Chapter Nineteen

The next morning, we woke up and managed to climb down from the tree to start our next hike up through the mountains. Thankfully we were already on the mountain, so the climb wasn't so much steep as it was winding and twisting and turning. The air was cooler in the mountains, though, and I noticed everyone kind of shivering against the wind, except Bait. Bait seemed fine with it.

"It feels warm to me," he'd said when I asked if he was alright. I felt like everything this guy said was sad, so I was learning not to ask too many questions anymore.

"God, it's fucking cold," Three complained as we walked, rubbing at his arms, "I hope there's fucking heat where we're going."

"I hope so too," Six muttered, walking close to him. I didn't know what to say, so I said nothing. I didn't know how to reassure them that we were going to a better place after this. That things were going to get better. Or at least, they should. I can't imagine any of their parents rejecting them, if they were who I suspected. There was something very vaguely familiar about Three, about Six and Four, and even Bait. I just couldn't place my finger on the exact names. But if it was someone I knew, someone I was related to, surely they would find a good home.

Whether they were adults or not. Because it didn't matter if you were grown up, you always needed your parents. You always needed that support, that solid relationship, that love and affection. At least, that was how I felt about it considering my parents. I considered myself incredibly lucky that I'd been born into a family that loved me and cared for me, and I knew that. I just desperately wanted everyone else to feel that way too.

"How is he?" Six asked me, slowing down so he could walk beside me. I looked down at Four, who was looking through tired blue eyes at the sky. He had been awake for a while now, but he wasn't speaking. He looked like he was in some kind of shock. He just laid there, didn't move, didn't speak.

"The same," I admitted softly. Six sighed, but said nothing as he nodded and went ahead to let Three know. Three glanced back at us, then looked forward again. I glanced at Bait to see how he was fairing, and he seemed to be keeping up just fine. He walked at my side with his pronounced limp, chewing and biting into any food we came across.

"I've seen you eat since we left the cave," I commented. Bait looked at me.

"Well, when you're used to eating stale bread and fruit pits, it's nice having something more... I don't know, better?" He said, then shrugged and went back to eating his handful of berries. I shook my head, reminding myself to quit making him bring up sad memories. Of course, how could I do that when it seemed like everything was a sad memory for the guy?

I shook my head and continued on. We went for another few hours before we once more had to stop to rest. Bait was slowing down behind us, Six looked like he was getting sick to his stomach, Three was done walking on stiff legs. We managed to find a little cave in the mountainside and settled in for the night. Three went to fetch sticks to build a fire in the cave while I kept an eye on Bait and Four, both of whom were now asleep. Six came over to sit beside me as I formed a little fire pit with rocks from the cave.

"It feels like we've been walking forever," Six murmured, "It almost feels hopeless at this point." I frowned, looking up at him to see him sitting with his muscular arms on his knees, leaning forward to stare at the floor.

"It's not. We'll find a way out of here, don't worry," I assured. Six looked at me.

"How can you be so positive?"

"I've had terrible things happen before. And a lot of good things happen after. It just takes some time. We'll get there."

"I hope so. I'm tired. I'm hungry, but I don't want any more fruit or my mouth is gonna get full of sores. I want... I want a burger," Six sighed wistfully, resting his chin in his hand now, "I want one like the one we had at the diner. The juicy bacon one." I smiled at that.

"We'll get one as soon as we're out of here," I promised. Six looked at me.

"Can Three try some?"

"Of course."

"I think he'd like burgers. He likes meat."

"I'm not surprised," I said dryly, earning an eyebrow raise from Six, "Nothing, just a typical male thing people make fun of them for. Anyway, once Three comes back, we can warm up for the night, get some rest, and by tomorrow, we should reach the breach point. Hopefully the veil is thin enough for us to escape through."

"What if the person who came in and left, closed it up when they left?" He asked. I shook my head.

"I doubt it. And I doubt whoever came is gone," I replied, earning wide eyes from him, "If they came here for me, they're not leaving until they find me. Hopefully they're still in the vicinity so we can meet up and get out faster." Six averted his eyes.

"Who would come for you? Aside from Hades."

"If it's not Hades, it's my Cousins."

"Cousins?"

"Yeah, they're the only ones who know about us," I said, making Six stare at me, "I tell them everything. And they tell me everything. I just hope they weren't dumb enough to just show up here without alerting Hades at the very least."

"I'm not sure I'm ready to meet Hades," Six muttered, "He's..."

"He's not scary," I said, earning a stare from Six, "No, really. He just looks scary. I've grown up with him my whole life. He's... certainly paranoid, but he has his reasons. He's a good male and he'll do what he can to help." I hoped. I hoped Hades could look past the fact that Six and Three tried to kidnap me to get me forcibly impregnated. That was gonna be a tough thing to look beyond, but it was my hope that Hades could do so. At least with a little convincing.

"Ugh!" Six and I looked up to see Three coming back with what looked like a pig over his shoulder. We rose to our feet to help him as he came in and dropped the thing on the floor by the fire pit.

"What happened to the fire?" I asked. Three shrugged.

"I saw the pig first."

"Okay, but how are we going to eat it?"

"With fire."

"That we don't have."

"Oh, calm down," Three said, waving me off, "I'll grab some sticks and shit. Just watch the food." I shook my head at him, then looked at Six.

"I'm going to go help him. You good here?" I asked. Six nodded. I headed out of the cave and followed Three out into the forest. It wasn't too hard to find dead branches that we could pry off trees or pick up off the forest floor. The problem was that most of them were a little damp because-- hello, rainforest, anyone?

"Thank you, by the way," I said, making Three look up with a frown.

"For the pig?"

"For saving my life," I said, making his frown deepen and he looked away uncomfortably, "You may have been the one to fuck me over in the beginning, but you saved my life, the moment you got me out of there. And I don't think I said thank you for that, so thank you." Three shrugged awkwardly, walking over to pick up a big stick that he nearly clocked himself with. I raised an eyebrow as I watched him put it on his shoulder to balance it.

"Yeah, well, you know."

"No... Well, maybe I do," I admitted, making him glance at me, "You're not a bad person, Three, and I think it took me a while to see that." Three frowned.

"Okay. And?"

"And... I want to try and find a way to make this work," I said, making Three cock his head, "This... thing with Six." Three narrowed his eyes.

"What do you mean? He's my husband."

"Perhaps by your standards, but by others, he's not. He's just a boyfriend."

"He's still mine."

"And he's also mine," I said, making Three stiffen, "Don't play dumb here. We both know Six is in love with both of us. He wants both of us, but he doesn't think that's possible. Of course, it is, but it's only possible if all three of us consent to it. And right now, we don't have your consent, so what I'm asking for is--"

"My consent," Three deadpanned, "You want me to say it's okay for you to touch my husband."

"I want your consent to be okay with me touching you and your husband," I said dryly. Three stopped and dropped the stick on his shoulder, cursing, then turning to look at me, confused.

"I'm sorry, try that again?" He asked. I set down the sticks I'd collected and approached him. He backed up, but bumped into a tree so he had nowhere to go, but face me. I got right up into his space and he looked down at me curiously.

"Something tells me you've never heard of a poly relationship," I said. Three looked at me warily.

"A what?"

"A relationship between more than two people."

"Oh."

"Of course, all three must consent to it in order for it to work, and I'm asking you if you would like to consent to being in a relationship with me and Six. Not just Six and me together with you as an addition, but you as one of us. All three of us. Together," I explained. I couldn't believe I was actually asking him this. It wasn't that I didn't like Three. I strangely did. Perhaps not nearly as much as Six, but enough to be okay with touching him, with him touching me. He saved my life. He saved Six's. And Bait's, and Four's. He was hardworking and when he wanted to be, he was incredibly affectionate, and I liked that in a person.

"W-What? All three of us? Together?" Three asked, clearly not understanding it. I cocked my head and reached out to run my hand up his arm, watching his eyes dart over to watch me before darting back to my face. I reached up to touch the side of his face and he held his breath for a moment, like he was afraid to breathe. I stepped in close and slowly touched my lips to his, giving him an opportunity to pull away.

Which he didn't.

He stood there, our lips touching, not quite a kiss considering there was no movement from either of us. Until I pushed my lips against his and his eyes widened. He pulled his head back.

"I'm married," he said. I looked at him.

"You're in a relationship with Six," I replied, "And I respect that. If you don't want me to be near you, push me away and tell me Six is yours and only yours... But if you're interested in making this work, kiss me back." I stood there and waited patiently as Three seemed to be mentally scrambling to figure out what to do. He studied me for the longest time, those eyes darting around my face, as if trying to seek out some kind of lie or deception.

But I was serious.

I loved Six. I knew that for sure. I adored him and everything about him. He made my heart sing in a way that no one else ever had. I wanted to hold him and watch him squirm beneath me. I wanted to watch him eat and enjoy the outside world.

For Three, I... liked him. In a weird way. He was incredibly handsome, his dark blonde hair short and his eyes a deep milk chocolate, his body muscular and stable. He was funny too, without meaning to be. There were times he honestly made me smile. And above all, I loved the way he loved Six. Perhaps his way of showing it wasn't completely conventional, and it made sense given how they were raised. But I saw it in the way he looked at Six, the way he held him. He loved Six more than anything.

That was something we could both agree on.

Three surprised me a moment later when his lips tentatively touched mine. My eyes widened, because honestly I was expecting Three to push me away and storm back to the cave to get Six and just leave. Except Three was touching his lips to mine, like he was afraid I would bite him... or perhaps afraid what his decision could mean.

I reassured him by kissing him back gently, tonguing his lips open until he parted them and let me explore his mouth. I smoothed my hands up his abs to his chest, brushing my thumbs by his nipples through his shirt. He growled low in his throat before pulling away and I stared up at him.

"I don't know how this works," he muttered, "But it better... I don't trust people often, but there's something about you..."

"I'm convincing," I admitted. Three wrinkled his nose and I smiled at that, giving him a pat on the chest before stepping back.

"How about we start a fire?" I asked. Three looked at me, his eyes wide and he looked around, then looked back at me.

"Right here?" He asked. I stared at him for a moment before I realized what he thought I meant and I laughed, covering my mouth for a moment as he scowled at me.

"No, I mean, literally, start a fire, to cook the meat you got us," I said. Three surprised me when he flushed to his ears.

"I knew that," he answered gruffly, stooping to gather up his sticks before he shoved past me and headed back toward the cave. I smiled at that and grabbed my sticks, following behind him. I caught up quickly and we walked side by side, approaching the cave and seeing Six stand up from where he was sitting. He looked back and forth between us curiously, but said nothing. Neither did we. But Three did stop by to give him a kiss before he went to set up the fire. I cocked my head, then looked at Six, who looked back at me questioningly. I leaned in and kissed him on the lips before I went to help Three get the fire ready.

I could feel Six gaping at us, like he wasn't sure what to say about the arrangement. I glanced up to see Bait watching us with a raised brow and at his side, Four was curled up on his side in a fetal position, unmoving, not speaking a word or looking anywhere, but the floor.

We got the fire started and Three got to work skinning and cutting up the meat for us. I sat back as Six came over to sit beside me.

"You guys seem... calm," Six commented. I shrugged.

"I talked to him. He seems interested in making this work," I said, making Six's eyes widen in surprise, "He kissed me." Six looked over at Three, who was busy cutting the meat and skewering it on little sticks to place over the fire. He looked back at me.

"He did?"

"Is that okay with you?"

"I... I mean, I guess. I just... I'm not sure how this is supposed to work," he admitted shyly, looking down at the ground. I smiled.

"I can't say I know exactly either considering I've never been in a relationship before, but... I think this is okay right now. I think we're alright," I said. Six nodded slowly, then looked back over at Three before looking at me.

"He... kisses pretty good, though, right?" He asked. I smiled.

"Yes. He does," I replied. Six looked down, then lifted his eyes back up to meet mine. There was a heat there I was thirsty for. I leaned in, placing my hand on the log to get close to him. He leaned in too.

And there was a snap from the trees.

We all stiffened and shot to our feet, facing the trees. Three snatched a chunk of wood from the fire and stood up with it, holding it out in front of him while Six and I came up on either side of him, ready to defend against whoever or whatever was in the forest.

"You're not sneaky," Three barked, "Get the fuck out here or I'm gonna break your fucking face open." There was a short pause, almost long enough to make me think perhaps no one was there after all, until we saw the brush rustle and vines tremble. We tensed, ready to fight, until a figure stepped out into the light and my eyes widened.

"Wren?" I managed in dismay. Wren wasn't wearing his signature leather jacket, but it made sense given the heat. He was wearing a black ribbed tank top and matching cargo pants and boots. He looked ready to be in the jungle, to be honest.

Of course, he wasn't alone, because a second later, Amenti came out behind him, dressed in a camo tank and matching pants, a machete in her hand and her hair tied back into a tight bun. Following her came Holly and Floki, both decked out in tanks and cargo pants.

"Oh thank god," Holly exclaimed, rushing forward to throw her arms around me, "About fucking time we found you!"

"Or anyone, actually," Floki added dryly.

"Who the fuck are you?" Three asked.

"Some call us the Greats," Floki replied dramatically, gesturing with his arms out to the sky, "Others call us the Wondrous Wizards. But we just call ourselves the Cousins."

"Literally no one calls us those first two," Wren deadpanned.

"They should," Floki snorted.

"They're my cousins," I said, looking at Three, who frowned, "And... Please tell me you're not alone." Wren looked at me.

"Do you honestly think I would come here without backup?" He asked. I shook my head. He relaxed at that.

"It's just us in this part," he admitted, "But the others are back at camp. Others being your parents."

"My parents?" I asked grimly. Wren gave me a droll stare.

"They're not pissed, trust me. Hades would've been here too, but Ambrosius warned him to stay put and to be ready with medical. The last thing we need is to give the Mother what she wants," he explained, making me nod in understanding.

"How long have you guys been here?" I asked. Wren shrugged.

"A day or two, give or take a few hours. I lost track because of the time difference. It was midnight when we found out you were gone, and around three in the afternoon when we finally took off to come find you," he said. I nodded.

"So, wait, we're getting out of here? For real?" Six asked, looking eager.

"Absolutely," Holly said with a grin, then thrust her hand out, "Quick intro. I'm Holly. This is Floki, Amenti, and Wren." Six looked at her hand, then at her curiously before he took her hand and gave it a little shake.

"I'm Six. This is Three. Over there is Bait and Four," Six responded. Wren's eyes traveled to where Bait was sitting with his knees drawn to his chest, watching us warily. At his side, Four appeared to have drifted back into sleep. Wren's eyes widened.

"We should've brought medics with us," he said, walking over. Bait tensed as Wren looked at Four, then at him.

"I'm fine," Bait said after a moment, "But Four needs a doctor." Wren nodded.

"We'll get you both to the best doctors I know," he informed firmly, then turned to look at the rest of us, "Time to pack up and go."