Chapter Thirty-Five

"Wow, I think this is the most embarrassing thing I've ever fucking worn. And I wore the Mother's uniform with her emblem stitched into the back."

"Don't be a drama queen."

"Don't you mean drama prince?" I asked, turning to face Hades, who was letting Niki brush the cat hair off his uniform. Hades gave me a sour glare, then looked at Niki, who was stifling a smile.

"Whose idea was it to store this downstairs? Her fur is literally on every inch of it. It's black, Niki."

"Sorry, my lord, but there was a flood in the storage room on the second floor, so we had to relocate some things to the basement," Niki informed, pausing to roll the lint brush over a patch on Hades's arm, "Speaking of which, my lord, there's a horrible smell down there lately, so we actually just brought everything right back upstairs and most of its in your closet right now."

"Great. Nothing like death stench and cat hair on my fucking military uniform," Hades griped, giving his outfit little tweaks here and there.

"Death stench?" I asked, pausing to go still so Niki could check my uniform over. Where Hades's was super badass and all black with spikes and medals and his own personal emblem on the biceps and chest. He even wore some kind of fancy ass crown thing with emeralds tied in with the silver metal.

"Hm? Oh," Hades said, pausing to push at his eyebrow, like he was trying to get the scowl off his face, to no avail, "Yeah, I forgot to clean up the creep you killed downstairs."

"I thought you said you were gonna clean it up."

"I did, but then Lucy called and I had to go check on Mal and then the leak on the second floor. I'm a busy god, kid, I don't have time to clean up your messes all the time."

"Okay, fine, not my basement anyway," I said with a smirk as I adjusted the Hades emblem on the front of my uniform, "Cuz according to my future vision thing, River and I are getting our own house and our own basement and our own shit." Hades didn't say anything to that and I paused, suddenly remembering his conversation with Lucy. I glanced out the corner of my eye and sure enough, Hades was frowning out the window, like he did not want to think about what I'd just said. I rolled my eyes and came over to punch him in the arm, which made him snap his head to glare at me.

"I bet you scared lots of babies with that face," I said without looking at him so I could check myself out in the mirror, "Besides, calm the fuck down, daddy man, River and I are looking at places on the outskirts of Inferi, you know, close to Hacian." Hades blinked, looking completely caught off guard by that. He just stared straight ahead now, like he was trying to grasp the fact that I was trying to make him feel better about my moving out eventually.

"And, of course," Niki said, making Hades and I turn to face him to see him holding a small crown, "You will need your crown as well, my prince." I looked at the silver circlet resting in Niki's palms. It wasn't huge and fancy, but it wasn't gaudy and heavy. It was a simple silver bunch of branches that seemed to be twisted together and the only jewel was some insanely blue gem that sparkled and winked in the light.

"How come I have blue?" I asked as Niki directed me to face the mirror so he could place it on my head.

"Because it's a new precious gem," Hades said, making me blink and look at him.

"A new gem? What, like, you discovered a new rock?" I asked. Hades rolled his eyes and waved Niki aside. Niki bowed low and stepped aside to the far wall to give us space. I looked up at Hades curiously as he stood over me, adjusting my crown to fit right before he looked at me.

"It's called the Source's Eye," he said sternly, still moving my crown a little before he seemed to pause, and he surprised me when he very gently ran his hands down the sides of my hair before putting them on my shoulders, "It's the same color as our eyes."

"That's fucking cool, but why give it to me," I asked, "Why not Hadrian or Ambrosius? They have our eyes too."

"Hadrian and Ambrosius have found their places in the world. And you are just beginning to look for yours. I want," Hades stopped for a moment and I stared at him expectantly before he took a deep breath, "I want you to be safe. And before you ask, no. I didn't do anything fancy with the crown or the gemstone or whatever the fuck. Nobody's watching you piss, so calm down."

"Good, because I already get crap from Niki about the toilet seats."

"They're there for a reason, my lord, lift the damn seat when you piss and drop it when you're done. We are not a dickcarrying household only, my lord, and also if I fall in one more time, I may just risk my job to assassinate you," Niki said with a beaming smile. Hades and I looked at him, then looked back at each other. I don't think either of us could resist smirking at Niki's words.

"What? Is this your way of saying you'll always be watching over me?" I asked, looking at Hades, who paused at that. He seemed to be looking at Niki for help, but Niki just smiled innocently and Hades glared at him before he cleared his throat and looked at me.

"Whatever helps you sleep at night," he answered dismissively, turning away from me. I smirked.

"Ooh, if I didn't know any better, I'd say you were getting soft on me."

"Abso-fuckin-lutely not. Get away from me, you fucking spider monkey."

"Is this about the pool thing?"

"It's always gonna be about the pool thing," Hades deadpanned, then shook his head as I laughed, "Oh, and nice ring. What, River buy that for you as an engagement present?" He was asking like he didn't give a shit, but he kept eyeing the ring on my finger anyway, which made me grin.

"Yeah, pretty fuckin' badass, right? I think it matches the crown pretty well too," I mused, reaching up to give my crown a little tilt, the fiery orange gemstone in my ring flashing, "I look like an actual prince now. I might actually start to believe that I'm your kid." Hades snorted, then made me grunt as he dropped his hand on my head, ruffling my hair and ruining all of Niki's hardwork and I could hear Niki make a noise of distress before he faced the wall, like he was done looking at us. I grinned at that, then looked up at Hades, who was looking down at me.

Weird. He wasn't scowling or snarling. If anything, I'd say the guy looked almost... tender.

"You don't need a crown or flashy shit to prove you're my kid," Hades said, making me look at him and he folded his arms over his chest, "Your fucking mouth is proof enough."

"Fucking right."

There was a knock at the door and Niki went to answer it while Hades got to work fixing what he fucked up on my head.

"Great," Hades said, "Your hair is tangled in every last fucking branch."

"That'll teach you to treat me like a kid."

"You are a kid."

"I'm twenty-three!"

"I'm over five thousand years old. You're a kid."

"Well, fuck me, I guess," I muttered as Hades finished adjusting my hair as Niki opened the door to admit Lucifer, who strode in looking pretty badass himself. Well, as badass as a dude could look decked out in heavenly white from head to toe, except I noticed something about Lucifer that was different than the rest of us.

"Where the fuck is your crown?" I asked Lucy, who pulled up short when he saw me. He trailed his from my boots all the way up my uniform until he got to the crown on my head and his eyes widened. He looked at Hades, who averted his eyes. Lucy looked back at me.

A second later, Lucy was grabbing me in his arms and hauling me up against his body in some kind of freakish bear hug. I grunted, then grimaced and looked over Lucy's shoulder at Hades, who gave me a look that dared me to fight him. I growled, but didn't say anything until Lucy set me back down on my feet and held me at arms length by the shoulders. It took me a moment to realize the archangel was actually tearing up. Like, literal waterworks here, people.

"Oh god, don't cry," I managed, making Lucy sniffle a "shut up", "We're supposed to be leaders of the realms, man, not crybabies. Pull yourself together."

"Crying is not a weakness," Lucy said, pausing to sniff one last time before he grabbed my face and squished it a little, making me grimace, "You look absolutely radiant in your uniform, with your crown, with your father." I felt warmth spreading to my cheeks as I cast Hades a sideways glance, but he also looked embarrassed by the comment and was pretending to be interested in the fibers of his uniform sleeve.

"Oh yesh," I said as Lucy held my face squished for a second longer before releasing it and I rubbed at my sore cheeks, "Jeez. Oh hey, yeah, where's your crown, bossman?" Lucy smiled as he stepped back, giving the lapels of his suit jacket a tug.

"Lucy doesn't get a crown," Hades said without looking at us as he took out his phone to frown at it, "He's technically not a god, but we're bringing it up more often at the meetings that the crown should be added to his formal wear with the other gods. He may not be a god, but he's a realm ruler and if the rest of us have to look like a bunch of sissies, so does he."

"You sayin' I look like a sissy?" I asked. Hades paused, glancing at me, then looking away.

"No comment."

"Don't make me scale your fatass again. There may not be a pool to fall into this time, but that window is lookin' real nice right about now."

"Touch me, child, and you will regret getting out of bed this morning."

"Aw, you always say such nice things, daddy."

"Do not call me that."

"How come Dania gets to call you daddy, but I don't?"

"Because you're not cute when you do it."

"Oh, do you want me to bat my lashes and snuggle up to you too," I asked, inching over to bump my hip against his and Hades stiffened and glared down at me, but I just clasped my hands under my chin, bat my lashes, and smiled.

"Love you, daddy," I said. Hades looked like someone had shoved a whole fucking steel pole up his ass the way he glared at me, then looked over my head at Niki and Lucy.

"He's grounded when we get back," he said, heading for the door.

"That's his way of saying he loves me too," I told them as I passed by, following Hades out the door. I heard Niki snickering and Lucy wishing him well before he followed after us out into the hallway and heading down to the lobby.

"So, what? We're doing the coronation thing in the throne room? I haven't seen that place yet. Is it big? Is there really a throne? Can I sit on it? What's it made of? Is it made of skeletons? Or is it made of the souls of the damned?"

"We're gonna have to look into your medications," Hades muttered, taking out his phone again to open up his unintelligible apps, "There's no off switch for you anymore."

"What was the off switch before?"

"I'm not sure. You usually just fainted on your own."

"Oh, that? I have to recharge, that's all. This is me on the regular. This is me unhinged and uncensored, baby, I'm gonna rule the universe like this."

"Don't call me baby," Hades said dryly, making me grin and look at Lucy, who just smiled at me before he looked back at Hades, "And you, don't encourage him. He's already causing me all kinds of problems."

"What'd I do now?" I asked, going to put my hands in my pockets, only to realize that they were fancy fake pockets. I scowled, pulling at the seams to try and get my hands in there. How was I supposed to fiddle if I couldn't hide it?

"Let's start with the whole Windstorm thing," Hades deadpanned, making me shrug, "While they may accept your marriage to River, sooner or later, they're going to get sick of both of you and rise up and take back the clan." I snorted.

"Oh, we'll just see about that. I'd say my whole wingy reveal put them in their place."

"Considering the entire Windstorm clan is winged, probably not."

"Wait, what? Everyone in the Windstorm clan is winged?" I asked. Hades nodded.

"But their wings are different from other species, and even yours," he said, making me look at him curiously, "It's like you said, the Windstorm clan in itself is a whole new species. They're simply referred to as Windstorm spawn, because they were never given an official name by their creators."

"Apollyon and Lilith."

"Yes."

"Where are those two anyway?"

"They'll be at the ceremony," Hades said, his eyes still glued to his phone with a frown as he seemed to be texting at hypersonic speed, "Fuck, I need to run to Mal real quick. Lucy, you got this?" Lucy nodded and Hades looked relieved before he turned back to me and I raised an eyebrow.

"You're supposed to be there too, ya know."

"Yes, and I will be," Hades said, and there was an odd note to his voice, almost like he was panicking a little, and it took me a moment to realize that it was because he was stuck between choosing Malachi or choosing me, and that made me smile slowly.

"I'm making fun of you, asshole, go check on Mal," I said, making Hades frown worriedly, "I mean. I'm fine. This ain't shit. Besides, if Mal needs you, he needs you. Go help him, then make sure he gets his ass here too, because if I don't see your faces in that crowd, I will piss on stage. If you think I'm joking, I've done it once and I will do it again--"

"Oh my god--"

"Hades," Lucy said gently, moving to get in front of Hades, who looked sweaty now, "Look at me. We'll be fine. I can introduce him to the realms--"

"Actually," I said, reaching into the front of my uniform and pulling a paper out of the lapels, making both of them frown at me, "I did a whole thing on my own, so I don't really need anyone to introduce me or anything."

"You wrote a speech?" Lucy asked, surprised. Hades looked a little pale now.

"Maybe I can just go for the first part--"

"Hey," I exclaimed, punching Hades in the stomach, not that it hurt him, but he did flinch because it snapped him out of his stupor, "Listen, I'm used to doing things on my own, so this doesn't really phase me. It'll be different, but it'll be fine. Got it? I swear I got help on the speech anyway. I had no idea how to spell half the shit in this if it wasn't for Seven and Hadrian."

"Hadrian helped?" Hades asked. That made him relax.

"Uh, yeah, hey, what you mean by--"

"Alright," Hades said, shaking his head and cutting me off with the wave of his hand, "I'm going to run to Mal's, see where he's at, then come back here. I should be back in time before you read your speech."

"I hope so, to be honest. I kinda like it."

"That's what worries me," Hades muttered, making me scowl before he finally made a pinching gesture with his hands in the air in front of himself and pulled his hands down, like he was trying to find his center, "Okay. Five minutes tops." I gave him a thumbs up and he rolled his eyes before vanishing in a plume of smoke. I watched him go and was surprised by the sudden anxiety I felt as I stared at the empty space.

It was a lot easier to face a crowd of people with a giant god standing behind you.

Now I was a little uncomfortable with the idea of reading this shit in front of people I didn't know or care about, really. I mean, the family would be there, yeah, but it wasn't the same. Hades was big and scary and nobody would fucking touch me with him standing there. Lucy had his own vibes, but they weren't as intimidating as Hades's.

"Phew," I said, turning to Lucy, who looked at me, "Now I'm kinda nervous, but don't tell Hades that. He already thinks he's hot shit." Lucy laughed softly as he turned me to face him so he could straighten my outfit and hair.

"Our little secret," he said and I nodded confidently, "And, you'll be okay. There's no need for you to be nervous."

"Yeah, I mean, it's not like I'm about to stand in front of crowds of strangers and media casting by myself," I muttered sarcastically. Lucy smiled, then looked at something over my head behind me.

"Mmm, I wouldn't say by yourself," he said slowly. I scowled and turned, going still when I saw that all of the brothers and sisters, save for Malachi, of course, were standing in the hallway. Every single one of them wore their super fancy military uniforms, all with their own patches and awards.

"Oh fuck," I commented at the intimidating sight of them.

"By yourself, he says," Cain said with a scoff and I glared at him, which he returned, "You have got to start learning that there is no such thing as by yourself when you're apart of this fucking family."

"Exactly," Theo agreed with a confident nod, "Privacy is a thing of the past, kid."

"Welcome to the Hadiferian Clan," Dania added and made jazz hands at me, which made me grin.

"There are many of us," Jaques agreed, making me look at him, "And we will always stand at your back. Through your recovery, we stood, and through this war, we will fight."

"The Hadiferian clan is crazy and marred by trauma," Akin said with a smile, "We all have scars, but together, we are unstoppable. We may be insane and we may be a little broken--"

"But we shine together," Bali added.

"Through thick and thin," Wednesday chirped.

"We are family," Charon said and held his hand out to me, "Forevermore, brother." I took his hand and expected a firm shake, but I was surprised when Charon pulled me in for a hug. The guy was so quiet, so soft spoken and gentle, it was so odd to have him fiercely hugging me like this in front of everyone. Not that it mattered, because eventually the rest of the fucking zoo came in and I think it was supposed to be some kind of group hug, but it was really hard with over twenty people trying to figure out where to put their hands.

"Okay," Cerberus decided when Dania elbowed him for stepping on her foot, "How about we just all put our hands in instead?" He put his hand in the middle and Theo grimaced at him.

"What is this, an 80s family sitcom?" He demanded. Cerberus rolled his eyes, grabbed Theo's hand, and thrust it in the middle. Everyone else started chipping in and throwing their hand in this tangled pile of arms.

"Now what?" Wednesday mumbled against my shoulder as Theo elbowed her out of the way.

"Uh, do we shout, like, family or?" I looked at the others, who frowned and considered it.

"Kinda cheesy, don't you think?" Cain asked with a grimace.

"You're cheesy," I returned, making Cain glare at me.

"You're just trying to start something."

"Yeah, I was getting bored standing here with my arm in the middle and Wednesday's boob on my arm."

"Sorry, hun, I can't really tie 'em up or anything," Wednesday sighed, resting her head against mine. I rolled my eyes with a smirk, then hummed for a moment thoughtfully before perking up, which accidentally collided my head with Wednesday's, and she groaned, using her free hand to rub her head.

"I got it! Fuck!" I exclaimed.

"Oh, hey," Theo said, "That's Hades's favorite saying."

"See? Even more reason."

"Absolutely not," Jaques chided, "We are grown adults here--"

"Three, two, one, go!"

"Fuck!" Everyone shouted. Jaques grimaced, taking his hand away from the circle to fold his arms over his chest. He looked at Lucy, who just couldn't stop smiling. He rolled his eyes and sighed, putting his hand back on the rest of ours.

"Fiiine. If anything is more representative of this fucking family, it's the word fuck," he muttered.

"Exactly," I said, then looked at everyone else, "Okay, one more time because Jaq threw off the whole vibe."

"Oh, come on, people are going to get weirded out if they hear a bunch of people shouting fuck repeatedly in the hallway," Jaques complained.

"Three, two, one, go!"

"Fuck!" Jaques whispered it, though, which made Thorn elbow him in the ribs.

"Wow, we really need to work on the family chemistry," I said, "Like a handshake or some shit."
"What is this? A little kid's clubhouse? Why do we need a secret handshake?" Cain asked. I rolled my eyes.

"It's not a secret if we all know it, asshole. I mean, we gotta work on the team thing, but I know that's hard to do for an old guy," I said, looking pointedly at Cain, who sputtered while the others laughed and Abel chuckled, giving me a pinch on the cheek.

"Watch it, kid, that there is my twin. You callin' me old?"

"Old is a mindset and Cain is already getting there. Jaques has been old, though."

"Wow, catching strays," Dania said with a grimace, looking at Jaques, who closed his eyes in frustration.

"I am resisting the urge to hurt him. He has to look good for the coronation. That's what I keep telling myself."

"Well, that and your wife would dropkick you if you hurt a single hair on my head," I said, making Jaques grimace, "Naia and I are cool, bro. If it came down to you or me, Naia would stuff your head in the garbage faster than you can say sorry, honey."

"I changed my mind," Jaques said, taking a step towards me and I grinned, but Cerberus stepped between us and put his hand on Jaques's head to push him back and Jaques cursed, ruffling his hair.

"Sorry, Jaq, hands off the baby," he said, making Jaques scoff in disagreement.

"Oh," Zelios said suddenly, looking at Theo curiously, "Theo, you have lost your position." Theo looked surprised by that realization before he looked at me and I scowled.

"I am not a baby," I said. Theo looked back at Zelios, who arched a brow. Theo's red eyes swung back to me and stared for what felt like eternity before he suddenly brightened.

"Hey, yeah!"

"What happened to Nikias and Ambrosius?" I demanded, gesturing to them. Nikias grinned and Ambrosius smiled.

"We had our shit together before Thee did," Nikias replied with a nod.

"But I have my shit together," I exclaimed defensively and Theo laughed, giving me a clap on the back that made me stumble for a second. There was a brief moment of surprise from everyone, because that kinda whack shouldn't have sent me, but the silence was followed by a cheeky grin from Theo.

"Where's River?" He asked. I flushed, clearing my throat and straightening my uniform as we, the whole family as a ridiculously huge unit, headed downstairs toward the throne room.

"He's already there," I said, reaching for my phone out of instinct, but the damn fake pockets didn't work to hold a phone, so I remembered I left it in my room and groaned, "Hang on, I gotta run back and grab my phone."

"You won't need it," Lucy started, but I was already doubling back toward my room, "Four--"

"I'll get it real quick!" I hurried back down the hallway to my bedroom, moving fast so I could get there and back before the ceremony started. The clock was a not so friendly reminder that I was cutting it real close.

I got to my room and went to grab my phone off the coffee table, only to see it wasn't there. I frowned and poked around the shit Niki had left behind from our set up this morning. I stood up and looked around, spotting the phone on the nightstand in the corner of my room. I frowned.

That was River's nightstand. Not mine. So why was my phone there?

I raised an eyebrow and walked toward it, then stopped near the bed. I glanced around, then slowly looked down at the floor. There was a faint shoe print on the rug, and some ruffled fibers. You know, like the evidence that would be left behind by someone sneaking under your bed.

Of course.

How could I forget?

"Onzo, did you get your invitation?" I asked, continuing my path to my phone on the nightstand. I picked it up, looked at the time, confirmed I was late for my own motherfucking coronation, then turned around to stare at the space under the bed. There was a short pause, like, really short, because Onzo came crawling out from under the bed to face me with a glare. The glare didn't suit him. The whole assassin vibe didn't suit him. He was small and cute, like any imp, with his little wings and his tail that appeared to be docked. I frowned. Ouch.

"How dare you mock me," Onzo managed, his fists clenched so tight his knuckles were white, "You ruined everything."

"Oh yeah," I asked, "What part did I ruin?"

"River was never supposed to lead the Windstorm clan-- He doesn't deserve it," Onzo added, his voice taking a shrill note. I could see the tension in his body, see his muscles coiled and ready to attack, and worse, just because he was an imp didn't mean his magic was shit. There was a reason he'd made it so far, which made me think.

"Windstorm didn't take care of you very well, did he?" I asked. Onzo flushed angrily.

"Master loved me and only me! Master did everything for me! He fed me! He clothed me! He loved me!"

"Oh," I said slowly as Onzo panted out of rage, "So, is that why he cut your tail off?" Onzo stopped for a moment, then blinked rapidly.

"N-No, I was bad," he said hesitantly now, "Yes. I was bad. I was very bad."

"Why? What made you so bad?" I asked. Onzo stared at me for the longest time before he blinked.

"Master loved him," he said after a moment, making me frown as Onzo's dark eyes started to fill with tears, "It wasn't fair. Master loved me first. I was here first. I did everything Master asked me to do and he always gave me treats when I listened and I like treats."

"What did you do that was so bad, though? Enough to cut your tail off?" I asked. Onzo's eyes gleamed.

"Master kept giving him more attention and it wasn't fair. I was here first. I told him that, I told Master that too."

"Him? Who's the other guy?"

"Master's pet," Onzo sneered, making me frown, "He was too small and too weak. He was unworthy of Master Windstorm. So I told Master to get rid of him, but Master said no. Master Windstorm said Koukla was perfect and beautiful and everything he wanted in a pet. He said Koukla was going to change the world. Master never said that about me! Master never said thank you or I love you when Koukla started sharing his bed!" Koukla? Wait, didn't that translate to like, doll or something? Talk about fucked up.

Sounded like ol' Windstorm got bored with Onzo and bought another imp to replace him.

"What did you do to Koukla?" I asked, assuming he was dead. Onzo curled his lip.

"I wouldn't fucking touch Koukla. Nobody was allowed to touch him or even look at him. So I did what Master said. I didn't look at him or touch him."

"Yeah, something tells me you did anyway."

"No," Onzo barked, "I never touched Koukla! I just... didn't want him there anymore. Koukla was troublesome. He was always trying to read the Master's books, always trying to sneak away. Koukla was a bad dog. So when he tried to run away, I did what I was supposed to. I told Master Windstorm..."

"And, what, he rewarded you by cutting off your tail?" I asked, still not getting it. Onzo teared up again.

"Master said I wouldn't know anything about Koukla if I wasn't always watching him, but it wasn't fucking fair," Onzo whimpered, "He was the one trying to run away, not me, so why did Master get mad at me? I did everything for Master Windstorm. I even made sure that none of his other slaves ran away." I frowned.

"You sold out the other imps?" I asked. Onzo's tears were rushing in full force. I think he knew that what he did was bad, but he was trying to make it sound like it wasn't. I think deep inside he knew it was fucked up, but that was the problem with trauma. It could warp and distort everything that was real. Sometimes you wondered if you were still going to wake up in that hellhole, in that tiny little cell with no windows, surrounded by white.

"What did you do to the other imps?" I asked. Onzo blinked, and while his tears still fell, he seemed to relax now.

"Onzo did what Master Windstorm would have requested," he said, making me frown as I noticed him slipping in his grammar, "Onzo is a good boy. Onzo made sure all the imps went with Master Windstorm."

"You killed them," I murmured. Onzo stared at me with tears still running down his face, but there was no regret in his eyes as he stared at me.

"When an imp's master is dead, the imps must follow."

"You didn't."

"No, Master asked me to make sure that the Windstorm clan stayed the Windstorm clan."

"It's still the Windstorm clan, even with River heading it," I said with a frown, making Onzo's eyes flash angrily, "Someone has to lead the clan, Onzo, and it wasn't going to be Abbadon. The guy was weaker than a fucking pantyliner. River and I are going to set shit straight. And, I dunno if you heard, but imps have been freed from slavery for, like, years now. You don't have a master anymore. No imp has a master anymore." Onzo stared at me, and for a moment, I swore he had heard me for a second there. It was almost like he'd heard me, but then abruptly those eyes changed and I saw the crazy in there.

"No," Onzo murmured, "No. Onzo has Master. Master is waiting for me, but Onzo has something he needs to finish first. Onzo promised Master River would die... Onzo also promised to find Koukla and kill him." I blinked.

"Koukla's still around? Good for him," I said, which made Onzo snap his head to glare at me, "What? Sorry, but I'm rooting for the kid who didn't become Windstorm's victim. You still have a chance, Onzo. Just drop this crazy shit and live your own life. Don't you want to get out there and see the world? It's not that bad once you get used to it--"

"No," Onzo said, his voice getting shrill again and he took a step toward me, but I took one back warily, because I had no idea what kind of weapons Onzo had on him this time, "No! There is no world without Master! Master dead, so the world is dead!"

"Onzo, come on--"

"Onzo kill River, Onzo kill the prince, and then Onzo find Koukla," Onzo whispered, making me frown as he started to come toward me slowly, "And when me do, me going to break his little legs, and his little fingers, and all his little bones so he'll never ever be able to run away from Master again--"

"Uh, Onzo, buddy, I think Windstorm's been dead, for like, more than a few decades, so--"

"No," Onzo choked, reaching into his holster and pulling out a blade and I stiffened when the scent of it hit my nose, "No! You dead! You die!" Wolfsbane. Poisonous to angels or anything heavenly, even if you were the son of a fallen archangel.

Well, fuck.

"You die!" Onzo charged me and I spun out of the way, bounced off the wall and went running for the door, because I was gonna need a lot more help dealing with Onzo when he was like this. There was a glint in his eyes that reminded me a lot of someone I knew and there was no point trying to talk to this guy or anything. He had a one track mind and I needed to subdue him fast. I couldn't let him get anywhere near River, or this Koukla person for that matter.

I went sprinting down the hallway, fiddling with my holster on my uniform, but motherfucker, all of the shit was ceremonial, meaning none of it was sharp enough to actually kill a bitch painlessly. Because contrary to Onzo's insanity, he didn't deserve to be gutted. He deserved swift relief.

"No! You die! Stop," Onzo reached out and grabbed the back of my uniform, hauling me back and throwing me across the floor. I cursed as I went skidding across the floor and slammed into a wall, which I used to launch off so I was right back on my feet and facing Onzo now.

Okay, so running away didn't work.

Great. Now I had to ruin the whole outfit thing.

And a quick glance at my phone confirmed I was now ten minutes late to my own coronation.

"Listen, Onzo," I said, keeping my eyes on him as he stalked toward me, "I get you're confused, trust me. I wasn't born into this family. They saved me after my master hurt me." Onzo narrowed his eyes.

"Master only hurts the bad ones."

"I was... bad," I said slowly, making Onzo frown, "I was bad. I still am. Don't you wanna punish me first? Master Windstorm won't like it if you just let me go. Maybe next time he'll cut off one of your wings instead?" Perfect. That seemed to click. Onzo blanched at the thought and his wings immediately folded up against his back, like the thought of losing them scared him.

"Yes," Onzo said after a minute, as the gears turned in his head, "Yes, of course. It makes sense. Without you, River will die. Then all I have to do is kill Koukla and I'll be able to see Master again." He seemed to cry from relief, which gave me the opportunity to run at him and kick the blade out of his hand, making him curse. The blade flew up into the ceiling and literally stuck there in the crown molding.

Onzo snarled and backhanded me abruptly, which caught me off guard and I slammed into the wall. I cursed, going to push myself up, but Onzo kicked me hard in the ribcage and I choked, doubling over for a second as I tried to catch my breath. Onzo went to stomp on my head, but I managed to roll out of the way, pushed off the wall harder this time, and launched myself at Onzo, grabbing him and throwing him down on the floor under me.

I fought to grab his hands to pin to his chest, but this guy was trained. He proved that by wedging his knees between us and kicking me off him so I went flying down the hallway, and just my luck, I slid across the marble floor and went tumbling backwards down the stairs. I landed on my back on the next floor down, gasping in pain as the air left my lungs in a hard oof. I was briefly stunned by the incredible pain sailing up my back.

Oof, okay, was this my punishment for wanting a fourth round of sex last night?

Jesus Christ.

My back was killing me.

I narrowed my eyes and shot into a sitting position, hissing in pain as my back started to crack and groan. I slumped forward, moaning in pain as my wings fought against the flesh on my back before ripping free and spreading up toward the ceiling. I jerked my head up, breathing hard to see Onzo standing at the top of the stairs.

Any sane person would see a monster and give up.

Onzo was not sane.

Onzo leapt off the top of the stairs and landed on the floor in front of me, twirling that poisoned blade in his hand. He went to throw it at me, but my wings shot out with a mind of their own and wrapped around me. The blade bounced off like a fuckin' toothpick and clattered to the floor.

Onzo stopped, looking confused for a moment. My wings flared out again and I used the claws on the top of them to pull myself up by the ceiling so I was standing again and Onzo took a step back now, taking in the size of my wings.

"Onzo, I'm giving you one more chance, buddy," I warned as he stared at my wings, then looked me in the face, "Leave. Just go now. No more death. River and I will lead the Windstorm clan, unopposed. And you will leave Koukla alone." Onzo's eyes flashed at that and he pinned me with the coldest, emptiest pair of eyes I'd ever seen.

"No," he whispered, rising to his full height to face me, "I'm... Onzo coming, Master. Onzo will make you happy, cuz he promised." He lunged for me, withdrawing another blade dripping with wolfsbane. Cursing, I took a step back as he drew his arm back with the blade. My right wing moved first. Once again, as if my wings were an entirely separate entity, my right wing swung around and slammed into Onzo.

He went shooting through the air and smashed into a wall, completely busting through it to the other side, which happened to be Hades's office.

Whoops.

I frowned as I watched a cloud of debris rain down to the floor. I approached as the cloud of dust and dirt began to settle. I stepped up onto a piece of the ceiling that had crumbled down, looking down to see Onzo laying amongst the rubble on the floor. A part of the ceiling had caved in on his head. He was definitely dead. The right side of his face was still intact, his dark eye staring up at the ceiling, a last tear sliding down his cheek through the dirt and falling to the ground.

I hopped off the piece and landed near his foot, frowning when I realized he had something peeking out from his uniform. Curiously, I reached out and pulled out what looked like a really old photo. I'm talking no color, grainy, not that great, but it was clear enough to see an image of a younger Onzo with his full tail intact and a strangely haunting look on his face as he stared at the ground, and beside him was another imp, same height, but this one looked strangely familiar. Even without color, I could tell the imp was very fair with white hair and ridiculously long lashes that were downcast. They both looked very tired, very naked, very abused.

Except the look in Onzo's eyes was defeated.

But not the other guy.

Nah, I knew that look anywhere. There was a fire there.

That imp was definitely alive somewhere.

I sighed.

"Goddamn it, Onzo," I muttered, looking down at him, "I hope wherever you are, it's nowhere near Windstorm." I folded the photo up and tucked it into my holster, pausing to take out my phone to see several text messages and phone calls. I rolled my eyes and redialed the first one.

"Four?! Oh my god, Four! Where are you? What's going on?" Lucy demanded.

"Huh? Oh, sorry, no, I'm fine," I said, frowning down at Onzo's remains, "Uh. Just. I need a minute."

"Are you okay? Do you need me, do you need--"

"No, I'm okay, I just need a minute. I'll be right there."

"Are you sure, because--"

"Yeah, I need a minute alone."

"Oh... Okay. Alright. That's okay, but I don't mean to alarm you. We are twenty minutes late for this."

"Yeah. Well, some things are more important than a dumb crown," I said, then hung up and tucked my phone into my holster. I leaned over and started moving the rubble aside, clearing it so I could lift Onzo's broken body out of the debris. There was blood everywhere. All of my uniform now, all over my hair, and my hands.

This could've been me.

The thought of that was strangely unsettling, scary even.

I had been so fucking intent on obeying the Mother, listening to the Mother. Mother this, Mother that. She was my entire world. The Mother was my Master. Holy fuck, I'd been exactly like Onzo. I had been completely brainwashed and the fact that Onzo hadn't survived that shit terrified me, because here he was, centuries and centuries later, broken and bloodied and dead because he'd tried to spend his last waking moments doing what his Master had ordered him to do.

Fuck.

This wasn't right. This kind of shit was not right.

Nobody deserved an ending like this.

Cursing, I took Onzo outside with the intention to bury him, but where the fuck could I do that? Did I even have a right? I looked around, turning around a good few times before my eyes caught a glimpse of something in the woods.

Oh, perfect.

I hurried into the woods, folding up my wings, and found Eumelia's bench, gleaming in the sunlight that poured through the trees overhead. I looked up at the sky, wincing in the bright light, then turned back to the bench.

"Hey, Eumelia, I got a favor to ask you. Do you mind taking care of this guy? I gotta go say some shit before it's too late," I said, then gently placed Onzo's body on the bench. I started to turn around, then thought better of it and hurried back to close Onzo's remaining eye. I moved my hand away as the sunlight shifted and poured over his face. I stared down into his broken face, then blinked when I realized there was some kind of hum. I looked up and around, but didn't see anything. I looked back at Onzo.

"I'm sorry this shit happened to you, Onzo, but this isn't over," I said, putting my hand over his chest, "I'm not about to let anyone else end up like you. No more. This shit is done. People like Windstorm, people like Hera. They don't get to call the shots anymore. The world does not belong to the oppressors. It belongs to us. And it's time these motherfuckers heard us."

I stepped away and started to take off again, only to quickly remember something. I dug into my holster as I returned to Onzo's body and pulled a single drachma out of my holster.

"Good thing you only have one eye," I pointed out, gently laying the coin over his eye, "Cuz that's all I got on me. Something tells me Charon won't give a shit, though. I'll tell him you're on your way and to put you up somewhere real nice. Until then, you can hang out with Eumelia. She's... my stepmom." I gave Onzo another pat on the chest, then spun around and went sprinting for the palace.

Of course, by the time I was back inside in the main lobby, it was a little bit crowded with people waiting around for the coronation.

"Oh my god," several people gasped at the sight of me walking in.

"Isn't that the new prince?"

"Why the fuck is he late to his own coronation?"

"Unbelievable. Another Hades spawn to fuck up the generation."

"If he thinks he can run this realm like that, he better think twice."

"What the fuck is wrong with him?"

"Ew, is he seriously covered in blood?!"

"I have a date tonight, this is ridiculous."

It took everything in my power not to react to the gossip. The murmurs ran rampant around the room and I could see the family... No, I could see my family glaring around the room, like they, too, were wondering if bloodshed was the only option.

I narrowed my eyes.

Yeah, no.

"Yo, sorry, I'm late," I announced, making everyone stare at me, "I'll explain everything if everyone could just please return to the throne room to get this show on the road." Lucy looked at me from the crowd, mouthing questions, but I shook my head at him and just gave him a thumbs up. He grimaced, but just nodded. And of course, no one was herding toward the throne room again and were hesitantly inching toward that or the front door.

I headed to the throne room, because fine. If you didn't wanna fucking listen, don't fucking listen.

It was what people like them did best.

"Or not," I added, making a few people pause, "If you want, you can head right the fuck out that front door and literally ignore everything outside your perfect little worlds. After all, the threats that linger surely wouldn't knock on your front doors, right?" There was awkward silence now. A few uncomfortable coughs and lots of flashing cameras from the media. Reporters kept trying to come forward, but luckily Cerberus and Jaques were there to keep them at bay with honestly nothing more than a glare.

I turned back around and headed into the throne room.

Which was fucking badass.

The throne room was unlike the rest of the palace. Despite being a newly built place, there was something old about the throne room. Something ancient, and almost sinister. The floor was the continued marbled white and gold from the rest of the palace, but the columns were made of reflective black glass that matched the throne that sat at the head of the room on a raised dais.

I walked through the crowd that had remained in the room, all eyes immediately glued to me as this sea of faces broke open and made way for me. I heard my family fall in line behind me and everyone go right to their positions as I mounted those steps on the dais and stood in front of the throne, staring down at its shiny clean surface.

My reflection winked back at me in the light.

I turned around to face the room as the remaining guests filed in and the reporters rushed to the dais, but remained behind the velvet ropes to avoid getting squashed by Cerberus's massive boots as he made his way to stand between them and me.

I looked down at the paper in my hand where my speech was and frowned.

Well, fuck me.

The paper was soaked in blood and illegible.

I smirked.

Of fucking course.

I looked up at the sea of faces, most of which I didn't recognize, but I did recognize my family. And as my eyes swept across the room, my eyes latched onto a head of white hair that was in the crowd. It wasn't Joxeia, because that guy was standing on the other side of the room, watching me with curious pinkish-red eyes. My eyes darted to him for a moment, and Joxeia's eyes gleamed.

Go ahead, kid.

Change the world.

I looked around the room again, back down at the paper in my hand, then balled it up and let it drop to the floor, which resulted in cameras flashing and reporters shouting questions left and right.

It was so fucking noisy in here.

People were murmuring, unsettled now. Reporters were insistent and frustrated with the lack of answers. The cameras lit the room up like a fucking spotlight in my face.

I shut my eyes.

Big deep breath.

My wings shot out of my back hard. There wasn't as much blood since I'd just released them not too long ago. Not that it mattered considering I was still wearing Onzo's blood to my fucking coronation. Tasteless when I thought about it, but it was also strangely fitting.

My wings had silenced the crowd. Even the reporters had shrunk back in shock.

"I think one of you fuckers asked me why I was bloodied," I said slowly, opening my eyes and staring at the crowd that watched me with baited breath, "I stand here before you today, wearing the blood of a victim of the past." Whispers rose, but when my wings shot up angrily, the whispers fell silent.

"And I am fucking tired of it," I sneered, raking the crowd with disgust, "I am so fucking tired of people with power and money taking command of the rest of us. Who the fuck do you think you are? You think because you're a god that you are untouchable? You think because we have all these magical powers and shit that we're untouchable? That we're invincible? Are we just going to fucking pretend there isn't motherfucking cemeteries of our loved ones in own backyards?!" My shout echoed off the walls. I felt my rage simmering below the surface, felt it bubbling and ready to explode. I knew that feeling. I had felt it a hundred times before.

But this time, the rage was so concentrated, so centered in my chest.

"I don't know how these things work," I said in a low voice, "And I really don't fucking give a shit. This isn't the time for you to throw a crown on my head and praise me for being pretty. This is the time for you to throw your luxuries to the floor, because right now, there's something much more important being threatened right now. So fuck your cameras, fuck your jewelry and your riches, fuck your spaceships shaped like giant dicks, fuck your attempts at a dictatorship. I fucking lived under the thumb of someone who was supposed to love me and take care of me. But her thirst for power, for money, for vengeance, was way more important. And I don't know about you guys, but I call bullshit."

"Being prince means nothing if I can't stop people from dying senselessly," I said, sweeping the crowd, "I am not here to sit in your pretty little chairs with your pretty little crowns. I am not here to pose for your fucking magazines and do fake interviews about how great the world is running right now. Are you fucking kidding me? I thought this was Hades, the Greek Underworld, home to the most advanced technologies and policies and most powerful creatures in the world. But what is so powerful about subjugating people? What is so powerful about keeping fucking slaves and people as pets?" My eyes unintentionally flitted back to that head of white hair and I found myself meeting a pair of silver eyes a second later.

H-Huh? Is... Is he looking at me? I heard his soft gentle voice in my head, but it was so quiet, faint, almost like I was losing the ability to hear what was going on in his head. I saw flashes for a moment, images and scenes of Onzo with the white haired imp.

"No," Koukla gasped in one of the scenes, "Onzo, no! If you tell, Ni will die!" Onzo shoved Koukla off his arm and whirled around to glare at him.

"Good! Everyone die!"
"No! That is bad!"

"Says you," Onzo sneered, making Koukla swallow nervously, "Master love Onzo cuz he listen. Onzo good boy. Master said so."

"So," Koukla exclaimed, making Onzo freeze, "Master bad!" Onzo delivered a familiar backhand and Koukla actually hit the floor and looked quite surprised himself at the strength behind Onzo's strike. He blinked a few times before peering up at Onzo, who stood over him breathlessly.

"This why Koukla always get fucked," he sneered, making Koukla pale, "Master no love you like he love Onzo. Onzo listen. Onzo good boy. Master love Onzo."

"Master love? Master know no love!" Koukla managed. Onzo went rigid before he curled his lip, reaching down to grab a handful of his hair, hauling him up onto his knees and making Koukla yelp in pain.

"Master mean love!"

"No! Family," Koukla stammered and Onzo froze at that, looking down at Koukla, who was gasping in pain, "Family love better. Koukla love Onzo, yes? Very much! No ask for nothing!" It took me a whole moment of looking at this vision to realize there were some intense similarities between Onzo and Koukla. Their eye shapes, their noses, their cheekbones. There was a soft beauty to both of them that I hadn't noticed in Onzo because he was just so... broken.

"No," Onzo said slowly, looking confused and he shook his head, "No, Master is love. Not Koukla. Definitely not... No, Koukla... Koukla is a whore." Koukla froze at that. Their speaking skills weren't the best, but something told me that Koukla understood that word well enough. He looked at Onzo, horrified.

"No... No, Onzo, Koukla no like the bed!"

"Liar! Onzo hear screaming all night!"

"Koukla no like it," Koukla gasped in dismay, reaching up to grip Onzo's hand in his hair, "Koukla hate it! Hate it! Hate it! Hate it! Koukla hope Master dies!" Onzo froze and so did Koukla. It was like they had both realized there was no coming back from this. Onzo released Koukla and took a step back, staring at him like he was seeing a ghost. Koukla looked at him from where he was puddled on his knees on the floor, clutching his head in pain.

"Onzo--"

"Hate," Onzo said, making Koukla flinch, "Hate... master? No! You bad! Master love! No, Onzo hate Koukla! Onzo hope Koukla die! In bed!" He tacked on the last part like it made a difference and I guess it did to Koukla, because he immediately teared up.

"Enough," a voice barked from another room, but I couldn't change the scene at all. All I saw was Onzo and Koukla both pale considerably and scramble to get to their feet, "How dare you shout in my home! Shall I turn you two into fucking furniture like your mother so you'll shut up?!"

The scene faded with that last sentence and my skin crawled.

I'd heard about that practice and I didn't want to think about that at all.

"We live in a world," I heard myself say as I zoned back into the throne room, "Where a brother will sell out his other brother. We live in a world where babies are thrown in boxes because they don't fit our idea of perfection. We live in a world where there are literal fucking children starving and dying at the hands of those of us who are supposed to fucking protect them. We live in a world where a mother thinks they are entitled to the position, but Mother is not a term you buy or steal. Mother, Father, Brother, Sister. These titles are given to the people who deserve them. And I will tell you right fucking now that Hera does not deserve that." A sharp intake of breath from the crowd.

Yeah, that's right.

It was all out in the open now.

And I felt it. That eerie feeling I used to get back at the compound. The feeling that someone...

The feeling that Mother was watching.

I looked into the cameras the reporters were fighting to get in my face now that they'd torn down the ropes and were trying to climb over Cerberus and Jaques to get to the dais.

"Don't worry," I said into the camera, "I'm coming for you, bitch. I may not be able to do it today or tomorrow or, hell, maybe another year might be in the books, but, Mother, when I find you, I am going to send you to the only place worthy of a Mother like you. The deepest, darkest, dankest pit in Tartarus has your name on it. I'll keep it nice and cold for you when you lose." I looked up to address the rest of the room, which was a flurry of whispers now.

"As I take my crown today," I said, reaching up to adjust the crown on my head, "Because apparently that's what you fuckers still do around here. I just want to remind everyone. I was not born a thousand years ago. I was not born a million years ago. I was born twenty-three years ago into a hellscape I was brainwashed into thinking was heaven. This world is not yours anymore. You fuckers had your chance and you fucked it up. You fucked it up big time. Time for you old fuckers to let go and give the universe back to the people it truly belongs to." I lifted the crown off my head for a moment to look down at it, then looked up at the room that was now dead silent. I put the crown back on my head.

"Yadayadayada, big whoop, something about policies or realms of rule or I dunno, what the fuck ever," I put my hands out and set my legs apart, "Allow me to fucking introduce myself, Greeks and Hellions, to your new prince, the newest and hopefully not the last, child of Lord Lucifer and Lord Hades, Niko Windstorm. And I want that in big print on every fucking billboard in the realm. Because you guys seem to be real good at ignoring the little guys. So let me repeat myself... I am Prince Niko Windstorm, son of Hades and Lucifer, Guardian of the Windstorm Clan, Successor to the Apollyon bloodline, Harbinger of A Supposed Apocalypse, and God of the Lost and the Weary, for as long as this blood runs through my veins, I will protect the voices of the people, for the people." Tons of talking now. Everyone was just talking over each other at this point, but luckily Cerberus had flipped the switch on the mic on my lapels, so my voice was the loudest. Not that it was that hard to yell anyway.

"The petty rich people fight stops now," I announced, "Your worth as a living creature is not based on the coin in your pocket or the beauty of your face. You deserve to live comfortably and safely and freely. And anyone who opposes those values can make an appointment with my secretary and a mortician, because this shit stops now. There will be no more slavery. There will be no more indentured servitude. I don't give a fucking shit what your bloodline is. Imp, fae, god, shifter, primordial, dragons, human. You deserve decency. You deserve respect and love and comfort. Your species, your race, your gender, your sex, your whatever makes you who you are. You will receive no judgment. We live in a universe that is vast and ever changing. Why would you judge someone for that shit? Unbelievable."

"Anyway, I'm done," I said, sweeping the room with one last glare, "This is the one and only time I will say it. I will not repeat myself. I've made my position quite clear. It's time we move forward and stop clinging to the past. How do you expect us to move on when we're so deeply rooted in a flawed history? That's what history is. History. Leave it where it lay, learn from it, and move the fuck on." I took a deep breath and started to step off the dais. At this point, all of my siblings were making two rows to keep the people away. It was an interesting combination of angry fuckery from the traditionalists and, weirdly enough, gratitude from everyone else.
"Now someone show me how to turn off this fucking mic," I muttered, glancing at Cerberus, who sighed and reached down to shut it off before giving me an exhausted smirk.

"You really came out to play, didn't you?"

"Nah, I'm done playing. Time to get serious," I added, making him nod. I walked through the crowds, listening to a combination of condemnation and encouragement, which was a nice difference. It's funny that I barely heard the anger in the crowd. I was used to people calling me out, because it happened all the time at the compound, but I wasn't used to the compliments. That was the weird part.

"My lord, my lord," I looked up as a female came rushing forward after ducking under Abel's arm and Abel cursed, reaching for her, but I frowned when I saw the look on her face and shook my head at Abel, who shrugged and let her go.

"Hi, how ya doin?" I said to her as she approached. She froze, her mouth falling open and she looked around before dropping down on one knee and I grimaced.

"Oh, don't do that. That's so weird and archaic," I said, reaching out to her and she looked up, staring at my hand in shock, "Just, come on, up on your feet, lady." She scrambled to her feet, avoiding my hand and standing up on her own and I stepped back to give her space as she squared her shoulders, thrusting her bouncy dark curls over her shoulders.

"My lord, then from your passionate speech up there, I am to assume that the donations to the Ichidian Imp Association will continue, yet we haven't seen a donation in months," she said. I frowned.

"Ichidian Imp Association?" I asked, glancing at Cerberus, who glanced over his shoulder at us before rolling his eyes and looking back at the crowd.

"Amanda, for the hundredth time, I told you we signed the check ourselves and sent you the last six months worth of--"

"We never got it," Amanda exclaimed angrily and she pulled a tablet out of her backpack that jingled from all the keychains and shit, "See? The books aren't matching up! My lord!" She added the last part with the shake of her hand with the tablet at me. I took it and looked down at the numbers. I had no idea what any of this shit meant, but this time, Zelios was the one who appeared at my side to look down at the tablet with a stern frown.

"These are incorrect."

"That's what I'm saying," Amanda insisted, "Your donations aren't reaching us. How can you talk about how much you care about the imp community here if you aren't following through on your promises to keep us funded so we can help the imp community?" I frowned, handing her the tablet back.

"Means something's up," I said, making Amanda nod vigorously, "Can you give your address to the guy in the lobby named Niki? And your phone number and email address. I want to stay in contact on this matter starting right now. You have all my resources at your disposal to figure out where that money is going. Nobody steals from my people. When we find out, I'll deal with it personally." Amanada swallowed, hugging her tablet to her chest.

"Thank you, my lord, god, fuck, sorry, no, thank you, thank you--"

"Don't thank me for doing the bare minimum, lady. This is something we should've dealt with a long, long, long ass time ago," I muttered. Amanda nodded, trying to hide the fact that she was tearing up. I turned away because I had no idea what to do with a crying lady, but thankfully Akin was coming over to comfort her and he gave me a nod to let me know I was good to go.

I walked out of the throne room and thankfully my family was keeping a majority of the people back so I could make a quick getaway. Problem was, I didn't quite know where to go immediately, but for some reason, something told me to go check on Onzo.

I left the palace and headed back to where he was.

Man, if Hades found him, he was gonna be pissed. Nothing like a ten hour lecture about why we don't lay random dead bodies on mommy's bench. Look, if anyone was gonna take care of Onzo, it was gonna be Eumelia. She was a good mom, from what I'd heard.

I came around the bend in the trees and slowed down when I saw someone standing with Onzo.

It definitely wasn't Hades.

It was the exact opposite of Hades in every way.

Dorean was a small imp, probably barely over six foot, if even. He was thin, but healthy, with porcelain skin he clearly took care of very well and fluffy short white hair he wore neatly styled for the ceremony. He was even wearing a fancy glittery blouse under his suit jacket. He didn't look up, but something told me he knew I was watching, so I figured to avoid being a creep that I'd come forward to join him so we both stood together and looked down at Onzo on the bench. He was white as a sheet now, but oddly, what was left of his face seemed relaxed, calm, like he could finally rest.

"I'm sorry I killed your brother," I said quietly. There was a brief silence where Dorean didn't answer me right away. When he finally spoke, his voice was so soft, so delicate. Just like it had always been.

"You didn't kill him," Dorean answered at last. I frowned and looked at him. Those swirling silver eyes were full of pain. I couldn't quite hear everything going on in his head, but I caught enough.

"You didn't kill him either," I said and Dorean shut his eyes, tears fleeing down his cheeks, "You didn't and I mean that."

"I should've... I should've been there for him. I could have gotten him help."

"Yeah, well, according to the rest of the family, there was nothing you could do. You were learning how to speak, how to take care of yourself, how to be independent. You were learning how to live. It's not your fault Onzo didn't want to join you. He was already in too deep, Kou-- Ah, Dorean." I averted my eyes, but I saw a smile slide across Dorean's face when he looked up at me.

"I felt you," he said, making me blink, "I am not sure how, but I did."

"Sorry. It just... kinda does it on its own, like, ninety-five percent of the time. The other five percent is me trying to push my way into Hades's brain and ending up with a headache from Tartarus," I muttered, reaching up to rub my head. Dorean smiled a little, but it faded when he looked back down at Onzo. I cleared my throat and looked away, because it felt weird to just stare at him while he grieved his brother.

"Uhm. Was he older?" I asked after a moment. Dorean nodded.

"Onzo was the eighth born," he said, making me choke on the number and he gave me a grim smile, "Females were forced to conceive repeatedly throughout the year, and... unfortunately, imps are usually very fertile and our pregnancies only last two to three months. Onzo was the only older sibling to survive to full maturity."

"How many of you survived altogether?" I asked.

"Two," Dorean stopped, "Ah. One."

"Oh." I grimaced. Oops.

"Don't," Dorean said and I looked down at my feet, "I mean it. You... You are right. Onzo was not killed by you, nor I. He was killed by a system that exploits the weak and serves the privileged. I had a feeling the day I walked out the door for the last time that if Onzo ever saw me again that he would kill me." I didn't tell him that was true enough. The last thing he needed to hear was that his one surviving sibling wanted him dead. I swallowed. Fuck, that was sad. Really sad.

"I hope you mean it," Dorean said, making me look at him curiously as he turned to look at me, those swirling eyes even more intense now, "Taking it apart. This system divides us and separates us into the people who deserve and the people who don't deserve. I don't like it. I don't like seeing people die because someone thought they didn't deserve to live. Whether it was for their skin color, their religion, their species, whatever makes them... whatever makes them who they are. All these special things that make us special."

"I do mean it," I said with a frown, "I'm not the biggest fan of rich people, but unfortunately, the whole prince thing comes with a paycheck fatter than both realms I reside in. So I'm going to use that paycheck to fund the IIA. I'm going to use that paycheck to buy houses and pay for schools and do whatever I gotta do to make the lives of imps and others fair and enjoyable. This world has some absolute fucking shit in it, but it also has some really great shit too." Dorean smiled.

"The universe is very big, Niko. I like to think that it is full of really good, uh, shit," he added with a shrug and I grinned.

"Yeah. I like that. Half-glass full kinda guy."

"Indeed," he said, then looked past me at something and I turned to see a super tall badass looking dude with long red streaked hair and a pair of sunglasses that hid his eyes. He was looking in our direction, but making no moves, and Dorean smiled at me now, "That would be my husband waiting for me. I hope we can work together a lot more from now on, Niko Windstorm." He started to walk away, but quickly doubled back with a questioning head tilt from hubby back there.

"Here, my card," Dorean said with a grin, handing me a little blue glittery card, "And thanks for being polite to my secretary, Amanda. She's really nervous at events like this." I looked after him, surprised. He went over to his husband and wrapped his arms around him. This tiny little delicate imp hugging this massive monster of a being who radiated godly power, ironically. But instead of breaking that tiny imp, he stooped down and cradled Dorean to his chest.

I wish I could change everything and make it okay. His husband's words echoed across the woods to me.

You did change everything and make it okay, Dorean projected to him with a loving smile and he reached up to cup his husband's face so he could kiss him on the lips, every day you change things and every day you make it okay. Today more than ever, I just want to be with you. Just us. Together.

Of course. Anything for you.

Aw. That was kinda sweet.

Kinda gay.

But sweet.

I looked down at the business card Dorean had given me and my mouth opened in surprise before I burst out laughing. Dorean's name was on the card alright, followed by the name of his business.

Ichidian Imp Association, board director and co-founder, along with all his contact info.

Nice.

My phone abruptly rang and I rolled my eyes, reaching into my pocket and changing it out with the card before I put the phone to my ear.

"You better have a good reason for calling me and not texting me," I muttered, making my way away from Eumelia's bench. I stopped for a second, though, when I remembered I had to get rid of the evidence, but when I turned around to go back, Onzo's body was gone. I stared at the bench in absolute confusion, because there wasn't even a blood stain. It was as if he'd never been there. I frowned and looked around, only to wince as a gust of wind swept up around me, sending leaves, grass, and dirt swirling up into the air. I grimaced, looking up at the sky, only to pause when I saw the sun duck out of sight behind some clouds.

"Huh," I said, then looked back down at the bench, "Eumelia, you're either contacting me from the dead or someone's fucking with me, but I really hope it's the first one because I don't know how I can explain to Dorean I lost his brother's corpse." Then again, he left looking pretty chipper afterwards, so I think he got all the grief out of his system. Maybe.

"Uh, what?" I rolled my eyes at Seven's voice.

"I wasn't talking to you, I was talking to my dead stepmom, what the fuck do you want, Sev?"

"Oh! Right, I was gonna say that I created a new server because we have some newbies joining, but one of them is super good. He's on par with Three, and I mean, he bulldozed Three last night, which reminds me, where the fuck did you go?"

"Oh, I was getting plowed by my husband, so wait, what's the new server called?" I asked, heading inside the palace to see that most of the crowds had been dispersed and whoever remained was just happy to get some positive attention from the royal family.

"Uhm, okay, well, first of all, TMI--"

"Stop throwing anagrams at me."

"That's not an anagram, you fuckin' anal bead, it's an abbreviation," Seven snapped and I snorted, choked, and laughed so hard I had to lean on the wall to support myself.

"What the fuck did you just call me?" I asked between gasps for breath.

"Ugh, I've been hanging out with you too much. Anyway, just get on the new server. I'm already online playing with the newbie who's actually good," Seven scoffed, then hung up. I finished up laughing, hanging up the phone, and headed back upstairs. I paused outside my bedroom door for a moment, then cleared my throat and walked inside.

"Wait, what the fuck do you want?" I demanded, thoroughly fucking disappointed to see Hades in my room. I had been expecting to see River. The plan was to sleep together in my room until the wedding, then pack up and get outta dodge before my family tried to convince me to stay behind at the palace.

"I saw your coronation," Hades said dryly, folding his arms over his chest. I rolled my eyes, pulling the crown off my head and placing it on my nightstand before I got to work peeling the military uniform off.

"That was a lot of talking you did," Hades continued, keeping his arms over his chest as he walked over to the bed to lean on one of the posts.

"Yeah, well, I had a lot to say."

"Mm. You do realize not everyone likes to hear you talk?"

"I dunno, man, they were grabbing at me like they were about ready to throw their panties at me."

"Yeah," Hades said dryly as I chuckled, "But you're just putting yourself in more danger." I blinked at that, then frowned. I dropped my arms as I gave up fighting with the uniform and turned to face Hades with the uniform hanging halfway down my butt, which made him grimace at me.

"If that's the risk I have to take to help people, then bring it on. I can handle it."

"I don't want you to."

"I know," I said, then shrugged and turned back around to try and get the uniform off my ass, "Holy shit, this suit has some grip, man. How the fuck--"

"Hold still," Hades sighed in frustration, coming forward. I stood still and didn't move as Hades managed to get the rest of the uniform off so I was standing there in a pair of black undies, looking up at him.

"I can't stop you," Hades said at last, making me frown and he sighed in frustration, "Fuck, I wish I could just wrap you in bubblewrap and stick you in a padded room and not worry about it."

"But that would be boring."

"Yeah. And, uh, let's just say it didn't work out the last time I tried it anyway," Hades muttered, making me scowl, but he waved me off and took me by the shoulders, "But I'm learning that you little fuckers have minds of your own that are not in line with any of my hopes and dreams for you."

"I know, but they bring me to my hopes and dreams," I said, making Hades frown, "What I'm doing now is not just gonna help other people, Hades. I'm helping our people. And I'm helping me too. You can't protect me all the time."

"I can try."

"You can, but you'll probably fail," I admitted, making Hades grind his teeth, "And that's not a stab at you, man, but shit happens. Life goes on."

"If something happens to you, any of you, life won't go on," Hades said, making me frown as he looked at me in frustration, "Life will stop."

"You have over a dozen kids, Hades, you can just have more--"

"It's not the same," Hades snapped, then stopped like he was surprised by himself before he sighed in frustration, then looked at me, "One does not replace the other. I don't want more kids, I want the kids I have to be alive and safe. You are one of them."

"I know," I said, then shrugged, "I don't want you to die either. So when this fight with Hera goes down, and it comes down to it, I will protect you from Hera." Hades frowned.

"I didn't say that so you would say that--"

"Don't care. You will protect me and I will protect you. Because we're family, right?" I asked. Hades sighed, reaching up to wipe his hands down his face.

"I mean, yes, but-- Fuck, I can't explain shit to you."

"Nope. I'm neurodivergent, as the folks call it today."

"Back in my day we called it being fucking weird."

"Yeah, but I'd rather be weird than ordinary."

"Don't worry; nobody in this family is ordinary," Hades muttered, then shook his head, "Fine, whatever, I'd love to stay and see how the rest of the shitshow went, but I am exhausted and I need a fucking drink, so can you just do me a huge favor? Shut the fuck up for the rest of the night. Get some sleep."

"Mmm, see, normally I'd do the exact opposite of that to piss you off, but I'm afraid I have a date with a video game tonight," I said with a shrug. Hades rolled his eyes.

"Great. Waste your time killing pretend enemies."

"I like it a lot better than killing real enemies," I muttered, but Hades was already vanishing and probably heading back to his office. I shrugged and threw on one of River's t-shirts before I walked over to plop down on the sofa, getting out the controller Seven had bought me for the computer he ended up setting up for me while I was in River's room for the night.

Cool.

I logged into the server to see several people online, but only two in the chat room. Seven, whose username was beastiebugg, and another user whose username was simply videog111. Frowning, I logged into the chat and opened up the game, which announced my arrival to Seven and videog111. The little chat box on the bottom of the screen folded open to reveal the past chat, which was just Seven and videog111 talking about their favorite suckers. I cracked my knuckles and pulled up my keyboard to start typing a message and it took for fucking ever because I had no idea how to type very well on a keyboard compared to my phone.

Hi i'm in im here the new prince of hades and hell is here

Oh hey, Seven sent, glad you could finally get on. What took you so long?

Father-son bonding.

Gross. So, Four-- Er, Niko, this is the new guy, Ezra.

I froze. I stared intently at the name on the screen. Videog111 was Ezra? Was it the Ezra? How many people had that name? I didn't want to freak him out, though. I still had no idea who Ezra was and why Hades wanted me to stay away from him, but I was about to find out.

Cool. Nice to meet you, Ezra. I'm Niko.

Videog111 is typing...

Hello, Niko. I am Ezra.

TO BE CONTINUED...

-----

A/N: Okay so before freaking out about the wedding thing, reassured it'll probably make it into the final version of this, but not this one right now. It didn't quite fit where it needed to be, so I'm gonna have to make some changes or rearrange things. Anyway, this is the current end of Four's-- Uh, I mean, Niko's book. Thank you so, so fucking much for sticking by me, especially last year, yall. I cannot express my gratitude enough. Thank you again so much. I look forward to seeing everyone in the next installment of the Underworld Chronicles: Guardian Angel.