Chapter Twelve
Zev
Her form wavers as she partially slips into the Void, and then a lightning bolt of power strikes out, causing Storm to dive out of the way as he only just manages to get out of the way in time.
“Shit,” Kill curses as he helps Storm up and we all back up. “She can’t keep this up, she’ll kill one of us, and we can’t just abandon her to the room. She could end up hurting herself in the state that she’s in.”
“Is it just me, or has her magic grown in strength?” Hades asks, watching her closely.
“No, she’s definitely stronger,” Rival agrees, as he ducks another spear of magic that Farren is firing off randomly into the room.
We all watch as Farren’s air magic wraps around her, lifting her up off the sofa and into the air.
She’s still writhing in pain, screams echoing around us in bursts, and then it all ramps up again, and her magic gets so strong that it shakes the room, things crash to the floor, as the air that was wrapped around her whips around the room as well and pushes us back.
It's so strong that it sends Loki barrelling over the coffee table, as Khaos gets sent rolling over the back of a couch, and we all struggle to stay upright.
“What about our magic?” Rival shouts over the sound of the wind and the explosions of magic going around us.
“Explain?” Khaos yells as he dives out of the way of a particularly violent blast. When his head pops back up, he’s grinning, “Her magic is violent. I like that.”
“Stronger than should be possible, even for a goddess,” Hades replies. Looking at Rival, he asks, “Explain?”
“She recognises all of our magic, and so does her magic. In the state that she is in, she is more likely to respond to our magic than she is to respond to our words,” Rival explains.
“It makes sense,” Reaper agrees. “How do we do it? All at once, or one at a time?”
“I think all of our magic needs to be touching her at the same time, but the magic needs to connect to her one by one. If all of us suddenly connect to her, it could make her panic before she realises who we are. So one at a time, but no one lets go, does that make sense?” Rival suggests.
“Got it,” Storm shouts, and we all nod in agreement.
My intuition pings, it’s so fucking hard reading these mini visions when they aren’t really anything to do with us, except they are in a weird, connected way that I have to try to work out.
It’s a fucking good job that I’ve always loved puzzles, or this latest development with my visions would drive me insane.
“Khaos needs to connect to her first,” I announce. “After that, it doesn’t matter what order the rest of us connect to her magic. So long as it’s one at a time. Rival was right about that.”
The guys just nod and accept that I know something that they don’t, and honestly, it still fucking shocks me that they don’t question me or try to force me to tell them the reason why. They just believe me, and I love them for it.
“Me?” Khaos asks.
He’s not questioning me, but more questioning himself, since he’s not used to this new dynamic yet, and he doesn’t realise just how completely Farren now considers him hers, even if she doesn’t quite realise it herself yet.
Fortunately, this is one of my visions where I can tell them a bit more information than I usually can.
I nod, and then have to duck before I can answer. When I glance over at him, he grins, looking amused.
“Yes, you,” I tell him, and his amusement turns into an unsure expression, “your magic is the magic that she recognises the most in this situation. At her worst times, your magic brought her comfort, and it’s your magic that gives us the best chance of getting through to her now.”
Understanding and a healthy dose of determination fill his expression as he nods once, and he turns to look at Farren just as she lets out a long and horrific scream.
Khaos’ magic grows, and my eyebrows raise at just how much he has. Like Hades, he keeps it locked down most of the time, and although we saw a small part of what he is capable of, it’s clearly nowhere near his actual power level.
Even when he was angry as hell and thinking we were enemies when we first met him, and when he was kicking off a fuck ton of power when he was helping to save Farren and thought that she died, he was still somehow masking it.
Just as I realise this, his power is once again masked, and I think that it might be an inbuilt thing into his magic, so that it just naturally does it.
When Khaos’ magic connects with Farren, her pain-filled expression momentarily changes to a beautiful smile that seems to knock the breath out of Khaos as he simply stares at her in awe.
Unfortunately, it doesn’t last very long as the claws of the dream seem to get purchase again and pull her back in. She whimpers and starts to mutter something that I can’t hear over the sound of the wind, but the urgency that I was already feeling soars to new heights as tears leak from her eyes.
Oh god.
“Kill, your turn,” Storm orders, a rasp in his voice, and his eyes tracking every tear that drips down her cheek.
Killian doesn’t hesitate. He gently joins his magic to hers, his shadows dancing around her, and some even breaking off to turn into a puppy that gently licks the tears as they fall.
“Loki, you’re next,” Storm orders.
Loki has his own tear tracking down his cheek as his magic rushes toward her, only slowing when it connects with hers.
One by one, Storm calls us all to connect our magic to hers, and when I connect mine, I can see why the others all look so horrified. I can feel the pain that she’s in, both physically and mentally, and it’s far more than most people could handle.
All of our magic works together in a way that it shouldn’t to soothe her and to try to bring her out of her nightmare.
Although having our magic connect to hers has seemed to help to a certain degree, she’s still trapped inside the nightmare, and feeling everything that the nightmare is making her remember.
A short sharp blast of a vision hits me and I have no idea if I’m reading it right, but I don’t think that we have much choice, her energy levels are dipping dangerously low, and unlike a normal dream, in this one if she dies in the dream, she’s going to die in reality and I can’t allow that to happen.
“We all need to flood her with a good portion of our magic at the same time, put all the emotions that we feel for her into it. It should be enough to break through the hold that the nightmare has on her.
“On the count of three,” Hades says.
When he hits three, I feel the magic surge, the castle around us shuddering and shaking, threatening to come down around us.
I hope that our show of power isn’t going to gain the wrong sort of attention, but I honestly don’t really care at the moment. Farren is more important.
As soon as the magic hits, I feel her dream shatter, breaking the hold that it had on her and dispersing the nightmare.
Surprisingly, she doesn’t lower to the floor though, and before any of us can get to her or pull our magic back, I feel her magic wrap around mine, searching for something.
I’m not sure what.
My magic seems to know more than I do, which isn’t really surprising, and it welcomes the curiosity.
After only a few moments, Farren’s magic surges through us all, and I feel something snap into place.
As soon as it does, her magic pulls back, and then she gently lowers back down onto the sofa below.
I share a look with the others.
“What was that?” Reaper asks, his voice a rumble.
Hades' eyebrows are high on his head as he says, “If I’m not mistaken, that was Farren creating bonds with all of us.”
“Like the ones that Kill, Loki and Storm already have?” Rival asks.
Hades nods, “Yes, exactly like that.”
“She shouldn’t be able to make her own bonds like that,” Khaos says. “Although I am starting to think that nothing is as it should be when it comes to Farren.”
“Yeah, I think that’s a fair assessment,” Loki agrees.
A noise from the sofa immediately stops our conversation, and we all glance over as Farren sits up.
“What the fuck happened in here?” She asks, “Did I sleep through an attack?” Before any of us can explain, her eyes widen in shock, “Holy shit, I can feel you, I’m bonded to you all?”
I grin, “Yep, we’re pretty damn pleased about it.”
I get the feeling she needs to hear us say that before she does something ridiculous like apologise.
“That’s an understatement,” Mayhem says, watching Farren closely.
She studies us for a moment, “You’re all okay with this?”
We all nod enthusiastically, and she smiles.
Looking over at Khaos, she says, “Even you? We haven’t known each other for very long at all.”
Khaos smiles, “I think the things that we’ve been through together, the things that we’ve shared, have more than made up for the lack of time that we have known each other. I am honoured that you have bonded with me.”
Farren’s smile widens, and in true Farren form, since emotions make her uncomfortable, she simply nods and looks around at the destroyed room again.
“What the fuck happened?”
“That was you,” Hades says. He clicks his fingers, and the room goes back to how it was, with no sign of the absolute chaos that Farren managed to cause. He then explains what happened, and she winces.
“I’m really sorry,” she starts.
“Don’t.” Reaper growls. “Don’t ever apologise for something like that.”
He opens his arms, and she gets up, practically falling into them. It’s then that I notice the slight shake in her hands. She is behaving like the nightmare hasn’t shaken her, but she can’t hide the shake in her hands. I’m not the only one who notices, and Reaper pulls her closer.
“Why don’t we go and get some breakfast?” Hades suggests. “You four were all fast asleep when we came back with the food, so you haven’t eaten for a while.”
“Coffee?” Farren asks, perking up.
“And bacon,” Hades agrees with a knowing smile.
She grins and wriggles her way free of Reaper’s arms, grinning when he growls in protest before he lets her go. She then heads toward the door, Loki rushing to catch her up, and threading his fingers through hers when he does.
She looks momentarily surprised. We weren’t as physically affectionate with her before she got taken, but I’m relieved when her eyes light up and feelings of happiness rush down the newly created bond from her.
That’s going to be handy.
Farren’s not exactly great at sharing what she’s feeling, so I imagine that being able to send what she’s feeling down the bondlines instead of trying to explain it is going to be so much easier.
A thought occurs to me, and I have to try it out.
“Can you hear me?” I ask, trying to send the thought down the bondline and to her.
I watch as a smile crosses her face.
“Yep, I can hear you,” she replies. “I love that I can feel you all now. It’s weird, but it makes me feel safer.”
“I get that. For the record, I love that I can talk to you like this,” I pause as another thought occurs to me. “Can we all talk like this? What I mean is all talk in our minds. Or is it limited to just one of us, and you?”
“Huh, I hadn’t thought about that. Hang on, give me a moment, and I’ll see what I can do,” she says. After a few moments, she asks, “Can you all hear me?”
Everyone stops walking.
“I can,” Rival grins.
“Me too,” Mayhem says, and the others all do the same.
She grins proudly and asks, “Can you all hear each other as well?”
We all nod.
“Well, that’s really fucking cool,” Loki grins as he speaks out loud.
Khaos nods, “It will be a massive advantage in a combat situation, or if we need to speak to one another and not have anyone else hear.”
Farren grins, “I like the way you think. But someone mentioned bacon, and right now that’s all I care about.”
Hades chuckles, “Come on. Let's get you bacon and coffee.”
We all head into the kitchen, and I have to admit that I love how Hades’ castle works because the table is already laid with an array of breakfast food, drinks, and coffee, which is, of course, the first thing that Farren heads for.
We all sit down, and I practically inhale the food, not really looking up from my plate. I don’t think I realised how hungry I was until I started eating. I would feel embarrassed by my lack of table manners, but I’m not the only one eating like this, so I don’t feel too bad.
God, I missed bacon.