45. Just Promise Me Yourself
Haera until I have healed you.”
After another tender kiss, they joined the main hallway, leading themselves into the ballroom amidst thundering cheers, screams and shouts. Olympus was full to overflowing. All the deities in the universe were present: those specific to each planet and smaller territories, principalities who ruled over larger territories, and of course, the triune godhead; her family.
Kheos and Regos were standing across the room, and she caught Kheos’ adoring smile and waved to him, then to Regos, who wore his usual unreadable expression. She was immediately surrounded by goddesses, their beauty taking her breath away. They complimented her hair, her dress, her skin, her eyes, and begged her to keep in contact with them, and refused to let her go back to Theos, who had moved to stand next to his brothers.
She made her way through the crowd, led by the throng of goddesses, until she had been introduced to every entity in the castle.
There was a goofy smile painted on her lips all nigh, the most beautiful lip adornment Theos had ever seen.
After an houyra of mingling, Haera excused herself to move towards the three brothers she cared for the most. Throwing her arms around Kheos’ middle, she squeezed him with all her might. Kheos’ laugh shook his chest, and his darker blue eyes sparkled down into her lighter ones.
“Are you enjoying yourself, little human?” Kheos asked, angling his head to take her in.
Haera nodded, too giddy to even speak. Kheos knelt, wrapping his arms around her and standing so he could twirl her around like a delicate little doll. She giggled as she flew through the air, and when Kheos finally set her down and she turned to Theos, she found him already smiling.
She moved to him, reaching up to press her lips to his, for which he met her halfway. Loud whoops and cheering erupted behind them, and Haera hid behind Theos to hide her embarrassment. Laughing along with the crowd, Theos reached behind him, wrapping his arm around her waist and pulling her back to face him. Leaning down, he pressed a devastatingly heated kiss to her lips once more, tangling his tongue with hers as the crowd’s cheers grew to deafening pitch.
When Theos finally released her, she swatted his arm, rushing away to hide behind Regos amidst even more whistles and cheers. When everyone’s attention had finally returned to their own conversations, Haera peeked around Regos, before sliding to his left to snuggle into his side.
─── ?? ? ?? ── ─
Regos & Haera
He looked down at her, alarmed. “What are you doing?” he demanded.
“Hugging you…?” Haera echoed, blinking at him in confusion. Regos didn’t respond, and she stared at him for a long moment, her arms around his torso. “Has no one ever hugged you before?” she asked quietly.
Angling his head down at her curiously, he shook his head ‘no’ . “No one touches me and lives. I am death, after all.” His lips pulled into a smile. “You are the first, mortal or otherwise, to touch me willingly.”
Haera was horrified, and she knew her expression betrayed her when Regos barked a bitter laugh.
“Death is always alone either way,” he mumbled.
Not sure what to say, Haera tightened her arms around his torso, putting all her effort into hugging him. Regos hummed aloud, hesitantly putting his arms around her. “So, this is what affection is meant to feel like.”
Haera’s heart ached for him. “Is that why you’re so prickly?” She turned her watery gaze on him, and Regos stiffened immediately.
“Why do you cry? Are you hurt?” he asked, alarmed.
“Yes. I’m hurt on your behalf.”
Regos didn’t reply. He wasn’t sure what to say. Eventually, Haera was called away into the crowd once more, to talk with a new group of deities that had just arrived. Their planet was furthest from Olympus, and though deities all accessed the phantaron, their travel times were slower than most.
─── ?? ? ?? ── ─
Regos, Theos, Haera
“You’re still mad at me?” came Theos’ question.
Regos turned to find Theos standing before him, arms crossed over his chest. The colour of the velvet of his gloves caught his attention. They were the colour of his mate’s eyes. Something inside his heart ached.
“What the fuck do you think?” he answered, his voice a whisper in the din.
Haera had come back to join their circle, and she pouted, her eyes watering again. Alarmed, Regos tried to dissuade her tears.
“Cheer up sister. I’ll be out of your mate’s hair soon, and you won’t have to worry about me ruining the party.” He muttered, hoping that appeased her. The shock that filled her face told him that it hadn’t.
“Regos, I like your company. I’m not worried about you ruining anything.” She whispered.
He stared at her as though the idea of anyone wanting him to be present was abhorrent. “You…do?”
“Please don’t leave early,” she pleaded.
He shook his head, trying to clear the fog of sadness that was overtaking him. “I have lots of work to do…” he began.
“I forbid you to leave until it’s over.” Haera cut in.
He narrowed his eyes at her, pointedly ignoring the way Kheos and Theos were watching the interaction interestedly. His jaws tightened, swallowing down the refusal he wanted to give her. He could put up with a silly party until it was over if it would remove the worry in her eyes. He hated seeing it there.
“As you wish, sister,” he ground out.
With the largest smile he’d ever seen, Haera, threw her arms around his torso again. He blinked down at her for a moment, before he pulled her closer and hugged her tightly.
“You’ll have fun. I’ll make certain of it.” She chirped.
Regos’ eyes narrowed down at her. “That’s a hard bargain you’re driving for yourself.” He moved to walk away, but the small, persistent human followed after him, putting her hand in his .
“Brother, wait.” She whined.
Regos’ steps halted, and he turned on her swiftly, his eyes blazing down at her. “Don’t you dare blackmail me,” he muttered, “I almost felt something when you called me that.”
Haera grinned prettily, wrapping an arm tightly around his and clinging to his side. Regos sighed.
“Why do you want to be seen in such a stunning white dress with the prince of darkness on your arm? You are a strange creature.”
“I have lived in the dark for a long time. I’m not afraid of it, or of you. Stop trying to push me away.”
Regos blinked down at her, and for the first time in eons, he wasn’t sure what to say.
─── ?? ? ?? ───
Kheos, Theos, Regos, Haera
The party of deities moved into the dining hall, an equally large, equally extravagant room with hundreds of long tables and chairs. When everyone was seated, and had piled their plates high from the delicious array of platters and foods from all across the universe, Kheos stood, tapping an ornate gold coin against his gold encrusted goblet. Heads raised and turned towards the main table, and Haera watched as Kheos slipped the coin back into his pocket.
He raised his goblet in a toast, and around the room, thousands of goblets mirrored his action. His gaze rested gently on Theos, something crossing through his gaze that Haera hadn’t seen before.
“A toast,” he called, his voice carrying effortlessly around the room. “To the king,” his attention moved to Haera, and his smile grew emotional, “and to the queen.” He took a deep steadying breath. “For as much as everyone in the universe believes me to be an emotionless, impatient asshole,” Kheos visibly struggled to swallow. “I have been waiting for this dahy, for longer than anyone else. Far before King Theos ever dreamed to request your hand, queen Haera. I –” he hesitated. “It is not very often that a narrative can endure time, space, eons and generations long enough for one of my decrees to play out the way it has here,” his smile was wistful. “Most often, things fall apart very quickly in the realms, and the blame falls at my feet.”
He stared down into his goblet, then raised his attention to Theos. He was quiet for a moment, as though remembering something. “To the King over Everything, long may he reign!” he called, raising his goblet high over his head.
Around the room, goblets flew into the sky.
“To the king over everything,” the room echoed.
“And to the queen of Our Hearts,” Kheos turned his tear-filled eyes to Haera, who smiled sadly back at him. “May she never know pain again.”
“To the queen of our hearts!” the room echoed again.
Everyone drank deeply from the wine in their goblets .
“I propose a secondary toast,” Kheos started, mischief glowing as clearly in his eyes as the stars all around the castle.
Everyone scrambled to fill their glasses with wine and have them ready. Kheos waited, blue eyes burning into Haera’s.
“Are you all ready now?” Kheos called impatiently.
Everyone nodded, their responses dragging out in a sing-song manner. “Yes Kheos”
He snorted and smiled, before raising his goblet to the air once more, gaze squarely on Regos, who was staring at the goblet in his own hand.
“To the Prince of Darkness,” he called out.
Regos’ eyes snapped to his brother, narrowing in suspicion.
“For many people around the universe, death is preferable to what I would do to them in any case.”
“To the Prince of Darkness,” the room echoed.
The room erupted into cheers. All the glasses were raised, tossed towards the centre of the tables, wine sloshing carelessly over the edges and onto everyone’s arms as the chalices clashed together. Everyone smiled and laughed, and when the goblets separated, everyone drank deeply once more.
From the corner of her eye, Haera watched Regos’ nose scrunch up in disgust. His brows pulled together in confusion, and he raised his head, attention landing on Haera right away though he spoke to the room at large.
“Did someone just utter my name?”
Everyone chorused no, and his eyes narrowed. He looked over at Theos and Haera, mouth falling open, shock falling across his features.
“There’s a mortal summoning me.”
Theos raised a brow. “What?”
Haera watched Kheos’ devious smile as he raised his goblet to his lips to finally take a drink, his eyes on Haera though Regos had turned his fierce gaze on him, guessing that he had something to do with whatever was happening. Reaching into his pocket, Kheos pulled out the coin he’d used to strike his goblet for both toasts.
He tossed it onto the table, and it rolled to Regos before clattering on it’s tail side. From where she was, Haera recognized the crest of Raendra.
“For good luck,” Kheos grinned .
Regos seethed, glaring at the coin, then at his brother. “No mortal has ever been brave enough to summon Death before now. And in any case, why me? Out of all the entities?”
Kheos shrugged casually, a devilish grin on his lips. “Death is preferable, in any case.”