by now. Especially when everyone else has gotten memories of her back, including Julian. I don't understand how I couldn't remember at least something about her if I was truly her husband before. Whoever he is, he's a lucky, lucky man, and the only man I'll ever be jealous of."

"Have you told her any of this?" Killian asked softly.

"No. She's usually plotting ways to kill me whenever she's around me."

"I doubt that. If she truly hated you like you think she does, she wouldn't have told me about all the good times you had together. My mom... she's shut us all out. She'll talk to me about everything except you and her husband, and I don't think it's a coincidence that it's those two topics she won't talk about. We're about to have one hell of a battle. I recommend you tell her what you just told me. It might help you both repair what got broken."

"Thanks for the advice, kid. Listen, I have a question of my own: why have you been staring at me since I got here?" Then another one dawned on me. "And who have you asked about me?"

Killian rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. "I knew of the rumors that part of the fight had been about you possibly being her lost husband. I just didn't know that's what the two of you fought about. I had three people in one day tell me I looked just like you, and not going to lie, seeing you in person, I can see where they're coming from. As for the people I talked to, I didn't want to go against my mom's wishes of talking to you myself, so I talked to Acheron, my wife, and Nick's mom, Cherise. All good things, I promise. But they're the ones who said I was a spitting image of you."

I couldn't deny where they were all coming from. Between the blonde, cropped hair, the green eyes, the facial structure... our resemblance to each other was uncanny. Choosing not to admit that though, I changed the subject. "How has Kiara been doing?"

"She's been okay. Ever since she found the Malachai, she's been in a lot better spirits, but there's still a sadness in her that doesn't seem to go away. It usually shows when she thinks people aren't looking. Whatever's bothering her, it's something I can't help her with." Killian started to say more, but his phone rang, interrupting him. Telling me it was his wife, he disappeared to go outside. I took a seat on the couch, waiting impatiently for Julian to come back. I didn't like being in the kitchen with Valerius. Not when I wanted to strangle him ten times over. The only thing stopping me was Kiara. She hated me enough already, no need to give her more reason.

Suddenly, at that thought, the world seemed to come crashing down upon me. I loved Kiara more than I could explain, and the idea of her hating me made my heart constrict in a way I'd never experienced before. I couldn't have her hating me. I needed her back in my life because the idea of living forever without her, it terrified me. It was unfathomable.

I waited for Julian to be done conversing with her. If I had to, I'd ask her to talk in private. It'd been months since we'd had a proper conversation, just the two of us, without anyone watching or anything trying to kill us. Maybe this conversation was just what we needed...

I heard a door open upstairs, and I leaped off the couch, dashing silently up the stairs. Julian strode down the hallway towards me, his face slightly flushed, his eyes tinged with unshed tears. It made me stop in my tracks.

"You okay?" I asked quietly, praying Kiara wouldn't hear me speaking.

My friend nodded. "A lot of memories we just discussed. Some good, some bad. You going to talk to her?"

"Yeah... think she'll be willing to talk to me?"

"Won't know unless you try. Good luck, brother."

With those words of encouragement, I went to the weapons room. Kiara stood at a counter, fiddling with some throwing stars. She seemed oblivious to my presence, but then she said rather hostilely, "What do you want?"

"I just wanted to talk," I replied, making sure I kept my voice soft and polite. She didn't look up at me, but she didn't tell me to F-off either, so I assumed it was safe for me to continue. Stepping into the room, I shut the door behind me so no one could eavesdrop easily. I saw her eyes flit over briefly to see what I was doing, but Kiara still refused to face me.

"So what did you want to talk about?" she inquired.

"I wanted to apologize for the way I acted-"

"You already apologized for the way you acted the other week. Don't worry about it," she interrupted.

"I'm not talking about the other week."

"Then what are you talking about? Because I can't think of anything you have to apologize for," she replied, walking over to the sword rack. Part of me wondered if she was choosing a sword to run me through with, but then I chided myself for that foolish thought. If she had wanted to kill me, she would've done it a long time ago.

"For how I acted when you told me I was your husband."

Now I had her attention. She turned around slowly as if she was processing my words still. "Why are you apologizing for that now? That was months ago. I moved on from that. It was stupid for me to have said anything about it to you."

"You might have moved on from it, but I haven't. It's been eating at me ever since, and I took out my frustration from the situation by throwing myself into dangerous situations. Acheron was right. I was being reckless."

Kiara's voice hitched a little when she demanded quietly, "Why are you doing this right now?"

"Because I-" the doorbell rang loudly throughout the house, making both of us a jump. Kiara seemed reluctant to go, but she did anyway. Clenching my jaw, I followed her out. I took it as a sign of progress that she hadn't yelled at me in the span of three minutes. That was a record since our fight. I just prayed we got a second chance to talk about this.

"Mom, who is it?" Killian asked as the three of us went to the doorway.

Kiara smiled. "My brothers. The other Areans."
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The talk between Kyrian and Kiara- so close, yet so far. Hope you enjoyed!