Chapter Twenty
Farren
“What the fuck, Magnus!” I yell as soon as I’ve flung the door open.
He glances up sharply and then moves around his desk and pulls me into his arms.
“You did so fucking good, Farren. I’m so sorry that I couldn’t get you out. We tried, but we were blocked at every single turn,” he mutters.
“Excuse me?” Zev asks, a bite to his tone.
As much as I’m enjoying the hug from Magnus, I move back, “What do you mean, tried to get me out, Magnus?”
“And how are you alive?” Rival asks. “Farren saw you in the Soul Side of the Underworld.”
Magnus winces slightly, opens his mouth, snaps it closed again and then sighs, running his hand through his hair.
“Magnus?” I ask, my voice questioning and unsure.
His gaze meets mine, and I see in his eyes the moment that he makes a decision.
“We need to talk,” he starts.
“Whoa, hang on a fucking minute, Mag,” Monty’s disembodied voice shocks me, before he suddenly appears standing next to Magnus.
Zev nudges me, “You need to get Khaos and Hades here. They need to hear this.”
I nod.
Opening the bondlines, I say, “I need you guys at the school, can you teleport straight to me or . . .”
I don’t even manage to finish my question before Khaos and Hades appear in the room, on high alert and looking around for any sign of danger.
Hades moves toward me, his gaze running over me and checking to make sure that I’m okay, “Are you hurt?”
“Who do I need to kill?” Khaos asks.
I grin, “I missed you both. I’m fine. Zev said that I needed to call you, and I wanted you guys here for this anyway. I have a feeling that something big is about to be said.”
Hades tucks me under his arm, as Khaos reaches for my hand and holds it tightly.
“Of course you’re both involved,” Hades surprises me by saying when he catches sight of Monty and Magnus.
“I’m surprised you are though, Mag. What kind of hairbrained scheme has he got you into now?” Khaos adds, only confusing me further.
“You know my uncle?” I ask, looking up at him, and momentarily getting distracted by just how gorgeous his eyes are.
Those eyes cloud with confusion as he asks, “Your uncle?”
“No fucking way,” Hades mutters as if something has just occurred to him.
“Will you two shut up for a minute?” Magnus asks as he turns back to Monty. “What are you doing here?”
“If you’re telling her, then so am I,” Monty retorts, raising his eyebrow in challenge to Magnus.
“What the fuck is happening right now?” Loki asks.
I feel him move up behind me and put his hands on my waist. He’s tall enough that he can see over me with ease, and while I know that his gesture is in part to comfort me, I also know from the tension in his body and the feelings coming through the bondlines, that it’s a protective gesture as well, and if this situation turns hostile then I’m going to be behind a wall of muscle quicker than I can blink.
Now usually, that kind of behaviour would piss me off. I’m a strong independent woman who's been taking care of herself for years, blah, blah, blah.
That’s the thing, I am quite capable, the guys know it, I know it, but sometimes it's really nice not to have to be, to let someone else take care of things for a change. They’ve got me. It’s a new feeling, and rather embarrassingly, my eyes start to water as emotion clogs my throat.
Thankfully, Magnus’ retort to Monty distracts me.
“She’s going to be so fucking mad,” Magnus grimaces.
Monty shrugs, “I know, but I’m done now. Especially after what happened with the princes, and you know that if she could, then she would do the same. The only reason she hasn’t is because she’s bound. We’re not.”
Magnus seems to consider Monty’s words, and then grins, “I suppose it’s better to get in trouble together.”
“I’m sorry. I’m glad that you two seem to have come to some sort of agreement, but could you fill the rest of us in?
” I demand. I point at Magnus since I’m on a roll and continue, “I saw you in the Soul Side of the Underworld, talking to him,” I point at Monty, who looks slightly sheepish.
“That can only mean that you were dead.”
Hades grunts beside me, and I glance up at him questioningly. His expression is dark with anger as he replies to my questioning glance, “Stupid fucking silencing spell.”
“You know something?” I ask as realisation dawns.
He nods, his lips pressed into a thin line.
“You weren’t supposed to see us in the Underworld,” Magnus says. “I’m so sorry, you must have thought that I was dead.”
I nod, and swallow thickly, clearing my throat, I admit, “Yeah, I did. We were coming down here to find out what happened, so I knew who I had to kill.”
“We were?” Rival asks, a smile playing around his lips.
“Fucking perfect,” Khaos mutters from beside me, making Loki chuckle.
“We did tell you, mate,” he says, although I have no idea what he’s referring to.
“I’m so sorry,” Magnus says again.
“Why didn’t you ask me about it?” Monty asks with a confused frown.
I shrug, “I didn’t know when I would see you again, and the last time you popped in so much had happened, and I was avoiding thinking about it and what it meant, so I didn’t ask.”
Monty’s expression softens, “All you’ve got to do is ask for me and I’ll appear as soon as I can.”
“Wait, really?” I ask.
He nods, “Yep. Whenever you need me, I’ll be there. Unless it’s a situation like in the cells, I couldn’t get to you then. None of us could, and believe me, we tried.”
“Explain, please?” I ask.
They look at each other, easily communicating without words, and showing that they aren’t simply acquaintances but know each other very well.
“We’re your fathers, well, we’re two of them,” they say together.
“And your mother is Verena,” Monty adds. He carries on speaking quickly as if he’s worried that he’s going to get stopped at any moment. “We were not supposed to tell you. The Fates would not allow it. Your mother is a Fate, and her two sisters are the other Fates.”
“I would suggest that you ask any questions you have really quickly because any second now we’re about to be summoned by our beautiful mate and yelled at,” Magnus suggests.
“And your mate is my mother?” I ask surprisingly calmly. They both nod, “And you’re both my fathers.”
“Two of them, yes. You have more, but I think we’ve pushed it too far.
Although I imagine that they’re going to introduce themselves to you as well now,” Monty says.
“If you’re wondering how, we’re gods, your mum is a goddess.
The usual laws of procreation, as in, you can only have one biological father, don’t exist for us. You are all biologically all of ours.”
“Fucking hell,” Khaos mutters. “That’s not supposed to be possible. Gods aren’t supposed to be able to have children with other gods.”
Magnus grins, “We aren’t normal gods.” He looks back at me, as I just stare at them stupefied, “I was bound by all of the Fates, I couldn’t save you from the cunt that claimed to be your father, I wasn’t even supposed to be as close to you as I was, but by the time I had tricked him into believing that I was his brother, it was too late for them to do anything about it. ”
“There are things that we physically couldn’t do, things that we couldn’t help with no matter how much we wanted to. Our hands were tied,” Monty adds disdain plain on his face.
I simply nod because how else am I supposed to deal with that? I mean, what the fuck?
“Shit, we’re getting called.” Magnus curses, “I promise that when we come back, we will tell you everything that we can.”
“Okay,” I reply simply.
“Magnus, Monty!” Verena’s voice echoes through the room, “What the hell have you two done now?”
“What you would have if you could have, Darling,” Monty replies, with a big smile.
“Get back here, now,” Verena replies, although there’s an edge of amusement to her tone.
“You have to admit it was pretty clever,” a voice in the background mutters, sounding vaguely familiar, which is weird as hell and not something that I want to deal with now.
The two of them disappear, and we’re left alone.
Silence reigns.
I’m aware that the guys are all watching me closely.
After a good few minutes of silence, Kill moves in front of me and ducks down to my level since I don’t look up to him, and I’m sort of just staring into space.
That was a lot to process in a very short amount of time.
“Are you okay, Darlin’?” He asks me gently, and I feel the others all move closer.
“Erm,” I start and then stop because I still have no idea what to say.
Despite the fact that I’m enjoying the guys surrounding me, I move away from them and start to pace, while my mind tries to digest what it’s just been told.
I have to say I’m glad that my uncle's office is big, or I wouldn’t be able to pace like this.
I guess he’s not my uncle? But my dad?
Shit.
“Okay, so my uncle is actually my dad,” I start repeating my thoughts out loud because it seems necessary.
I continue, “My fake dad tortured me for my entire existence, and then I eventually killed him, but before that, he sent me to kill Monty, who I saved and took to the Shadowlands to hide, and who is actually my father too, and I have more fathers. An undisclosed amount, because of course I do. They are all biologically my fathers as well, which is pretty insane.”
“It is, and isn’t normal among the gods either,” Hades says quietly.
I throw my hands in the air, although I carry on pacing, “Exactly.” I don’t know what exactly, but it feels like the right thing to say.
It doesn’t matter because I plough on anyway, because I think talking out loud is helping.
Regardless, I’m doing it. I continue, “And my mother is Verena, the goddess that we spoke to in the God Realm. The one who has come to me in dreams recently, and the one who has been helping me my whole life. Oh, and she’s a Fate? ”
“That sums it up pretty well,” Zev replies when I stay silent, but of course, still pacing.