Chapter 4
Chapter Four
ARABELLA
“Cy!” My shriek filled the space as his magic wrapped around me, and I was suddenly soaring up to the ceiling.
Now, I had zero issue with heights or anything like that, but the sudden shift not only surprised me, but concerned me.
Cy wasn’t one to lose control, and if he was suddenly shifting like this, it meant he felt defensive, which I didn’t like in the least. He had no reason to worry.
I had met all of the nightmares here, and I hated to say it, but all of them had very valid reasons to hate humans.
Okay, not all of them, but I would say at least half.
My fingers tightened on the thick, smooth, hot scaled body I felt wrap around me.
I clung to him, knowing he wouldn’t hurt me but not wanting to accidentally fall or anything, especially since my shoulder was still hurting quite a bit.
I jostled slightly as he coiled so that I was in the center of his massive frame, his head up and in front of me so that I couldn’t see the rest of the room.
I could hear voices erupting around us, but I was just trying to wiggle my way out of his grip.
Don’t get me wrong, I was one hundred percent there for him wrapping himself around me like that, but not when there was so much tension in the room.
He was distracted enough that I managed to get myself out of his grip and was able to pull myself up his neck to where I was finally on top of his… oh wow.
I would have thought the most surprising part of this situation was being on top of a basilisk’s head. It wasn’t. No, the most surprising part was the sheer chaos that had managed to erupt in such a short amount of time.
The first thing I noticed was Eve. Saint’s sister, the embodiment and god terror of Life, was already someone I admired.
She seemed to exist in a state of confidence and ease with herself that I envied.
Even coming down here to meet Order—or Slater, apparently—she had appeared and acted as if she was annoyed at most. I mean, the woman had somehow even managed to change into a pair of leather pants, a lace crop top, and high heel stiletto boots!
So of course, it threw me off a bit to find her pinned to the ground with a man over her.
Although…while I was almost positive that it was Order, it sure as hell didn’t look like him.
In fact, he had always looked rather plain, but right now he seemed almost rejuvenated and was shining with a golden light that had Eve squinting.
They were about as opposite as two people could be in looks.
Where she seemed to be bathed in shadows and glowed like the moon, he was golden…
gold hair, gold skin, and if I had to guess, gold eyes.
Damn. The power coming off this man was unreal.
Which would probably be why Cy freaked out and shifted, because of the immediate surge and threat.
It was also probably the reason Razar was trying to talk to Cy and why Damian and Blackwell seemed to be trying to edge behind their teammate to grab me.
It didn’t work, and Cy snapped at them as they both backed up with a wide-eyed look.
I tried to smooth my fingers over Cy’s head, but he simply tilted his head back…
And I went sliding back to be trapped in the coils of his massive frame. Wonderful. At least this time I could see everything better. Amun and Zain seemed to be trying to keep Saint calm, who looked annoyed at Order obviously attempting to bully Eve.
Although whether or not bullying Eve was possible was completely up for debate.
“What exactly is going on?!” I called out as Eve snapped her gaze over.
“Remember the immortal ex-boyfriend thingy?” she asked. The man on top of her let out a growl, clearly not liking her words. “Yes, well, this is him.”
“Eve,” Order spoke, his voice as rusty-sounding as normal. “You know I don’t like that word, ex-boyfriend—remove it from your vocabulary. We aren’t past tense in anything, and saying so makes me fucking furious.”
“Fuck you.” Eve’s words had me smiling, and I couldn’t help the small bubble of laughter that escaped.
Order looked over at me and frowned. “Ah, it’s the pink-haired human girl.”
Eve frowned. “That’s a rude way to address her.”
Order sighed and spoke louder. “Hello, pink-haired human girl. It’s good to see you.”
“Don’t fucking talk to her.” Blackwell’s snapped words had Eve sharing a look with me that was heavy with dry amusement.
“Hey, Cy?” I let out a small stretch before tapping his skin. He turned his massive head towards me, and I offered a smile. “Have I ever told you that I love this form?”
His tongue darted out and brushed my cheek, making me let out a small giggle as a surge of magic ran over me, making me feel a wave of dizziness. Before I knew it, I was snuggling further against him, his coils cradling me so I could relax fully.
Okay, maybe getting out of his hold was overrated. I happened to love it here.
I could hear people talking around me, but I was just rubbing my cheek against his warm scales as I felt the magic progress through my system…
before it disappeared. Unlike before, it was almost immediately gone, and I snapped my head up to find Saint standing closer than before, watching me with interest.
“That wasn’t fucking cool,” Zain pointed out to Cy. “Just because you know it affects her doesn’t mean you should use it to make her stay there.”
Is that what he did?
“Cy.” I frowned, breaking free from him and standing up on the top of him before dismounting into Saint’s waiting arms. I looked back up at the snake. “Please don’t do that if it’s because you are trying to stop me from doing something.”
Cy’s massive head went flat on the stone as he offered me what had to be puppy dog eyes, but for a basilisk, and I found I couldn’t be mad at him, so I walked right up and kissed his head, having to go up on my toes to avoid his teeth, before breaking away and walking towards the cages.
I knew Order and Eve would sort themselves out. I needed to talk to the others.
“Arabella!” Damian snapped to my side. “What are you doing?”
“Trust me,” I insisted as I went towards the far cage to the left, knowing the opposite was empty now that Order had come out. I wished the others would feel comfortable coming out, but they were the type to either not want to deal with this or were freaked out by others being present.
“Benjamin!” I sang happily as I waited at the bars of the cage.
I was unsurprised when he didn’t first respond, but after a few seconds, there was a light glowing silver in the far back of his cage that had me stepping forward through the open space between the large bars.
I wasn’t surprised that he wanted to talk without the others around; he was a shy individual.
He’d also been here the longest out of all of them, and I knew that it took a toll for him to become fully visible while restrained by these cages.
Despite them being allowed to leave them right now, the sentinels did provide somewhat of a power drain and fed off of it. I mean, if they didn’t, they would probably be strong enough to break out and slaughter more humans.
“Cherry blossom.” Damian’s voice had me snapping around to find him at the bars of the cages, looking panicked, actual fear in his gaze. “Come back out here right now.”
“He’s shy.” I nodded towards the light and then added, “Why don’t you come with—”
“Your ass would be hauled over my shoulder if we could get in there,” Blackwell growled. “Get out of there now.”
“Why can’t you come in here?” I arched my brow.
“Because I won’t let them.” Benjamin’s familiar voice had me turning around happily before I offered the older man a look.
“That’s not very nice,” I chided. Fog surrounded his phantom form as he made his way through the pitch black cell, the only light emanating from him.
It was clear he was a night terror of some kind, but it wasn’t one I had seen often.
He seemed ghost-like, if anything. His three-piece suit was clearly from a much older time, and his monocle made him look very distinguished.
“And the theatrics aren’t needed.” He offered me an amused smile as I motioned towards the fog, ignoring Blackwell’s snarl as he neared me.
“I mean, I am still in here, and you would think after all this time I’d have proven myself safe,” he noted, his thick southern accent filled with frustration. “Might as well appear scary.”
“You pushed hundreds to a cult mass suicide.” I blinked and then tilted my head, smiling indulgently. “I hate to say it, Benny, but I am pretty sure you would do it again.”
He sighed. “You’re right as always, Arabella. Smart girl. Always have been.”
“How long have you been coming down here?” Razar asked incredulously, looking like he was a minute away from pulling out his hair in frustration. I knew that my night terror was not only extremely protective of my safety but had a teeny tiny bit of a control issue.
Then again, was anything actually teeny tiny when it came to Razar?
I arched a brow, realizing a crowd had gathered, all of them looking very concerned.
“Your tone when talking to this young woman is rude,” Benjamin snapped.
“It’s okay,” I offered sweetly, feeling sympathetic for my night terror, before whispering, “That’s Razar.”
Benjamin looked at me knowingly. “The psychotic one. Makes sense.”
“You’ve called him psychotic?” Zain burst out laughing as I looked at them innocently.
“No,” Benjamin scoffed. “She has simply informed me of him, and I drew my own conclusions, just like I have with the rest of you.”
“You talk about us?” Saint offered a small smile that had Amun shaking his head, almost in disappointment.
I had no idea why—I thought Saint’s happiness at that was adorable.
I noticed Cy shifting back in the background, and I found myself a bit disappointed that I wouldn’t be able to ride him out of here… And now I was thinking about sex.
Why? Why was I so damn turned on all the time? I was pretty positive it was only going to get worse now that I knew what I was missing.
“Does she ever!” Order huffed, making Eve, who was now in his arms looking more annoyed than before, scowl at him.
I turned bright pink. “This is so not why I am here.”
“Yes, yes, you are here because of the humans,” Benjamin sighed. “Of course I will help, and I even promise that I will behave and help train night terrors if you can let me out of this damn place.”
“I’ve been able to break out this entire time,” Order announced as I walked towards the bars and Benjamin followed out behind me, my boys clearing a path. “I just chose to stay. I feel like that earns me brownie points.”
“You hate brownies,” Eve pointed out, amused.
I walked towards the next cage and smiled as I found Natassja already waiting for me, her icy blue eyes narrowed in suspicion. I sighed at that.
The apocalyptic terror was one that I had tried to befriend many times, but she’d just had too many people wrong her and now viewed everything through a very jaded lens.
It didn’t help that she was extremely old and had seen the worst of humanity, which was probably why she had tried to destroy it such a short time ago.
I think I’d been around twelve at the time, but I clearly remembered the day she was brought in.
She’d been livid. Natassja was objectively gorgeous, and like always, her skin and hair seemed to be covered in snow as blue electric energy jumped over her skin.
I had brought her normal clothes so many times, but whenever I saw her, she was wearing one of the plain white shifts given to her at the institute, as if she was afraid to wear anything else.
I didn’t understand why, and when I’d asked, she had mentioned that she didn’t like owing anyone.
“What?” she snapped, letting out a small growl.
“You’re being mean,” I pointed out gently as her face clouded with hurt.
“You brought people down here. You promised you wouldn’t.”
“And I am sorry for breaking that promise. You know I never would if it wasn’t an emergency,” I said truthfully. “There are humans trying to invade our home. Trying to hurt everyone here at the institute. We need all of your help.”
Natassja considered my words before tilting her head. “And if these humans attack, I can kill them?”
I let out a slow exhale. “I want everyone safe. If they attack…well, we have to assume they understand the consequences.”
“Fine, little girl, I will help.” She eased through the bars and narrowed her eyes at Benjamin, who offered her a somewhat goofy smile. I was almost positive that he had a crush on her, but I had no idea if that was taboo to ask, so I was hoping that it would just work out.
Going to the final cage, I knelt down and spoke softly. “Mykia? Are you awake? I know the voices probably scared you, but I need you out here.”
After a moment, a small bark sounded, and the creature terror that was single-handedly responsible for the slaughter of an entire human village outside of Barcelona sprinted forward…
and she was adorable. I had no idea if she could shift into a human form, but the small hellfox jumped through the bars into my arms and began to lick my face.
I let out a small giggle as the black and orange tail began to beat back and forth happily as she scrambled to sit on my shoulder, her tiny form vibrating with excitement.
When I turned back, I found all of my men staring at the miniature fox on my shoulder in horror. I frowned and looked up at the cute creature, who in return, licked my forehead in greeting.
“Arabella…” Razar hissed, “that is a fucking hellfox.”
“I know.” I nodded and reached up to pet her. “She’s super cool.”
I looked up at the sentinels, their eyes still open, and offered my question up. “Will you guys help us? We need to provide a unified front. I don’t want this to come to an attack, but it may. I need to know we can make it out of this.”
“Yes.”
My smile grew as the word vibrated through the space. I had a feeling this was exactly what we needed.