24. The siren I love to hate
Nevaeh
“Shake the can before you open it. It’ll make the flavors mix nicely.”
I should’ve known better than to trust Hazel.
When has Sharky ever given someone advice?
So why am I surprised that the moment I open the can—after shaking it profusely to get better flavor, the drink splashes everywhere .
From my hoodie to the kitchen counter, even the ceiling is dripping with soda. A loud ring of laughter drowns my horrified gasp, and I turn around to see August doubled over in hysterics next to the woman I should’ve killed a long time ago.
Dumping the can in the trash I take off towards them, intending to watch the siren’s souls reach purgatory. Before I can get my hands on either of the tricksters’ Hazel makes a run for it with August on her tail.
“You’re a dead woman walking!”
Rushed footsteps echo the hallway followed by Angel barging into the kitchen, panting heavily like he ran two floors to get here— which he did . I’m not at all surprised he got here so quickly when I shrieked like a woman on fire. This man is so tuned into everything I do that I was expecting him to be here before I even shook the can.
With frantic eyes, Anxo scans me from my wet hair to the pool of sticky liquid I’m standing in.
“I heard you scream.”
“That evil siren told me to shake the fucking can!”
Angel shakes his head disappointingly, “Oh, sweetheart. I thought you knew better than to trust Hazel acting nice.”
Grabbing a rag, he runs it under the tap before wringing it. Tangling his fingers in my hair, Anxo tilts my face up to clean the mess, and I relax as the sticky feeling goes away. My shoulders slump when he peels off the soaking hoodie and throws it in the trash as well.
Washing my arms in the sink, I come up with plans to get back at Hazel. Preferably when she least expects it.
“Done. Now, turn that frown upside down or I'll kiss you silly to do it myself.”
The intensity of his gaze burns in my stomach. Like he feels the same need running through me, Anxo pulls me against him, and I get lost in the searing kiss he offers.
We would’ve stayed in our own world of sweet kisses if Seiji hadn’t popped out of thin air, threatening to throw up all over the kitchen if we didn’t stop immediately.
How do I never notice him sneaking up on us?
Angel reluctantly steps back to glare at Seiji, who hides his mischievous smirk by taking another bite from his apple.
Angel doesn’t even attempt to chastise Seiji, instead, hides his face in my neck and slumps against me. His exhaustion has finally stripped the last of his energy. Angel has been dog-tired this last week as he guides Harvey through the process of handing over War to the rightful heir.
There was supposed to be a grand event for Harvey’s coronation, but those plans got derailed when my sister and best friend announced they were hoping to get married on the same day to avoid another event.
That’s also when shit hit the fans.
Before Harvey could finish telling us the reason to combine both events, Seiji was out of his chair, screaming and ordering anyone in hearing range to stop lazing around and start planning the grand wedding.
“ Three weeks ! Only you lovesick fools would think I can pull off a grand wedding and a once-in-a-generation coronation in just twenty-one days—Daisy let Elma know I need those cake samples yesterday !”
Elf bakery: A place where smaller-than-average beings with sharp, pointy ears work their magic and make the most delicious desserts in the realm.
Just kidding. They are not little, but elves do have pointy ears and sharp features, and no one in the supernatural world can beat their desserts. They’re the best in the kingdom, hence why Seiji demanded we get the wedding desserts from there, including the cake.
I didn’t understand why it came as a surprise to Seiji when I was expecting the couple to be married and off to honeymoon a day after we stepped into the kingdom. Harvey and Grace waited a whole month before announcing their wedding.
That’s like a year in Harvey’s world.
It was chaos to sum it up. Grace told Seiji that he could have total dictatorship over her day except for one condition that damn near gave him a heart attack. The request was to keep everything simple and minimal . Nothing too extravagant.
Boy, if Seiji didn’t nearly faint at that.
He wanted to go overboard and cover the entire kingdom with floating lamps, flowers, and dragons in the sky. But for Grace’s sake, he agreed to tone it down to the best of his capability while still giving her a wedding the entire supernatural world would be jealous of.
I hear monkey tiptoeing back into the kitchen before I see him. Coming to innocently hug my legs, the little werewolf acts like he didn’t side with the evil water fairy earlier.
Those two have become thick as thieves in the past month. August has started letting people he trusts into his personal space and understands why Hazel doesn’t allow the same from anyone. Not once has he tried or accidentally stood too close to her in case it made her uncomfortable.
I hate that August understands what it’s like to want to protect your body, but it helps to see how much Hazel lets her guard down around him.
When I act like I don’t have a little boy with his cheek pressed to my thigh and continue my conversation with Seiji, August huffs loudly, stretching his arms to signal he wants me to pick him up.
Those big blue eyes are my weakness, and I can’t stay mad at my little monkey when he pouts like that. Picking him in my arms, I smother his face with kisses, which makes him giggle wildly.
From the corner of my eye, I see Sharky trying to sneak out, using August’s cuteness as a distraction.
“Don’t make me run after you because you won’t like what happens to your dark soul afterward.”
“I wasn’t running. I was—I was going for a walk.”
When I hum suspiciously, her eyes narrow on me, waiting for the attack that won’t come.
I’m not going to do anything. Watching her sweat and anxiously wait for my next move is punishment enough.
With a loud smooch on August’s cheek, Anxo takes him from me. “You ready for bedtime, little man?”
August shakes his head but yawns in the next second. Angel chuckles and starts swaying slightly, knowing that would put the boy right to sleep.
Leaving me alone to tuck our son in bed, Anxo lets Seiji drag me into an argument about the best centerpiece that Hazel obviously disapproves of.
It's been a month since the night I came back to the Horsemen castle after visiting the Adler’s shrine.
That night, Angel carried me home. I was so devastated that I could barely manage to stand up. All the way back home, I couldn't stop thinking how I'd ever face Harvey again, only for him to be standing by the gates, waiting for me to return.
The moment he saw me, Harvey pulled me into a tight hug and we both cried for life that was so cruelly snatched from us.
We spent hours on the living room floor talking about everything and nothing that night. By the time morning rolled around Harvey had drilled into my head how none of it was my fault. He made me promise to stop blaming myself for every bad thing and start working on moving on and growing from our disastrous past.
I’m not a hundred percent better, and there’s a lot I need to work on, but now I remind myself that I was a kid too— a victim just like everyone else.
The mantra has helped me gradually overcome the heavy weight of guilt I’ve been carrying for years. I have a long way to go, but I won’t stop now.
One day, I'll be better.
“Are you even listening?” Seiji complains.
“Oh I’m listening, I’m just not interested in how you think purple suits you better than indigo.” Hazel doesn’t even bother looking up from scrubbing her perfectly clean dagger.
“You’re just jealous of how handsome I am.” Shaking his head, Seiji feigns disappointment. “It’s a myth that there can only be one pretty person in a group. I’m willing to share the title with you... even when I deserve it more.”
Hazel starts cackling like a mad woman at that.
“Handsome, my ass. You’re so ugly, you scare the shit back into people!” Her uncontrolled howling forces me to join her. I’m sure our hysterics can be heard everywhere in the kingdom.
“Screw you bitch. Now, I’m not sharing my title with you at all.”
Slipping off my chair, I sprint out of the kitchen before I’m trapped between two crazies.
When I heard Seiji yelp, I knew I escaped just in time.
We have way too many wackos in our group.