Chapter Eight

"Today, we're going outside."

I looked up from where I was sitting on the sofa in the lounge, slurping out of a juice box.

Ryk had entered the room without much of a sound and I briefly wondered if he just stood there like an idiot before he spoke, but it was hard to tell. He simply smiled, like he was expecting me to jump up and cheer. I curled my lip at his suggestion and looked back down at the magazine I was flipping through. Had no fucking idea what most of it said or referred to, but it was a good way to learn about my enemies.

According to this issue of Demonic Fashion, a company created and run by Hades's son, Malachi, the Hadiferian family had a huge following. A majority of the realms approved of their leaders, and the whole royal family, even something that they affectionately called the Cousins, which apparently now included Six, Three, and Seven.

I rolled my eyes. Fidiots would drop on their knees for anyone who gave them the slightest attention, so it made sense that they fit right in with everyone else. They were also making their way into the spotlight with this issue.

I couldn't contain a choking laugh at the interview with Three.

Yeah. An interview. With fucking Three.

"I love Styx," Three's interview said, "I've never seen so many damn people in one place and not trying to kill each other. It's like everyone is just happy being here. It's fuckin' wild." Yeah, of course Three would be drinking up all that attention, especially in the photo they chose for his interview. They'd dressed him all up nice and fancy like some kind of fashion model and he was posing in an overstuffed chair, one leg folded over the other, this fancy rich man look to him.

I had to admit. He made the rich guy look good. He always had good looks, but the military uniforms never suited him. He looked stiff and uncomfortable. Made sense why the fucker had gotten a lot of strikes for sauntering around in his underwear. He just didn't like the uniform, but damn did he preen and pose like a fuckin' showdog in his new getup.

I went to turn the page to see what Six's interview was like, except suddenly Ryk's hand was reaching down and snatching the magazine from my hands. I cursed, jerking my head up to pin him with a glare that he ignored as he tossed the magazine on the nearby table.

"Joxeia says some fresh air will be highly beneficial to your therapy," Ryk informed, making me roll my eyes, "He wants you to do a lap around the house outside and then meet him in the garden for therapy." Oh great, so now I was being forced to walk around like a fucking dog on a leash, then brought to the garden for the warm fuzzies of a thousand brightly colored flowers.

I almost laughed.

Flowers.

The almighty Hades had a motherfucking flower garden.

What a loser.

Shaking my head, I rolled over and settled down on the sofa, reaching for the remote to the TV.

"Nah, I'm good. I'm going to lay here and watch the match," I responded dismissively, turning the channel to watch the only thing I could find that was somewhat enjoyable. It was some kind of martial arts battle where trained soldiers could actually move up in rank in the military if they kept winning fights. The only downside was that a lot of the fights ended up in death. So it was either die or win a rank. It was highly monitored, which was annoying, but I guess it made sense if you didn't want all your soldiers dying in a dumb fight.

"Oh, I wasn't asking," Ryk said, reaching over to grab the remote, shutting off the TV. I groaned and pressed my face down against the pillow, wishing I could jump up and put his head through the pretty glass picture window that looked over the forest outside. Except I couldn't even get up right away, so I was left slowly pushing myself up and trying to steady myself onto my feet.

"How am I supposed to go for a fucking walk if I can barely stand up?" I snapped at Ryk, who had the patient smile of a saint.

"That's why you keep getting up and keep walking, to build up your strength. You want to go out there and kill the guy who hurt you, correct? This is the best beginning to that," he informed, making me roll my eyes. I rose to my feet, my legs protesting for a moment before the aches settled back down. It was weird, because most of the pain was in my hips and thighs. A little bit in the ankles, but mostly my hips.

"Let's get you dressed in something more appropriate," Ryk added, making me scowl and look down at the oversized pajama pants and baggy hoodie.

"What's wrong with the way I dress?" I demanded.

"Nothing. Just want you to get more accustomed to public clothing."

"This is what I would wear in public."

"How unfortunate," Ryk commented, making me curl my lip, but he ignored me as he led the way out of the lounge. I reluctantly followed, because this fucker could, and has, scooped me right off my feet to take me to his designated location and I rather carry my own ass than have him princess-style me everywhere.

We got back to my room where Ryk opened up the closet.

Now that was a kicker.

The closet was completely empty when I first arrived here. Absolutely nothing, not even a single sock. Now, every rack was full of clothing hanging from velvet hangers, every drawer was neatly organized with folded undies, socks, and some other shit I'd never seen before in my life that apparently counted as clothing. According to Ryk, some guy named Akin, who turned out to be Seven's dad, had bought a fuck ton of clothes for me and had Ryk load up the closet.

Which was weird.

I'd never met this Akin guy before in my fucking life. Who did he think he was buying clothes for me?

But Ryk said I was still too weak and fragile to go out into public at the moment, so delivery was the best choice.

Not that that Akin guy had bad choices. He chose some pretty nice clothes and none of it was flowery or colorful or tight or anything.

I ended up settling for some kind of short shirt and baggy jeans and a pair of new sneakers that Ryk said would be perfect for me getting back into walking around on my own.

Whatever.

I threw everything on and followed Ryk downstairs, which was a whole other fucking round of struggling considering I had a lot of issue putting weight down on my feet still. I teetered and tottered down the stairs, hanging on for dear life to the railing.

"This is stupid," I snapped at Ryk as we finally made it to the bottom, "How the fuck am I supposed to get better when I can't get down the damn stairs?"

"Patience," Ryk told me gently, "It'll take time before you're able to do normal things."

"If I can't do fucking normal things, how am I supposed to fucking kill people?"

"Okay, by people, I'm going to assume you're just talking about your torturer."

"Sure, whatever helps you sleep at night, asshole."

"You know, you can also start working on that mouth of yours."

"Why do people keep saying there's something wrong with my mouth?" I demanded, but Ryk ignored me as we made our way to the front entrance of the massive palace. The main lobby was huge, but not gaudy like I was expecting. Definitely the center of the Richy Richville here, but not nearly as ugly as, say, my fucking room. All shiny marble floors, gold and black columns that climbed to the towering ceiling, thickly padded waiting chairs, and a huge round lobby desk.

"Listen, Mr. Windstorm--"

"Please, Windstorm was my father. I go by Cypress."

"Mr. Cypress-- Wait, really? No, I mean, Mr. Cypress, my Lords appreciate you taking the time to come all this way, but you should've sent an email or contacted our support team to schedule a more appropriate time..." The voice trailed. It belonged to Niki, Hades's number one favorite servant, if you could call him that. I think he was a servant, but fuck, he really did not dink around with a lot of pleasantries. Very straightforward and honest, but it made sense since he was an imp, and a faerie. A tiny thing with snow white hair styled in soft curls and faded hair on the sides and back, his eyes mismatched brown and green and a little mole right by his nose.

He was talking to a couple of guys I did not recognize.

The Mr. Cypress dude was huge. On the chunky side, but mostly all height and broad shoulders, dressed in a snug fitting red button up shirt with fancy silver cufflinks to match a black velvet lined collar around his neck, snug black slacks, and shoes with some kind of silver tip to them. He wasn't ugly by any means either, but there was a slight scar near the corner of his mouth that made him look a bit unfriendly.

The guy with him wasn't bad looking either. Fuckin' tall with muscles I ached to have myself, eyes the color of embers in a fire, hair dark as night that went nice with his dark skin and satin blue shirt that was tucked into his black slacks. Unlike the dude beside him, though, this guy wore a fancy shiny gray vest and a matching tie. He looked disinterested with the conversation until his eyes swung over to where Ryk and I were walking in and he seemed startled.

So did Cypress.

"Mr. Cypress--"

"You must be Four," Cypress exclaimed the moment he saw me and I stiffened at the attention, glancing at Ryk, whose mouth worked into a frown, "It's an absolute pleasure to make your acquaintance."

"Mr. Cypress--" The guy completely ignored Niki, who distressfully pulled his phone out, probably to call Hades down to do something about this guy. Cypress approached me, though, and held his hand out, making me scowl. I looked at Ryk, who raised an eyebrow, like he was wondering what the fuck I was gonna do about it.

I turned back to Cypress, who just smiled pleasantly, even with that nasty scar.

"Oh, my apologies," Cypress said after a moment, wiping his hand on his shirt, "I'm sure your customs are very different from where you're from. Ach, my manners. My name is Cypress Windstorm the III. Oh! And this is my son, River." I glanced back at his son, who didn't look like he wanted to come forward anymore. If anything, he seemed annoyed with his father now.

"What an absolute pleasure to finally meet the youngest son of Hades," Cypress commented, then chuckled, "Well, youngest for now. I swear, every time we've got settled, another one of you pops up. Glorious! We are never for fear of heirs. Now, I am ever so curious, but your species is--"

"None of your business," Hades's voice said from behind me, making me stiffen and snap around to see him coming into the lobby with Lucifer striding in at his side. I rolled my eyes, folding my arms over my chest.

"Ah, Hades," Cypress greeted warmly, "I was just introducing myself to your young son here. I suppose the rumors in town are true!" Hades immediately frowned.

"Rumors?" He asked. Cypress chuckled.

"I'm not surprised you've not heard, considering you've been locked away in this palace of yours for so long. You didn't even come to the Annual Styx Festival of Rice."

"I-- That's a thing?"

"Of course! But of course, you must've been so busy with your son here, it's any wonder you know anything at all of the realm right now. Tis a pity not to see you at our events, but completely understandable. Are the rumors true then, that your son was a victim of Hera's new plot to destroy the universe?" Cypress asked casually. Hades stared at him, then looked at me, making me scowl.

"Ah, Ryk, take the kid outside," he muttered, making Ryk incline his head, "Cypress, my office. Now."

"But, of course! Oh, perhaps River could join your son? I'm sure he'd be thrilled to meet him," Cypress added hopefully. Hades stared at him for a moment, then looked back at River, who frowned curiously at him. Hades was quiet for a long moment, before a smirk curved the corner of his lip.

"Yeah, sure, why not?" He said, making Lucifer blink and look at him curiously. I curled my lip, annoyed as Ryk folded his arms over his chest.

"Is that such a good idea," Ryk asked, "He has therapy in about an hour, plus he's not very good at staying balanced yet--"

"Just keep an eye on them," Hades responded, glancing at River again before turning to Cypress, who looked delighted at the arrangement, "Come on, Cyp, we got shit to discuss."

"But, of course, my lord," Cypress flashed an award winning smile as he turned to me, "An absolute pleasure to meet you, my prince. Best wishes for your speedy recovery." I scowled, but said nothing as Hades led Cypress away with Lucifer looking back to give Ryk some kind of look I couldn't decipher. I watched them go, then turned to glance at River, who was frowning after his father, like he couldn't believe his father had abandoned him. I snorted.

"You guys are fucking weird," I said, making River blink, then his expression seemed to sour, "You talk weird."

"We're aristocrats," River said in a tone that said he didn't think much of me either. I smirked, amused. And here his old man thought we were gonna be buddies.

"Too bad," I said, to which River frowned, "Your pops thinks we're gonna be best friends." River raised an eyebrow as he turned to me. He seemed to be giving me a once over, like he wasn't sure if he liked what he saw, which made fucking sense considering how fucking tiny I was in comparison. Oh sure, we were about the same height, but the guy was muscular and clearly worked out. Actually, as I looked closer, I realized this guy was fucking flawless. Not a dark hair out of place, his face clean shaven and blemish free. Even his clothes looked like they were ironed to a nice stiffness that complemented his muscular physique pretty nice.

I felt a deep ache in my chest.

Ew.

"Shall we step outside?" River asked after a moment.

"If you don't mind my fucking babysitter," I said, tossing a thumb over my shoulder at Ryk, who raised an eyebrow. River simply gestured to the door and I shrugged and went ahead. Not that I got very far, because by the time I got the door, I stumbled a little and I was caught off guard when River was the one who grabbed my elbow to steady me. I yanked my arm out of his grasp, casting him a dirty look.

"Don't touch me," I said, to which River held his hands up in surrender as I elbowed him out of the way and walked outside. He muttered something under his breath, but whatever it was, Ryk was there to answer him, not that I gave a shit. He was probably asking if he could stay inside.

Whatever.

Once I got outside, I was actually fucking psyched to be out there. The air wasn't really that cold. Just a little nip in the breeze, but the sun was fucking shining and made the grass look so incredibly green and the forest didn't even seem that dark and threatening anymore. The way it looked reminded me of a picture I'd seen in a storybook that a guardian had given me once.

I didn't even realize how happy I was to be outside until I'd come down the front steps and kicked my shoes off to feel the grass under my feet. What a funny sensation I never thought about before. I didn't feel the grass between my toes too often. We didn't go outside a lot at the compound and when we were out and about, we always had shoes on. Plus the forest outside the compound wasn't really fit for walking around barefoot.

"Glad you came outside?" Ryk asked from the steps. I stiffened, completely forgetting about him and River behind me. I snapped around to see River staring at me and Ryk smirking. I glared.

"Fuck you, I was gonna do it on my own eventually. Quit acting like you changed the world, asshole," I threw at him. Ryk's smirk turned into an amused grin. River grimaced and looked at him.

"Does he always talk like that?" He asked.

"Talk like what?" I demanded.

"Why do you think Hades let you come out here with him," Ryk snorted. Confused, I ignored them and turned away to start walking through the grass, stooping to snatch my shoes up to carry them. I hoped the two losers behind me would stay on the steps, but of course, they had to fucking follow me. I ended up finding a footpath through the woods that seemed to wrap around the house, so I stuck to that as I walked through the flattened grass and stone walkway that was lined with wooden borders.

Fuck, it smelled so good out here. Like soil and grass and just. Trees. I guess this is what people meant when they said wake up and smell the roses. Or whatever.

The path wasn't a straight edge path to the back of the palace. It was winding with little hills and even a stone bench with a little engraving that read in loving memory of Eumelia. I had no idea who that was, but I think she'd like the seat by the little path where the sunshine seemed to pour in just perfectly over the smooth stone.

"Who's Eumelia?" I asked, plopping down to take a rest. River frowned.

"Prince Zelios's mother," he said, and when he saw Ryk looking at him curiously, River lifted his chin a little, "The Windstorm clan is the oldest clan in Hades. Of course I would know the names of Hades's previous lovers." I wrinkled my nose.

"Ew, who makes a hobby of studying someone else's sex partners?" I asked. River looked at Ryk, who chuckled and looked at me.

"How are you feeling?" He asked instead. I shrugged, rubbing my feet in the grass and dirt.

"My hips hurt," I muttered, then I looked at River, who had averted his eyes, "So, what, your family's so fucking old that you're friends with Hades then?" River raised an eyebrow.

"We're more than friends. When Hades came to this realm, Tartarus was owned by my family. He purchased it from us, but allowed us to continue living freely in exchange. Plus, he didn't leave us without any money. We're still living off what he gave us for the land."

"Hm," I said, rising to my feet slowly again and I stumbled a little. River reached out to help, but I drew my arm out of his reach and gave him a dirty look, which resulted in an exasperated sigh.

"I'm trying to help you," he said. I snorted.

"I don't need your fucking help."

"Sure looked like you did."

"Did I ask for it?"

"No, but--"

"Then I don't need it. Shove your thumb up your ass," I responded, making River grimace.

"Why must you behave like a child?"

"Because he is," Ryk said, making me glare at him, "He's only twenty-three." River looked surprised.

"Oh. So when they said you were the youngest, they really meant the youngest," he murmured.

"How old are you?" I demanded.

"Six hundred and three."

"Wow, for an old guy you sure bitch a lot," I said, turning away from River's screwed up face and Ryk's stifled laughter.

"There's no way he's a prince," River said to Ryk behind me as we walked, "He behaves like-like--"

"Oh, I don't know. I'd say he's pretty tame compared to Theo or Cain."

"At least you can hold a conversation with those two," River muttered, making Ryk chuckle.

I rolled my eyes. Yeah right. I couldn't talk to Cain for two minutes without wanting to punch him in the throat, and the worst part is that he had no sympathy I could play on like the rest of the family. The last conversation I'd had with that fucking asshole, he'd picked me up over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes, carried me to my room, threw me on the bed, and tried to tie me up with the fucking blankets.

"Get off me, asshole," I'd shouted, kicking and trying to punch him through the blankets.

"No can do, sweet baby brother of mine, I gotta make sure you keep your ass in bed so you can get all better and go out into the big bad world and destroy it," Cain had spoken in the most patronizing, singsong tone that resulted in me screaming loud enough for Lucifer to come in and break up what he called a fight. Wasn't much of a fight by the end when Cain had successfully tied me to the bedpost with two sheets and the cords from the heated blanket.

And people thought I was fucked up.

We came to an opening in the path, on the edge of the forest where the path went from dirt and rocks to a neatly paved stepping stone. Frowning, I followed it and realized we were already at the back of the palace and I was surprised because we had reached the gardens and they were nothing like I was expecting.

When I thought of a garden, I thought of fuck tons of flowers, a sickeningly sweet scent in the air, bright colors burning out my retinas, statues of fat babies with wings, dumbshit like that. Except this garden seemed very limited in flowers. Most of it was just different shades of green, some really dark purple and black plants, a few white ones, neatly trimmed hedges, some little ponds where even a few frogs were chilling on the lily pads.

"Oh," I said when I stood over a pond where a frog sat on a lily pad staring up at me with huge bug eyes.

"What?" Ryk asked as he looked up from where he was messing around on his phone. I frowned, crouching down and reaching out to poke the frog, except it croaked and threw itself backward into the water where it disappeared into some tall grass.

"Not what I was expecting when you said Hades had a garden," I muttered, rising to my feet and pausing when I saw the coolest tree settled amongst the foliage, "What's that?" The tree wasn't massive, but it was by no means small with dark green leaves and tons of little pomegranates hanging heavy from the branches.

"It's Hades's pomegranate tree," River said, making me glance at him with a raised eyebrow and he frowned, "The story of Hades and Persephone."

"Yeah."

"Please tell me you know the story of Hades and Persephone," River said, making me twitch and turn to glare at him.

"I'm not stupid. I know the whole song and dance. He planted a tree and tried to give her the food from it to trap her here for eternity or some shit like that. I don't care," I said, turning back to the tree and stepping over the stones that lined where the tree was planted. River stiffened and looked at Ryk, who was paying no attention to us as he texted someone on his phone.

"Hey," River said, "Get out of there. I somehow highly doubt Hades put that there so just anyone could pick from it. Besides, if you eat it..."

"Who said I was gonna fucking eat it? I'm not stupid," I reiterated as I stood on my toes to try and grab at one of the dangling fruit. River cursed and stepped over the rocks.

"Come away from there--"

"Fuck you."

"I'm getting really tired of your mouth--"

"Nobody said you had to come after-- Shit!" I cursed as I lost my footing on the tree root I was using to prop myself up. I managed to grab the pomegranate, but I was headed right for the outline of rocks. River was there a second later to grab me up under the arms to steady me as my feet gave out from under me. River grunted as he caught me, my face pressed up against his solid chest.

"Hey, are you alright? Did you hurt yourself?" I ignored him, looking up to see one of the windows of the palace open up and Hades filled the space, like he'd been watching from the window and was about to give me a piece of his mind. I could barely hear him bark at Ryk, who looked up. I looked down at the pomegranate in my hand, then grinned and looked up at the window. I drew my arm back as far as I could and chucked the fucking thing right at the window.

Hades stepped aside as it flew in, followed by a muffled shout from whoever ended up taking the brunt of the attack. Much to my surprise, Hades barked out a laugh as he leaned on the sill. A second later, Cain was at the window by his side, glaring out.

"If you weren't on thin ice, I'd crack your skull open with my bare hands, brat!" He shouted, sending birds in the forest nearby into flight. I smirked, righting myself properly as River looked up at the window with his mouth open before he turned back to look at me.

"You're an absolute menace," he decided, turning to Ryk as he approached us.

"He's fitting in quite well, actually," Ryk commented, making River pause to consider that.

"I'd certainly say so," a voice said, making us look up to see Joxeia seated at a bench just beyond the tree. He rose to his feet and gave me a smile, folding his arms over his chest.

"Ready for our next session?" He asked. I grimaced.

"We'll leave you to it," Ryk said to him, inclining his head. River looked at them, then turned to me and I glared back at him. He grimaced and just turned around and walked away with Ryk following behind him, wearing an amused grin. I tsked, turning to Joxeia, who continued to smile like he was also amused by the whole thing.

"What an asshole," I said, referring to River. Joxeia raised an eyebrow.

"Is that anyway to talk to your only suitor?" He asked. I scowled.

"Huh?"

"Oh, I thought you'd heard already," Joxeia said coolly, pausing to look down at his fingernails like he was disinterested, "The Windstorm family is pushing to marry off their only heir to the youngest son of Hades. Nothing like a power union." I stared at him for the longest time as I let that sink in, because I wasn't entirely sure what he meant until he said union and I stiffened and looked back at where River disappeared, then turned back to Joxeia, who cocked his head as I glared at him.

"Yeah, fuck that noise. I ain't getting married."

Especially when I couldn't even defend myself, I thought bitterly. Marriage? Yeah, fuck that shit. I had more important things to worry about. Like why my body hurt and who did it and how I was going to kill the guy who did it.

Marriage?

No fucking way.