Chapter Twenty-Five

Now I'd been to Inferi in the past, on missions.

So I knew all the alleys, all the hiding spots, the best place to avoid the authorities, and so on and so forth. I didn't know about any shops or what they sold or whatever. Never bought anything a day in my life, unless you counted the point system at the compound.

I think I was just expecting a cloudy rainy day in Inferi with a bunch of stuck up rich kids.

Instead, I got a sunny rainy day in Inferi, because apparently the weather couldn't make up her fucking mind, with music playing everywhere from hundreds and hundreds of little shops scattered everywhere from buildings to kiosks to a dude just selling stuff on top of a cardboard box. Languages of all kinds buzzed around me until they blended together and I could hardly tell them apart. Dishes clattered in restaurants, kids ran by screaming with delight, people chatting away on cell phones. The smell of hot oil frying foods, the ocean, and rain filled the air.

And, of course, the spoiled rich kids.

"Do you have to dress up like a douchebag wherever you go?" I asked Three, who was munching on some strange phallic looking treat on a stick. He cut me a dry stare. Three was already pretty good looking, but he just looked douchey in his new rich kid get-up. A fancy nice blazer jacket over top of a hoodie printed entirely with the words demonic fashion and a pair of snug black jeans that led to his boots that clicked when he walked. Of course, you can't forget the big shiny watch on his wrist, even though this fucker had a phone in his other hand for taking pictures.

"Hey, I spent the whole of my life wearing fucking uniforms," Three told me with a scoff, making me roll my eyes, "I'm gonna wear whatever the fuck I want. It's not my fault you're used to dressing like a psych ward patient."

"What's a psych ward?" I asked. Three blinked, then cocked his head with a frown.

"A place for crazy people," he said after a moment, making me scowl.

"I'm not crazy," I responded, which made Three choke on a laugh, but luckily the laugh was cut short by his stupid ass inhaling a piece of whatever dick cheese he was munching on. I turned away from him as he thumped his chest to see Six looking down at a pamphlet that talked about the monument we were currently hanging out under.

"It's called the Inferian Needle," Six said as he looked up from the pamphlet to stare at the huge black structure over our heads, "Apparently it took a whole century to build." I scowled, looking up at the inside of it before coming out one of the archways on the bottom so I was once again getting sprinkled on by the rain.

"It's not that big," I muttered, but Six shook his head.

"No, it was a civil war that held up the process. I had no idea Inferi had a civil war," he murmured, then looked at Three curiously as he came over to stand by him while clearing his throat. I shook my head at them, then looked over where Hadrian was hiding under the Needle, punching some things into his phone. Every so often, he'd smile faintly or cover his mouth like he was going to laugh. It was so weird to see him smiling so much since he had as many facial expressions as a brick wall, but he did manage to look super hot doing whatever the fuck he did. His skin was always flawless and shiny and I'm pretty sure the dude zapped his pores out of existence, and what the hell did he use on his hair to make it so shiny and long? And, of course, his outfit was very Hadarian-esque, with a sleeveless turtleneck top with diamonds glittering around the neckline, a long black skirt that was pleated down to his ankles, and finishing it off was a pair of rubber boots.

Gods, he was fucking weird.

He was apparently contacting what he called the Cousins. It sounded badass, but don't be fooled; it was nothing more than a gaggle of Hades spawn that hung out together from time to time. Apparently they were all big Hades fans too, so that meant I had to deal with people fawning over Hades again like he was the best thing since toaster strudels. Please. Clearly none of these people had been locked in his gaudy palace for a whole fucking year.

"Try to be friendly," Six chided me, making me roll my eyes, "They're good people, Four. If it wasn't for them, we'd probably still be stuck with the Mother." I didn't say anything to that. I didn't know what to say considering I mostly thanked Bait this whole time for keeping me alive.

"They came for us?" I asked. Six glanced at Three, who raised an eyebrow at him. Six cleared his throat and looked at me, giving me a firm nod. I frowned and glanced back over at Hadrian, who was frowning at his phone for a moment, then blinked and looked up to meet my stare. I stared back at him for the longest time before he smiled faintly and gave me a little wave before he pocketed his phone and approached.

"They said they'll meet us for drinks at the restaurant," Hadrian said, "That gives us about two hours to shop around."

"Cool," Three said, chewing on the stick that was leftover from his treat, "So where to first?"

"The mall is a couple blocks away," Six said, looking at his pamphlet again, "We could hit some shops there, then make our way down main street until we get to the restaurant, cuz it's right here, right?" He leaned over to Hadrian, who nodded.

"That sounds like a good plan," he agreed. I glanced at them as they chatted about which shop to go to first, then went back to sightseeing.

Inferi was cool during the day in the sunlight. I had only ever seen it dark and rainy. Even though it was still rainy, at least it was sunny now. All the buildings were kind of neat, a combination of new and old. Some had creeping vines up the discolored bricks, others were sleek and modern with tinted windows and neon signs. We passed a fuck ton of restaurants with all kinds of smells, all kinds of foods, and I had never thought there could be so many different kinds of food.

"What's that?" I asked, pointing at a little kiosk where a male demon was passing out some kind of finger food.

"It's dragon meat," Six said, making me look at him in surprise, "Don't worry, they're a special type of dragon that's been domesticated and used for food for centuries. It's not like a dragon shifter or anything. In fact, dragon shifters really like the winky dragon meat."

"Winky dragon meat?" I asked. Six nodded.

"The main breed of dragon meat comes from the winky dragon. They're tiny dragons, about the size of a rabbit, and tend to come in red, gray, and black. Their meat is really tender and perfect for street food dishes, like pulled sandwiches and tacos."

"I have no idea what any of that shit is," I deadpanned. Six rolled his eyes, then came forward to take a couple toothpicks from the guy, spearing small balls of meat coated in some kind of sauce. He handed me one and took it hesitantly as Six gave one to Three, who also eyed it warily. Hadrian took his and popped it in his mouth without hesitation and gave a nod.

"Very good. I like the sauce on it. It's sweet and spicy," he said, licking his lips, then pulling out a compact mirror to double check his lipgloss. I looked down at the meat on the stick. It looked pretty good and it smelled even better. I glanced at Six, who was encouraging Three to take a bite, even though Three was making faces and whining. I rolled my eyes and stuck the meat in my mouth, tearing it off the toothpick, which I tossed in the little bin by the kiosk.

Immediately I had to stop everything I was doing to focus on what the hell was going on in my mouth. The meat was absolutely amazing. Sweet and juicy and tender, so it practically melted in my mouth and the sauce was so sweet and spicy and salty. It was so many good things rolled into one.

"That's so fucking good," I managed, looking at Six, who beamed proudly. Three glared at him, then at me, then groaned and stuck it in his mouth. He chewed a few times, then shook his head.

"It's too spicy," he muttered, making me snort.

"Oh, please. What a weak tongue," I retorted, making Three roll his eyes.

"Thank you both for trying it," Six said, looking at his pamphlet, "Oooh, there's a festival coming up in a few days for Yule."

"Yule?" I asked.

"It's a holiday for a lot of pagans," Six said, making me frown, "It's sort of like the Christian Christmas. You just kind of celebrate cuz it's cold and everyone wants food."

"Oh... What's the Christian Christmas?" I asked. Six frowned.

"Hasn't Hades been teaching you things like that?" He asked. I snorted at that, pausing to eye a shop window that had some kind of suggestive lingerie.

"No way," I said, looking away from the item and continuing to follow Hadrian, "I barely see that asshole and when I do, he's just a classic dickfuck. He hasn't taught me shit. Blaine taught me how to cook, though."

"Blaine did?" Hadrian asked, looking up. I nodded.

"He taught me how to make chicken and waffles, chicken and dumplings, and a bunch of other stuff. Thank fuck too, because I was gonna starve if I didn't figure out how to make something on my own," I responded.

"They didn't feed you?" Six asked with a frown.

"No, they tried," I replied, then shrugged, "But I just can't eat like I used to. Nor do I. It's weird eating more than once a day."

"Same," Six agreed with a nod, "Sometimes I forget so Hadrian has to set an alarm for me."

"River's my alarm," I said with a scoff, "He's always checking in to make sure I ate something. He'd be up my ass now if he didn't know I was going to be with other people who would remind me."

"So, you seem to like River a lot," Six noted, making me avert my eyes, "I've never seen you talk about someone like you talk about River. Is he nice to you?"

"I mean, yeah, I guess," I said dryly, "But I'm not really looking for nice. I'm looking for someone who can stand at my back when it counts. Especially since we're gonna go up against the Mother." Six paused at that, looking down at his pamphlet, then looking at Three, who frowned.

"What? You have a plan?" Three asked.

"None of your business," I said, making Three glare at me, "Yet anyway. I gotta work out a few kinks here and there. Starting with Hades approving my marriage to River."

"Why do you need his permission?" Three asked.

"Because River wants it," I replied with a snort, "If it were up to me, we'd be married and launching our first attack right now. Instead, I'm running around playing hide and seek with Hades because he's a fucking control freak."

"I'm sure he just wants to keep you safe," Six said, but I shook my head.

"He can't keep me safe when he's not around me, or even if I'm at the palace. We've had like four break-ins since I moved in. His palace isn't bulletproof."

"No, but it's safer if you're with him."

"Except I'm not. He's god knows where and I'm in my room almost every time someone's tried to attack us."

"I'm honestly surprised he let you leave," Three muttered, looking down at his phone to type some things in.

"I mean, if I didn't, I'd stay there and terrorize him until he let me go," I pointed out, which made Three shrug and nod in understanding. Six shook his head.

"So what's a mall?" I asked as we rounded a corner.

"That," Six said, pointing ahead and I followed his finger to a massive building. Like, it was huge with a domed glass top with lights that were flashing inside. It had to be over four stories high with tall ceilings and shit. It took up almost a whole city block and there were tons of people milling around, going in and out of the building.

Hadrian led the way through the front doors, which were kind of weird because they spun around and I almost got stuck, but I managed to figure that shit out and stumbled out into the mall itself. There was so much to look at that I wasn't sure where to look first. There was some kind of food area with tables and chairs and a bar with all kinds of restaurants and people walking around. There were weird moving staircases that took people up to the second or third or fourth fucking floors, and even glass elevators that took you up and down. Music played from different stores and it was stuff I'd never heard before.

"Holy shit," I managed, staring around at all the bright lights, the dim shop windows, the people walking around and not paying much attention to the activity around them.

"It's huge, huh," Three said, coming to stand beside me, "The one in Styx is bigger, but this one is still pretty huge."

"I cannot imagine this getting bigger," I said, looking around, "How do we know where to go first?"

"Hadrian knows this place like the back of his hand," Six said, approaching us, "He'll take us around." I looked at him, then over at Hadrian, who was coming over to us as he stuck his phone in his bag before something bright caught my eye and I followed it to a shop that was nestled in a corner. While the shop itself looked dark, there were flashing lights every so often and there were mannequins in the window all wearing shit I'd seen Cerberus wear. From the leather jackets to the monstrously huge boots.

"What about that?" I asked, pointing. Hadrian followed my direction, then smiled pleasantly.

"We can visit a similar shop."

"Why not that one?"

"That one is a special shop for people who are tall."

"I'm tall."

"Not by our standards, you aren't," Three said, making me glance at him, "Tall for these guys is like... Seven foot. You've got good height, but you are not seven feet tall."

"That's stupid. Why do they only sell things for people who are tall?"

"Because tall people need special clothes," Three deadpanned. I scoffed. Hadrian gestured for us to follow him and we made our way through the ocean of people. Nobody seemed to give a shit that we were rubbing elbows, especially when we got on what Hadrian called escalators. I ended up packed between Six and Three and some lady with her kid in front of us. The kid was drooly and gross, but for some reason, he was leaning over his mother's shoulder and making grabbing motions at me. I reared my head back, giving the kid a weird look, but he didn't seem to understand personal space because he just giggled and reached for me again.

"Kids need to learn boundaries," I muttered as we stepped off the escalator and the mother went in the opposite direction with her kid, who sniffled and whined.

"They do, overtime," Six said, making me roll my eyes, "Oh, are we going to a Six Feet Under?"

"Yes," Hadrian said, "But we'll hit it on the way out. I'm hoping to find some new lingerie." I frowned, glancing at him.

"It doesn't surprise me that you wear lacey panties on top of skirts," I said dryly, but Hadrian smiled at me.

"It's not for me," he said, then walked by me and headed straight ahead. I scowled, looking at Six, who was blushing to the tips of his ears and clearing his throat before he hurried after Hadrian. I looked at Three, who just gave me a smirk before he followed the others. I followed after them, confused as fuck about that, but not really giving a shit to overthink it.

I heard the shop before we approached it. Some kind of heavy bass was thumping and some guy was stringing words together faster than anyone I'd ever heard. I looked up at the speakers as we walked in under some banners with weird monkey characters all over it.

"Hadrian, the love of my life!" I looked up as a teeny tiny little dark-skinned female came to greet us. I mean, she was tiny, like there was no way this female was over five foot. Her bright red and black hair was tied back into two bouncy pigtails and she had heart tattoos all over her face like freckles.

"Daina," Hadrian greeted with a smile, "It's been a minute." Daina grinned, revealing she had two fake fangs that were painted black.

"I'll say! Look at you, hot stuff," she said, doing circles around Hadrian, "Cute 'fit, baby!" She looked over, spotting the rest of us and her eyes lit up as she clasped her fingerless gloved hands together.

"Ooh! Look at all this eye candy," she exclaimed, coming over to look Three up and down, and Three, of course, puffed up all cocky and shit and basked in the glory, "My gods, I'm so lucky today."

"Daina, you got anything for my friend here," Hadrian asked, gesturing to me and Daina's yellow eyes locked on me in an instant, "He's new to the scene. I figured this might be his kind of shop."

"Oooh," Daina cooed, approaching me to give me a once over before doing circles around me, "Ooh, he's so tall and blonde. Introduce yourself, stranger." I frowned.

"Four," I replied. Daina blinked, then looked at Hadrian, who nodded. Daina looked back at me with a smile.

"What'd you like, Four? You looking for rap king of the 90s or Detroit rap junkie?"

"I have no idea what any of that means."

"No prob, baby, I gotchu," Daina said with a nod and reached out to take my hand, which startled me, but I didn't really wanna freak her out by shaking her off considering how tiny she was, so I let her drag me through the racks of clothing to a darker corner of the shop. Most of the clothing was black or leather, but it looked closer to what Cerberus wore than the other shops we'd passed.

"You got any sensory issues I gotta worry about," Daina asked as she started looking through the clothes, "Like, no leather cuz it's sweaty, no polyester, form fitting, etcetera." I frowned.

"Uh. I don't like tight clothes."

"No problem, baby, I have just the brand," she said, taking out a few pairs of pants and handing them to me without looking, "Those would be our Dre line. We also have a Biggie, but that might be too loose for you. You've got a fantastic figure, baby, we gotta show that off."

"Uh, mkay," I said with a frown, taking anything she was throwing at me. I glanced over at Hadrian, who was smiling and watching and giving me a little encouraging wave. Six was busy looking through their underwear and Three was eyeballing the music albums on the wall.

It was so weird being around someone who wasn't a member of the Hades family. I wasn't entirely sure how to act with this little lady, and she was nice and all, even if she didn't use my name, even though she asked for it first. She was so small. I'd never seen such a small person.

"Are you, like, fae or something?" I asked. She looked up.

"Why?"

"You're tiny."

"Oh, no, I'm human, baby," she said, making me blink as she turned back to the racks of clothes, "Born and raised in Detroit, Michigan, during the riots. Mama grabbed me and my sisters and next thing I know, we're living in Inferi. Mama got a new hubby, turns out he was a demon. Funny how things fall together like that. Now if only my handsome prince or princess would show up." She paused and looked me up and down again.

"I'm getting married," I said, which made her curse before she recovered quickly and waved at me with a grin.

"Sorry, just kidding, baby. You are certainly a tasty treat, but I prefer my men like I like my coffee," she said, then paused and when I stared at her blankly, she smiled, "Dark and keeps me up all night." I considered that, then couldn't resist laughing a little.

"Same," I agreed, which made her laugh out loud too.

"Oh, god, you are so fucking cute," she said, turning back to the racks, "Okay, one more top and then you can hang out in fitting rooms with your friends." I nodded as she fished out another top and handed it to me, so I was left carrying my pile back to where the so-called fitting rooms were. They were just small rooms full of mirrors and a bench where I dumped my pile of clothes.

"Don't forget to come out and show us every outfit," Hadrian said, making me scowl.

"Why?"

"So we can make sure it looks extra good," Hadrian replied, then shut the door and I locked it. I sighed and turned back to the pile of clothes, feeling a strange sense of anxiety about it. I wasn't sure what it was. Maybe I wasn't used to getting brand new clothes for myself. I mean, I'd never done it before. The clothes I'd worn up until this point had been given to me. I'd never bought anything for myself.

And the fitting rooms were kind of cramped. Even worse was making eye contact with my reflection every so often and jumping because I swore it was another person, even though logically I knew it wasn't. I managed to pull on a pair of jeans with a cool string of chains dangling off the side and the top that Daina had picked out for me that was really just half a shirt with some kind of name across the front.

"How are you doing, baby?" Daina asked.

"Uh, fine," I said, reaching for the lock, "I don't know if I put the pants on right, though." I opened the door and came out to the sound of Daina sucking in a deep breath and Three whistling long and low. I frowned as I came out to present the outfit.

"I have no idea what those reactions mean," I stated.

"Oh my gosh," Daina crooned, coming over to do circles around me, "Oh my gosh, nobody's ever made our Dre line look this good. Your booty is absolutely fantastic and you got such a nice flat tummy and oh, those legs, though, baby, whoever you're marrying is one lucky mofo." I blinked at that. I had never thought of River as being the lucky one to marry me. I figured I was the lucky one.

"He looks really good in crop tops," Hadrian said, looking at Daina, "You took a risk and I approve."

"Even better," Daina sang, then bowed as Six and Three clapped for her, "Thank you, thank you, I'm here all week. Or the rest of my life at this rate." I laughed at that.

"So it looks alright?" I asked, turning around again to catch a glimpse in the mirror. I wasn't sure how I felt about it entirely, mostly because I wasn't used to wearing brand new clothes, but I liked the way the top felt. It was like wearing nothing at all. The jeans were a little rough, but I think that was the style of the pants, so I figured I'd have to cope with it one way or another.

"Absolutely! Now, next outfit," Daina announced and I nodded, heading back to the fitting room to try on the rest of the outfits. Most of them turned out pretty good, only a couple busts and it was mostly a comfort thing. I didn't like the way mesh shirts felt, so we got rid of those, same with the jeans in the end. I just couldn't cope with that material. It felt like I was wearing a potato sack and not clothes. Instead, we opted for sweatpants and a pair of leather pants, which were kind of tight, but in a good way, if that made sense.

"Alrighty," Daina mused as she bagged up the items, "Nice, nice. That'll be sixty thousand credits and would you like to pay for us to send it over to your home?"

"Yes, please," Hadrian said, leaning over, "That would be the palace, by the way."

"Oooh, bougie," Daina hummed, "Alright, there you are, and would you like to wear what you have on out?" I looked down at the leather pants and cropped long sleeve I wore, then nodded, which made Daina smile as she punched in some stuff into her electronic tablet.

"Excellent. Everything's all paid for and sent to your home," she said.

"Thanks, Daina, I really appreciate it," Hadrian said with a smile and Daina grinned.

"No, baby, I appreciate it. Seriously," she said, giving me another once over before meeting my eyes, "An absolute pleasure to serve you today, baby, you ever need anything, just ask for Daina and I will be here one way or another."

"Thanks," I said, which made her blush and grin.

We turned and headed out of the shop and I was fucking relieved I didn't have to carry all that shit around with me. No way I'd be able to lug all those bags around with me.

"Alright," Hadrian said, "We can stop at one more shop, then let's start making our way toward the restaurant."

"Sounds good to me," Three said with a stretch, "We doing Six Feet Under? I wanna help pick out the undies."

"Why? It's not like you wear it," Six said dryly, making Three scoff.

"I don't need to wear it to enjoy it. Plus, you always get the safe stuff. I want something raunchy this time, like a keyhole teddy or-or how about crotchless panties?"

"Ugh!" Six walked ahead of us, clearly fed up with Three, who shrugged.

"It's not like it's an insult," he said to me, "Six is just easily embarrassed."

"Who gives a shit if you wear panties? If they're nice, they're nice."

"Would you ever wear panties?"

"Probably not," I muttered, opening and closing my palm as I remembered touching a pair of panties at the other shop, "I don't like the way it feels. It feels like paper or something. I'd be afraid of ripping that shit. Plus, why would I wear it if it's not comfortable?"

"Because River might like it?" Three suggested and I blinked, looking at him.

"You think?" I asked. Three paused for a moment, then smiled slowly.

"Oh yeah. I bet he'd shit bricks if you wore panties for him. You know what? Just go for a whole set," he said, making me frown.

"Set?" I asked.

"I'll show you," Three assured. It didn't take long for us to reach this Six Feet Under shop and there was definitely no shyness to this place. The mannequins in front were all dressed in sexy outfits, and one even had a ball gag tied to its mouth. It smelled super expensive there, from the leather and the perfumes that were lined up on the front counter. Mannequins were scattered around the shop, all wearing sexy outfits and in suggestive poses. There were all kinds of sex things in that shop, now that I noticed it. From clothing to toys to even foods, some shaped like penises too. It was almost funny, actually.

"Alright," Three said, linking his arm with me and dragging me away from where Hadrian and Six were heading to look, "Let's see what we can find your newly skinny ass." I rolled my eyes, shrugging him off.

"I dunno, this kinda shit might actually make River pass out," I muttered, eyeing one of the outfits that was made entirely of black lace done like spiderwebs and it was open in the front with a buttoned part at the crotch for easy access. I raised an eyebrow and looked at Three, who was staring at a red version of the outfit.

"You said he was an incubus, right? Nah, he'd fuckin' love this kinda shit," he said, pausing to thumb through some outfits, "Let's see what we can find you. I dunno if you're a teddy guy or a like... garter belt kinda guy? I have no idea. I'm still new to this shit too. I just buy whatever I think Six would look good in and he just wears it."

"I bet he does it without complaining too," I said sarcastically, making Three laugh.

"Nah, Six bitches about everything. Except when we're in bed," he added, leaning over with a grin, making me frown curiously, "Once we're in bed, he'll do whatever we want. The other night, we bent him over one of the desks and--"

"And how can I help you two gentledemons?" A voice asked, making Three jump and I turned to see what appeared to be a female, but it was difficult to tell. A lot like Hadrian. Their voice was rough and husky, gravelly, but they looked kind of slender and sexy with black hair cut short, but spiked forward and razor sharp red eyes.

"Uh, hi," Three said awkwardly, letting go of the clothes, "Sorry, we're looking for... stuff." The person smiled, flashing a pair of vampiric fangs.

"Oh? For each other or just one of you today?" They asked. Three blushed immediately.

"For him, not me," he said, pointing to me and I scowled, "Definitely not me." The person smirked at that, then looked at me.

"And what are you looking for today exactly?" They asked.

"Uh, I dunno," I said with a shrug, "Something that'll make my soon-to-be husband itchy. He's having trouble getting comfortable with me, I think." The person perked up.

"Oh! Of course, so we're new to the scene then," they mused and gestured for us to follow them, and we really didn't have much of a choice, because we lost track of Hadrian and Six, so we ended up following them to a corner of the shop with a lot of the leather stuff, "So, this our leather collection. It's really good for beginners. Very easy to clean and comes in a variety of styles. We have chastity underwear, keyhole suits, full body suits. Are you looking for something with coverage or...?"

"Uh, no coverage?" I asked in return. The person grinned.

"Nice choice. Always fun. Okay, then I would recommend this," they pulled something off the rack and held it out to me, "Again, super easy to clean, but very revealing in all the right places. It also comes with a skirt or panties." She took those off the rack and held it beside the other outfit. I didn't know what to say because I'd never seen anything like that. The outfit itself was very minimal with lots of metal loops on it and the panties she'd grabbed were basically non-existent considering it was just a bunch of leather straps that came together.

"Ohhh wow," I said after a moment, turning to look at Three, who was covering his mouth to suppress a laugh, "What? Why don't you try it on, stud?" Three snorted and the person simply smiled, looking back and forth between us.

"We're here for you, man, getting you something to wear for River," he added, making me pause to frown at the outfit.

"Yeah, good point," I said, "Okay, sure. I'll, uh, take one."

"Excellent! What size would you need?"

"Probably XL," Three said, making the person nod and turn to fetch the correct size. I scowled, looking at Three.

"What if River hates it? What if he gets pissed that I wear something that stupid?"

"It's not stupid. Six wears this shit all the time."

"Six is... different."

"Oh?" Three asked. I averted my eyes, but didn't say anything. It was too late anyway. The person at the register was bagging up the items at the same time Hadrian and Six came over to buy their items.

"Oh, you bought something," Hadrian said, staring at the bag in my hand and I looked at him warily.

"Maybe," I said.

"Just," Hadrian paused before looking up to meet my eyes, "Just don't let Hades see it, huh?"

"Why? Think he'd want it for himself?" I asked, looking down at the bag. Three snorted and choked on a laugh.

"Oh yeah," Three said, "Yeah, bring it to Hades and tell him you bought a token of appreciation for him letting you out in the streets."

"Don't," Hadrian said, pushing Three away and looking at me sternly, "This wasn't exactly on the list of approved places, but it's honestly not a bad place. I just think Hades would feel you aren't ready to explore it just yet."

"Why? I know what sex is," I deadpanned, "It's not gonna scare me or anything, Christ. In fact, I'm trying to have sex with River."

"That's what concerns Hades," Hadrian muttered, making me scowl as he turned away to look down at his phone, "Okay, time to meet up with everyone. We had a good haul." He led the way away from the shop and we headed out of the mall to the street outside, and much to my relief, the rain was nothing more than a mist now as opposed to a borderline downpour. Unfortunately, that did mean more people were out and about, but it wasn't too bad the further away from the mall we got.

"Are you really going to wear that for River?" Six asked me as we walked.

"Why not?" I asked. Six shrugged.

"No, it's not a bad thing. I think it'll be nice. It's just... weird thinking of you wearing it," he said.

"I mean, if he wants to wear it he can, but yeah the plan was for me to do it," I replied, making Six blush and shake his head, "What? I'm not gonna dink around with him. He's an incubus. He needs to feed regularly and I'm about to become his husband. I'm not gonna fucking starve him to death, jeez."

"No," Six admitted, "But, uhm, are you ready for that? Like, to take that step?"

"It's sex, not rocket science. Dick goes in, dick comes out. Not really that complicated."

"Er, no, I guess not, but are you ready, like, mentally? What if you get scared or something?" Six asked. I glared at him.

"I'm not fucking scared of sex," I responded defensively and Six averted his eyes, "I'm not. It's just sex. Why does everyone act like I'm some kind of delicate princess? I know what sex is and I know what to do. It's not that complicated."

"Okay, I know, but you've been through a lot..." Six's voice trailed. I tensed and looked at him, but he was looking away, like he wanted to avoid eye contact. In fact, he went ahead to get between Three and Hadrian while they were talking. I frowned.

Six wasn't dumb, and neither was I.

Six knew what happened to me in those dungeons.

I sighed, then stopped when I realized something.

Wait. If Six knew what happened to me in those dungeons...

That meant he knew the guys who ganged up on me.

I snapped my head up to glare at the back of Six's head as he listened to something Three and Hadrian were talking about.

That little bastard. This whole fucking time, I'd been trying to figure out more details behind what happened, at the very least the names of the assholes who'd touched me, but I couldn't come up with shit. And yet Six was here the whole fucking time and there was no way he didn't know their names. No way he could sit there and listen to that all day and not catch names.

Son of a bitch.