Chapter Two
Farren
The guys have absolutely no idea that she’s there, which means that she is somehow masking her presence from not only the guys but Hades as well, because I’m pretty sure that he should be able to sense her presence.
Considering that no one has noticed her, and because she winks at me like she thinks it’s amusing, I stand up and look at Khaos.
“Why do you look so shocked?” I ask him.
Khaos clears his throat, “Well, I knew that you could touch him, and the guys told me that they could as well because of their link to you, but he just licked you, and you’re not screaming in pain.”
I chuckle as Poca nudges me, and I give him more head strokes. “He’s never hurt me.”
“Farren’s not normal,” Killian says with a fond smile, which stops me from being offended. Normal is boring anyway. Kill continues, “She also got kisses from Meri, and he should kill her too.”
Khaos seems to think about it for a moment before he shrugs, his eyes glued to me, “Fair point.”
“You know you could touch him, too,” I reply, going purely off instinct.
I mean, I may have had my connection to Khaos for a lot shorter time than the others, but what we experienced in that time means that it’s just as strong.
If the guys can touch Poca because of their connections to me, and how close we are, then I don’t see why Khaos couldn’t.
Khaos shakes his head, “I have never been able to touch Cerb, that’s not likely to have changed.”
The Goddess smirks, still standing behind them without their knowledge, and I know that my instincts must be right.
Raising my eyebrow in challenge, I say, “Are you sure about that?”
Before I can add anything else, like what he means by ‘never been able to touch Cerb’, and why he keeps referring to Poca as Cerb, Poca decides to take the situation into his own hands. Paws.
Poca must see some sort of amusement in the situation because with no warning whatsoever, he launches himself at Khaos, growing in size as he flies through the air so that he’s big enough to knock Khaos on his ass and then, as soon as Khaos hits the floor, Poca smothers him in kisses as well.
Everyone bursts out laughing.
“Cerb!” Khaos growls, although there is amusement in his eyes, and he’s trying not to laugh as he fights off doggy Hellhound kisses. “You could’ve killed me!”
Poca rolls his eyes, huffs like Khaos is being an idiot, and climbs off of him, making me laugh.
When Khaos gets up and dusts himself off, he looks back at me.
“Did you tell him to do that, Ren?”
I shake my head, “Nope. It was pretty fucking funny though.” I raise my eyebrow at him, “Cerb?”
“I think that conversation can wait until you all get back to Hades’ castle.
I would imagine that you may not want certain beings knowing the information that will be shared, and I cannot guarantee that this plane is free of spies, no matter what things I have put in place to ensure it,” the Goddess speaks for the first time.
Everyone spins around in shock, and I chuckle, earning myself a grin from the Goddess.
“You knew she was there?” Reaper asks me, looking a tiny bit betrayed that I didn’t mention it.
“I saw her behind you,” I reply with a smirk, and then, looking at the Goddess, I add with a little wave, “Hey.”
“Erm, Farren, I think you should probably speak to her a bit more respectfully than that. She’s not like Hades,” Zev says, as he reaches for my hand and pulls me closer to him.
“It’s fine, we’ve met before,” I say.
“This is the Goddess who helped you?” Khaos asks, looking surprised,
The Goddess levels him with a look, “You look surprised, Khaos.”
Khaos shrugs, “I am. You’re not exactly known to be helpful, Verena, quite the opposite in fact.”
“He’s right, you’re particularly unhelpful normally,” Hades adds, with an unimpressed look. “Although I suppose it makes sense since . . .”
Hades' words are cut off abruptly, and he curses.
“I’m going to assume that means that there are still things that you aren’t allowed to tell us?” Rival summarises catching on before anyone else has the chance to realise what’s happened.
Hades narrows his eyes at Verena, “Apparently so, although in this instance I don’t know why.”
Verna frowns, but surprisingly, she answers Hades, “It is out of my hands, trust me, if I thought you could have said it, I definitely wouldn’t have gotten in your way.”
Hades' eyebrows hit his hairline, and he nods, “Good to know. Perhaps we should get back to the matter at hand?”
I know that there is no point in trying to ask questions about what just happened. Hades clearly can’t say anything, even though he wants to and judging from Verena’s words, she can’t either.
What power is strong enough to control gods and goddesses in this way?
It’s a terrifying thought if I let myself think about it for too long.
I decide to change the subject and get us back to the original question that Khaos asked, feeling the need to defend her. I say to him, “She’s been helping me for years.”
Verena grins, “Thank you, Farren, but they are right, I don’t normally help anyone.”
“Guys, I’m freaking out a little bit by how casually you are all talking, and practically insulting a Goddess,” Mayhem mutters, his eyes slightly wider than normal as they don’t move away from the Goddess.
I’m not sure if he’s watching her that closely because he’s fascinated by her, or because he sees her as a potential threat.
When I see the tip of a blade ready to drop into his palm from the sleeve of his shirt, I conclude that it’s the second reason, and I find it unreasonably hot that he’s ready to take on Verena at a moment's notice. I really hope that it doesn’t come to that.
“Hades is a God,” Loki whispers back dramatically.
Mayhem rolls his eyes and smacks him, “I know that.”
Loki smirks, “Well, I was just making sure you knew that, since you call him a dick, and it’s pretty much the same thing.”
Mayhem rolls his eyes, “It’s not the same thing.”
“I’m sorry, but we don’t have much time.
I’m not supposed to be talking to you, let alone bringing you here, but I didn’t really have a choice.
My distraction won’t last for much longer,” Verena says, as she tilts her head to the side like she’s listening to something that we can’t hear. Which, to be honest, she probably is.
“Alright, shoot. What’s up?” I ask.
Verena smiles, “First, I am so incredibly glad that you’re okay. You were so brave. Anyone else would have been broken by what you were made to endure.”
I grimace and nod. I’m not comfortable with this conversation.
She seems to understand this without me having to point it out to her, because she moves on, “You should also know that you have changed fate.”
Zev nods, “When she killed the princes.”
My eyebrows rise in shock.
Verena shakes her head, “No. She changed fate when she helped Azreal break the gemstone that was holding Hades' power and draining him.”
I gulp. Whoops.
Hades frowns, “You’ve got it wrong. She was in the cells opposite me, so there is absolutely no way that she could have helped Az break the gemstone.”
Verena’s gaze lands on me, and she studies me closely, like I’ve surprised her. I’m not sure that it’s a good thing if you manage to surprise a goddess.
“She didn’t do it in that timeline, Hades,” Verena says bluntly.
Hades and Khaos turn to look at me with pure shock, and soon the implications of what the Goddess is saying sink in for the others too, who all look at me incredulously.
Rival, of course, puts things together quicker than anyone else, “The vision you had of the past. The one where you said that you saw Azreal break the gemstone. You didn’t just see it, did you?”
I shake my head, “No. He couldn't break the stone. He was trying really hard, and he only had a small window to do it in before the rest of the princes found out and stopped him. I knew that if he could break his stone, then it would give Hades back enough magic that we would be able to escape in the timeline that the vision was in, and that it would loosen the hold the other stones had. So I put my hand on his shoulder to lend him some of my magic and told him to try again.”
“He heard you?” Verena asks sharply.
“You didn’t know that?” Khaos asks, narrowing his eyes at the Goddess.
Verena sighs and shakes her head, “When it comes to Farren, none of us know what to expect.” She glances at me and asks again, “He heard you?”
I check with my instincts, but they aren’t telling me that I can’t say anything to her, so I nod and continue my explanation, “Yes, he heard me, and so did his butler. He really cared about him, but the princes destroyed him when they found out what Azreal had done. Anyway, I funnelled my power through Azreal, and we broke the gemstone, turning it to dust, and then the other princes came in and brutally beat him. I don’t know what happened to him because I was pulled out of the vision, but I would be very surprised if he survived. ”
Verena watches me closely for a moment, “Do you remember me telling you that some paths were a lot more complicated than others?”
I pull a face, “Let me guess? Changing fate has put me on a really difficult path that is a lot more complicated.”
She smiles, and then grimaces, “Yeah. That pretty much sums it up.”
“Awesome,” I reply sarcastically.
“I don’t suppose you can tell us what these complications are and how to deal with them?” Storm asks, not looking very hopeful.
Loki nods, “Some information about just one of the complications would be helpful.”
While she definitely looks amused, she unfortunately shakes her head, “I’m sorry, I can’t tell you anything else.”
“That sounds about right,” Reaper mutters.
Verena’s eyebrows rise, but she apparently decides to let Reaper’s sassiness slide because she adds, “I can tell you that you all need to go to the Dragon Realm next. I know that it’s going to be difficult for some of you,” her gaze lands on Reaper, who is only taking the mention of the Dragon Realm well because Monty has already told us about our need to go there.
My previous thought that Monty told us on purpose so that Reaper could have some time to get used to the idea crosses my mind again, and I find myself incredibly grateful to him.
I know that Reaper would hate to nearly lose control in front of the Goddess, and more than that, Hades already told us that if someone tried to attack in this waiting area, then the person would be detained, and when Reaper loses control, it could definitely be perceived as an attack, even if it isn’t.
That initial flood of power would definitely be enough to trigger a warning system up here, which would complicate things to say the least.
I really am going to have to find a proper way to thank Monty for that.
Verena continues to speak, and pulls me out of my thoughts, “The God who wanted Hades entrapped and drained, and who convinced the princes to be involved . . .”
Khaos interrupts, “I highly doubt that it took very much convincing to get those dicks to help. Except for maybe Azreal, he’s always been better than the rest of the fuckers.”
Verena raises her eyebrow at Khaos for interrupting, but he just smirks, and she rolls her eyes and continues.
“As I was saying, the God still wants control of the Underworld. While killing five of the princes has made it a lot harder, it hasn’t made it impossible.”
“What do you mean, five of the princes? There are only five?” I question.
Verena shakes her head, “No, there aren’t. There was an extremely powerful spell cast, which took many sacrificed lives to do, and it erased the memories of the remaining two princes and their existence.”
I glance at Hades and Khaos, “Did you know this? Is this one of the things that you knew, but couldn’t say?”
Hades shakes his head, “No, but now that she’s mentioned it, the information is there.”
I interrupt him, “Remeus and Crem. How the fuck could I have forgotten about them?”
“You didn’t, it was a spell,” Khaos points out. “A really fucking strong one if it’s managed to change the memories of so many supernaturals, and gods too.”
Verena nods, “Many of the gods and goddesses still don’t remember.”
“Why do you remember?” Reaper asks her bluntly.
“Because of who I am,” Verena replies, somewhat vaguely, but she’s giving us so much information right now, I don’t really care that she won’t share that bit.
“Of fucking course there are more princes, five would never have made sense. Seven, there are supposed to be seven, the seven deadly sins,” Rival exclaims, clearly not happy that he didn’t remember something so basic even though it was entirely out of his control.
“We need to find Crem and Remeus. If everyone was made to forget them, then it was for a reason, and I want to know what that reason is,” Storm growls.
Verena levels everyone with a look, “You need to go to the Dragon Realm.”