Chapter 11 Maeve #2
“Well, then, that’s me told,” he says, holding his hands up in submission.
Now, who’s the bullshitter? Lucifer’s never submitted to anyone a day in his life.
“So, before we get into Adrian’s newest ploy, let’s get on the same page about the shit show we dealt with yesterday,” Hadrian says, tapping his foot on the floor impatiently.
Julian frowns. “What more is there to say? Ades tried to silence me from sharing the fact that he signed off on the release of Maeve’s dad—”
“Step,” I interject. “Don’t insinuate we’re related. That makes everything he did even more horrifying.”
The air thickens, and it’s harder for me to breathe through it. My lungs are filled with the sickly, cloying scent of my panic, and I hate it.
Hate how weak I am.
How easily I breakdown.
“I’m sorry.”
“Oh, fucking hell, I can’t deal with simp Julian,” Lucifer moans, dramatically dropping to his knees. “Please, if anyone is listening, strike me down. Actually, wait, don’t do that. Strike him down instead.”
“Not in my fucking house, you better not,” I snarl, glowering up at the ceiling in warning.
Sure, it’s not like fate, or anybody else, would actually listen to me, but I need to try. Then again, Luc’s got a good amount of his own bad karma, so chances are he’s getting ignored, too.
“Who gives a fuck about the house if you’re not wanting to stay here?” Julian asks.
“Well, I do, because if the house gets destroyed today, we’ll have to stay with Adrian until we’re allowed to leave again,” I say, taking small pauses between each word so he can understand how stupid he sounds.
Ask a stupid question, you should get stabbed for the wasting of my time.
Not everyone, of course, I don’t have the time to collect the universe’s debts. Just those who exist in my presence.
Lucifer opens his mouth again, probably to bring up something from last night that I have no intention of reliving before caffeine.
“Don’t,” I warn, lifting my mug in salute. “If you say one more emotionally charged word, I’m leaving.”
He shuts his mouth with a click, eyes dancing with excitement. I know for a fact he’s desperate to poke and prod. It sucks for him that I’m not in the mood.
Hadrian doesn’t look nearly as amused. His jaw tightens, a tiny betrayal of the fact that he was waiting for that conversation.
Too bad. If the Graves men have things to get off their chest, they can talk to each other or pay a therapist.
Or do what healthy people do—lock it in a mental box, never to be seen again.
Julian clears his throat, struggling with the tense atmosphere. I’m not surprised. He’s so light and boring and undamaged. He can’t cope in the tension-fuelled atmosphere that Hades, Lucifer, and I create just by existing together.
I wonder how Jules is going to manage once Draven arrives. I doubt they’re going to get on—Drav’s quite intimidating, and Julian’s extremely weak—which will likely be another headache I need to deal with.
Ugh.
“So,” the light pegasus says, running a hand through his messy curls, “we’re just moving past last night?”
All three men look at me for an answer, and it should be kind of nice that they’re willing to let me make the decision. My chromius crawls under my ribs like she wants to flee, though, because it is not nice.
I sip my tea instead of replying.
Pretty boys don’t make demands from me. Especially not this one.
“Yes?” Julian says brightly like that settles it. “Perfect.”
He doesn’t even try to hide his wince as he adds, “Well… we’ve been invited—read violently demanded—to go to Uncle Adrian’s for a brunch.”
Lucifer groans into his pancake. Hadrian curses under his breath.
My stomach drops.
Of course, Adrian wants to see me. I knew that would happen.
But he’s forcing me out of my home and into his playground. The bastard that he is. Of course, this isn’t optional.
So, of course, the day is already ruined.
“What kind of brunch?” I ask suspiciously. He seems far more on edge than I thought he would be, considering that Julian would willingly bend over for Adrian if it got him a “good boy”.
Julian’s expression goes through several stages of regret, but, surprisingly, he’s looking at Hadrian, not me. I hum excitedly, and Lucifer’s eyes flicker between icy blue and black.
“The… family kind,” Jules admits.
I place my mug down with a little too much force at the long hiss from Hades. My chromius whines softly, and I don’t like the desperate edge to her voice. She’s needy, wanting to soothe, wanting to support.
And I’m… well, apathetic isn’t truly accurate.
If I wasn’t so exhausted and on edge, I’d probably love this little family bonding session of theirs that we’re being forced to attend. It would be the perfect way to humiliate Adrian, poke at the twins, and cause chaos with Lucifer, all the while sticking my fingers up at the extended family.
Alas, I am drained, so it won’t be as fun. I’m still going to enjoy it, though. For once, I’m not the target—they are.
“Perfect,” I say, not even lying. “Can’t wait.”
My chromius hisses violently—at me, at Adrian, at the fucking world.
Lucifer reaches across the counter to pat Hades on the back. “Don’t worry, Baby Cuz. Daddy D is scarier than they are.”
“Please stop calling him that,” Julian begs, his face flushing red. “And please tell me that you’re going to behave when we’re there.”
Hadrian mutters, “We’re never surviving this.”
And, honestly?
He might be right.
But that’s what makes it so much more fun.
“Who are you most scared of?” I ask, raising a brow. “Your parents? Your uncle?” I look at Lucifer’s tight smile, and a nervous knot forms. “Luc’s parents?”
Hades blows out a breath of hot air. “Neither. All. I don’t fucking know. I’ve not seen them in a while, and you know better than anyone what wandering down memory lane does.”
I scoff. “I usually find it very therapeutic, actually. Don’t knock it without trying it.”
I drain the last of my tea and set the mug down gently this time. They’re all extremely on edge, and I don’t want to have to sit in this tension for much longer.
“Come on, then, boys,” I say. “Let’s go let your family try to break us.”
Lucifer cackles. “Oh, princess, they don’t even need to try when it comes to these two. The pathetic pony parade is so easy to break.”
“Fuck off, devil,” Julian snarls, slamming his hands onto my counter. The sound cracks through the room like he meant to break more than just the silence.
What a rude houseguest. I invite him into my home, allow him to use my things, and this is how he behaves?
It’s practically criminal behaviour—maybe I shouldn’t have been so quick at getting him released from jail last night.
Hades steps forward immediately, shadows sharpening around the edges of him. “Don’t put holes in Maeve’s house. You want to break something, break Lucifer.”
I groan. “Nope. I do not consent to you acting like a caveman who owns me.” Hadrian’s face falls, and I lean in closer to him. “You’d never be able to afford my price tag.”
“He wouldn’t, but I bet I could,” Lucifer says, winking at me.
“You’d die before the day was over if you even tried,” I counter.
Julian snarls, the whinny in his voice enough to rattle my chromius. She’s so desperate—so eager to soothe his rattled feathers.
She’s just as dramatic as he is.
“That’s enough of the dramatics, baby cousins. You’re upsetting Maeve,” Lucifer says, flicking imaginary lint off his shirt like it’s offended him. “Besides, you couldn’t break me if you prayed for divine intervention and used both hands.”
My chromius curls her claws into my ribs, equal parts terror and thrill.
“Can you all stop measuring your egos before someone has to mop up the blood?” I snap, taking my anger at my chromius out on them. “I’ve got places to be. People to disappoint. Traumas to repress.”
All three men freeze like I’ve slapped them. Interesting. I’d never stoop low enough to touch any of them.
But I do love causing them pain.
“Princess,” Lucifer says slowly, smile curling like smoke, “is that fear I smell… or just hope dying?”
For once, my chromius and I agree on something. We can’t show these men any weakness.
I glare. “I’m allergic to family gatherings. Yours just happens to be fatal.”
“Don’t worry,” Hades murmurs, quieter than usual, “we’re not letting you walk in there alone.”
Julian nods, expression twisting with something painfully earnest. “We’ve got you.”
“I think you misunderstood, boys. I’m not scared for me. I can handle the Graves family with a dull spoon and half my brain offline. But the two of you?” I gesture lazily between Hadrian and Julian.
“We’re not even through the door, and you’re already salivating like you’re about to kneel for your own execution.”
Lucifer sighs, some of the excitement fading from his face. “You’ve survived six years with these monsters, pretty princess, but we’ve had to survive a lifetime. They didn’t raise us—they weaponised us. We know exactly how to navigate the battlefield we’re walking into, okay?
“Trust me, and trust them—we’re not going to back down and leave you to struggle. There’s nothing they could do to make us forget how much we hate them.”
“Once we’re back and have time to talk, we’ll get on the same page about everything,” Julian says ominously.
The dark, gruff notes in his voice cause goosebumps to appear on my bare skin.
“But trust me, Maeve, the only way they’re dragging me from your side is by carving out my heart and leaving the corpse behind. ”
“I would be the one eagerly leaving you for dead.”
“And that’s the way it should be,” he replies, unfazed by my remark. “None of us are bending to Adrian—or the bastards who made us.”
“We’re on your side, little starlet,” Hades adds calmly. “But if you want to be on my side for this luncheon, I’d appreciate it. Your sharp tongue is the best weapon. Do me a favour and aim it at the real enemy.”
My chromius shudders, her claws sinking deeper into my ribs, and I hate the amount of hope she’s channeling across our bond. Of course, she’s let their pretty promises become her truth.
Stupid creature.
She hears something in their voices. Something dangerous. Something she’s starved for.
She sees them as the cure to every wound we’ve ever carried.
Pathetic.
Embarrassing.
Dangerous.
A disaster waiting to happen.
I don’t bother replying, because I know that I can’t. Nothing I would want to say would be enough.
Instead, I turn towards the hall, my heels clicking like a countdown as I sort out the alarm. Once it’s ready, I call out for them to come join me.
“Let’s go. The sooner we arrive, the sooner I get to set Adrian’s day on fire.”
Lucifer grins like he’s already picturing the bloodshed. Hades exhales like he’s bracing for impact.
Julian falls into step behind me, light but steady.
They follow without hesitation.
Three predators at my back. Three catastrophes I’m willingly unleashing.
This is going to be a fucking nightmare.
But nightmares are where I thrive.