Chapter Thirty

I was quickly learning something about bad guys.

They were not good at hiding. I mean, it seemed like that at first, but really all you had to do was look for the biggest house in the neighborhood, surrounded by a cemetery a mile wide, and with a flaming river bubbling and spitting nearby.

It took a matter of minutes to get to Abbadon's place, thanks to River teleporting us, which of course, he didn't want to do, but I was also learning River had a weakness and that weakness was me. All I had to do was look at him and ask and he melted on the spot.

This marriage was gonna work out even better than I had hoped!

"I really do not think this is a good idea," River said as he stood beside me while I scoped out the house from down the gravel path. He kept repeating the same things, so at this point, his whining was just background noise that joined the rumble and hissing of the river nearby. It was funny to me that the River Phlegethon was nothing more than a river of lava with flames shooting up into the sky every so often. I hoped there was a river full of pudding around here because this place was just earning all the points.

"Are we in Tartarus?" I asked, pausing to look around at the landscape around us. It wasn't really a hellfire or anything. It was just sparse. Just a few other houses spotted the rolling dark green hills of the underworld, glinting in the lightning that shot across the dark sky overhead. Not too many trees or bushes or foliage or anything. Most of it was just empty fields.

"Close," River muttered, glancing toward a rocky hill range that sat just a few miles within the mountainous border of Hades, "The river dumps off into Tartarus down that way."

"We should go there next."

"We absolutely should not."

"I take it Abbadon isn't big on neighbors?" I asked as I proceeded down the path that led over a dinky little cobblestone bridge that went over a moat made of lava. This cheesy motherfucker. Man, if Apollyon saw his clan now, he'd probably vomit. So far, Abbadon was turning out to be like the villain in the 80s movies Cerberus liked so much. I'm not sure if 80s referred to, like, the literal 80s CE or if it was a reference to a specific 80s. He never explained that part.

"Those are probably homes that belong to my cousins," River said, making me glance at him, "Some of the more traditional families prefer to live as close to Tartarus as they can, others have moved closer to the cities to make more money on their own."

"Wow," I said, pausing to look over at the houses, then looked at River, "So you have a big family, right? The Windstorm clan is pretty powerful. It would be weird if it was just these guys." River frowned.

"Yes, the Windstorm clan is quite large and has its fingers in just about everything in Hades, from stocks to a couple working as actors in Elysium. My father's particular side sticks to Inferi because we've gotten along with Malachi for generations, but my uncle's family resides in Styx."

"Your dad has a brother?" I asked. River stared at me.

"My father has two brothers, Branch and Ashton. He also has a sister named Heather."

"Your family has some weird fucking names."

"It's traditional to name your child after something found in nature," River said with a shrug, "I have three step brothers named Fox, Grey, and Malachite."

"Okay, well, thank fuck we're not having any kids, because I would not let you name them something like fuckin' Gravel or-or Rock," I muttered. River laughed out loud at that and I scowled, turning to look at him and he shook his head with a polite chuckle now as he straightened his tie.

"Sorry, the thought of you being a parent is quite humorous," he said, making me snort.

"Oh, don't worry, I know. Nah," I added as we approached the ridiculously huge ornate iron gates that prevented us from just walking into Abbadon's home, "We don't need kids, but I'd like a raccoon now."

"Absolutely not," River muttered, but fell silent as a dude came out from a little room off to the side behind the gate and approached. The guy was huge, like, muscular and hairy with a beard hanging down in front of his black stitch warsuit.

"Well now," the guy greeted with a boisterous accent, "If it ain't lil' River. Last time I saw you, you were 'bout ye' big." He gestured to his knee. River cleared his throat.

"Fox, I didn't know you were working on Abbadon's staff," he said, making me frown and look at the big guy.

"You're Fox? His stepbrother?" I asked. Fox looked at me, blinked a couple times, then looked at River.

"Please. Do not tell me that is who I think it is," he said. River grimaced as I stepped forward to the gate and put my hand through it.

"Cool, you already know my name, nice to meet you, Fox, or should I just start calling you bro since River and I are gonna tie the knot?" I asked. Fox stared at me, stared at my hand, then looked at River, who just looked back at him.

"You're so dead," Fox said, making River avert his eyes, and Fox looked at me, "And you are going to be worse than that if you don't take the hand back, and both your asses back to Hades's palace, ASAP." River sighed and looked at me and I snorted, taking my hand back to hold onto the iron gate. I could feel magic pulsing through it, so it wasn't going to be easy to bust through, and Fox was fucking massive. All he'd have to do is sit on both of us and we'd be down for the count.

"Listen, bro--"

"Don't call me that."

"Listen, dude with the stupid name," I corrected, making Fox narrow his eyes and River cover his face with his hands, "You might wanna open these gates up without any trouble, alright? Just go ahead and flip the switch or whatever to open up. I guarantee your boss is gonna wanna talk to me."

"Abbadon doesn't talk," Fox said dryly, "He growls and hisses and crawls back into his cave."

"What is he, a fuckin' dragon?"

"On his good days, yes. On his bad days? A fuckin' biblical plague."

"Wow, sounds like a lousy boss," I commented. Fox rolled his eyes and leaned his elbows on the iron bars.

"Don't fucking get me started. I'm only here because my mom wanted me to stay within the clan, which means no outside work, so here I am, wiping Abbadon's ass whenever he throws a goddamn temper tantrum cuz his mother babied the shit out of him," he ranted suddenly, making me raise an eyebrow, "Yeah. May will do anything for that asshole, even if it means supporting his whole marriage to you thing, which is total bullshit, by the way. He can't procreate with you and the whole point is to get kids for this whole fuckin' clan thing, which by the way-- what, River, didn't dad tell you all this shit? Why do you wanna marry him?" He gestured to me. River frowned.

"He's probably got a fuckton of baggage," Fox added, making me look at River, who was frowning further, "I mean, look at him, he's fuckin' what? Five foot four? He's pretty, sure, but that isn't gonna do you any favors. I know dad wants you to step up and take the clan over since Abbadon technically isn't the clan head, but he's acting as such until dad comes up for air, but anyway, why--"

"Fox," River said with an eerie calm I was starting to like, "Could you just do me one favor? No, perhaps two... Shut the fuck up and open the gates." I whistled and looked at Fox, who seemed startled by the behavior. He looked River up and down slowly, then looked at me.

"You heard him," I said, giving the gates a kick, "Pop 'em up so we can greet the rest of the family with the good news." Fox grimaced and looked back at River.

"If you do this, Abbadon will kill you. The whole point of dad taking you away was to make sure you didn't get fuckin' killed. Now you're just basically handing him the knife and laying down at his feet. And for the record, he does not have good plans for the little guy," he said, gesturing with his head towards me. I looked up at him.

"Oi, first of all, the name is Four, asshole. Shouldn't be that hard to forget if you ever learned how to fucking count," I said, making Fox glare at me, "And second of all, open the gates so I can get in there and show your fake clan head what a real clan head is like." Fox looked back and forth between River and I, then groaned. He went back to the little side room and there was a long pause before a loud annoying beep went off and the gates began to lift open. As they slid up above us and we passed below it, I noticed that the gate had sharp pointy ends so it stayed rooted to the ground when closed.

Hm. Cool.

We came inside a small little courtyard that, unlike Hades's, which was decorated with all kinds of foliage and flowers and shit, this courtyard was a sad patch of gravel with an old broken fountain of a gargoyle, and some piles of rubble.

"He really should talk to an interior decorator," I said as Fox led us into the main house, "This place looks like it crawled out of Dark Shadows." It was some weird gothic TV show that seemed to almost always be playing on the TV whenever I came in to take over the remote. Fox looked at River, who shook his head and made a gesture for Fox not to encourage me, but fuck that noise.

"So where do you sleep, Fox? Abbadon's bed or do you get a nice little doghouse out back with the others?" I asked. River closed his eyes, like he was just waiting for Fox to surrender and fucking deck me in the back of the head. Surprisingly, Fox barked a laugh.

"Ah, fuck, River, if you marry him, he's gonna drive you insane."

"He already does."

"Then why not let Abbadon have him? He's the asshole that deserves to be tormented for centuries," Fox added under his breath. I turned to River, who blinked, then frowned.

"Because Abbadon doesn't deserve him," River said, then looked pointedly at Fox, "He's mine." Fox seemed surprised by that and looked River over a little before looking away, his expression softening to a degree.

"You know, I watched you get kicked around my whole life," he commented as we walked through the long empty corridors, "Mom never liked you either. Said you were a curse born to a harlot set upon the family. Dad was always trying to protect you. I honestly think that's what led to them getting divorced in the first place, which I'm not all that upset about. At least dad got mom to let me out of the fucking house for something that doesn't involve running her dumb errands."

"This better be going somewhere," I said, making Fox glance at me as I watched a couple of huge doors come into view at the end of the hall, "Because if it doesn't, I'm gonna crush your nuts for talking shit about my mother-in-law. Dead or not, Magdelena deserves your fucking respect." I stopped walking to look Fox dead in the eyes, and he looked shocked. He looked at River, who also seemed surprised by my defense.

"Let's get something straight," I said, making Fox frown, "I'm not here to fuck your shit up. I'm not here to wipe out your clan or anything. In fact, I'm here to scrape you motherfuckers off the ground and get you back to where you belong. On the battlefield, facing one crazy psycho fucked up bitch. So before I go in there and kill Abbadon for being a shit, I gotta know. You on my hitlist too or should I add your name to the ranks?" Fox blinked, then looked at River again, who met his gaze without flinching.

"You heard him," River said, folding his arms over his chest, waiting for a response. I looked back at Fox, who glanced between us, like he wasn't sure what to say for a moment, and then his eyes landed on River again.

"I watched you get your ass kicked over and over again," Fox said, making River frown slowly, "Don't care if our parents are different. We're still blood, and it's about time someone reminded the rest of the clan that anyway." River relaxed and I raised an eyebrow.

"Doesn't sound like a pledge of allegiance, but I'll take it," I said, making Fox scowl and River smirk, "So can I count on you for the following events?" Fox looked at me, then cocked his head.

"Following events?" He asked.

"Don't ask, it's better to be unpleasantly surprised," River assured.

"Uh, okay," Fox said slowly.

"Great," I said, putting my hands together before I turned to the doors, slapping my hands on them, "Let's get this party started."

"Oh, wait, Abbadon's in a meeting with--"

"Knock, knock, motherfuckers!"

"Or not."

Fox and River winced as I shoved the doors open right into a huge throne room. It was about as gaudy as Hades's place, but where the palace sparkled and gleamed and loomed, this throne room was sparse of furniture and decorations, unless you counted the skeletons that hung along one wall and the dragon skulls that made up the columns that rose high up over our heads into the ceiling. The throne itself was high up on a raised dais and made of sleek black marble with intricately carved decorations of... more skulls, because the columns and bodies weren't enough apparently. A roaring hearth sat against the other wall and standing close, as if to huddle for warmth, was a huge group of creatures, all of whom had been looking at their goblets of wine, only to look up in alarm when the doors opened.

And, last and certainly least, was Abbadon himself.

I mean, he didn't say his name, but he might as well have.

While everyone else in the room was dressed warmly, elegantly, like a bunch of snotty nosed aristos with their noses in the air, Abbadon looked a bit more warrior-like. He was buff as fuck with thick veins under his pale skin, his eyes the weirdest least threatening baby blue, a rough looking beard and mustache combo, and, of course, he was only wearing a black wifebeater and leather pants with chains on the side, and goth boots that looked suspiciously a lot like Hades.

Clearly they had the same fashion choices.

"Fox," Abbadon barked, rising up off his throne, "What the fuck is this?"

"Two guests have arrived for you, my lord," Fox said immediately, dropping into a bow at his waist, "Presenting Lord River and his Royal Highness, a Prince of Hades, uh... Four." He stood back up to look at me and I gave him a nod of approval and a thumbs up, which made him roll his eyes. I turned back to Abbadon, who scowled for a moment, before realization dawned on his face. Of course, I saw the gears in his head spin like a fuckin' dreidel. His lips twitched and curved sinisterly in the corner, flashing his obviously altered fangs that were way too fucking big. He looked like a walrus.

"Of course," Abbadon said, glancing at his guests, who all frowned and glanced over at him, "How dare you hold your heads above our great Prince. On your knees, all of you." They shuffled uncomfortably before dipping down to bow, but I didn't really care too much about them, at least not yet.

"Judging from your cock swinging house, you've got a massive ego," I said, making Abbadon glance at me, "You must be Abbadon. Hi. I'm the guy you tried to kidnap." Abbadon smiled, but there was a tightness to it now that said he did not like my tone. He was going to watch it, but he wasn't going to be able to hold back for long. If there was one thing I was good at doing, it was being a pain in the ass.

"Kidnap," Abbadon repeated, as if the word were foreign, "My Prince, surely you jest--"

"Cut the shit, Abby," I said, making Abbadon stiffen at the nickname, "You can sweet talk your relatives and maybe you can sweet talk the other lords and ladies, hell, sounds like you even chat up Hades once in a while, but let me just remind you that I am nothing like Hades, or his brood. I'm the one Prince you really, really should not have pissed off." Abbadon's mouth twitched, but he kept one corner curved, like he was trying really hard to relax and be calm.

"I have no idea what you're talking about," Abbadon said, moving away from his throne to step off the dais, his boots thumping and echoing in the whole room as he moved, "I've resided in my home for months now as I attempt to keep my clan afloat. I hardly have time for kidnapping ploys--"

"You're absolutely right," I said, coming forward as well, even though River tried to grab me and pull me back, but I shrugged him off and approached the middle of the room where Abbadon was coming to meet me halfway, "You yourself don't have time for kidnapping, that's why you sent your dumb cousin to do it, so you know. Arcaia is dead, by the way." Abbadon started to open his mouth, but a horrified scream rose up from the crowd and I turned to see a female coming forward from the group, her hands shaking.

"Y-You lie," she managed, "My Arcaia would never have done something so foolish--"

"Oh no, you got that right," I assured, making her blink in confusion and I gestured with a thumb to Abbadon, who tensed, "Abbadon made him go and Hades killed him. Did Hades not send you guys the memo or anything?" Arcaia's mom, I'm assuming, didn't seem to hear the rest of what I said because now she was wailing and another female came hurrying over to hug her and pull her away from me. I turned back to Abbadon, who narrowed his eyes on me.

"Hm," I mused, "So Hades didn't say anything about how your plan went then? Were you just sitting here, waiting for Arcaia to show up with me over his shoulder? What were you gonna do, Abbadon? Cuz whatever it was really pissed Hades off, and I mean, really pissed him off." Abbadon glanced at the other family members, who were now murmuring and growling under their breaths as they turned their glares to Abbadon, who curled his lip.

"Fuck Hades," he snapped at them, making them all stiffen and the females gasp in shock, and Abbadon whipped back around to glare at me, "Oh please, are you telling me he's against political marriages? Hades fucking kidnapped Persephone and married her against her consent, and you're going to stand there and tell me he has a problem with me doing the same thing to his son?"

"Okay, first of all, I'm not his son," I deadpanned, making Abbadon frown, "Second of all, I don't care what happened a billion years ago with whoever, whatever. I'm here to inform you that I decline your proposal and also, get your ass off that throne because it rightfully belongs to Cypress's only biological son, Lord River, who also happens to be my fiancé." Gasps from the crowd and a few disgruntled sneers in River's direction, which had me snapping my head around to glare at them.

"Oh, and if the fish market over there could stop gaping and sneering at my husband, that'd be fucking great, because once he's on that throne, nothing is stopping me from ripping your heads off at even the slightest disrespect, got it? Or do you wanna join your buddies over there?" I pointed at the wall of skeletons and the crowd grumbled. I turned back to Abbadon, who glared down at me, then blinked and looked up at River as if just now recognizing him. He stared at him for a moment before he burst out into laughter, which was eventually joined by several members of the crowd.

"River? On the throne of the Windstorm clan," Abbadon laughed again, reaching up to cover his face with a clawed hand before he lowered it and smirked at me, "Please, kid, that pathetic whoreson couldn't rule a clan if the clan consisted only of him. He has the spine of an octopus and the brains of a gnat. Rule the clan? Marry a prince? Hardly." More laughter bubbled from the crowd now and I glanced back at River, who seemed to be completely ignoring them and staring at me intently, like he was waiting for some kind of sign from me. I smiled at him slowly and he blinked, confused for a moment before his eyes widened and he nodded. He took a step back and he reached out to pull Fox backwards with him. Fox gave him a confused stare, but River shook his head.

I turned back to Abbadon, who was still chuckling.

"Yo, Abby, I gotta question for you," I said, making Abbadon roll his eyes at the nickname, "You named yourself after your ancestor, right? Good ol' Apollyon?" Abbadon blinked, chuckling a little before clearing his throat.

"We speak our Creator's name with great reverence," he responded, earning some nods from the crowd, and I smiled some more.

"Yeah, you might wanna start doing that with River from now on," I said. Abbadon snorted.

"Fuck off, mongrel. I would sooner bite my own tongue off and die than let River sit on my--" I felt the claws rip through the skin on my fingers, heard the blood spatter on the cobblestone floor, and swung my arm up and around, slicing right through Abbadon's left cheek and he shouted, stumbling back in shock as he grabbed at the flesh peeling off the side of his face.

The searing heat inside me was back, but instead of fighting it, this time I embraced it. I laughed as the heat rushed through my veins, like a floodgate for the River Phlegethon. I felt the sharp crack in my back, had to take a step forward to brace myself, and a second later, my back tore open with excruciating pain, but it was nothing compared to the shiver of delight as I watched the blood drain from Abbadon's face and the faces of River's family members, all of whom stumbled back against the far wall, a couple hiding behind the dragon skull columns.

"Whooo," I shouted, looking up as my wings spread out to the sides, blood spilling off the black webbing and onto the floor as they stretched high up in the air, and I swung around to face Abbadon, who gaped, "Man, it feels good to stretch these babies out. Do you have any idea the back problems that come with having wings? Oh, wait, you don't, because you're nothing more than a pathetic little brat playing dress up." I approached Abbadon, who stumbled back and hit the dais where the throne sat. He stared in shock.

"N-No, that's not possible-- Apollyon's blood doesn't flow through your veins, no, the Windstorm clan is the only--"

"Because I ain't Apollyon's kid, motherfucker" I said, standing over Abbadon now as he stared up at me like he was seeing a ghost, "Let me introduce myself again, you know, in case none of you fuckers heard me." I drew my fist back and planted it right in Abbadon's face, snapping his head back. He gasped and quickly went to recover, but I grabbed a handful of his hair and swung myself around on top of him. I held Abbadon on the ground, smashing my booted foot down on his spine, making him shout in pain. I twisted Abbadon's hair in my fist, dragging his head backwards as he screamed, reaching back to throw me off, but my wings spread out wide and the little cute dagger claws I thought would be useless proved me wrong by scooping up his arms and drawing them back.

I grinned as I slowly pried Abbadon's arms off the sides of his torso and his head from his neck. I listened to the sound of flesh ripping, Abbadon's scream becoming gurgled and choked as blood splattered across the floor, where it was already pooling under Abbadon's body. I ripped his limbs clean from his corpse and turned to the crowd, who all shouted or ducked as I threw the body parts at them. Abbadon's head went sailing over some people, who paused to watch in dismay, as it went flying right into the hearth where the flames swallowed him up hungrily.

I turned to look at the Windstorm clan, who all slowly turned to face me with open mouths of shock.

"Fox, do me a favor," I said. Fox choked and River hit him in the back, which made him stumble forward before he managed to come over and faced the family.

"Introducing his Royal Highness, Prince Four of Hades," he announced, then dropped into a bow, but I waved that shit off and Fox just nodded and looked back at River helplessly as River came over.

"He killed Abbadon," someone whispered from the crowd.

"Holy fuck."

"That literally took seconds."

"Abbadon underestimated him," River said, making them all turn to stare at him as he came to stand by my side to face them, and I was honestly kind of surprised he didn't stop to wipe his bloody shoes on the rug nearby, "Because Abbadon was a fool, a coward, and a weakling. He bore no worthiness to sit upon the throne Lord Apollyon left behind."

"And you're better," one of the females exclaimed, "You ran with your tail between your legs when the position was open! You and Cypress!"

"Isla is right," another male came forward to stand at her side, "Plus, you claim River is of birthright? Absolutely not! His mother was a foreign whore--"

"Yo, Bracken, do the world a favor," Fox said, looking at the disgruntled demon, "Shut your fuckin' mouth before your blood becomes the next red carpet." Bracken opened his mouth, then paused when he looked on the floor where parts of Abbadon's corpse remained. He cleared his throat and jerked his head up angrily, adjusting his cravat.

"I will not be threatened by a mere child--"

"Bracken," another female grabbed him and jerked him behind her and faced me, "My dearest Prince, my deepest and sincerest apologies for the disrespect my foolish son has shown you. Please do him the honor of accepting that apology." I raised an eyebrow, glancing back at Bracken, who hissed at his mother.

"Mother, do not let him bully us into accepting his false prophecies," he started, but his mother whipped on him so fast and slapped him so hard that even River and I winced and Bracken yelped in surprise, taking a huge step away from his mother, who glared at him.

"You will beg for forgiveness from our prince," she snarled, then came forward and grabbed Bracken by the lapels of his fancy tailed jacket and pushed him down on the floor on his knees, "Do you want to face the same fate as your worthless cousin?" She turned back to River and I and it took everything I had not to back away from her, because holy shit, she may have crows feet and silvery gray hair, but that female was ready to fuckin' throw hands.

"Once again, my prince, we apologize for our ignorance and our disrespect," she said, bowing her head. I cleared my throat.

"Uh, thanks, uhm..."

"Misty Sperion," she introduced with another respectful bow, "I am the only female child of Paimon, revered son of the Great Apollyon and Madame Lilith. I am one of three remaining elders." I frowned as she rose once more to her feet. She said elder like she was old, and yeah she had some wrinkles, but she looked damn old for having been alive since, oh I dunno, the beginning of fucking time or something?

"Elder? You're still pretty hot," I admitted. Misty flushed and Bracken did too, but he wasn't complimented in the least.

"How dare you talk to my mother--"

"At least someone talks to me that way," Misty snapped at Bracken, who grumbled as he went back to cradling his cheek and Misty turned back to me, "My prince, is River Windstorm truly who you have chosen to sit upon the Windstorm throne?" River glanced at me and I looked at him.

"My... mother is technically illegitimate," River started, but I shook my head and looked back at Misty, who frowned.

"River spent his entire fucking life pretending for you fuckers," I said, making Misty sideeye River, who was just staring at me, "Y'all fuckin' made him badmouth his own mother. Yeah, so she wasn't one of you guys, who gives a shit? Have you guys looked at yourselves lately?" Misty frowned, glancing around her as well as several others in the crowd.

"Where the fuck are the warriors of Apollyon and Lilith," I demanded, making them shift uncomfortably, "All I see are a bunch of pansy ass motherfuckers who won't lift a finger to defend their realm, but they'll lift a finger and more against their own kind. I may not know a lot, but if there's one thing I know, it's that the Windstorm clan was revered for their strength, their brains, their beauty. They would fight anyone who tried to pay them off or destroy them. You guys didn't have much to start with, but you had Tartarus and you had each other. But someone got fucking greedy and when Hades flashed his cash, you guys dropped down and rolled over like a bunch of fuckin' frou-frou dogs."

"Where are the great Windstorm warriors I heard about in the movies," I demanded, making them share frowns, "Hell, I just took out the head of your clan by curb stomping him and ripping his head off in, literally, what? Three seconds?"

"Five, but who's counting?" Fox said with a shrug, making River glare at him and I rolled my eyes.

"Anyway, I'm offering you something better than a fucking paycheck," I said, making Misty raise an eyebrow.

"And what, praytell, my young prince, is that?" She asked. I looked at her.

"Family and dignity and, most importantly, power," I said, making her blink, "My marriage to River will tie your clan to the Hadiferian clan. Not only can I guarantee you the rights to Tartarus once more, but I can guarantee you that power and the dignity of having your home returned to you. And once we tie the knot, no one will ever question the Windstorm clan again. We would be uniting two of the most powerful clans in Hades. Instead of rolling in fuckin' cheap decorations and shitty clothing and living in big ugly houses, maybe it's time you fuckers dusted yourselves off and got back to where you belong."

"And that would be?" Misty asked.

"The battlefield," I said, making her frown.

"I was unaware a war was coming," she said. I met her eyes.

"It's already here," I said, making her eyes widen and the crowd around her murmured nervously, "A new threat to the universe has been exposed and they call her the Mother, but you may know her as Hera." Gasps and whispers ran through the crowd and Misty stared at me.

"Hera would never launch a war against Hades," she said, earning nods from the others.

"Hades would never let her attack us," someone else said, coming forward to reveal it was another female, but this one wasn't quite as old as Misty, but pretty up there with her silvery hair, but where as Misty's was whipped into a tight chignon, this female wore hers braided down her back to her thighs.

"And who are you?" I asked. She stuck her nose in the air.

"I am Taryn Azazel, the only surviving grandchild of Egin, the eldest son of the Great Apollyon and Madame Lilith," she responded tersely. I raised an eyebrow.

"You think Hades can stop Hera?" I asked.

"I don't think he needs to," Taryn scoffed, folding her arms over her chest and a few other males surrounding her nodded in agreement, "Hades will simply tell her to leave and she will go. Hera would never stand against Hades. Surely the goddess has some modicum of a brain left after spending all those years with Zeus. Enough to know better than to attack Hades." I smirked.

"Oh yeah," I said, scanning all of them, "So, you'd put all your bread in that basket then, huh? If Hades shoos her away, she'll go peacefully and she won't touch any of you?" Taryn frowned, but said nothing now. I looked at River, who looked wary, but he nodded to me, as if to tell me it was time they knew the truth. I scanned the faces. There were mostly young folk among them, young meaning anyone who wasn't a direct relative of the Apollyon family. Misty and Taryn looked to be the oldest, but there were two other older folk there. Another female, who was quietly seated by the hearth with her hands folded in her lap, her eyes closed as if she were praying. The elder male was standing beside her with his hand on her shoulder. Neither of them spoke, but I knew they were listening.

"Hera is a lot fucking scarier than you think," I said, and I felt my wings flutter as if to agree and the crowd seemed startled for a moment before settling as my wings folded up behind me and slowly began to disappear back into my back, "You think I can do this because I'm related to Apollyon? I can do this because Hera spliced Hades's and Lucifer's DNA and created mine."

"You're an artificial," Misty said. I looked at her.

"I am, and there are many others," I said, making her frown, "Hera has mastered the art of creating artificials. She got a few duds in the mix, but I assure you that if they do the same thing with the new ones that they did with me, you're going to have to deal with a lot more than just an angry goddess."

"But that's impossible," Bracken snapped, coming forward, "Hades is the only one with the ability to create artificials. There's no way Hera has that kind of power. She's the youngest of the Olympus and the least threatening--"

"Least threatening," I repeated, then scanned the crowd, "I spent my entire life in a facility where I was monitored daily. I was force fed drugs and told that I had to protect the Mother with my life. I killed people to keep her and her plans safe. I killed children to protect her." A few gasps and Misty's eyes widened and I met them.

"The Mother isn't creating artificials. She's creating monsters and she does not care who gets in her way. She is going to plow through you fuckers like tissue paper and when she gets her hands on Hades, it'll be the beginning to a very, very bad era for the universe," I said, sweeping my gaze across the faces, "And for our future generations. Your children will be born into Hera's world, not ours, and if they do not accept her order, she will kill them and she will kill them ruthlessly, slowly, while you are forced to watch. Hera is no longer the goddess of family and marriage, guys. Hera's about to become the new bad guy in town and it's about time we stopped sucking our thumbs and waiting around for Hades to do something."

"He will," a voice spoke up from beside Taryn, and I looked at the male, who straightened at Taryn's side and placed a hand on her back as if to provide support for the argument physically, "Hades has not failed us yet."

"Yeah, the Titan thing never happened," I deadpanned. Everyone was silent now.

"It wasn't his fault," someone mumbled.

"No," I said, "It's not his fault there are bad guys out there, and don't get me wrong. Hades ain't the bad guy here either, but he's not going to be able to kill Hera when the time comes. That's his fuckin' baby sister. He's going to do everything he can to protect her while trying to stop her, and that's fine, but when it's time to kill her, when the realization settles in that Hera is dead set on killing him, he'll need an army of the most powerful individuals the universe has to offer and I can think of nothing more powerful than the descendants of Apollyon and Lilith."

The room was silent for a moment as they seemed to absorb that information. I glanced at River, who moved closer to my side, like he was afraid someone was gonna come out of the crowd to hit me for the accusations.

Because the Windstorm clan had long been loyal to Hades. He bought their loyalty with cash. To say Hades couldn't do something was probably news to them. In their eyes, Hades was the only god left who could protect them, who could provide for them, who could ensure respect. If Hera were to take his place, I highly doubted she was going to offer them money to be on her side. She will demand it and she will expect it without argument. If someone spoke to her the way I spoke to Abbadon just now, they would be dead.

"You are the surviving members of the Apollyon and Lilith family," I said, "You are not aristocrats. You aren't diplomats. You fuckers aren't postal workers or fashion models or whatever the fuck a stockbroker is. You guys are the most badass motherfuckers to walk Hades since Erebus and Nyx, since Styx was laid to rest in the river. Your stories are still told today, but they're told as fucking fables. Fairy tales for children, for mortals, for humans, if even that. I was told the Windstorm clan power was nothing more than a legend, a myth. Hell, I know someone who took a fucking mythology class to learn about you guys. Mythology, as in, you guys don't exist. You're just made up figments of some fucker's imagination. Is that what I came here for? Did I come here to be disappointed by a bunch of cartoon characters in fancy getups? Did I come here to listen to y'all bitch about fucking outfits and whether or not someone's mother was approved by your daddy or not?"

"You guys are the Windstorm Clan," I snapped, getting frustrated the more I spoke, "You guys are power and fury and strength beyond measure. You are your own fucking species. So are you guys gonna go back to drinking fucking wine in a clawed foot tub or are you gonna throw the wigs away and grab some weapons?" I scanned the crowd gathered there. There had to be at least thirty members of River's family there, from Misty Sperion to Taryn Azazel, to the next generation of Windstorms like River and Fox and Bracken.

"If we don't fight now," I added, "There will be no more Windstorm and you will truly become nothing more than a story, a myth, that will last maybe a year or two before Hera stomps your very name into the ground and you cease to exist, even in the backs of their minds. Is that what you want? To let Apollyon and Lilith's legacy get fucked by a mad bitch drunk on power?"

"You are young," Misty said softly, "Your words are courageous and strong, but they are riddled with arrogance and mistrust. We've been around for millennia. We have encountered many a villain and Hades was always there to protect us and provide for us. He has given us no reason to question his word."

"Yeah, and that was before Hades's worst nightmare came true and that's watching his sister spiral into madness," I said, making Misty frown, "Can you look me in the eyes and tell me that Hades will be ready to kill her when the time comes? Was he ready to kill Zeus when the time came? Despite everything he fucking did to him? Despite everything Zeus set into motion, was Hades ready to kill him? No. And yeah, that worked with Zeus because Zeus got scooped up by another psychopath, but do you think someone is gonna swoop in and stop Hera? Save Hera?"

"You can't save someone who wants to be saved, and Hera doesn't even believe she needs it because she thinks her way is the right way. Don't like it? Have fun wallowing in Tartarus behind bars. I hear it's fucking wicked come December," I said, then paused and tsked, "Christ. What a fucking bummer. I got all worked up about how powerful the Windstorm clan is, but it really is a myth, isn't it? You're not warriors. You're pampered show dogs that will wag their tail for any god for the right price." I turned away from the crowd and River looked at me curiously, but I gave him a little secret smile that made him grimace. I walked over to Abbadon's body and planted my foot on his back, causing blood to gush from where his limbs and head had been removed, making a few people grumble in disgust and anger.

"Doesn't change the fact that River is your boss now," I said, glancing over my shoulder at them as they frowned and scowled, "You may not want to take up arms to save your life, but maybe River will. Problem is, River will be married to me, and I really, really like my fiancé, so I mean. I'll protect him when the time comes, but y'all ain't done shit for me. I'll make sure I let Hades know too."

"Wait!" I paused at the sound of Taryn's shout. I looked at River, who frowned curiously. I straightened, gave my hoodie a little dusting just to take my time and pretend I didn't hear her. I lifted my foot off Abbadon and held my hand out to River.

"Come on, Riv, we're going back home to get ready for the apocalypse," I said and River came forward to take my hand cautiously, clearly not entirely sure what I was doing, but going along with it anyway, "Oh, and make sure your virgins are kept safe."

"Excuse me?" Misty asked. I blinked and turned to look at her frown.

"Hm? Oh, Hera's most likely going to round up any childbearing folk you have so she can forcefully impregnate them with her army of minions," I said, making her eyes widen, "What? You didn't think her entire army was made up of artificials, did you?" I barked a bitter laugh at that.

"No. She's going to take your families and rip them up into pieces so she can form her own. She's going to rape your children and she's going to force them to bear her own. She'll use them up until they're dry, then chew 'em up and spit 'em out in the garbage. And she'll do the same to those children, and the children after that. Because in Hera's eyes, everyone will be her children and, I don't know about you, but Hera doesn't exactly have a good track record with kids, does she?" Misty's eyes flashed at that and she looked at Taryn, who grimaced before her eyes slid back to the couple at the hearth. The female was stroking her hair slowly as she gazed blankly into the fire and the male that stood beside her gave her shoulder a firm squeeze.

"We can't," Taryn managed, turning back to Misty, "Misty, we cannot. Hades has been there for us since the beginning. He even protected us during the Titan war, both of them, and during the Atlantean debacle and are we forgetting that he put his life on the line to protect the entire universe during the Shifter events?"

"If we don't fight, what is there to protect," a male spoke up from beside Bracken, who nodded in agreement, "Hades is just one god. If what the prince says is true, Hades will require the assistance of the Windstorm clan, amongst others."

"Flint is right," Bracken added, turning to face Taryn now, who frowned, "If Hera comes to Hades, and successfully defeats him, who's to say she won't set her sights on us?"

"Hades has never fallen," said a male from Taryn's side, "He has never lost. There is no way we can lose faith in him now."

"But the prince is right," someone else exclaimed, "Hades has never killed one of his siblings!"

"He killed his parents!"

"Completely different!"

"Fuck you, Olive, you slimy harlot--"

"Don't talk to my wife that way, Reed--"

"Oh please, Stone, Olive's slept with at least two butlers and Willow's handmaid--"

"That was never proven--"

"Enough," Misty shouted, her voice booming through the room and her eyes settled on me as silence followed, "We cannot make any decisions without the consent of the clan head."

"There is no clan head!"

"I refuse to accept an outsider within our ranks!"

"He's still illegitimate!"

"He's a fucking incubus, for Apollyon's sake!"

"Do not use our lord's name in vain!"

"I swear to the gods, Olive--"

"How about," I announced over the shouts, which simmered for a moment before falling silent, "We let your ancestors have a word?" Misty blinked and Taryn stiffened, glancing at Misty out the corner of her eye in panic. Misty locked those sharp eyes on me.

"Come again?"

"Apollyon and Lilith," I said, folding my arms over my chest, "Let them show you exactly who deserves to lead this clan."

"How dare you mock us," Bracken exclaimed, "I was taking your side!"

"Everyone knows Apollyon and Lilith were murdered," someone mumbled weakly.

"They were forced to flee," another voice said uncertainly. I smirked.

"Yeah? What do you think about that... Lily?" I asked, looking through the crowd that split wide open to reveal the female sitting at the hearth with her male. The only sound that followed for a moment was the sound of the fire crackling in the hearth before there was a soft feminine giggle.

"Oooh, I like him, Apolly, I told you he would be just perfect," Lilith laughed, reaching up to cover her mouth. She rose to her feet and turned to face us, the shadows flickering over her and dissipating her disguise. She lifted her chin as the lights shone across her delicate features, her blood red eyes glowing vibrantly as her long black hair slid down over her shoulders, the shadows splitting apart and revealing her shiny black armor, her long red cloak spilling out onto the floor behind her from her shoulders. A sharp cry of surprise rose from the crowd and everyone immediately backed away in shock, save for Taryn and Misty, who paled as they turned to see Lilith.

There was no surprise, though, in Taryn's and Misty's eyes. They just looked shocked to see their family right there in front of them, and, you know, not hiding in a cave somewhere.

"W-Wait," Bracken said, "N-No. No, that... I thought..."

"Aw, sorry," Lilith said with an evil smile, fingering her bottom lip teasingly with a long black fingernail, "I'm not actually your great-aunt Delilah. And, he's not your great-uncle Martin. Ladies and gentlemen and assorted creatures, might I introduce my loving and beautiful and devastating soulmate? The one, the only, the most powerful angel hybrid in the woooorld..." She made a show of giving us jazz hands before she swung her arms to the side to dramatically introduce Apollyon, who didn't turn around right away. He didn't need to.

His wings shot out of his back and people scrambled back to avoid the massive appendages as they arced up toward the ceiling, spraying blood at pretty much everyone, but especially Bracken, because the fucker was a little too close for comfort and he flinched as the blood spattered across his face, his mouth opening and closing in horror.

Apollyon's wings shook themselves off like a dog coming in out of the rain before they folded up just slightly so he had more room to turn and face the Windstorm clan. His long snow white hair was done in a beautiful set of warrior braids laced with gold chains that held all kinds of shiny pretty gems and jewels, the same of which adorned his badass armor. A beautiful tribal design shaped the image of two snakes twirling together and poking out of a skull's eye sockets in deep red across the front of his armor.

"Yo, Apollyon," I greeted, making everyone in the Windstorm clan, including River, turn to gape at me with open mouths, "How's it goin'?"