Chapter Twenty-Nine
Farren
“The fewer people who know what you mean to us, the better,” Monty adds.
He looks at Fluffy. “Although maybe it wouldn’t have been too bad if someone did get curious and follow us here.
I have a feeling that Fluffy would defend you and would do so incredibly effectively.
Especially since we didn’t even realise that he was here. ”
A low, threatening growl echoes through the room, shaking the floor and making me smile.
“I think that’s a yes,” I grin. “I’m surprised that you can’t make it into Siorraidh.”
“You shouldn’t be able to make it in there,” Monty points out.
I frown, “Wait. Does that mean that you all thought that I had Void magic?”
They both nod.
“Yeah, even your mother did. We knew that the Void was behaving differently for you, but we thought that it was because of your heritage,” Magnus explains.
“Because I’m a goddess?” I ask, feeling brave.
“With several different fathers who are gods, and who all have different gifts,” Monty says.
“Oh shit,” I curse. “Does that mean that the Fates don’t even know what's going on? They aren’t pulling the strings?”
“They’re trying their best, but you keep doing things that the Fates can’t control or predict,” Magnus explains with a slight frown.
Monty grins proudly, “You’re causing absolute chaos, and I have never been prouder.”
I grin, “Yeah, actually I’m pretty proud that I’m so unpredictable even the Fates can’t tell me what’s going on.”
“We all are as well,” Magnus says, and I know that he’s referring to more than just him and Monty.
“Are you okay?” Monty asks, serious for once as he looks over me with concern.
I open my mouth to give them my generic answer the same answer that I would give anyone, I’m fine, but I think better of it. This is Magnus and Monty, not two people that I hardly know.
“I’m confused, and I don’t know what my magic is doing,” I reply honestly.
Magnus immediately pulls me into his arms, and I feel Monty wrap his arms around the both of us, making me smile.
“Your magic is growing and changing. It is normal for a goddess, but it doesn’t make it any less confusing or any easier to deal with,” Magnus says.
“Actually, knowing that it’s happening for a reason is helpful. At least I know that I’m not broken,” I admit.
Their arms tighten around me protectively.
“You’re not broken, Farren,” Monty says firmly. “I wish we could help you navigate your new magic, but your path is complicated, and no one knows the whole picture. The Fates aren’t used to not knowing, and they don’t like it. Believe it or not, they want to help you.”
I smile as I pull back, “Well, I should hope so, they’re my mum and aunt.”
Monty bounces, his smile widening, “Aunts, the Fates consist of your mum and her two sisters.”
My eyebrow raises, “That makes sense, she only mentioned Nyx.”
“She was pushing it with how much she told you in the first place,” Magnus explains. “Mentioning Avyanna would have probably been a step too far. You’ll like them.”
“They’re both pains in the arse,” Monty mutters with a pout.
Magnus grins, “You’re just mad because they’ve one-upped you in that prank war you all have going on at the moment.”
I smile. A prank war? Yeah, they definitely sound like my sort of people, and I hope that I get to meet her and Nyx one day.
The Fates.
My aunts.
What is my life?
“We need to go, and you’re ready to wake up,” Monty says.
“Before we do, I just want to make sure that you understood something. What our beautiful mate was trying to tell you in her twisty fate kind of way is that you can move through the Void, you don’t have to walk,” Magnus says, staring at me meaningfully.
“Oh shit,” I exclaim, as I get it.
∞∞∞
I sit straight up, wide awake and making Loki and Rival yell as they fall off the bed.
The sound is so funny that I immediately burst out laughing, as everyone else comes rushing into the room because of the bang.
Their eyes fall on me, all of their worried expressions turning into smiles as they see me awake.
I scan them until I find Nico.
“Oh good, they didn’t kill you,” I say bluntly.
I know Fluffy already told me that he was safe, but then he was with me, so there’s always a chance that the others took advantage of the opportunity.
Nico chuckles, “It was touch and go for a moment, Pretty Girl. Your beast held them off, and then my winning personality did the rest.”
Loki snorts on the floor and brings everyone's attention to him.
“Why are you two on the floor?” Rast asks curiously.
They both point at me.
I wince, “Sorry.”
“No, you’re not,” Loki grins as he hops up off the floor and leans over the bed to kiss me. “Are you okay?”
I nod, “Yeah, I just really needed to recharge. I’m as good as new now. Where’s fluffy?”
“Fluffy?” Hades asks while everyone looks confused, and then realisation dawns across his expression, “Farren, did you call the ancient beast that’s thought to be extinct, Fluffy?”
“Yep,” I reply proudly.
Said beast appears at the foot of the bed in the thankfully large room.
“Shit,” Storm curses. “We should have known he wouldn’t leave Farren’s side.”
“Fluffy!” I grin, and the guys all groan, but quickly stop when Fluffy moves to the side of the bed and dips his giant head so that I can pet him again.
I give him lots of love. “You were such a good boy, thank you for coming. Although I’m not sure how or why you appeared, I do know that you are mine. ”
“Yours?” Hades asks. “I haven’t seen one since I was a boy, and it was supposed to be the last one alive, and it died not long after I saw it.”
“Yep,” I reply. I tilt my head when the rest of his sentence registers, “That’s not true. He’s from your castle, you had him guarding your vault.”
Hades' eyebrows hit his hairline. “No, I didn’t. Fluffy is not the creature that I left behind.”
“Huh,” I say, confused as I look down at Fluffy. “Well, he’s definitely the same creature that was there.”
“I believe you, I just don’t know how it's possible,” Hades agrees, looking at Fluffy.
“His kind were hunted to extinction by the gods, because they are the only creature that can kill a god,” I explain.
“What?” Hades replies, completely shocked.
“Are you sure?” Rast asks. “I wasn’t aware that there was a creature that could kill a god.”
“Neither was I,” Khaos frowns. “That would have been handy information to have. As far as we know, it’s only a specific kind of metal that is forged in a very secretive place and a complicated process that can do it.”
“Who told you about them?” Kill asks curiously as he moves Loki out of the way, eyes Fluffy for a moment and then kisses me fiercely. “Stop scaring me like that.”
“To be fair, this wasn’t my fault. I had no idea that my magic was going to bring him back,” I point out. I look at Rast. “Are you still mad at me?”
A look of regret immediately crosses his face. “I am so sorry. My reaction was unnecessary and not right. Nico is my best friend, my brother. He was killed on a mission that the compound leaders sent him on, they wouldn’t let me search for him.”
Nico clears his throat, shadows crossing his features as he looks away. I get the feeling that there’s a lot more to the story. Things that even Rast doesn’t know. It’s not my place to bring it up.
I smile at Rast, “I get it. It’s fine, but if you get in my face like that again, I will not be so quick to forgive.”
The guys smile at my threat.
I do forgive him though, of course I do. He was highly emotional, and all he did was get up in my space, but I also need him to know that it’s not okay and put a boundary in place. If he has a problem with that, then that’s a red flag, and he’s not actually sorry, is he?
Rast nods, taking my threat completely seriously, “I give you my oath that I will never get in your face like that again.”
I smile.
Magic stirs in the air alongside Rast’s words, and Nico’s head snaps in his direction with surprise.
Rival narrows his eyes, “Why do I think that wasn’t a simple promise?”
“Because it wasn’t,” Nico explains when Rast stays silent. “Because of the kind of supernatural that Rast is, if he gives his oath, it is binding, and if he breaks it, it has serious consequences.”
It doesn’t escape my notice that Nico didn’t actually say what kind of supernatural Rast is.
Damn it.
At this rate I’m just going to ask him outright and hope he answers.
Which is unlikely.
Everyone looks at Rast in surprise.
Rast’s eyes, however, are on me. “I wanted you to know how sorry I am, and that my promise is a genuine one.” He swallows thickly and glances away. “I know that you’re more than capable of kicking my arse, but I don’t want you to fear me.”
Oh.
It’s obvious how sorry he is, and I can see that his reaction to what happened and the way that he is trying to fix it has earned him the respect of the guys.
I get up and move over to Rast, wrapping my arms around him.
This time I don’t have to wait for him to hug me back, he pulls me closer immediately.
“I’m not scared of you, Rast,” I tell him. “I forgive you. You weren’t going to hurt me, I know that. All you did was get so close to me that I could’ve kissed you, and to be fair, that was what I was going to try next.”
I feel Rast inhale sharply, “You were going to kiss me?”
The guys all burst out laughing at the absolute shock in his tone, and I smile as the tension starts to dissipate.
There’s just one last thing that I want to make sure that he knows, “I would have never asked you to make such an oath.”
“I know,” Rast replies, his breath ruffling my hair. “That’s why I made it.”
“The way that it happened was the only way that Nico would have been brought back,” Zev says. “And it was important that he was brought back because he was never supposed to die.”
“He wasn’t?” I ask, as I pull back from Rast and he hesitates in letting me go.
“We need to fill you in on some things,” Khaos says. “Why don’t you go and take a seat back on the bed and we will fill you in on everything that you’ve missed.”