Chapter Fifteen
Farren
“We wanted to make sure that you were okay,” Hades says, looking at me for a moment longer before his gaze drifts to the others.
He continues, “Unfortunately, we’re not going to be able to stay here with you.
Our magic is going to mess with certain wards they have here, and our presence is likely to cause a stir that will bring unwanted attention to all of you. ”
I frown. I don’t like that.
The idea of us all being separated is not something that I wanted to happen ever again. There’s a small part of me that wonders whether that was the plan of whoever is insisting on our being at the academy, to split us up, and the more I think about it, the more the thought gains traction.
“You don’t think that someone has split us up on purpose, do you?” I ask, interrupting whatever it was that the guys were speaking about.
They all pause and seriously consider my question, which I appreciate. They also answer honestly and don’t sugarcoat it, which I also really appreciate.
“I suppose that could be the reason why you’ve been brought back here,” Khaos says with a frown.
“It doesn’t feel like that’s the reason why,” Zev says. Which probably reassures me more than anything else that anyone else could say.
“That’s reassuring, but I do think that we should still be careful,” Storm agrees.
“Yeah, we’re at our weakest when we’re separated, and with the God wanting to take over Hades' realm, now would be a good time to try,” Kill agrees.
Hades nods, “Yes, it would.”
“I know I said that we need to be here,” Zev says. “We do, but I think we can leave just so long as we’re not leaving in order to not come back, or even for too long.” He frowns, “It’s really confusing, trying to read the visions around the blank spots.”
“I can imagine,” Rival replies. “It’s really impressive that you can do that though.”
“Thanks,” Zev smiles.
“Okay, so what you’re saying is that we won’t have to be as separated as we thought we would be?” Storm clarifies.
Zev nods, “Yeah. At least that’s what I think I’m understanding from the vision.”
“I’m good with that,” I smile. “I’m happier with that than us having to remain completely separate.”
“We all are,” Khaos says, his eyes on me.
“I think the plan has only slightly changed in that case then,” Hades says with a perplexed look as he tries to figure it out.
Kill nods, “Yeah. I think so. We can still question the Dragon Souls in the Underworld and see if they know anything.”
“I think it’s important that not just Khaos and Hades go,” Rival suggests.
“Absolutely,” Loki agrees immediately, “although I don’t think all of us should go, we’re a pretty big group.”
“Yeah, we’ll figure out who goes and who stays behind when we’ve got a bit more information about what we’re doing back here,” Storm replies.
“I can start to do some work to fix the problems that the princes caused as well,” Hades adds, looking relieved and pleased at the prospect.
“That is definitely a good advantage to this turn of events. The stronger that we can make the Underworld, the harder it’s going to be for the God to take over. That’s one of the reasons why he wanted to weaken you in the first place, right?” Rival asks, his mind working a mile a minute.
Hades nods, “Yes. As you saw when we went there, the place was running as well as it could, but it was struggling. That was only the obvious effects that my not being there has caused. There are others like power flow, food shortage, things not growing properly, the weather doing things it shouldn’t and creating big storms, that sort of thing. ”
“Okay, so the more time that you can spend there before we have to go to the Dragon Realm, the better,” Storm says.
Khaos nods in agreement, “Yes. We need to get the Underworld as strong as we can before we have to leave it for an extended period of time.”
“I should probably check on the creature that’s now most likely taken over the castle, and see if we can figure out what it is. I also need to lay the fallen soldiers to rest properly,” Hades adds, sadness darkening his expression.
I nod, “The more you speak about what you can now do in the Underworld, the more I’m starting to think it may be the reason, or at least part of the reason, why the trip to the Dragon Realm has been delayed.”
“I think you’re probably right,” Mayhem agrees. He looks around at the rest of us. “Alright, so what’s the plan?”
“We’ll stay here. Figure out what happened to Magnus, attend our classes, which is going to be super weird, and see if we get called into another trial of the Warrior Games,” Reaper suggests, and we all nod in agreement.
“We’ll also go with Hades and Khaos when we can, and they will both be working on the issues the Underworld has,” Storm adds.
He looks at them both, “I know that you’re both powerful and blah blah blah, but I expect you both to not take any unnecessary risks, and stick together.
With the God after Hades, we have no way of knowing how or when he’s going to make another attempt on Hades' life.”
Hades and Khaos both smile and nod in agreement, neither one of them seeming to be bothered that Storm is giving them orders. It’s fascinating to me, but since everyone is just going with it and it doesn’t seem to be an issue, I’m just going to go with it.
“Yes, we spend a lot of time together anyway, so it shouldn’t be too questionable,” Hades replies.
“We will also check in as regularly as we can, for updates,” Khaos adds.
Hades glances over at me and smirks, “And also for cuddles.”
Khaos nods in agreement, smiling softly at me.
I am absolutely fine with them both coming back for cuddles, especially since I don’t want either of them to leave in the first place, although I understand why they can’t stay here.
Loki opens his arms and strides toward Hades, wrapping him in a tight hug, “Aw mate, you should have said, I would’ve given you a cuddle.”
Hades chuckles as he hugs him back and says, “While I appreciate the hug, I did mean Farren.”
“Rude,” Loki grins as he pulls back.
“We should probably get going, any longer and we risk interfering with the wards and our presence being announced, which would cause absolute chaos, and is not something that I can be bothered to deal with right now,” Khaos says reluctantly.
I sigh. I really don’t like this.
“Okay, how often do you think you’ll be able to check in?” Kill asks.
“Every two days, possibly,” Hades replies, sounding unsure.
“That’s not great, but it’s better than nothing,” Rival says, frowning, and clearly not liking this situation as much as I do.
They both nod in agreement.
Hades looks at me and opens his arms. The guys all start talking about other things and move off to other parts of the room, leaving me with Hades and Khaos.
Hades pulls me in close and hugs me tightly before he tilts my chin up and kisses me slowly, not rushing, making it last and hopefully enough to tide me over until we see each other again.
When he pulls back, he says, “Remember that you can use the bondlines to talk to us. If we don’t answer straight away, then we’re in a dicey situation.
I think we’re probably going to question the princes and see if we can get them to talk.
I should be able to gain access to them in a few days.
If we know what god is after the realm, then we can go straight to the source and end this ridiculous thing there. ”
I nod, it had already occurred to me that the princes would be on the other side.
“Yeah, that’s a good idea and would certainly cut down the amount of work that we have to do,” I agree.
My smile turns deadly. “However, if you want some help to get the information out of them, let me know. I have some scores to settle. The majority of their deaths were over far too quickly as far as I’m concerned. ”
Khaos chuckles, and I turn to look at him. His gaze is heated as he studies me closer, “We’ll probably take you up on that offer. I know that the others want to be involved too.”
I grin, “Oh, family outing.”
His smile softens.
I don’t allow myself to question my actions.
I just do what feels right, knowing that if I don’t, then I’m going to end up chickening out.
Stepping out of Hades’ arms, I move over to Khaos and wrap my arms around him.
He hesitates for only a moment before his arms wrap around me, and his head comes to rest on the top of mine as he inhales deeply.
“You stay safe, you hear?” I mutter into his chest.
He moves and I look up at him, unable to hide the worry in my eyes.
“We will stay as safe as possible, and if we need help, then we’ll use the bondline, okay?” He replies, his voice soft.
I nod, “Yeah, I can deal with that.” I pause, “Kiss me, H.”
His chest rumbles with a growl as he moves his arms back around me, easily lifting me.
My legs go around his waist as my arms go around his neck, and I smile before my lips meet his.
The kiss starts off fierce, but changes into slow and lingering, and just like with Hades, I savour every moment.
When he reluctantly puts me down, my head is spinning, and I know that I’m grinning like a damn loony.
“I’m sorry, I want to stay, we both do, but we’ve pushed it far enough,” Khaos says. He taps his head, “Anytime, contact me whenever you want to.”
I nod, “The same goes for you.”
“And me,” Hades grins. He frowns, “One last thing, you all appear to be doing it anyway, and Farren has always done it, but I would suggest that you keep your magic levels concealed, they are a lot stronger than they were, and I can only assume that it has something to do with what we’ve all experienced. ”
Storm nods, “We all used to conceal our true strength anyway, since we have always been stronger than we should be, so that’s easily agreed to.”
“I’m good with that,” Reaper grins. “People get twitchy when I let my true power level free.”
“It’s hilarious,” Loki grins.
“They do it with you too,” Rival points out with a smile.
I chuckle, “I never show my real magic level, it makes no difference to me.”
Hades nods and then says with urgency, “Good. We need to go. Call us if you need us. Bye, guys.”
The guys all chime out their goodbyes, and then Hades and Khaos disappear.
“I don’t like being separated,” Zev says, his arms crossed over his chest as he stares at the empty space where Hades and Khaos once were.
“Nope,” I reply bluntly.
We’re silent for a moment before my stomach rather embarrassingly interrupts the silence with a loud rumble. Apparently the fact that it hasn’t been that long since breakfast makes no difference to my stomach.
“Food?” Rival smirks.
“I think that’s a good idea, before Farren’s stomach manages to convince her to eat one of us,” Kill says with a grin.
“Ha ha,” I reply snarkily and then snap my teeth at them for good measure.
The guys burst out laughing.
“I don’t know about you guys, but I don’t particularly want to eat in the dining hall with everyone else, since we’ve all been gone for far longer than the longest trial took,” Rival states. “It’s bound to cause quite a stir, and I just want to eat.”
“Good point,” Kill replies. “I don’t want to deal with that shit.”
“Do you ever?” Loki asks with a smirk.
“Touche,” Kill replies, knowing that Loki’s right, and he would always choose to avoid everyone over talking to people.
Honestly? Same.
“We can just order food to the room instead?” Storm suggests.
“I mean, the news of our return will spread like wildfire, but maybe that would be a good thing? Everyone might have gotten over it by the time that we emerge?” Mayhem suggests a somewhat hopeful glint in his eye.
“What day is it anyway?” Reaper asks, his eyebrows pulled down into a confused frown.
“Erm, one second,” Killian says, as he moves over to the desk on one side of the room. “Oh, nice, it’s Saturday. Technically, we don’t have to emerge until Monday when we have to go to classes.”
“Ergh, classes,” I mutter.
“It is going to be incredibly weird to go to classes. I mean, it was for me anyway since I was running a group of assassins for years, but it’s going to be even weirder now,” Kill agrees.
Rival nods, “Yeah, I still want to know how you ended up doing that.”
“I had some help,” Kill replies.
“That’s it?” Zev asks.
Kill shrugs, “That’s all I can say.”
Zev’s confusion clears, and he nods, “Understood.”