Chapter Ten

The nightmares were getting worse.

Ever since the weird hypnosis thing, it was like something in my brain had short circuited. The nightmares came one after another, but in none of them was I able to see who was attacking me or hurting me. Just when I thought I could figure out who it was, I would wake up in a hot and sweaty mess, so I had completely given up on sleeping.

Ryk would come in the morning and I would be laying in bed, pretending to just wake up. He'd do his song and dance about eating a healthy breakfast, which now I could only pick at once again. I didn't have much of an appetite anymore. The nightmares usually made me nauseous.

"You're not hungry?" Ryk asked one morning as I stirred the porridge around in the bowl.

"Not particularly," I muttered, watching the thick goop slide off the spoon back into the bowl with a gross wet plop. Ryk cocked his head and looked down at the electronic tablet in his hands.

"Hm. You have gone down in weight again," he murmured thoughtfully, making me look up with a frown.

"What'd you mean?"

"You were getting closer to your goal weight of sixty-eight kilograms, but you dropped from fifty-four to fifty-two," Ryk mused as he clicked around on the tablet, "I'll make sure we start adding extra protein and fats to your meals." I didn't say anything as I looked back down at the food on the tray. It was strange. I should've felt angry. I was expecting it, expecting that heat to boil through my veins and set my chest on fire so I had the energy to lash out. Instead, I sat there in silence and just pushed the food around in the bowl until Ryk decided it was time to give up and go for a walk instead.

"What's the point," I muttered, watching Ryk frown, "It's not doing shit. Eating isn't helping. Walking isn't helping. I'm still fucking small and weak. I couldn't get married even if I fucking wanted to." Ryk looked at me curiously, but said nothing as I got up and got dressed anyway because I was too fucking exhausted to fight Ryk on this.

"You did that without much complaint," Ryk commented as I tugged a short shirt on over my head.

"Tired," I said under my breath. Ryk inclined his head and thankfully didn't bitch about it as we made our way down the lobby to head out for our walk. Much to my annoyance, River was waiting for us in the lobby. He stood up the moment we entered. As usual, he wasn't dressed for a fucking walk in the woods or a garden. He was always dressed like he was going to some fancy rich guy party with his three piece suit and his perfectly styled hair. He looked like someone out of the magazine that Three was in.

"I suppose you won't mind if I join you again?" River asked. Ryk smiled and seemed to subconsciously touch his phone in his pocket, making me look at him curiously.

"Of course not. It would be a pleasure to have company," he said.

"What am I, dog shit?" I asked dryly. Ryk ignored me and gave River that smile, which River returned with automatic politeness.

"Excellent," River responded. I shook my head and just walked out ahead of them, but they caught up much faster than I anticipated, making me frown down at the ground as we walked.

I was getting weaker. I could feel it in my bones, feel it in my rubbery lackluster muscles. I felt like I was teetering on an edge and just one sneeze away from splattering on the pavement below. It was strange to feel like this, strange to feel... depressed, I guess.

I was weak. I was helpless. It felt like I was sinking deeper and deeper into this pit of darkness and I wanted to claw my way out, but I was finding it harder and harder to find something to hold onto. I kept reminding myself that asshole who hurt me was still out there, still wandering around freely, but at the same time, what the fuck could I do about it? I had no idea who'd even done it. I couldn't find him myself the way I was, and everyone else was so concerned about running around and feeding me and making me walk. How the fuck was this supposed to help anything?

On top of that, I was getting more and more pissed whenever I was around Hades or Lucy and their stupid family. It was fucking uncomfortable, the way they talked and joked around and touched each other. That kind of shit didn't happen back at the compound, at least, not around me. I couldn't remember the last time I talked to someone and it didn't turn into a fist fight, or an attempted fist fight. The only time someone touched me was to hurt me. The only jokes that were made were meant to bring me down. And yet they sat every day around that fucking little table, all these giants made of raw corded muscle, smiling like there was nothing bad in the world.

It pissed me off.

"Ryk tells me you are having difficulty eating again," River said suddenly, making me blink and look up. It took me a moment to realize we'd already made it to the garden and I had been standing in the same place forever, staring up at that stupid office window where Hades was probably hunched over his stupid computer.

I glanced over to see Ryk looking down at his phone with this almost desperate look. I curled my lip and looked away. What a loser.

"It's not your fucking business, last I checked," I responded dryly, turning away from that damn window and heading down the path. Of course, River followed and Ryk was glued to his phone like a love sick puppy. I'd seen that dumb hurt look before. Three used to give it to Six all the damn time and Six always caved into it. One little sniffle from his husband was enough to have Six down on his knees.

"No, I suppose not," River answered, looking annoyed by my tone, but still keeping up that posh rich guy look, "I'm a bit worried, that's all." I sighed in frustration.

"Look, asshole, we're not getting married. Hades already said he'd repeatedly told your dad no."

"My father doesn't take no for an answer, unfortunately," River said wistfully, making me snort at that understatement, "Also, I'm not asking you as a potential husband. I'm asking as a concerned individual." I scoffed.

"Concerned individual? You honestly expect me to believe you give a shit?" I asked. River frowned.

"Why is that so difficult to believe?"

"Because nobody gives a shit about me, unless it gets them something. And you obviously wanna get in good with me so you can marry me so you can get your family's land back or whatever, but for your information, if I can't sleep or eat on my own, what the fuck makes you think I can take you in a marriage trial?" I asked, then shook my head. I could certainly imagine that going very, very badly. All he'd have to do is cough on me and I'd probably hit the ground.

"Now hold on a moment," River said, making me quirk a brow and turn to look at him as he stopped walking to look at me sternly, "I'm quite surprised to hear you, of all people, thinking so darkly, and what's this about a marriage trial? Nothing more than a ceremony is all that would be required of you." I blinked, then turned to look at him in confusion.

"A fucking what?"

"A ceremony. A wedding ceremony. Surely they do that where you're from."

"Uh, I mean, I guess there's a special dinner if nobody dies afterwards," I muttered, making River's eyes widen in disbelief, "What? Does everyone survive your marriage trials around here? That's kind of pathetic."

"What in gods' name are you--"

"Heads up!" The shout hit me at the same time a ball did. The ball collided with my face out of fucking nowhere and snapped my head back. I would've hit the ground afterwards too if River hadn't caught me by the arm and hauled me up against his body. I would've attacked him like a wet cat if my nose hadn't taken the full brunt of the ball, resulting in a nosebleed from Hell.

"Shit!" I blinked at River's curse, looking at him in surprise.

"Hey, you do speak normal after all," I said, making him scowl at me.

"Oh shit," we both looked up to see Cain coming around the corner of the house with Theo and Cerberus behind him, all of them decked out in workout clothes, "Ah, goddamn it."

"I told you not to throw shit back here," Theo snapped at him, coming over to where River and I were standing, "Jesus, you probably busted his fucking nose."

"I didn't do it on purpose," Cain exclaimed, then paused, "But I'll be honest, I'm not feeling too bad about it." He shrugged and Cerberus thwacked him upside the head, making him yelp in pain and clutch his head. Theo ignored them as he approached.

"Yo, lemme see the face," he said, reaching out to me, but I hissed and moved away from him, then shoved at River.

"Don't touch me," I snapped, making River sigh and Theo roll his eyes, "I'm fine." Even as I said it, I was a little dizzy as blood poured down my face from my nose. I backed away again another step, reaching up to wipe my shirt sleeve over my face, making both Theo and River grimace.

"What're you assholes doing anyway?" I asked, changing the subject so they'd quit fussing. Thankfully, they backed off to a degree. Although, River took some weird cloth out of his pocket and handed it to me. I glared at him and he glared back before I finally snatched it and covered my bloody nose with it.

"Training with weight balls," Theo said dryly, turning to look at Cain, who rolled his eyes, "You're not supposed to fuckin' bounce it off the house and send it flying into peoples' faces, though."

"Guess I didn't read the label," Cain said with a shrug, making Cerberus roll his eyes, "So, since that was out of bounds, it doesn't count."

"Oh fuck off," Cerberus argued, putting his hands on his hips, "You do this every time Thee starts to beat your ass, Cain. Quit being a sore loser and take the lost point."

"I didn't know it was gonna bounce off the house!"

"You bounced it off the kid's face," Cerberus exclaimed, gesturing to me. Cain looked at me, then scanned me from head to toe as I flipped him off, before he looked at Cerberus.

"Okay, but he's got a really nice face. Clearly the ball was just attracted or something."

"Ew," I deadpanned, making Theo and Cerberus laugh. Cain tsked and folded his arms over his chest.

"That was a compliment, you little shit, I don't give those out like candy on Halloween."

"Uh, what on what?" I asked with a scowl.

"Oh god, that's so sad," Cerberus said, placing a hand over his heart, "She keeps candy and Halloween away from you?"

"Who?" River asked.

"Doesn't matter," Theo said immediately, "Cain, heal his face and take your point loss."

"What are weight balls?" I muttered, pulling the soaked cloth away from my face as Cain wrinkled his nose and took a step toward me, but I stepped away. He threw his hands up and Cerberus rolled his eyes, taking two big steps over to me and putting his hand on top of my head. Before I could react, I felt a sharp pain in my head around my nose and a second later, my nose was healed and stopped bleeding.

I grimaced, handing the bloody cloth to River, who wrinkled his nose at it.

"You can keep it," he said, holding his hand up in refusal. I scowled.

"It's all gross, though."

"And you think I want it?" River demanded. Theo and Cain laughed. Cerberus shook his head, then looked at me.

"You don't get to play weight balls until you can pick up a gallon of milk without falling over," he said, making me glare at him, "But you can watch, if you want." I frowned, glancing at River, who frowned curiously. I looked back in the garden, but didn't see Ryk now. He was nowhere in sight. I looked back at the big guy.

"Sure." After all, what the fuck else was I supposed to do? Go for more frolicking in the gardens while River asked me annoying questions and Ryk cried over his Internet lover? Boo.

We came back over to the side of the house where there was a short trail leading to some kind of huge clearing in the forest. It looked like every soldier's dream training arena. There were several sheds of equipment, dummies and dummy weapons strewn about, and a huge dirt covered area where there were white lines sprayed in the dirt and grass to create some kind of game field. Of course, I wasn't allowed to touch any of that shit or do anything as I was led, or more like herded, by the group of overgrown giants to a couple of wooden benches set up for watching.

I plopped down with River at my side as the other three ran back to the dirt arena.

"Alright," Cerberus announced as he picked up a large yellow ball from the ground, "Whoever scores a proper goal gets a point. Whoever shoots a hoop, gets two points." I looked up curiously and sure enough, hanging in the trees overhead were bright red hoops.

"Whoever gets a window, gets five points," Theo added, earning a snort from Cerberus, who whipped around to look at me.

"He's joking," he assured, but the evil grin on Theo's face told me it was far from a joke.

"We're keeping score on the board," Cerberus added, gesturing to a small wooden board planted in the ground with numbers on flaps, revealing that Cerberus was ahead of Theo by one point and Cain had fallen behind him by two points.

"It's a free for all," Cerberus said, turning to River and I to explain the rules, "You can kick, you can throw, you can do whatever, except use magic. This is about strength training, not magic training, so any use of magic, which includes any boosts to your strength, is strictly prohibited."

"We're going raw, baby," Theo added, making Cerberus grimace.

"Why do you have to say things like that in front of the public?"

"What public?"

Cerberus gestured to River, who grimaced, and me where I just raised an eyebrow, because I didn't notice anything weird, except maybe a slight sexual inneundo, which I mean... who gives a shit?

"On your mark, get set, go!" Cain shouted in a rush of words and he went sprinting for Cerberus, who cursed and got a better grip on the ball before he went running for one of the hoops in the trees. Theo took off in a burst, running right for where Cerberus was going.

The sudden tension was strangely uplifting. I felt myself scoot to the edge of my seat as I watched Cerberus carry his huge ass across the dirt field at a dead run. He wasn't going to be able to stop in time before colliding with Theo, but he didn't seem to give a shit and neither did Theo, who grinned as he got closer.

Theo leapt up at the last second before he would've collided with Cerberus, but instead of jumping on Cerberus, he jumped at a nearby tree and launched off the tree like a fucking ping pong ball. He snatched the ball from Cerberus fast, making the big guy whirl around to nab him, but Theo caught a tree branch and swung himself up into the trees, reeling his arm back and throwing the ball clear across the field where it slipped right through a hoop on another tree before crashing to the ground.

What I wasn't expecting was the ball to fall into the ground so hard it literally created a creator. I jumped, and so did River, because clearly he wasn't expecting it to be so heavy, given the way the guys ran with it.

"How much does that thing weigh?" I muttered, making River shake his head slowly as we watched Cain go running for the ball.

"It's only about sixty-five kilos," Cerberus said as he went running by. I stiffened. That was literally how much I was supposed to weigh. That ball weighed more than my skinny ass. How the fuck did it only break my nose and not send my skull flying off my shoulders earlier? I reached up to touch my nose subconsciously, then caught River out the corner of my eye as he looked away awkwardly. I frowned.

"What?" I asked.

"Nothing."

"Doesn't seem like nothing... What'd you do?"

"Nothing," River reiterated and as I continued to glare at him in silence, he looked annoyed and heaved a heavy sigh, "Nothing, honestly. Just a little spell to keep your face from getting the full brunt, that's all." I scowled.

"Why?" I asked. River frowned.

"Why not? The last thing you need right now is to get hurt any more than you already have."

"Okay, but so what?"

"What do you mean so what?"

"So what if I got hurt? What does that do for you? If anything, you should've let the thing break my mouth since you hate my mouth so much."

"I am certainly not a vindictive type," River responded with a huff, "My word, you're so suspicious over nothing."

"Who just heals someone they don't even know or like?" I asked dryly, then shook my head. It was just another one of those fucking weird things that people did around here, I guess. It made no sense to me why all these people were so fucking nice all the time without a reason. Or maybe there was a reason and I just hadn't figured it out yet.

I suppose it made sense for the Hadiferian family to be nice to me. They probably wanted to brainwash me away from the Mother, but River? I guess he just really wanted his family's land back or something, which was such a weird motive to have, but I guess land equaled power if you lived in Hades.

"Have you ever had a friend?" River asked suddenly, making me blink, then scowl.

"A friend? No. Why would I have a friend?" I asked. River paused, then cocked his head, pursing up his lips.

"No, I suppose you wouldn't, would you? Your attitude is quite a deterrent," he tacked on, folding his arms over his chest as he went back to watching the game. I glared at him, then copied his pose of folding my arms over my chest, like a puffed up rich guy. Because, if what Hades said was true, then I could pretend to be a rich prince all I wanted.

"No, because apparently I'm a prince and why would a prince be friends with a pleb?" I asked sourly, making River blink, then give me a droll stare.

"For your information, I am far from a plebian. My family has been in Hades almost since its very creation by the Source. We're an ancient founding family of Hades. We're actually dukes, my prince, which is hardly a plebian," he informed snootily. I raised an eyebrow.

"I have no idea what any of that means," I stated. River surprised me when he laughed.

"Of course you don't."

"What the fuck is that supposed to mean?"

"Nothing, nothing. I simply find your innocence refreshing."

"Innocence?" I asked. What part of what I said could be inferred as innocent? I could think of quite a few words to describe me. Annoying, loud, boisterous, a threat to natural living. But innocent? For some reason, that word didn't seem to suit me. It felt... not quite like an insult, but not a compliment either. A strange fact I didn't want to think about, I guess.

"Score," came Theo's triumphant shout, making us look up to see him fucking slam the ball into the ground, denting it in, and he thrust his fists up in the air, "I fucking win!"

"You cheated," Cain immediately accused, striding across the field to get near Red Head, who simply grinned tauntingly at him, "There's no fucking way you won fair and square. I demand a rematch!"

"Cain, this is the second rematch this week," Cerberus drawled as he went over to scoop up the ball, spinning it on his finger for a moment before tossing it up in the air and catching it with ease, "Just accept that you really suck at anything that isn't hide and seek."

"Hide and seek?" I asked dryly. I could've sworn I was living in a house full of all powerful mighty gods and these losers were talking about hide and seek?

"Oh, hey," Theo said suddenly, "That's a game he can play with us, right?"

"Why the fuck would I wanna play hide and seek with you losers? Isn't that a kid's game?" I demanded, rising to my feet with River moving with me.

"Psh," Cain said, forgetting his loss quickly, "No way. Hide and seek with us is no kid's game. In fact, no, I don't think the kid should play. He's still too weak."

"Too weak for hide and seek?" I snapped, offended.

"He's got a point," Cerberus said, seeming to jump on Cain's shit train, "The kid might get too tired, so we probably can't do more than a round or two."

"Who said I even wanna play?" I sneered, making Cerberus shrug and Cain nodded.

"It's okay, kid, some things are still too hard for you to do and that's okay--"

"Fuck you, tell me your special rules and let's do this," I ordered, making Cain and Cerberus grin. Theo smirked as he came walking over to us while River raised an eyebrow at them.

"You gonna join us, Mr. Windstorm?" He asked River, who frowned for a moment until he caught me glaring at him.

"Gonna pussy out?" I asked. River glared.

"Absolutely not. I am quite good at this game anyway," he added with a harrumph. He slid his jacket off and draped it on the bench, giving his vest a little tug and reaching up to slick back his hair, like he was preparing to look super good at playing this game.

Which he did, but that wasn't the point.

"Alright," Cerberus announced, "The rules are simple. One person is it and has to find everyone else. If you are caught, you can still run away, but you gotta hide again. The point is that whoever is it has to hunt everyone down and collect them all in this spot by the end. To get caught, he has to throw you to the ground."

"Let's go slightly easy on the young prince," River said, gesturing to me, "As he's still quite fragile."

"No, of course," Cerberus agreed, "Nobody throw the kid in the dirt."

"Oh, fuck you all, I'll be fine," I snapped, folding my arms over my chest. Cerberus held his hands up in defense, then shrugged and looked around.

"Okay, to determine who's it... Who's the last one who took a shit?" He asked, looking around. River looked flustered.

"What kind of determination is that?" He demanded.

"I dunno," Theo mused, "Maybe this morning? Yeah, I think it was the coffee."

"Yesterday," Cain answered simply, "I haven't eaten enough today to even think about it."

"Cuz that's healthy," Cerberus told him dryly, then shook his head, "Mine's been a couple days."

"A couple days? What's wrong with you?" River demanded. Cerberus shrugged.

"I'm a big guy. Takes a long time for that shit to get through."

"Foul," River responded flatly, then was quiet for the longest time as everyone stared at him and he glared, his cheeks tinging a bit pink, "My last toilet visit was this morning, thank you very much." He looked at me expectantly and I smirked, amused by his embarrassment over bowel movements.

"Haven't shit in days," I said, earning glares from everyone, "What? I don't eat enough to even muster a rabbit turd, let alone a full blown shit."

"Remind me to tell Hades about that," Cerberus deadpanned, earning a glare from me, "Anyway, sounds like Theo's it then, considering he got up at eleven this morning."

"I was up around seven," River admitted, earning a nod from Theo.

"Alrighty," he said, rubbing his hands together excitedly, "Ten second head start, everyone. And remember, stay within the bounds of the main property. Anything outside is cheating. Not that you'd ever find your way out of the forest anyway." He turned away and covered his eyes with his hands.

"One!" He shouted.

Cain abruptly took off running before shooting up into the trees and disappearing like a thief in the night. Cerberus took off in the other direction, deciding to disappear on foot. River inclined his head and vanished on the spot. I cursed.

I wasn't sure how much magic I could use at this point. Ryk and Hades had specifically told me not to use any kind of magic until we could be sure how my magic functioned. I wasn't normally one to listen, but I didn't want to fuck things up more than they already were.

So, as Theo would say, we're going raw, baby.

I took off into the woods as fast as I could, which was more like speed walking, much to my annoyance.

"Three!" Came Theo's distant shout. I shook my head. He sure took his time counting.

I hurried along amongst the towering trees, looking for some kind of animal den or hole to hide in like the last time I'd gone running into the woods, but it was hard to find the perfect place. I ended up circling around to where the equipment shed was. It was a huge wooden structure with open archways that led inside to a packed area, but there was a little door in the corner that led to a section that was full of locked boxes and whatnot.

I shut the door behind me and looked around. It wouldn't be enough to just hide in this room, so I managed to pop open one of the lockers and get inside, shutting the door with a clatter before I crouched down and listened.

"Nine!"

"Ten!"

I heard the rustle of leaves before everything got quiet. I frowned, listening carefully to the sounds outside. It was strange, because when I first arrived in Hacian, everything was so eerily silent. It reminded me of the compound with only the whirring of machinery, but it was different now because the silence wasn't eerie or full of electronic humming. I could hear bugs chirping in the grass and trees. I watched a spider crawl up the inside of the locker and return to her nest in the upper corner. I could hear animals rustling in the tree leaves overhead, the gentle wind whispering into the equipment shed.

How strange.

I'd never noticed things like that before.

I'd been outside the compound in the past, but never for a pleasant visit to the outside world. I was normally sent on urgent missions to retrieve soldiers. I didn't have time to stop and listen to bugs and animals or nature in general. I didn't even have time to book hotels or anything. I usually slept in parks until I found my target, booked him, and dragged him back home. I didn't even get to eat out much and what little I did eat, it was very basic shit because I wasn't exactly rolling in riches, even back at the compound. I was given just enough to support my mission. Made sense, though, they probably didn't want me out and about too long. I'd end up like Seven, falling in love with the outside world and its people. I rolled my eyes, looking down at the bottom of the locker.

What an idiot.

Maybe the compound wasn't perfect, for either of us, but it was still home. We still had our own rooms, our own beds, our routines. How could he not miss that? It was so simple. Get up, follow your routine, go to bed. What more did he possibly want?

"Here, kitty kitty," came a voice that made me stiffen. I pressed back against the inside of the locker as I listened to someone's big boots crunching on the gravel in the equipment shed. I narrowed my eyes as I put my hand on the locker behind me and used my other hand to push the door open as slowly and carefully as possible. I listened to the crunching of gravel stop near the middle of the shed.

"I know you're in here," Theo sang, followed by the sound of something thumping and crashing to the ground, "Oops. Uh... Nah, it's fine. It'll be fine." I rolled my eyes and slid out of the locker, looking around the room and spotting a small little window that would lead outside. I climbed up onto the desk under the window and reached up to crack the window open.

Once upon a time, I would have never fit through that fucking window. It was barely a foot across. My shoulders would've been far too wide. But now I was able to not only crack that window, but it wasn't even fully open and I was able to wiggle through it and plop out on the other side outside the equipment shed.

I dusted myself off and took off into the woods to get away from the shed. I poked around amongst the trees, trying to find somewhere to safely tuck away for a while.

"I hear you!" Theo's shout announced from near the shed. I cursed and went to the nearest building, which just so happened to be a gross little toilet stall. I threw the door open and got in before I could think about it and stepped inside, immediately smashing against River, who cursed.

"Oh hey, were you taking another shit?" I asked, earning a glare from River.

"No, I heard Theo coming and came to hide here until I realized it was a toilet."

"Did the picture of the toilet on the front not clue you in?"

"I was in a bit of a hurry and didn't have time to think."

"Smells great in here. You sure you didn't shit?" I asked. River reached up to rub at his temples, like I was giving him a headache and I smirked. He lowered his hands and looked down at me sternly at first, but strangely, his expression seemed to soften a little.

"You look tired," he commented, making me scowl.

"So?"

"Perhaps we should go inside and call it a day."

"I'm fine. Well, I was until I came in here. How long have you been in here?"

"It's been five minutes and I'm already going insane," River deadpanned, making me snort. River paused.

"Did you just laugh?" He asked. I raised an eyebrow.

"I dunno. I just thought what you said was funny."

"So you did laugh."

"I guess."

"It was... cute," River said. I frowned at him curiously. Cute? How was that gross snort cute? How was that even a laugh? I mean, I guess it was, but cute? Since when was snorting cute?

I didn't really have time to make fun of River for it, because the door to the toilet flew open and Theo stood in the doorway with a grin that quickly vanished and twisted into one of disgust as he stepped back.

"Ew, why the fucking toilet? What's romantic about this?" He demanded as we stepped out to greet him with looks of disgust.

"It was an accident," River assured, making Theo scoff.

"Yeah, okay," he said, then looked at me and rolled his eyes, "Yeah, I'll bet it was." River glared at him. Theo looked amused, like he wanted to say something, but we could faintly hear voices near the arena and Theo perked up.

"Ooh, hang on," he said and quickly turned tail to head for the arena. River and I shared looks before we followed him back to the arena to see that Cerberus and Cain had come out of hiding and some people had come to join us. Cerberus had scooped up the tiniest person in the group and was bearhugging him while the little guy had his legs wrapped around his waist.

And when I say little guy, I mean that guy was tiny, especially standing next to Cerberus. He was petite and slender with thick sexy dark hair that fell around a cute impish face with serious green eyes. But he had this dreamy smile on his face as Cerberus tilted his head back to kiss him.

Oh, that had to be his husband, who I had yet to meet. All I knew was that his name was Blaine and Hades didn't like him very much.

I recognized Abel immediately and he brightened when he saw Cain, coming over to ask him what we'd been up to.

Also joining the group was probably one of the hottest guys I'd ever seen in my life and it was kind of weird to be so shocked by someone who was so good looking. He was tall, taller than Theo, with wavy blonde hair and bright blue eyes, tanned skin, and muscles that rippled for miles that he showed off by scooping Theo off his feet when we approached.

"I was gone for two days," Theo said with a laugh as he hugged the guy's head to his chest, "What is your deal?"

"I miss you," the male answered gruffly as he set Theo back down so he could cup his face and give him a kiss. Theo laughed and kissed him back, and I mean he really dragged that guy down for some tongue action that just made me stare because I'd never seen anything like that before, even at the compound or my little visits into the outside world. At the compound, anything remotely sexual was reserved for the bedroom, not the public eye.

"Were you guys playing hide and seek?" Abel asked, scanning us until his eyes landed on me and widened a bit. He turned to Theo and punched him in the arm, making him protest.

"He's not supposed to be pushing himself!" Abel exclaimed. Theo rubbed his arm with a pout.

"It was just hide and seek. He did fine. He's not exhausted, see?" He gestured to me and I flipped both of them off, making Abel sigh and Theo laugh.

"Hello, Adonis," River said, greeting the blondie with Theo, who inclined his head, "Prince Abel. Lord Blaine."

"Oh, please, don't use the titles," Blaine replied with the thickest Scottish accent I'd ever heard in my life, "You make me sound like fucking royalty."

"But you are royalty," Cerberus pointed out, ruffling his hair. Blaine snorted.

"Ach, please. If you keep stroking my ego, it's going to get out of control again."

"I'd like to stroke a lot more than your ego, baby."

"Down, Cujo," Blaine warned. I snorted, then quickly covered it with a cough when River looked at me, amused. I cleared my throat and looked down at my feet as I felt Blaine's eyes come to me.

"Ah, so you must be the newest member of the family," Blaine said, making Cerberus avert his eyes, "They've been so slow to introduce us. Don't tell me you guys don't trust me?"

"It's not that we don't trust you," Cerberus assured, making Blaine raise an eyebrow as Cerberus glanced at me quickly. I smirked. So it was me they didn't trust around this guy, and I wondered why that was. Blaine didn't look like much. He was a shrimpy effeminate little fae by the looks of it. What could I possibly get into with him?

"My name's Blaine," the fae introduced, folding his arms over his chest in an amusing way, almost like he was trying to tell me he wasn't going to be intimidated by me, "Welcome to the Hades Lucifer hodgepodge of miscreants. We're all mean and unfriendly, except Akin, but that's because he's the only angel in the lot."

"Isn't Raven technically an angel too?" Abel asked.

"He's an angel only in genetics," Blaine deadpanned, making me frown.

Angel? As in, an actual angel with wings and shit? I averted my eyes, remembering a particular soldier from the Mother's ranks who also had wings. I wondered briefly if there was a connection, then quickly backtracked out of instinct because it was none of my fucking business and our parents were not our parents. All they did was unwillingly donate genetic material to create us. They were not our parents. They were genetic carriers. Just like Lucifer and Hades had no actual relation to me. Hell, I didn't even really look like them, no matter what Ryk said about me and Hades, cuz I definitely had nothing in common with that asshole. Hell, I'd say all I got from Lucy was his blonde hair and blue eyes.

I didn't belong here. This was not my family.

"Actually," Blaine said wistfully, "I'm afraid we're here to ruin some fun. I need Cerberus's help with Holly."

"What the fuck did she do now?" Cerberus groaned, making Blaine smile tightly.

"She's in her room for now, but gods only know she'll be there maybe another hour or two before she decides it's time to wreak havoc again. I just need someone to give her a little talking to," he added, making Cerberus sigh and come to wrap his arms around him.

"I apologize for any of my genetic material in our baby girl."

"Good, because she didn't get the crazy from me."

"I wouldn't go that far," Abel muttered, then grunted when Blaine elbowed him in the ribs.

"I wish she was a baby again," Blaine sighed, looking down at the ground, "She was so cute and tiny and sweet when she was a baby. Now I can't get her to sit still long enough for dinner."

"Just have another baby," Theo said, making Blaine blink and look at him and Cerberus stare at his brother, "What? I think Holly and Keros turned out pretty good. Keros is even dating the Prince of Atlantis. Just hook Holly up with another prince, then pop out another royal baby."

"I wouldn't mind having another baby," Blaine said, making Cerberus's eyes get big, "What? I miss having a baby around the house. I miss their cute little clothes and holding them while they sleep."

"I mean, I guess," Cerberus said slowly, earning a raised brow from Blaine, "No, I mean, babies are great, yeah. Just. Can we wait until at least Holly gets married?" Blaine rolled his eyes.

"So never? You heard her. Marriage is for chumps," he reminded, making Cerberus wrinkle his nose.

"Gods, can you imagine Holly getting married," Theo said with a smirk, "She'd just have an open bar at the ceremony, that's it."

"Sounds like a good time to me," Adonis snorted.

"Ceremony?" I asked dryly.

"I told you earlier," River said, pausing to frown, "A wedding ceremony. You mentioned something about a trial--"

"We do ceremonies here," Theo said abruptly, making River look at him curiously and Theo stared at him intently before looking at me, "Wanna see 'em?" I frowned, but didn't say anything as Blaine was already getting out his phone. Blaine got to his photos first and came forward, turning his phone around so he could show me.

"This is one of my favorite photos from my wedding with Cerberus," Blaine answered, "It wasn't a big thing, just a small family event, but it was really nice. Even with Hades brooding in the fucking corner the whole time."

"That was a long time ago," Cerberus assured, "They're doing way better now." Blaine scoffed, but didn't argue as he showed me the photos of his wedding and I stared because I couldn't understand what I was looking at.

It looked like some kind of fancy show. Blaine was wearing some kind of long black and blue tartan skirt with a sort of cape that came up around his shoulder and was pinned to his fancy jacket with gold buttons, his hair swept up in an intricate braided ponytail and tons of feathers and gold tinsel tied in. Beside him, Cerberus was dressed in a fancy military uniform with all kinds of badges and buttons and ribbons that matched the ones in his hair. They were standing in front of some kind of foliage decorated altar with their hands squeezed together tight and this... dreamy far away looks on their faces.

"What are you wearing?" I asked Blaine, who looked surprised at the question before he smiled.

"It's a Scottish kilt. They're a bit new, at least to me anyway. Each tartan represents a specific clan."

"What clan are you wearing?"

"I actually designed my kilt to carry the colors of Hades," Blaine replied, getting a warm loving smile from Cerberus, "I left my clan behind when I left Scotland. There was no point honoring those who did not honor me, but I still wanted to hold onto my heritage, so I combined my new family colors with the style of my old family."

"Why?" I asked. Blaine shrugged, looking down at the photo with a faint smile.

"Whilst Hades and I buttheads regularly, that doesn't change the fact that he is, in fact, family, and has done more for me, and my family, than anyone else in the world. He loves my family and I love him for that," he replied, turning off his phone and tucking it into his pocket. Cerberus sighed, leaning over to kiss Blaine on top of his head.

"Gods above do I fucking adore you," he said, rubbing his cheek on Blaine's hair. Blaine laughed, reaching up to cup his face.

"Ditto, baby," he replied. I frowned.

"I don't understand," I said after a moment, making them look at me, "What about the trial?"

"What trial?" Blaine asked.

"The trial," I repeated, "Where you fight to determine whether or not you're going to get married in the first place." Theo averted his eyes and Blaine frowned at him, then looked at me.

"Who's doing the fighting?"

"The partners in question."

"So... You expect me to fight Cerberus to marry him?"

"I mean, yeah," I said, then paused as I scanned Blaine from head to toe, then shrugged, "Then again, you probably lost instantly. You're only half his size. The fact that you had his kids is also kind of fucking mind-blowing. How much do you weigh anyway?"

"More than you," Blaine deadpanned, making me twitch, "And for the record, there's no fighting or battle or whatever. I mean, we definitely fought for what we have today, but... No. There was no formal battle or anything. What kind of shit is Hera feeding you?"

"It sounds quite barbaric," River agreed grimly, "Is that what you expect of me?" I scoffed.

"Hell no, because we're not getting married," I retorted, making everyone kind of glance at each other, "Hades already said no." River didn't say anything to that, just shrugged and looked away.

"Since when does anyone do what Hades says?" Blaine asked dryly, folding his arms over his chest.

"I don't wanna get married anyway," I responded, "I don't have the strength for a trial and I don't have fucking time for it, or any of this shit. I'm going back inside. You guys can do your weird gross kissing thing out here." I headed back toward the house, ignoring them and River, who said a fancy farewell to everyone before he hurried to follow me to the house.

"You're not serious about this trial are you," River asked me, "I don't intend to hurt you or injure you in any way. Quite the opposite, in fact." I stopped and turned to look at him.

"The trial is how we determine if we're suited for each other," I replied dryly, "I'd take you on in a marriage trial any day of the week, asshole, but I don't have time for this shit. I don't have time for any of your shit. I have to get better and get stronger."

"What? Why--"

"Because. That's how I survive," I said, making River frown, "And my survival is far more important than some stupid ceremony where you all dress up and make out. So take your marriage proposal and shove it. I'm not getting married. I'm gearing up for war."