Chapter Nine
Farren
“Which won’t end well for them,” I mutter, earning a grin.
“Or they’re going to think you have failed and also come for you so they can put you back into isolation,” Storm continues.
“Which will also end badly for them,” I grin, giving up the pretence that I don’t want their heads.
Why I’m so protective of Aldrastos, who I hardly fucking know, is a mystery, but honestly? Any excuse to kill something and I’m happy.
At least that’s what I’m telling myself.
I don’t believe me, but in this situation I’m happy to lie to myself at least for a little bit.
Aldrastos
I try not to shift in my seat and let on to everyone exactly how hot I find it that Farren wants to kill for me.
The thing that is absolutely baffling me is why? Why does she want to take their heads? Does it really have to do with me, as Loki suggested, or is it simply that she wants to kill something and protect her other men?
Other men? I mean her men, not other because that would imply that I . . . fuck.
I sigh, it’s most likely the second reason.
I’m not really sure what possessed me to tell them about the compound and the things that I had begun to suspect, but suddenly their safety mattered more to me than some misplaced loyalty, and it was definitely misplaced loyalty.
“Rast?” Farren asks.
The nickname shocks me. I haven’t heard it for a long time. Surprisingly, though, after the wave of grief that crashes over me, I find that I don’t mind her calling me it.
Of course, something tells me that she could call me absolutely anything and I wouldn’t mind.
“Sorry. How about we put a pin in that for the moment?” I ask and then elaborate because she starts to look like I took something important away from her, and I don’t trust myself not to jump over the table and give her whatever she wants so she doesn’t look like that at me again.
Fucking hell. “I would rather get as much information about what they’re up to and why they are handing people over to the Others before you kill them. ”
“I like the way that you think,” Khaos replies, and Farren nods in agreement.
“After we have fixed this, and if we get the chance, we would be happy to help you with that,” Storm offers, surprising me.
“Thank you,” I reply simply.
“So we definitely aren’t going back to the compound then?” Farren asks, obviously having remembered that we weren’t planning to go back there anymore.
An icy breeze makes the hairs on the back of my neck stand up, and with it, I think that I almost hear words, but they’re just out of my reach. I barely catch myself from cursing out loud.
No.
I’m not going there, not again.
“I don’t think that it would be a good idea, it would also take a significant chunk out of our time to go back there, and honestly, I don’t think that’s time that we have,” I reply honestly.
“I think that’s probably the best idea,” Kill agrees.
“Aw, I wanted to take some heads,” Farren mutters while she pets her hellhound.
Khaos smirks, “I am sure that you will find the opportunity to do so on the way to the castle.”
“Probably at the castle too. You told us that the halls were guarded,” Hades points, making Farren's smile turn deadly.
“From what we’ve been told, the castle is guarded by the creatures who came from the Abyss to destroy the realm.
They use it as their home base of sorts.
Although they’re usually pretty spread out through the realm doing what they can to destroy it and tear it apart,” I explain.
“Whatever the King did to slow down the demise of this realm has meant that they can only eat the decaying parts, which is why it’s taking them so long to send this realm into legend.
They eat the residents of the realm too, which is easier than the realm itself but still challenging. ”
“Wow, the more I learn about this realm, the more intrigued I become. The creatures are particularly interesting. You said that they eat the realm?” Mayhem asks curiously.
I nod, I’m aware that we’ve gone off subject slightly, but this is probably information that they should know.
“That’s how they destroy the realm and send it into the Abyss.
They literally consume it. I don’t know much about how it works, it’s not like anyone can have a conversation with them, but knowledge has been passed down for generations, from one ruler to the next.
We are taught about a lot of it at the compounds.
” I frown and continue, “Which means I have no idea if there really are that many at the castle or if it was just somewhere that they didn’t want us to go for some reason. ”
“So we proceed with caution like we always do,” Hades replies with a shrug.
I’m beginning to understand that there is very little that actually bothers them, but then I know very little about what they have all been through.
I have an idea about Hades' past. He’s a relatively well-known god, but what I have been told has come from the compound leaders, so who knows if it’s right.
None of them holds themselves as if they have had easy lives, and quite honestly, I care about that more than I should for people that I barely know. I feel like a stuck record, but I can’t help it.
“Right, I suggest that we get some rest while we can. Who knows when we will find a safe place again,” Reaper suggests as he stands up.
“Thank fuck, I’m exhausted,” Farren says as she gets up, a huge yawn overtakes her, and her eyes are barely open as she sways slightly.
Reaper smiles softly as he strides toward her and picks her up. “I’ve got you, Farren.”
She immediately snuggles into his chest, a happy and relaxed smile crossing her features, and I force myself to look away as a pang of emotion pierces me.
I’m not great at identifying what I’m feeling.
Which is why at first I think that it’s jealousy that I’m feeling, but that’s not quite right. The room empties as I’m left with my emotion, trying to decide what it is.
Then it hits me.
Longing.
That’s what I’m feeling, and I think that disturbs me more than it would have if it were jealousy.
I curse out loud. I’m the only one in here now, so it doesn’t really matter. No one can hear me having my little freakout.
I freeze. I swear I just heard a chuckle.
My eyes scan the room, but I don’t see anyone. I’m tired enough though, that I most likely imagined it, and I take that as my sign to go and find somewhere to sleep.
“Are you okay?” Farren’s sleepy voice makes me look up and toward the door.
“I thought you had gone to bed?” I ask softly.
I’m not really sure how to answer the question anyway.
“I did, but then I realised that no one had checked in on you and we’re used to all of this shit being thrown at us, well as used to it as we can possibly be.
You most likely aren’t though, or maybe you are.
You have that aura about you, I suppose.
” She pauses and then winces, “Sorry, my point is, I wanted to check on you.”
My heart beats faster. “Thank you. I am okay, and although this particular situation is a new one for me, being in danger is not.”
She frowns slightly, and then smiles instead, “That’s good, I guess. You will be pleased to know that the house is fucking awesome and there are enough rooms for all of us.”
“Wow. It takes some serious power to be able to do that, especially since, as far as I know, the house has been empty for a long time,” I reply as we start to head towards the stairs.
“It is pretty impressive. Ignatius must have been really strong though, not just because he managed to do this but because he was the trusted head mage of the King, and the King cared enough about him to lock him up and keep him safe,” Farren states.
“The King also trusted him to keep the rest of those people that you mentioned were with him safe. I know you said that the castle or realm was keeping them all alive and safe, but I would be willing to bet that they were also being kept safe by him,” I add thoughtfully.
“The door and magic that were guarding them could definitely have been done by him. It wouldn’t surprise me if all of that, including the actual cell that they were in, was all him, and their sustenance was coming from the castle, or realm,” she replies, her eyebrows creasing slightly as she thinks.
“It’s a decent enough theory, and we can make sure that we ask him when we finally set them free,” I suggest.
She chuckles softly, “From my experience, the likelihood of him actually answering a question is pretty fucking slim.”
I grin, “You never know. There are other ways to persuade someone to talk.”
Her smile sharpens, “See, I knew I liked you.” She stops, “This is your room. I’ll warn you now, we are most likely leaving pretty quickly tomorrow since none of us want to waste any time.”
“Perfect,” I reply.
As the urge to touch her washes over me, I force myself to turn toward the door and instead head straight through it without another word.
Rude?
Probably.
Necessary?
Most definitely.
I lose all fucking sense when it comes to Farren, and I have no idea what the fuck to do about it. Case in point, I can't help but wait by the door until I hear her footsteps softly pad down the hallway, and the door snick closed behind her.
It’s only then that I take stock of the room.
It’s nice, simple.
With a bed and minimal furniture. Walking across the room, I pull open the only other door in here, and I’m pleasantly surprised to find a bathroom.
I’m assuming that all of the rooms have them.
Which is damn good because we were all so distracted by the noises that were coming from the bathroom earlier that by the time we actually managed to cook dinner and they came back downstairs, the rest of us had clearly forgotten about showering.
At least I’m assuming that’s the reason that no one else went up, I know that’s my reason.
After a quick and well-needed shower, I gratefully flop down onto the soft bed. I think I might have been asleep before my head hit the pillow.
∞∞∞
I slept ridiculously well last night, which is not something that I was expecting. I also wasn’t expecting to wake up to the smell of bacon, but that’s a very welcome surprise.
Remembering what Sage said last night about everyone wanting to leave pretty quickly, this morning I throw everything into my backpack, make sure that I have all of my weapons in easy reach, and I haven’t forgotten to put one where it belongs.
That’s only happened once, but because the weapon wasn’t where it always was, I lost precious time and with it, very almost lost my life.
So now I make sure that all of my weapons are where they’re supposed to be.
I don’t want to die just because I’ve forgotten to put one of my knives in its proper place.
I give the room one last, longing glance. It’s most likely going to be a long time before we can find something this nice to rest. We might not even get to sleep somewhere this nice until we get back to the academy.
I mean, they go back to the academy, if that’s where they’re going to go, I won’t be going back there, and I won’t be going back to the compound either.
Not if I can help it.
I pause as it really hits me. I haven’t got anywhere to go.
Nope, I’m not going to worry about that now.
There is nothing that I can do to change it, so I’m not going to worry about it.
Not yet, at least. Plus, I am more than aware of how dangerous this mission to the castle is, and I am not expecting to survive it.
So I don’t really need to worry about what I’m doing after this.
“Good morning, Rast,” Farren greets me with a smile as soon as I walk into the kitchen.
“Morning,” I reply, sounding gruffer than I intended, but I haven’t spoken yet today.