Chapter Thirteen

I woke up feeling like absolute fucking shit.

My vision was on the blurry side and it took lots of blinking to clear that shit up. My throat was sore, like I'd been screaming for years and my head throbbed like there was a dinosaur rampaging in there.

I was definitely sick. It wasn't the stab wound or even any of the other injuries I might have. It was a straight up fucking cold, or the flu, or something.

Of course, I'd gotten sick in the past, once or twice. After the first time, though, I'd learned my lesson about telling guardians how you felt. Even worse, with a mad scientist like Hades around, I wasn't about to go advertising a weakness to these people.

It was just insanely frustrating trying to find some alone time.

Ever since the stabbing incident, someone was in my room at all times. If it wasn't Lucy or Hades, it was Ryk or River or one of the Hadiferian brats. It was taking every ounce of energy I had to keep playing along, to act completely natural. The last thing I needed was for Hades to stuff me in a test tube and do experiments on me or stuff drugs down my throat.

"You look a bit pale," River commented suddenly, making me blink and look up to see him coming over to the sofa with a mug of tea. He had offered me some earlier, but I'd never had tea before I came to this place and so far, I was not a huge fan. It was too bitter, even with honey in it.

"I'm fine," I said dryly, watching the cat sprint across the TV screen after his mousey adversary.

"You've been off since the attack," River pointed out, making me roll my eyes as he took a seat on the opposite end of the sofa, "Are you still hurting somewhere? Have you been eating enough? Sleeping enough?"

"Gods, you sound like Ryk," I groaned, raking a hand through my hair and grabbing a pillow to hit River in the arm with. He rolled his eyes and took the pillow away.

"Of course I do. I'm concerned," he said, making me scoff, "It's perfectly normal to be concerned about another person, especially if that person is an eligible suitor." I tried not to roll my eyes so hard they disappeared into my head.

Perfectly normal. Maybe for them. It didn't make sense to me. There was no reason for him to be concerned, even if I was an eligible suitor, as he put it. It wasn't him that was hurt. It wasn't him that was threatened. Eligible suitor or not, he had no idea who I was. For all he knew, I could secretly be drinking the blood of everyone in this household until they all die. So why the fuck was he so nice to me?

When I had asked Lucy, he'd said it was totally normal to be nice to other people, especially if that person in particular liked you romantically and I tried not to snort so hard I choked.

Those were all interesting new words I'd learned. Nice. Like. Romance. The people around here talked about that shit all the time, and they partook of it too. I wasn't fucking dumb or deaf. I could hear people in the night when I walked by their rooms. I'd almost caught Cain and Abel in the kitchen once, but Cain threw a pan at my head and apparently that ruined the mood for Abel. Ruined my mood too.

Thank fuck Cain and Abel were outta this place for a few days, though. It sounded like the children of Lucy and Hades cycled in and out of the house all the time. Cerberus and Theo had also taken off. Now it was just Hades, Lucy, and I with the guests. Ryk showed up once and a while, but he was clearly still pissy about his fight with Hades, so he avoided the big god like the plague.

But anyway, it seemed dumb for River to be nice to me because he liked me. He was always complaining about my language, my mouth, my fashion sense, my manners. That was normal to me, but how the fuck was that nice? It just didn't make any sense.

"What have you eaten today? Aside from the cereal at breakfast," River added, making me look down to avoid bursting out laughing as I remembered the incident this morning.

Unfortunately for Hades, Cypress and River had found out where we'd been eating and hanging out, so they came in every so often to investigate what the royal family did in its off hours. Not that any of it was interesting anyway. River had joined us for breakfast, us being myself, Hades, and Lucy, and I had turned my nose up at literally everything those two had tried to shove at me. It was borderline war between Hades and I until River dug around in the cupboards, found a box of some kind of cereal with little chocolate balls and marshmallows in it.

I'd never had anything so fucking amazing. It was like crack in a box. I'd eaten two bowls before my stomach started to protest. At that point, Hades didn't give a shit as long as I ate. Of course, he spent the rest of breakfast giving River dirty looks, like he was pissed River had gotten me to eat while he'd had no luck.

"I had a handful of cheese crackers around one," I said absentmindedly, then paused when I realized that I'd not only answered his question, but I'd said it in a normal tone of voice. I reached up to rub at my throat. Setting aside the slight rasp from whatever bug I'd caught this time.

"That is not a meal, and it's late in the evening," River added, rising to his feet as he set his tea aside, "Let's go grab something to eat. We can even bring it back here to watch whatever monstrosity you've been watching for the past three hours." I barked a laugh as I rose to my feet, using the sofa arm for balance as my vision tilted a little. I hesitated a moment and River frowned.

"It's a good show," I said, pausing another moment to take a breath, then shrugged, "Fine, whatever." River stumbled and I looked at him and he stared at me.

"Sorry, I'm just honestly shocked. You didn't put up a fight this time."

"Key words there are this and time. I assure you I'm building up for later."

"Oh goodie."

I shook my head and River followed me out of the lounge room as we headed over to the kitchen. I was surprised to see Ryk in there already, pushing rice around in a microwave meal. When we came in, Ryk glanced up, looked sour, then looked back down. I smirked as I walked over to yank out the chair from across him while River went to the fridge to start poking around for food.

"What's the matter? You still salty I snitched?" I asked. Ryk glared at me.

"Look, asshole, I made a living on being a snitch," I pointed out, "You don't have anyone, but yourself to blame."

"I cannot believe I'm saying this for once, but he's right," River said, then paused to look down at his hands, turning them over a few times before looking up, "Sorry, I never thought I'd say that. Is time even real anymore? Where are we?"

"Fuck you," I laughed and Ryk rolled his eyes.

"You know nothing about it," Ryk said tartly, "It's none of your business."

"So who's the dude you're banging?" I asked. River made a noise at the counter, clearly disapproving of the conversation, but not having the balls to say anything. Ryk glanced at him, then glared at me.

"As I've said, it's none of your business."

"Sure it is. If your dude has friends going around stabbing people."

"It wasn't Aric," Ryk snapped, making me raise an eyebrow and Ryk stiffened, "It wasn't. Obviously it was someone who hates Cypress. Aric doesn't even know you're here."

"Wow, you don't talk about me with your boy toy? I'm kind of hurt, Ryky. I thought I was your favorite nephew," I mused. Ryk curled his lip at that as he rose to his feet with his unfinished microwave meal that he binned so fast, I'm pretty sure he threw it across the room.

"First of all," Ryk started heatedly, "Aric is none of your business, and vice versa. Second, I'll have you know my favorite nephew is probably Charon or Zelios. They're the only two who don't go out of their way to annoy the shit out of the rest of us."

"Surely Lord Alaric isn't that bad?" River asked. Ryk stared at him.

"You've never seen Alaric drunk on New Years."

"Beg pardon?"

I smirked, looking away as Ryk gave River some very good advice to stay away from the Hades household on New Years or April Fool's Day. Of course, I had no clue what either of those holidays were, but they sounded fucking wild.

Suddenly I turned my head away from Ryk and River to look out the hallway and a strange feeling crept up my spine and into my head. I blinked a few times, my vision blurring. I reached up to rub at my eyes, blinked, then stared at the hallway. I could make out a shadow moving along, back and forth, like someone was pacing outside. Frowning, I slid from my seat and went to the entryway, peering out into the hallway, but I couldn't see anyone there.

That was fucking weird.

"Is your place fucking haunted?" I asked, turning around to look at River and Ryk, who frowned.

"Haunted?" River asked for clarification.

"While we do live in the Underworld," Ryk began, "The palace itself is specifically protected against ghosts, so no, the place isn't haunted. But I can't say the same for the woods outside." I scowled at him, then looked back in the hallway, but there was no shadow this time. I studied it for a moment, thoroughly creeped out, before I returned to my seat. I barely paid attention to what River and Ryk were talking about, something about the abundance of ghosts in the Underworld, from their appropriate resting places to the assholes who just wander around, trying to start shit.

But that was fucking weird. I could've sworn I saw someone out there.

"Okay," River said at last, once Ryk had departed, leaving us alone, "I'm going to attempt to make this." I looked up to see him holding a blue box that rattled. I frowned.

"The fuck is that?" I asked, getting up and coming over to watch him study the instructions.

"It's macaroni and cheese," River replied, making me raise an eyebrow, "What? Surely this is to your liking."

"I may like cereal, but I'm not a big mac and cheese kinda guy. I don't like the way noodles feel in my mouth," I added, smacking my lips together and River stared at me, "What? They taste like slimy little worms. It's gross. Let's make chicken and waffles."

"Chicken and what?" River asked. I scowled.

"It's good."

"You know how to make it?"

"Sure. Whatshisname Blaine showed me how to make it," I said, making River's eyebrows go up, "We just need a couple of things." I started to dig through the kitchen as I remembered everything Blaine had shown me goes into making chicken and waffles, right down to the paper bag that he loaded up with flour and spices and seasonings. I stood at the counter, mixing up the seasonings in a bowl before pouring them in the paper bag along with the flour, which decided it was going to fly up into the fucking air.

"Fuck," I muttered, coughing and a cloud of white exploded in front of me.

"You're messy," River commented, covering his mouth and nose, not that it did anything. A second later, he sneezed in the opposite direction. I barked out a laugh at the sound of his sneeze.

"What the fuck was that?" I laughed. River scowled.

"It was a sneeze."

"It sounded like a fucking chipmunk! What the fuck kinda sound was that?"

"I was trying to withhold it so as not to disturb anyone."

"That's stupid. Just sneeze that way." I pointed past him, then reached up to wipe at my forehead before I got back to mixing everything up all over the chicken and moving onto the frying part. Blaine had told me to be real careful with that part, because if the oil got too hot, it'd burn the breading and leave the chicken undercooked, which was apparently a huge no-no.

"We may be immortal, but that does not mean we don't get sick," Blaine had warned me, "Don't eat raw chicken or poultry."

Of course, if the oil was too cold, then the chicken and breading would soak up all the oil and it would just taste like oil and grease.

I managed to dig up the wooden spoon Blaine had used last time and touched the surface of the oil with it, watching some bubbles come up.

"What was that?" River asked me.

"Something Blaine told me to do to check if the oil is hot enough," I replied, making him nod slowly.

"You remembered all this from what Blaine taught you once?" River asked. I shrugged.

"I actually have a pretty decent memory when I'm not fucking traumatized to hell," I said, moving around the kitchen as I tried to mimic everything Blaine had done, right down to how he'd plated it all before I set the plates out on the table and River just stared at it, then up at me, then back at the food. I watched him get out his phone and take a picture, making me scowl.

"What was that for?" I asked. River typed some things into his phone, then came over to show me.

On the screen was a picture of what I'd done, but holy fuck, it was all fancy with shadows and lighting and everything so it looked like something that would be served by a god of food.

"What's it say underneath?" I asked. River raised an eyebrow.

"It says Chicken and Waffles by a special chef."

"Why is there a heart afterwards?"

"Because," River said, shutting off his phone and walking over to his place to eat. I rolled my eyes, but went to my seat and sat down.

"Oh my gods," River said after he'd bitten into the chicken and I looked up, tense as I waited to hear it was undercooked or fuckin' burnt or gods, I don't know, maybe he found a dead mouse in there somewhere.

"This is so good," River added, making me blink, "It's delicious. It's sublime. I love that breading and the fry is so perfectly balanced."

"Uh, mkay."

"Is that your first time making that?"

"By myself, yeah."

"You are very good at cooking," River said, closing his eyes pleasantly and biting into the waffle now, "I'd never thought these two things could come together so superbly. Your waffle is so neatly cooked, so fluffy on the inside." I didn't know what to say to that. Actually, now that I thought about it, when was the last time anyone ever complimented me ever? I couldn't even remember any of my guardians saying something nice to me, unless it was Guardian Rae, who'd given me a simple good luck, kid when he left me after a couple days. But even that was said with some venom.

Thankfully River didn't seem to expect anything. He just sighed and hummed in delight as he ate. I felt myself relax a little, because it was weird seeing someone eat something that I made, and to see them enjoy it was even weirder. It was just chicken and waffles. Yeah, it was good, but was it really that good? Sure, it tasted good, but...

I shook my head.

Whatever.

River was weird.

We finished up just as Lucy was coming into the room, sniffing around and seeing our empty plates.

"Oh," he said, looking surprised, "I thought I smelled fried chicken. That smells wonderful, River."

"Oh, I didn't make it," River assured as he put the dishes in the dishwasher, "The only kitchen appliance I can use is the dishwasher. Or perhaps the kettle. But that's about it." Lucy blinked, then looked at me and I frowned.

"Uh, there are some leftovers," I said, going over to one of the tupperware containers River put the leftovers in.

"You made it?" Lucy asked. I frowned.

"Yeah, I guess."

"It's delicious," River said, plating some out for Lucy, "Trust me. Is Hades coming down? Should I warm some up for him?" Lucy nodded.

"That would be wonderful, thank you. He's had a rough day," he added, making River nod in understanding.

"I feel like he always has a rough day," I deadpanned. Lucy smiled.

"He's a busy god," he responded, "So where did you learn how to make chicken and waffles?"

"Blaine showed me."

"Blaine? Must've been a few days ago."

"Yeah."

"You remembered everything he showed you?"

"I'm not a complete invalid," I drawled, making Lucy smile.

"That's not what I meant," he replied, "But that's good to know. I can't wait to try it. It smells amazing. I was in my office and I could smell it from there and couldn't resist any longer."

"Trust me," River assured, then took out his phone, "Let me show you the finished product, fresh." I shook my head at them and punched in the keys to the dishwasher, then frowned because when I hit the last button, there was the usual beep sound, but it kept going. I looked over at Lucy and River, who didn't seem to notice it at all.

"Hey, how do you make it stop doing that?" I asked, pushing the stop button on the dishwasher, but that seemed to only make the sound even louder.

"Make it stop doing what? Washing?" Lucy asked, coming over to look down at the dishwasher. I winced as the sound seemed to get higher in octave.

"Ugh! No, that annoying sound!" I snapped, slamming my fist down on the top of it. Lucy put his hand out to stop me.

"It's alright," he said gently, "Let's just shut it off and start it again, alright?" He pushed a button, but the beep just kept getting louder and longer. I groaned, the throbbing in my head from earlier returning with force. I put my hands over my ears, ducking my head down.

"That's so fucking annoying! Shut it off!" I said angrily, but Lucy looked confused.

"The dishwasher is off, Four, it's not making any sounds now."

"Bullshit! It's practically screaming! Make it stop!" I barked, but Lucy seemed bewildered as he looked at the dishwasher and River came over to catch my arm.

"Four, it's alright--"

"No! Why is it so loud? Stop it!" I tugged my arm away from River and went to rush out of the kitchen to get away from that horrible fucking beep. It sounded like a fucking flatline in a hospital and it was giving me the creeps. I turned around the corner to leave the kitchen and head to my room, but I smacked into what I knew was Hades, but for some reason when I blinked, I suddenly wasn't looking at Hades anymore or even the palace.

Everything was dark all of a sudden, but that horrible beep was still dragging on until it became a high pitched tone in the back of my head. The throbbing in my temples seemed to ramp up several degrees and it was accompanied by a heat so intense, it felt like it was coming from inside me. The heat spread up from the pit of my gut and into my limbs, into my head, into my cheeks.

I moaned.

Holy fuck. Fuck, it hurt so much! Why did it hurt so much? What was hurting me? Where was that noise coming from?

Abruptly, a strong pair of hands grabbed onto my wrists and I jerked my head up in surprise, except there was only darkness... and a pair of glowing gold eyes.

A scream erupted from my throat before I could stop it and I threw my hands up to shove at the monster that had grabbed me. It let go for a moment, then I watched two dark hands reach for me and I screamed again.

"No! No, don't touch me!" I slammed my hands out in front of me again and shoved at something huge and solid before I whirled around and took off running, breathing hard as sweat poured down my face.

Except I had no fucking idea where I was running to because I couldn't see through the darkness. I ran, feeling my socked feet slap the marble floor. I could hear something behind me, something that sounded almost like a monster trying to catch up to me. Of course, it didn't take long for the thing to grab me, its arms going around my torso.

"Noooo!" I threw all my weight back against the thing, but it didn't even slightly move. It actually hoisted me up in the air off my feet and I screamed again.

"No! No! No!" I thrashed around, trying to get it to let go, but it was holding me so hard, it felt like it was pinching my arm. I threw my head back and forth and kicked and screamed. I had no idea who was holding onto me, who was hiding in the darkness, who had the glowing gold eyes.

It was making some kind of noise, like it was talking or yelling even, but it was so hard to hear over the sound of my own blood rushing in my ears, my own screaming that seemed to never stop.

My heart was pounding and I felt like I was going to pass out. The fear, that unfamiliar raw unmitigated terror, rent through me like a fucking series of fireworks. Even if I did want to calm down to assess the situation, I couldn't. It was like someone had hit fast forward and everything was happening so fast and all at once.

But as quickly as all of it happened, it seemed to be ending. I suddenly felt like my bones were turning to concrete, my muscles into jelly, and I moaned, feeling my body cease its thrashing slowly, but surely. Even so, there was still panic simmering below the surface of this strange drugged calm that suddenly washed over me.

"F... Four? Four, kid, look at me." Hades. That was Hades's voice, but he sounded so far away. I blinked a few more times, trying to clear the darkness, the blurriness.

"Jesus Christ, Hades, his temperature is insane," Lucy's voice from somewhere to the right, "He's got a fever. Did he have one this morning?" The question was directed at River, who'd been at my room eight a.m sharp.

"No, but he did look a bit pale and this is the first actual meal he's eaten all day," came River's response. He sounded confused, like he had no idea what was going on, and frankly, neither did I.

"Lucy, move, we gotta get him on ice as soon as possible. His temperature alone is going to kill him. He's boiling from the inside out. I've never seen anything like this," Hades's stern voice. There was a pause and I felt Hades fumbling with me, some silence, then Lucy's whispered voice,

"I have. Fuck."

And then the darkness caved in on me, the exhaustion caved in on me.