Chapter Four

"Oh my god, he's back!"

"Oh thank gods."

"Get some blankets, now!"

"Someone crank up that heat!"

I grimaced at the bright lights of the... what the fuck was this? A palace?

After I crawled out of the hole, I wasn't able to stand. My legs had fucking had it. I collapsed back to the ground and Theo had to get down and pick me up, so now I was on his back, face smashed into that thick red hair that smelled like baked bread, smoke, and some kind of fancy shampoo. Theo carried me back to what was obviously some kind of huge palace place. It was massive and spread out side to side and up into the air, colored black and gold and white. It was like something out of a storybook.

The moment we walked into the building, everyone was scrambling to do shit. Theo carried me through the palace and right back up to that goddamn room where he set me on the bed and I just sat there on the edge, staring at the floor as I tried to cope with the fact that once again, I was locked in the fucking room on the fucking bed with the fucking machine for company.

Well, that and the rest of the fucking Hades-Luciferian clan.

"Here's some blankets," Bali said, coming forward after someone had handed her a couple blankets. Theo took them and wrapped one around my shoulders and tucked it in between my knees, then threw another one on top of that. I shivered until a third blanket was added and finally I had some semblance of heat. I sighed, tugging the blankets closer and ducking my head down to hide the relief on my face.

"I'm going to grab some tea," one of the brothers said before departing from the room with two other brothers and a sister. I had no idea what he thought tea was going to do. Tea was some nasty shit.

"Feeling warmer?" Theo asked me. I grimaced, but nodded and looked down at the floor, only for my head to snap back up at the sound of a pair of massive boots thumping on the floor. I watched Hades come into the room with Lucifer right behind him. Lucifer breathed a sigh of relief the moment he saw me, but Hades looked peeved. He came forward and Theo stepped out of the way to give him space.

"I'm going to touch you," Hades said, making me glare at him, "Don't fucking bite me. I'm just going to check your vitals and make sure you didn't get frostbite out there." I said nothing as he reached out slowly and took my hand. I let him pull it toward him as he put his fingers on my wrist.

"Christ, he's fucking freezing," Hades muttered, then looked up at Theo, "Plug in the heated blanket and add it to his cocoon." Theo nodded and went to grab the blanket from the other side of the bed. Meanwhile, Hades let go of my hand and reached up to cup my head. I glared at him, and he eyed me.

"Don't you fucking dare," he warned. I gritted my teeth, resisting the urge to fucking clock him in the face as his cold hands touched my throat and jaw. He pulled down one of my eyelids and studied my eye for a moment, then took out a small pen light and shined it in my face. I cursed and jerked my head away, but he quickly caught my jaw and forced me to hold still.

"I'm just checking you over," Hades said, his voice surprisingly calm, "I'm not going to hurt you." I actually laughed at that.

"Yeah, okay, whatever," I answered. Because I still didn't trust them. So far, they were doing what Theo promised they'd do, but how long would it take?

"I want to leave," I said, earning a pointed look from Hades.

"Not right now you aren't. It's cold, scrubs don't count as real clothes, you're still weak, and honestly where the fuck do you think you're going to stay? At a hotel? With what money? Do you even have any money?" Hades asked. I glared at him. Okay, so I didn't have everything I needed.

"Then give me money," I said, making Hades look at Lucifer as if to ask if I was being serious, "Give me money, clothes, whatever, and I'll find a place to stay."

"You're staying right here," Hades said sternly, making me glare at him, "I can give you all the money and shit in the world and you still can't survive out there on your own." I gritted my teeth, but didn't argue. I wanted to, I really fucking wanted to, but suddenly, I was feeling exhausted. The excitement from earlier was suddenly dying down and so was the adrenaline boost I'd gotten. Now I felt sluggish and heavy. I just dropped my head and ignored Hades's chiding.

"Alright, he doesn't have anymore frostbite, thank fuck," Hades muttered, "But his heartrate is slow. He needs rest. Where's Malachi with that tea? What about Wednesday? She mentioned something about getting something for him to eat. He needs food in his stomach."

"No," I growled, "No food."

"You have to eat. You need to get your strength back."

"No."

"He won't eat it," Theo said, putting the heated blanket around me, "He said they poisoned his food where he was at before. That shit isn't easy to get over." Hades sighed, reaching up to wipe a hand down his face before he turned to Lucifer.

"Get Wednesday and tell her to bring food," he ordered, making Lucifer nod and take off while Hades turned back to me as I glared at him, "The food isn't poisoned. I'll eat with you so you can see there's nothing wrong with it." I scoffed.

"Probably not to you, but it's probably some kind of artificial targeted poison for all I know."

"That's not a thing. Now shut up and sit back." Not that I could do it on my own. I could barely lift my head on my own. Hades seemed to know that right away and reached out, picking me up and moving me back on the bed. I grimaced at the touch, but relaxed against the pillows when I was finally settled.

It didn't take long for Wednesday and Lucifer to show up with food, and goddamn, it looked good. It was some kind of meat and potatoes type stew with fresh baked bread on the side, and a huge tall glass of water. My mouth immediately watered as I stared at the tray of food, but I didn't go near it. Hades sat on the edge of the bed with the tray, ripping off a piece of bread and putting it in his mouth. He ate it up no problem, then ripped off another piece and handed it to me.

I glared.

"I'm not eating it."

"You have to eat."

"No."

"If you don't, I can force feed you," Hades said, earning a stern look from Lucifer.

"Hades, don't do that. He's obviously scared--"

"I'm not scared," I snarled, "I don't want your stupid food!"

"Yeah right. I saw your face the moment it came into the room," Hades replied dryly, "You're starving. Do you even remember the last time you ate?" I opened my mouth, then paused as I realized... yeah, when the fuck was the last time I ate? I stared at the food long and hard, and a strange memory came to the surface.

I was lying on that cold stone floor again. I couldn't move. My whole body hurt and ached and I was so fucking cold. My fingers were turning purple, so were my toes. I wasn't wearing any clothes so every part of my body was touching that icy stone floor. And in front of me sat a plate of untouched food. I stared at it, my stomach twisting in a sharp knot, releasing a sort of cry for food. I couldn't move very well. I just remembered reaching out and pushing the plate about an inch away with the tips of my fingers.

A door opened somewhere. I looked up, but there was a bright light above me and I couldn't see who was leaning over to grab me by a handful of hair. I gasped as I was slammed against the floor, my face right next to the plate.

"Eat, you fucking slut," I heard someone's garbled voice order. I blinked rapidly and kept trying to look up at whoever was trying to get me to eat, but I couldn't see shit no matter how hard I squinted. My face was slammed into the plate this time and it broke in half, the glass slicing into my cheek and making me gasp. A big hand reached out of nowhere and grabbed a handful of the food, shoving it at my face, but I pursed my lips in refusal as food ended up smeared all over my face.

"Fine, don't want to eat? I like you better like this anyway," that garbled voice said, and I felt someone's hand on my arm, sliding up and up to touch my neck. A second later, that hand traveled down my arm, down to my hip, down to--

"Noo! Get it away from me!" I screamed and lashed out, sending the tray of food shattering to the floor. I shot up from the bed and managed to bolt away from Hades before he could grab me. I rolled off the bed and hit the floor before scrambling into the corner, breathing hard. I stared at the floor as I struggled to maintain some kind of focus on the here and the now, but that memory was eating away at the back of my mind and I shuddered, leaning over to vomit on the floor. Except all that came up was foam.

"Alright," Hades announced, "Everyone get out of the room." Lucifer eyed him closely and Hades gave him a stern glare.

"Out," he ordered. Lucifer sighed, then waved at Theo and Wednesday and the others crowded near the door to get out. The door closed and left me alone with Hades, who came over to the other side of the bed. He didn't get near me. He stayed a good few feet away, which good for fucking him, he knew better than to get close.

"Hey," Hades said, making me glare at him, "I need you to take a couple big breathes for me."

"Why?"

"Just take a few big breathes," Hades said, "You're hyperventilating and you're going to pass out if you don't regulate your breathing. Now look at me and take a big deep breath, nice and slow." I eyed him, then eventually did what he said, mostly because my vision was darkening around the edges. I took a slow shuddering breath, then exhaled. Hades nodded.

"Good. Again." I reluctantly did the same thing, big deep breath, slow exhale. I could feel my muscles loosening up again and the darkness faded from the edges of my vision. I leaned back against the corner, tilting my head back so I could suck in deep gulps of air.

"Great, that's good," Hades said, and I noticed he'd inched a little closer, "I'm going to help you back into the bed. You need to stay warm." I eyed him, but said nothing as he got up and approached me. He held his hands out to help me up. I stared at his hands for the longest time, swallowing hard, because goddamn, there was a strange fear bubbling up inside me. I didn't want to feel hands on me again.

"I'm not going to hurt you," Hades said softly, "If I was, I would've done it by now." I stared up at him, then at his hands. I unfolded my arms from my chest and reached out to take his hands. He looked relieved and helped me get up. My knees buckled, though, and I almost went crashing to the floor, but he caught me around the chest. I sucked in a sharp breath, but he didn't throw me to the ground or start feeling me up. He just pulled me over to the bed and carefully laid me down before he started gathering the blankets up and around me again.

"Listen," Hades said, "You're going to have to eat sooner or later." I glared at him.

"I said I don't want your fucking food."

"That's too bad. If you want to get your strength back, you need to eat." I said nothing to that as Hades walked over to the other side of the bed to clean up the mess. I watched him, eyes narrowed, because I could not fucking figure him out for the life of me. Why the fuck was he doing this? Why was he dealing with this? With me? What did he want from me?

"What do you want?" I asked at last. Hades looked up.

"What do I want?"

"You're not doing this out of the kindness of your own heart," I said dryly, "You're a fucking psychopath. You don't give a shit about anyone, so why the fuck are you doing this to me? Why didn't you just leave me outside to freeze and die? You'd have one less person to deal with, one less soldier to worry about." Hades looked at the floor where the mess was, then stood up and turned to face me.

"Right now, you're not a soldier. You're a patient," he said, making me frown, "You need help. That's what I'm doing."

"I didn't ask for your help."

"Well, you're getting it."

"What, why, because I'm supposed to be your kid," I said, making Hades's lip twitch and I knew I'd hit some kind of nerve, and a slow smile spread across my face, "You don't like that, do you? You don't like that I'm your kid. That pisses you off. You don't want me around anymore than I want to be around."

"That's not it."

"Sure it is. You're doing it because you feel obligated. Or maybe cuz your husband would throw a fit if you left me to die. Or maybe cuz you're supposed to be a doctor or some shit. You don't give a shit about me. You're just trying to get me out of your fucking hair as fast as you can."

"What makes you think I don't give a shit about you?"

"Because no one does," I responded simply, "You obviously have some fucked up reason for keeping me here." Hades stared at me for the longest time, and he got this look on his face... it was weird. Almost like he was haunted by something. Clearly my words had touched a nerve, and I found that fucking hilarious. He could pretend to give a shit all he wanted, but in the end, he was just like everyone else. Everyone had ulterior motives. He was using me for something. He wanted me around for a reason.

I just had to figure out why.

"I'm going to get you something else to eat," Hades said, making me stiffen, "And you're going to eat it."

"I'm not eating shit."

"It's not poisoned. You saw me eat it."

"Maybe it just takes a while to kick in."

"Did the poison you ingest take a long time to kick in?" Hades returned. I opened my mouth at the same time a memory came back to me. Of laying on the floor, choking on food and whatever was in it. I remembered being so hungry. It was just a constant state of being for me now. I was so hungry. I knew the food was poisoned at that point, but I was so hungry. I ate it anyway and I regretted it the moment I licked the plate clean, because that heat came back into my body. It was downright painful at this point, especially in my cock. It felt like I was going to explode from the inside out.

As quickly as the memory was there, it was gone. I swallowed thickly.

"I'm not eating."

"You will, if you want to get your strength back. The longer you hold out on eating, the longer you'll have to stay here. So if I were you, I'd start getting the munchies." Without another word, Hades went to the door and left. I waited to hear the lock click into place, but it didn't. Not that it mattered, because I couldn't fucking stand long enough to get out the door. And something told me there were probably people out there who would prevent me from escaping.

So I just slumped back against the bed.

And fell the fuck to sleep.

It happened so fast. One second, I was laying there, staring at the door and in the next, I was unconscious.

Gods.

I should've never done it. I should've never helped Seven. If I had just stayed in my lane, I would be fine at home under my own blanket with real food. But the moment I'd seen what they were doing to that brat, I knew someone had to stop that shit. He was suffering. He was being tortured. They'd feed him copious amounts of food, then starve him. They poked and prodded him with needles as big as a fucking horse cock. A few of the scientists even slapped him around a little. Of course, they got theirs because Seven ended up literally eating like two of those guys, both of whom had been the ones to knock him around.

Gods it pissed me off, though. No one deserved to be treated like an animal. Seven, while a defective mutant, was still a soldier. He still fought and he still protected. He was so goddamn devoted to his little brother too. He'd do anything for the kid, even betraying the Mother. That kind of devotion just made no sense to me, but somehow, I found myself admiring it.

I'd never had that with anyone. Never felt like I gave a shit enough to, well, betray the Mother. I never had any friends or siblings or anything. I'd always been on my own. Hell, if I wasn't as strong and powerful as I'd been, I probably would've been picked on like Seven. Thank fuck I was jacked as shit and everyone was scared me of, otherwise, I'd probably be dead by now.

But gods. I'd went and done it anyway.

"Where's Seven?" A voice had demanded and I spun around to see a tall slender male with long blonde hair standing by a goddamn nightmare, a few other guys behind them. For a brief moment, I was actually in awe. The male standing beside him was huge. He towered over me like a fucking mountain and he was more jacked than I was, but every inch of his dark skin was marred by deep scars. His long black hair was done in a braid that fell down his back, and his eyes were mismatched blue and white with a long angry scar cutting through the white one. I thought he was blind in that eye for a moment, but he tracked me and he tracked me good. He was not having any of my bullshit, because when I scoffed at their question, the mountain grabbed me by the front of my shirt and hauled my ass up against the wall, making me grunt.

"Where. Is. Seven." It wasn't a question. It was an order.

"F-Fuck you," I sneered, "When the Mother finds out you're here, she's gonna fucking lock you down." The mountain picked me up and threw me against the wall again, making me groan as my bones squeezed under the pressure.

"Where. Is. Seven."

"What, is that the only song you know?"

"Where. Is. He." The guy was not fucking around. He was angry, furious. I could see it in the veins that protruded from his dark skin, see the way his steel muscles coiled up, preparing to completely put my head through the concrete wall.

I shouldn't have told him. I should've just spewed bullshit until he killed me, but gods, it pissed me off so much. Seven was just a dumb kid. He didn't deserve what was happening to him.

"I'll take you to him," I heard myself say. The mountain frowned and so did the male next to him.

"Will you?" The blondie asked. I nodded.

"Yes."

"Why?"

"Because torture is bullshit and I don't do that shit," I said, watching the blondie's eyes widen in horror. He grabbed the mountain next to him and the mountain tightened his grip on me for a moment, then roughly shoved me to the floor.

"Take us to him. Now," the mountain ordered. I nodded and got to my feet, dusting myself off until the mountain shoved me in the back and I actually stumbled forward. That shit didn't happen to me often back in those days. I almost turned around and hit him, but when I did turn to face him, he was right up in my face and completely blocking me from doing anything. I turned back around and led him down the hallway toward Seven's room.

The whole time, my heart was beating in my ears.

Bad idea. Bad idea. Bad idea.

The Mother was going to know. She was going to know I did this. She was going to see it on the cameras, and if not there, she would just know. She wasn't a stupid lady. The Mother was a lot smarter than people gave her credit for.

And of course, she found out.

One second, I was in a cozy cell in Atlantis and in the next, I had woken up in a room made of cold stone without any clothes, chained to a wall. Because surprise surprise, the Mother had friends in high places and when she wanted something, she was going to have it. And I just happened to be the it in this situation.

But what happened after?

I couldn't remember. It was like a brick wall had been built in my brain and I couldn't get past it. I couldn't go under or over or around. Just this huge wall with a keep out sign on it.

Goddamn it, what had happened to me?