9. Dagon
Chapter nine
Dagon
King called it protection. I called it a bitter deception wrapped in a fake sweetness that masked his selfishness.
I knew because I was no different. I was an egotistical bastard, but at least I could admit it. Who did he think he was fooling?
My blood was boiling hotter than the fires of Hell. Everything was crumbling in front of me, and I was rendered useless. My brothers’ world was colliding with a world they were never supposed to know about.
I wanted to scream. I wanted to tear down this room, to take back King’s words and erase these catastrophic minutes that forever changed everything.
More than anything, though, I wanted to shield Diablos.
His head was lowered, and his voice had a strange quality that wasn't there before.
The resignation in his eyes, the dissociation I could recognize from miles away.
It lodged something in my throat. Everyone was stuck in varying levels of disbelief.
Yet Diablos was the one I was worried about most right now, especially with King's eyes on him.
My eyes shifted from Di to King, going back and forth like even they couldn’t decide what to do. Seeing my father with his wings was a blow I should have been prepared for, yet I wasn’t. I felt his power. I felt it too strongly, and it was the first time I had seen an angel in my life.
He folded his wings away, grabbed a shirt that I hadn't noticed before, and dressed again – like that would somehow fix things.
When he was seated, he continued speaking. “I’m an angel. One of five angels on Earth. Well, four,” he corrected. “The reason my wings are like this is because I’m on Earth. They used to be pure white, but that’s not a story I will tell you now.”
He tried to look relaxed, and maybe he could fool everyone else, but I saw how hard he was trying.
Good. If we were all going to crumble, then so would he.
I closed my eyes for a second as pain tried to cut through me.
A war was still raging inside me. A war between looking at King as my father and looking at him as the angel he was.
I opened my eyes when he continued, “When I had Bren and Luc and when I adopted all of you, I didn’t want you to get involved in all of this, but I had to choose, and I made my choice.”
A switch flipped inside me. The pain dissolved into anger and I erupted. “Bullshit. Why didn’t you tell us before adopting us? Why didn’t you give us a choice? Why not tell the truth, the fucking truth!?”
“What truth, Dagon?” Wilder’s voice was sharp as a knife, and that was a first.
“That he adopted us for his divine purpose or some other agenda. That we are nothing more than pawns to him. Isn’t that right?”
What reason could an angel possibly have for adopting? He wouldn't age. Sooner or later, he would have had to reveal the truth or disappear. How did none of us notice he wasn't aging? Oh, maybe because he dyed his hair and trained like crazy. I was so blind.
What would he want from us in the name of all that he deemed holy?
Because I knew there was something. If he wanted to do some good, there were other ways.
I knew it. Everyone knew it. King Hughes was loaded.
His money alone could do so much. I refused to buy the philanthropist image.
I refused to believe it was because he genuinely wanted to create a family.
If I did, I was handing my heart over on a silver platter for my father to crush and betray. Again.
“This wasn’t in my plans. All I wanted was to give every one of you a family. Us. Together.” He lowered his gaze to the table and whispered, “But it’s not so simple anymore.”
"I don't have the patience for this. Just tell us what the fuck is going on.
" Andras was seconds away from exploding; I had already explode; Wilder was colder than the North Pole; Brenton was a blaze, ready to burn everything down; Luc was seconds away from crying; and Diablos looked numb.
All of this was so much worse than I had imagined.
"Two years ago, I was tasked with something I never imagined I would be.
I was given seven objects, seven very powerful objects.
They are all different, and each has a different purpose and power, but don't be fooled, all of them are equally dangerous.
" His eyes landed on Diablos, and I was certain I would not like what I heard next.
"One of these objects has been stolen, and I need it back. "
No! Over my dead body. And even then, fuck no.
King was oblivious to the rage consuming me. His focus was entirely on Diablos, who met his stare with a raised head.
"What does this have to do with Di?" I asked, my voice coming out low and controlled, which was worse than screaming. I already knew the answer. It was written plainly in King's eyes. I didn't want to hear it, yet I had no choice.
“I’ll need his help. But you all need time to process everything. We’ll speak about it later.”
Time stopped. I wasn’t even sure I was breathing.
King’s brows furrowed like he was struggling to contain his emotions. But there was no way to be sure because this person was a stranger. King was a stranger. I repeated the words in my head.
King took a deep breath before saying, “I know this is a lot to take in at once. But I can’t trust anyone else, only my sons.”
“And why is that?” Di asked.
King looked like he'd been punched in the gut. What had he expected our reactions to be?
“Because you’re my sons.”
Lie.
This was a fucking lie.
“What do you want me to do?” Di asked.
Before King could open his mouth, everyone erupted. Questions flew about angels, demons, the supernatural world, and everything in between. My fist tightened as all I could do was stare at the reality unraveling before me.
“We’ll speak tomorrow. For now, let’s end it here.”
End it!? Sure. Now you wanted to end it. Well done, King. Go ahead and reveal the supernatural world to your sons, and then retreat like you didn’t just shatter their understanding of everything they knew.
They all kept pushing for more answers, but he was firm, saying something about how none of this changed anything and how he loved us.
It changed things.
It changed everything.
I stopped listening. My mind was swirling with questions I couldn't silence. What were these objects? Why us? Why Diablos? I didn't need to know more to feel it in my bones… our father had already signed our lives away. Whatever this object was, no matter what Di chose, King would drag him into it.
He would have to go through me before he touched any of them. But he already had, hadn't he? The thought hit like a bullet to the chest, tearing through my lungs and the fragile belief that I could still protect them. Their world had already changed. There was no going back. No fixing this.
I felt powerless, yet I knew one thing without question.
I would protect my brothers. And would go beyond Heaven and Hell to protect Diablos.
It’s a promise. It’s a threat. And it's my vow.