Chapter Thirty-One

"No fucking way," River managed.

"Fucking way," I corrected, making him stare at me with an open mouth before he turned back to where Lilith and Apollyon were illuminated by the roaring hearth. Lilith beamed from ear to ear, throwing her arms wide open and coming right to me so she could wrap me up in a hug. I grunted as she lifted me off my feet with little issue, then plopped me back down before she turned to River, whose eyes widened in fear that quickly turned to confusion as Lilith wrapped her arms around him and gave him a monstrous bear hug that cracked his back.

"Oh, my precious babies," Lilith sighed, releasing River, who grimaced as he reached back to rub his back before he quickly started to drop to one knee, like his other family members, but Lilith immediately caught his arm and stopped him, "Oh, no, baby, not you. You bow to no one." River blinked and looked up at her, confused.

"B-But-I-Madame--"

"Please, call me Lily," she said with a beaming smile, clasping her hands together under her chin before she paused and her smile faltered. She paused for a moment, then narrowed her eyes as she spotted Abbadon's corpse on the ground.

"Arrogant little worm, wasn't he," she muttered, using her hand to gently move me aside so she could approach his corpse, "He reminds me too much of Astaroth. Even his fucking eyes. I was always a sucker for his baby blues. Ugh." I raised an eyebrow, looking past Lilith at River, who was just staring at her in awe. Reminded me of the way someone would react to meeting their super hero.

Or, you know, the creator of their entire clan.

"So, uh, Lil, wanna do the world a favor and tell the fam River's the new head, or should I just start killing people?" I asked, glancing over at the clan, who all stiffened and jerked their heads up, gaping at Lilith, then over at Apollyon, who didn't move a muscle as he stood there, sweeping those glowing orange eyes across them.

"Hmm," Lilith murmured thoughtfully, touching her cheek and turning to look at the clan members before she looked at River with a warm smile, "I suppose that would be up to the head of the clan." The clan members looked at each other nervously and even Fox seemed a bit uncomfortable as he turned to look at River, who blinked in shock.

"P-Pardon?" He asked.

"Want me to kill them?" I asked, gesturing to them. River blinked a few more times, then took a step forward to touch my arm, then he quickly looked at Lilith.

"No, no, Madame Lilith," he said, then turned to look at Apollyon anxiously, "My Lord, the Windstorm clan has been lost for centuries. Killing them will change nothing, except set us back in the war against the Mother. And... And in the end, they're still my family." I frowned at that. Even after all the fucking shit they'd done to him? I couldn't wrap my head around that. They spat at him, made him turn into someone he wasn't, they fucking laughed at him, mocked him, and questioned the validity of his lineage, his heritage. For fuck's sake, he couldn't even say he loved his mother without someone taking it out of his hide.

"They hurt you," I said, making River look at me. Lilith nodded.

"He's right," she added, coming over to place a hand on River's shoulders, dragging her fingers along his shoulder blades as she went around him to lean on his other shoulder, "Look at their faces, my sweet River. Do those look like the faces of warriors? The faces of people who would stand at your side in battle?" River glanced at the clans members who all nervously avoided eye contact with him, finding their feet to be more interesting, or whimpering like some of the females were. The stench of their fear was rancid. It stung my nostrils and made my wings shift uncomfortably in my back, making me grimace.

"They hurt you," Lilith murmured, reaching up to put a finger under River's chin and tilting his head so he was looking at her sideways now, "They mocked you. They laugh at your attempts. They tried to oust you. They killed your mother. They will kill you when they have the chance. My sweet River, you can never turn your back on family, yes... because in the end, they too, like everyone else, will stab you in the back." She stroked his back up and down slowly. I narrowed my eyes as Lilith smiled sadly, reaching up to tuck some of River's curly black hair behind his ear.

"Sweetheart. Should crimes not be punished? Is that not the law of nature? For poor choices there are consequences. For their hand in Magdelena's death, surely they should suffer. For their attempts to kill your fiancé, the love of your life? To let them get away with such atrocities would be a crime in and of itself, my love. Is vengeance not what drives you? That was part of the reason this whole thing came together," Lilith whispered to him, making him look at her confused now, "Yes. Cypress was right to hide you, and you knew that, but you knew the other side to this coin, did you not? By marrying into the Hadiferian clan, you will be uniting the two most powerful clans in Hades. You knew that kind of power would be enough to take them down. This is what you wanted, isn't it?"

I glanced over at Apollyon, who remained silent. He was quiet, just watching Lilith, like he was politely waiting for her to finish. I frowned and turned to look at Lilith, who was stroking River's cheek with her fingernail. River glanced back at the clans members.

"But, my family--"

"You have all the family you need," Lilith said softly, "You have Apollyon, you have me, you have Cypress, and you have Four. That is all that matters in this world, is it not?"

"I-I mean--"

"Make your choice, clan head. Should we punish them for their crimes, or let them escape to commit further atrocities? Because, and let's face it, the chances of these idiots surviving on the battlefield are slim at best, but at worst? They'd turn you over in a second, baby," Lilith sniffed a little, a tear running from the corner of her eye, but never falling off her face, oddly enough.

"Are we truly to lose every last one of you?" She asked, tilting her head sweetly. River nervously looked at the clans members again. He was searching their faces, but no one was looking at him. It was almost like they themselves couldn't honestly come forward to assure River they wouldn't betray him and that made my skin crawl.

"Oi," Fox said suddenly. I blinked and turned to see Fox standing near a column of dragon skulls. I'd almost forgotten he was even in here. River also looked at him, surprised. Fox stared at him, then looked at me, then back at River, before he slowly got down on one knee and folded his hands on his raised knee, bowing his head to River, who froze.

"Introducing," Fox said, his voice loud despite being directed at the floor, "His Royal Highnesses and the Chiefs of the Windstorm Clan, River and Four Windstorm. I, Fox Asmodeus, now hereby pledge my loyalty and my soul. With these hands, I will protect and I will guide my lords. With this soul, I will fight and I will persevere. With this weapon, I make my pledge." He reached into his pocket, sliding out a knife, which he slashed across his palm and rose to his feet, squeezing his fist out in front of him so blood oozed between his fingers and splashed to the floor. He drew his fist up, then thumped it hard against his chest.

"De Nephshi!" He barked with each syllable. The clans members all slowly started to look up from the ground at Fox, many of them shocked.

"I," our heads swung around to where Misty was rising to her feet with the help of her son, Bracken, who stood firmly at her side, "Misty Seprion now hereby pledge my loyalty and my soul. With these hands, I will protect and I will guide my lords..."

"I, Bracken Seprion, now hereby pledge my loyalty and soul..."

"I, Taryn Azazel, now hereby pledge my loyalty..."

"I, Reed Astras, now hereby..."

"Olive Seprion..."

"Phoenix Azazel."

"Skye Belhor."

"Flint Seprion."

"Colt Arurim."

"Jasper Arurim."

"Jett Arurim."

The names went on, surprising the actual shit out of me as I watched every clan member rise to their feet, slit their palms, raised their blood in honor, and all at once, fists pounded against our chests. Because it took me a full minute to realize, I was touching my fist to my chest as I stared at River, who stared back at me, his eyes wide in shock.

Lilith looked mildly surprised as well as she stepped back and swept the room with suspicious red eyes that went to her husband. Apollyon met those eyes. I felt the weirdest headache start behind my eyes, making me frown suddenly.

We cannot trust them, Apollyon. Astaroth runs through their veins.

As do we, Lily. Perhaps it is time to stop running.

Apollyon, if Yhwhwa finds us, if the clan betrays them, we will fall with them.

I am tired, Lily. I am very, very tired. Running has brought nothing, but shame to our people.

Apollyon, you know what will happen if I lose you.

Lily, there are more important things in the world than me. Our children--

No! Nothing is more important to me than you! You are my heart and my soul and I will kill anyone who brings harm to you. Anyone. Anything. If you die, Apollyon, you will be taking the world with you because I will allow no one to exist as long as you are not in my arms, safe and sound.

Lilith! A sharp pain exploded in my skull and I choked as blood poured from my nose abruptly and I crumpled to the floor. I heard voices shout around me and much to my relief, River caught me before I could smack my head on the floor. I felt his arms go under mine, but my body seemed to be slowly losing feeling, like that prickly pins and needles thing.

I will not lose you, Apollyon. Do you hear me? You are my everything. You are my heart and my soul and my sanity. Without you, I am a monster. Without you, nothing will exist. The Mother will be the last bitch in the universe they will need to worry about.

Lilith, enough! Something's wrong with the boy!

W-What? Wait, Apollyon, what's going on?!

I groaned as more pain split through my skull and my vision blurred over red. I blinked rapidly, feeling tears of agony running down my face as my head felt like it was under the most immense pressure possible. It felt like someone was blowing my brain up like a balloon and it was seconds away from popping.

Abruptly, I could feel vibrations around me, like the world was shaking and vibrating and teetering and tottering and I moaned, trying to find balance, trying to figure out what the fuck was happening. I couldn't see through the curtain of red in my vision and the voices around me just got louder and louder.

Son of a fucking bitch, Lilith, Hades is coming!

No! Apollyon, we have to run--

No, no more running, Lily. You were right. You placed your faith in Hades once and I mocked you for it. Now it is time for me to place my faith in Hades as you once did.

No! I lied! Apollyon, please! He's coming, we need to leave, I don't know what's wrong with the boy, I don't know what to do, Apollyon--

Hades won't kill us, Lily. Just get as far away from here as possible, do you hear me?

Nooo! No! I'm not leaving you!

Lilith's scream sent pain sailing through my skull and this time, I couldn't stop the scream from in my chest as pain stretched and ripped through my veins, sank into my bone and pulled. I screamed, lashing out to try and grab something to find something tangible through the pain, but everything hurt. It was like I was going to explode from the inside out.

Lilith! Go!

No! If he kills you--

He won't kill me, now go! If one of us is harmed, I am more likely to survive than you are!

No! Apollyon, no, no, no! You can't do this!

Lilith--

"I'm fucking pregnant, Apollyon!" Lilith shrieked. The violent vibrating around me stopped, but the pain did not relent. I screamed as I arced my back up to get away from the floor because it suddenly felt like sandpaper on my skin. I blinked rapidly, feeling more tears pour down my face, but finally the red was slipping away, sliding down my cheeks so I was able to see Apollyon's horrified pale face and Lilith's tear streaked face. Immediately the clans members moved. River and Fox ran to me and the other members went to surround Apollyon and Lilith as the air rippled and pulsed.

I felt the heavy weight of Hades's presence and melted back down on the floor, choking and gasping for breath through the pain.

"Fuck!" Hades's curse echoed around me and I blinked rapidly, grasping out at the air toward where Hades's voice was. A second later, I felt Hades's hand clasp in mine. I gasped in relief, squeezing his hand hard and I felt his shadow hover over me as more red filled my vision.

What's happening?! What's happening?! That sounded like Lilith's voice, but it sounded... faint. Like she was going into a tunnel or something and every so often her voice would crack and fade out, then fade back in, but quieter and quieter.

Apollyon--

Lilith, hold... hand. Do not... speak. Do not look... Hades, okay? Let him... work.

Apollyon, if we leave-- now while he's distracted--

No. I must stay-- if for nothing... than to ensure the boy... safe. There's something about him...

A... n... wait... Apo... block! Block!

And suddenly it was like someone hit me in the face with a fucking cast iron pan. Pain exploded in my face and I felt more blood pouring from my mouth, my nose, my eyes, my ears. The pressure was snapping inside me and I screamed one last time before something in my ears popped. I blinked because suddenly, everything was eerily quiet and... warm, and soft.

I felt like I was back at the palace... no, something else.

Confused, I felt around me, expecting to grope Hades or River or something, but my hand only moved across a soft thick fur blanket. I blinked a few times and suddenly I was no longer staring up at the ceiling of Abbadon's lair. I was staring up at a soft yellow ceiling with a pretty, but plain lampshade.

Okay.

There was no more pain, though. I wasn't in agony and I wasn't screaming. I wasn't cold or hurting and weirdly enough, I felt... calm. Like I'd just woken up from a really deep sleep.

I sat up slowly, frowning as my hair fell in my face. I reached up to pull it out of my face, confused because last I checked my hair wasn't that fucking long... or was it? I heard something clatter that made me jerk my head up and I realized I was in a room I did not recognize.

I mean, it wasn't a bad room. It wasn't fucking massive and gaudy and ugly like the palace. It was so... quaint. A plain full size bed with thick fluffy blankets and a bunch of pillows. The bed was nice enough with a wooden frame, nothing fancy. Curious, I shoved the blankets back and slid to the edge of the bed, throwing my legs over the side. My feet landed on a cold wood floor and I hissed, yanking my feet back to glare down at the polished wooden floor. I cocked my head and looked around, spotting a pair of slippers tossed carelessly at the dresser.

Quickly to avoid freezing to death, I hopped across the room to the dresser and slid the slippers in. I paused to look down at myself to see nothing-special-boxers and a t-shirt that was not mine. It smelled good, though, I noted as I drew the t-shirt up to my nose and closed my eyes. I took a deep breath of that delicious smell and almost purred.

River.

This shirt belonged to River.

But since when did River wear t-shirts?

I went to one of the doors to open it in hopes of finding a way out, but I found the bathroom first, which was, once again, nothing special. It had all the basic necessities, and some funny decorations, like a wooden sign that read Pee Here and for some reason it was pointing at the shower, which made me crack up, because that was something I'd do. Whoever's place this was, they had a good sense of humor.

I went to the other door that opened up into a small hallway where there was a door to another bedroom, I assumed, and an open door to a guest bathroom. Everything was pretty basic and there wasn't heavy decoration, but as I walked down the hallway, I slowed because the photos were fucking confusing as shit.

I turned to look at the wall that was almost entirely made up of photographs of people I knew, but... It just didn't make sense. Was that me in the photo?

I was confused, because I looked almost the same, but somehow different. It wasn't that I was taller or anything, but I looked... I dunno. Maybe the word was happy? It had to be, because I was smiling in most of the photos. A lot of them were of River and me, and at least River looked the same too. What was funnier is the more I looked at the photos, the more I felt a smile actually pulling at my lips, because there was no way these were real. I couldn't imagine River wearing t-shirts, or jeans, but he definitely looked fucking hot in them. The photos ranged from River and I at some kind of restaurant to one of us coated in mud, but laughing.

Of course, there were other really weird and confusing photos. Like, the ones with me and the Hadiferian clan. Images of us laughing together, sitting around some massive table with a bunch of other people at some kind of holiday dinner, kids running around the chairs and decorations. Images of a cute little cottage that took me a moment to realize was the cottage I was currently in, and judging from one of the photos of River and I standing in front of it, this was our place.

Our place.

I reached up to brush the photo of us standing in front of the cottage as a weird feeling seemed to overwhelm me at that moment. It was hard to tell what the feeling was because I'd never felt it before, or maybe I had, but I'd taken to burying it.

I'd spent my whole fucking life burying everything I felt, or ignoring it. It was scary. Too scary. Feelings were things people used to hurt you. They always did that. It was why I stopped feeling lonely. Loneliness hurt and it was scary and I didn't want to think about it, so I didn't. Didn't mean I didn't feel it. I just turned it into something else.

Rage.

It was the only warmth in my whole fucking life. Anger, hatred, resentment, bitterness.

But there was none of that here. I couldn't see any ounce of it. There was something so soft, so warm, about everything here. It didn't burn like rage, but it was warm and comforting. I breathed out a sigh and it felt almost like a weight was rising up out of my stomach and into my chest.

"What? Getting nostalgic?" River's voice asked. I froze, then spun around to see River standing at the end of the hallway, leaning on the wall. He wasn't wearing a shirt, exposing all that delicious dark tawny skin to my gaze, his muscular arms folded over his chest. He was wearing a pair of checkered pajama pants that made me smirk, because that was so not his style.

"Am I dreaming?" I asked. River smiled at that as he pushed off the wall and came over to cup my face in his hands so he could kiss me ever so gently on the lips. I felt my eyelids flutter, because the kiss was so warm and so soft and so gentle. I breathed out another sigh against his lips, closing my eyes and reaching up to wrap my arms around his chest.

"You keep asking me that like the answer is going to change," River murmured, making my eyes flutter open so I was staring up at him and he smiled, stroking his thumbs against my cheeks, "No, baby. This is it. Everything we worked so hard for. Take a breath. Relax. Come on, let's have some breakfast before Hades comes over." I blinked, then scowled.

"Hades? I thought we agreed nobody could visit us," I said, making River laugh.

"Try telling him that," he said, letting go of me and leading me down the hallway to a small cabin style kitchen with beautiful birch wood cabinetry, "Oh, and you got a call from Ezra. He's been trying to reach you since yesterday, so I'd check your phone."

"Huh?" I asked. River rolled his eyes, then cursed when he saw something on the stove burning and I snorted, watching him run to the stove to snatch the pot off the burner. He tossed it in the sink and turned the water on before backing away to a safe distance.

"Why did you try cooking? I thought that was my job," I said, making River scoff as he went to turn off the sink. He looked awfully pouty as he glared into the sink at the smoking pot.

"I wanted to do something special for our anniversary," he sighed, making me blink and look at him as he glared at the sink, "I know you like that, uh, what's his name human who cooks and I was trying to copy his Wellington recipe, but I couldn't even sauté mushrooms. It's like rocket science."

"Rocket science? You saying I'm a super smart and cool rocket scientist?" I asked, making River grin at me.

"Oh, absolutely," he said, then turned to wrap his arms around my waist, catching me by surprise, then I managed a little "oof" of surprise when he picked me up and put me on the counter so he could lean in between my legs to kiss me on the lips, "Super smart. Super sexy. Super cool." Each compliment blessed me with a kiss on the lips and I felt myself grinning, unable to contain it.

I liked this River. He was so nice and playful. He wasn't scared. He wasn't twitchy or nervous or anything. And the best part is that the way his eyes shined, that... that liquid adoration was still the same as it was when we realized we were in love.

"Mm," River moaned against my lips before he finally broke apart and he groaned, lowering his head so he could bump it against my chest, "If we weren't on a time crunch, I'd take you to the room and make a mess of you." I felt heat rising to my cheeks at that for some reason. It was so straight forward and hearing River like that caught me off guard.

"Oh, uh, yeah?"

"Yes. I like that thing you do with your toes when I slide into you," River murmured and I felt the heat rising further, "I like the way you whimper when I kiss you, like you want more and you don't know how to ask for more."

"Jesus Christ," I managed, reaching up to cover his face when he lifted it to look at me. He grinned and moved my hands aside so he could peek at my face.

"What's wrong? Have I finally managed to embarrass you?"

"I'm not used to you when you talk like that. What's gotten into you?"

"Probably you," River snorted, making me blink and look at him curiously as he pushed off the counter, "I swear, every day someone has to say something about my mouth. You're a poor influence on me. Gods, I fear for the day we have children." I watched him go to the sink to rinse the pot off before settling for throwing it in the bin. I frowned.

"Uh, well... You know. Kids are a long way off," I said slowly. I wasn't sure if I was dreaming or not, so I wasn't sure what to say to that. I had never thought about having kids. Definitely not me. My baby-making abilities were long expired thanks to the drugs the Mother forced down my throat. Would future River not want to marry me just for that?

"I wouldn't call three months a long way off," River laughed as he went toward the bedroom and I froze.

"Uh, what?" I asked, hopping off the counter and starting to go toward the room, but I heard the sound of a door opening somewhere else in the house, making me spin around at the sound of heavy boot thumps. I went back through the kitchen to the little mudroom off the side and froze to see Hades standing there, making a huge fuss about having to take his boots off.

"You know, I clean my boots regularly, you brat," Hades growled as he managed to snatch his massive boots off, "Making me take my boots off in a place I bought with my money. The least you could do is pick up your fucking phone when I call you." I didn't say anything, just stared at him in absolute confusion. Hades finally looked up, pinning me with those blue eyes of his.

"What? Do I have something on my face?" He asked, reaching up to rub at his cheek and look at his hand.

"Uh, no. I mean, what the fuck are you doing here-- Wait, what do you mean phone call? What's going on?" I asked. Hades shook his head as he rose to his feet, and god dammit, this motherfucker was still gigantic even without his goth boots. On the upside, seeing him in a pair of socks, even though they were plain black, was kind of funny.

"You wear socks?" I asked as Hades started into the kitchen. He paused and doubled back into the mudroom to reach out and press the back of his hand to my forehead.

"Are you sick? Have you had any fainting spells lately? Nightmares? Shakes?" He asked. I shoved his hand away with a scowl, which made him roll his eyes and he went back to the kitchen and I followed.

"What the hell is going on?" I demanded. Hades frowned as he pulled some kind of weird kit out of his magical medical bag of wonders. I was about ready to throw it at his fucking head again, but this time I was sure I'd hit my target in a tiny place like this.

"What do you think," Hades asked dryly as he got his equipment set up and it looked like stuff for a blood test or something, "It's gonna take me three months to complete everything and I want to have enough samples to make this work. Gods above, I shouldn't even be fucking doing this. Who the fuck would want to reproduce with you?"

"That would be me, sir," River said, reappearing from the hallway and now wearing a nice v-neck top and holy fuck, was that a pair of Levi's.

"Oh, right," Hades said, taking out a syringe, "I forgot it takes crazy to know crazy."

"I'm pretty sure Lucifer said that to us on our wedding night," River added with a smirk and I looked at him, then at Hades, who shook his head. I groaned.

"What the fuck is happening here," I exclaimed, making them both frown at me, "What is going on? Why is everyone talking about shit like I know what's going on? Where the hell am I? Is this our house? And what did you say about kids, and who the fuck is Ezra and why did I assume Hades didn't wear socks?" Hades raised an eyebrow, then frowned slowly as he rose to his feet, putting his equipment down. River looked at me curiously, then backed up to let Hades get close to me.

"Are you feeling lightheaded?" Hades demanded, reaching for my head, but I whacked his arm away and moved back, only to bump into the cabinets and counter. I cursed and rolled off it and moved away to put space between me and the mad doctor.

"No," I snapped and Hades rolled his eyes, putting his hands on his hips as he watched me wave my hands around to keep him at bay, "Don't touch me! No, I don't understand what's going on here. What are we doing? What do you need samples for? Are you going to create more artificials with my DNA or some shit?" Hades frowned and glanced at River, who looked very concerned now.

"Niko, what's going on?" River asked. I stared at him.

"I'm sorry, what? Who?" I asked. River looked at Hades alarmed now as Hades stared at me.

"Hades, what's he talking about?" He asked. Hades shook his head slowly and came forward once more to touch me. I went to hit him, but he caught my hand with ease and swung me around and slammed me up against the wall, making me grunt. Hades stared at me intently and I stared back at him, completely weirded out and confused. He let go of me right afterwards and stepped back. River went to go to me, but Hades caught his arm and held him still.

"What're you--"

"Give him a second, River. I think we have a problem."

"But, he was fine last night," River said, looking at Hades in confusion before looking back at me nervously, then back at Hades, "He was fine last night. We came home from work together and we had dinner and went to bed... amongst other things."

"Any of those things involve a head injury?" Hades demanded, reaching out to grab my head so he could roughly move me from side to side so he could check me. I cursed and shoved him off and backed up in alarm.

"I don't understand, who the fuck is Niko? Who is Ezra, who--"

"Ezra," Hades repeated, making River stiffen and Hades turned to glare at River, "He's been talking to Ezra?" River glared back at him now, surprising me.

"Yes. I cannot tell Niko who he can and cannot talk to. You know that as well as I do. He and Ezra have been friends far longer than we've even known Niko, so I don't feel I have the right to--"

"Ezra's got problems," Hades snapped, making River sigh in frustration, "He shouldn't even be around him. This is exactly why I didn't want anyone to tell him."

"Tell me what!" I exclaimed in frustration, "What the fuck is going on!"

"Four," Hades said suddenly, making me blink and look at him and he frowned slowly, "Ah, fuck."

"What? What is it?" River asked, moving to get near me. Hades didn't stop him this time, but he looked grim as fuck.

"He doesn't remember," Hades muttered. River blinked, looking at me, then at Hades, then back again.

"No," he said, those orange eyes swinging back to Hades, "No, we were just talking about everything last night. We were just..." He turned back to me and grabbed my arm, which shocked me because he seemed frantic now.

"You... Niko, you remember, right," he asked, making me look at him in confusion, "You remember everything, right? Or, at least the important parts, right? Apollyon? Lilith? Hera? You have to remember Ezra. He was there for you since the beginning, he--"

"River, hang on, don't," Hades warned, coming forward to touch River's arm and River looked at him in panic.

"No, he has to remember, Hades, he--"

"What the fuck is going on--"

"River, don't, he's already fragile, if he remembers the wrong thing..." Hades's voice faded, which confused me, because his mouth was still moving, but it was like I'd suddenly gone deaf. I looked at River and his mouth was moving too, but again, no sound. I couldn't hear anything, but I could see the panic rising in River's eyes and the fear filling Hades's eyes. I opened my mouth and tried to speak, but my tongue suddenly felt huge. I felt the pressure returning to my head all of a sudden, which confused the shit out of me because everything was fine one second and suddenly it was like I was about to have a stroke or something.

I guess I did because my knees buckled and gave out on me so I went down to the floor, but both Hades and River caught me as I spilled over and I could tell they were talking from the way their mouths moved and their bodies vibrated with their speech, but I had no idea what they were saying, just that they looked panicked.

The scene started to change, very weirdly, though. Hades and River still looked panicked, but they seemed to slowly be changing. The panic and the fear and that weird darkness in Hades's eyes was coming back and he seemed to be getting angry. River was also panicking, also angry, shouting right back at Hades. They were just yelling at each other over top of me and the yelling went from anger to fear once more when I realized I was laying on my back on a cold hard floor. There was an odd ringing sound in my ears before the sound started to come back.

"You have a fucking pair on you if you think I'm not going to fucking gut you for bringing him here," Hades snarled, rising up on his knees and River's orange eyes flashed with fury as he rose to his feet and I saw movement behind him that made me tilt my head to realize the Windstorm clan was gathered behind him with Lilith and Apollyon hiding in the middle.

Oh, I realized. I was coming back to... the present? The past? When the fuck was I?

"And you," Hades's glowing blue eyes flashed to where Apollyon was standing in front of Lilith, who was hanging onto Apollyon desperately, trying to pull him to a pair of back doors where a couple of clans members were waiting to help them escape.

"How dare you," Hades snarled, "I told you to stay the fuck away from my kids! I meant all of them!"

"We had no choice," Apollyon snapped, "He's coming into his powers--"

"He already came into them--"

"You thought a fucking cold was him coming into his powers? Surely you, Hades, cannot be that stupid," Apollyon barked, making Hades stiffen, "Hybrid angels are not archangels!"

"Listen, mother--"

"Holy shit, stop fucking yelling," I managed, which was immediately followed by shocked silence and suddenly everyone was crowding around me with Hades trying to move everyone back. Everyone including River and the Windstorm clan, Apollyon, Lilith, and what do you know, Zelios was also in the house with Cerberus and Theo. Now I had over thirty people trying to get in my face.

"Give him air," Hades ordered and finally everyone backed up to give me space and Hades looked down at me in alarm, "Four? Four, can you hear me?"

"How can I not with you screeching like a bunch of fuckin' monkeys in my ear," I groaned, making Hades roll his eyes, "Seriously. Did screaming like that ever solve any of your problems? No? Alright, then shut the fuck up and give me a minute. My head... it hurts..." Hades immediately got serious as he pulled down at my eyelid to check my eyes.

"Your pupils are blown to hell," Hades cursed, studying my eyes, "And you have a broken blood vessel in your left eye. What the fuck happened and why the fuck is Abbadon dead? Does, keep your paws off my property, mean nothing to you fuckers? Abbadon was supposed to be my problem."

"Listen, asshole," I grumbled, but Hades ignored me and pushed me back down so I was laying on the floor again, making me glare at him.

"I need someone who didn't almost die to tell me what the fuck just happened," he ordered. River glared at him.

"Four wanted to see Abbadon."

"So you just fucking took him?"

"He's very convincing. Also, I am not his babysitter... I am his husband."

"The fuck he is," Hades snapped, "On all accounts--"

"Actually," Lilith said, making everyone look at her, "They publicly claimed their matrimony before us, and in some cultures, that's pretty much tying the knot, isn't it?"

"Not the time, Lily," Apollyon whispered and Lilith nodded and gave an apology wave before moving back behind him, only to peek out and give me a little wave, which made me laugh a little as I managed to relax back against the floor. My whole body was aching, like I'd just had my DNA zapped like a fucking lightening bolt.

"What happened," I mumbled.

"He's made his transition," Apollyon announced, making Hades snap his head around to glare at him, "Four is now a full fledged angel hybrid."

"He was already an--"

"Angel. Not an angel hybrid. There is a difference, and I know you know that as well as I do."

"No," Hades repeated, then looked back down at me, "No. No, absolutely not." As if that changed anything. But Hades didn't look disappointed or angry or anything. He looked... scared. Which was weird. I'd never seen Hades scared.

"No," Hades said again, looking at me with those glowing blue eyes.

"Your son," Apollyon said quietly, "is going to trigger the next apocalypse."