VII || unholy matrimony

RESCUE MISSION
Time Elapsed: 00:36:51

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Cars sped through the large warehouse, the uneven ground clattered noisily, and the loudness echoed deafeningly through the corrugated place. I stared at the side mirror alarmingly, trying to gauge their distance from our vehicle. My hands gripped tightly onto the SCAR rifle in my arms, ready to fight whenever the situation called for it.

Beside me, Jax had all his attention on the road, trying to figure out the best way to at least get rid of some chasers behind us. He turned into a narrow path, and we lost two cars behind us, but we knew they took an alternative route because once we were out of this warehouse, they quickly caught up to us. Above all the nervousness and complicated emotions, I wasn't sure why having him here actually placed my entire being at ease.

"Iva, stay low," Jax said, his hand suddenly held onto the back of my head as he pushed me to face down. His hand remained on me as blaring gunshots sounded from behind, hitting mercilessly against the sonorous metal of the car. My breath hitched and my heart was pounding louder than the rain of bullets that pelted on the outside.

"J-Jax," I stuttered, feeling the fear that pumped through my veins.

"I'm here, latreía mou," Jax said softly, in a comforting tone. "I'll get us out safely."

When he released his hand, I continued to stay low while he quickly swerved the car and took a turn down the street. We quickly lost two chasers as they weren't able to react to the sudden change of direction, those cars skidded and crashed deafeningly against the side of the road. Yet, it wasn't time to be calm because we still had two black cars driving adjacent to each other while chasing right behind us.

"Iva," Jax called from the side. I couldn't react at the first moment and he tried again, "Sweetness, I need you to get a grip now. Whether we return back to Lethe is up to you now."

I breathed in a sharp inhale and asked, "What do you need me to do?"

"Blow their car tires," Jax instructed. "We're hitting a straight road soon. It's either they blow ours or we had to do it now to escape."

"Okay," I nodded. "Leave it to me."

Attaching the scope on the rifle, I lowered the window on my side. Stretching my upper body out, I raised the gun and place my eye near the scope. Talk about marksmanship, I wasn't given an honorary title for show. As Jax made a right turn, I lowered my aim towards the tarmac floor and fired thrice while the car on the right skidded due to a flat tire. I didn't stay out for long, quickly pulling myself back into the car because the only chaser behind us had also started to fire towards our car. From the front mirror, I saw three men carrying rifles and shooting continuously in our direction.

If it was a moment ago, I would've panicked but I regained all my combat calmness as I gripped onto the grab handle to pull myself out again for a fight. Jax focused on the road, saying nothing but the frown in his expression had showed the vexation he was feeling. Yet, there wasn't time to fix any emotions or say anything comforting right now. I positioned myself firmly and aimed towards the tire, but their gunmen had their guns aimed towards my direction. Left with no choice, I directed at one and fired a few rounds, killing one of their men on the spot as I quickly took cover again.

Flattening my seat, I headed towards the backseat and stretched myself out on the other side to take them by surprise when I appeared out of their expected direction. I managed to gun another man down and Jax instructed from the driver seat, "Iva, in!"

I quickly slipped back into the car and Jax made a last sharp turn before we hit the straight road. The chaser behind us accelerated and closed in towards our car and I said, "We need to get rid of him quickly before he calls for back up."

"Don't be rash," Jax warned.

"Trust me."

That was all I said before I checked the rear window and wait for an opportunity to strike. The gunmen on the passenger seat appeared on the same time as me as we crossfired. I was a few seconds quicker than him to fire and dodged a lethal shot, but the bullet still hit me straight into my right arm. Quickly hiding back into the car, I panted out the pain and turned my arm around to look at the wound.

The bullet penetrated deep into my arm and there wasn't a way I could get rid of it at the immediate moment. Jax stole glances to check on me, his brows were knitted together into the tight frown, and he chided, "Iva, I told you to not be rash."

"I told you to trust me," I challenged, tearing the thin fabric of my gown, and wrapped it tightly around my injury. I didn't have time to feel any pain because it was either I get rid of that little prick behind us, or we would both be dead if he managed to call for any backup.

Looking at the front panel, I realised that we still had some distance to travel before we could return safely to Lethe. I wrapped another layer of fabric around my wound and picked the gun up again. Jax quickly grabbed hold of me and warned, "You're not going out again."

"Let go," I retorted. "I don't have time to waste."

"Iva!"

"Let go," I said icily, with a sudden memory of the Titan's words flashing in my mind. The blood within me ran cold in an instant as I remembered why Jax had to keep me alive.

If I cease to exist, so will he.

Yet, I wasn't foolish enough to give my life away. I checked on the side mirror to gauge the distance between our car and the one behind us. Looking ahead, we were heading into a dim underpass. I had to use this lack of vision to my advantage because the driver behind was smart enough to drive nearer to my side, making it almost impossible for me to stretch out of the window from the passenger seat again. I checked for another way out and realised that the rear window cracked with bullets. Climbing towards the backseat, I used the stock of the gun and rammed it hard against the glass. It took a quite an effort to shatter the fortified glass.

Jax no longer argue with me about anything and in this crucial moment, survival was our main goal as we try to get rid of our opponent and return back to Lethe safely. I disregarded the pain of small glass shards piercing through my skin as I pushed myself out. The pressure of the air was scraping against my skin as the car moved in an insanely fast speed. I relied on my senses to gauge my surroundings.

One pull on the trigger.

Sounds of raining bullets, shattered glass and screeching of car tires against tarmac.

The car beside us skidded and collided against ours, nearly throwing me off balance but Jax was quick to reach behind and grab hold of my ankle to pull me back into the car. I winced when the glass shards scraped against my thigh, but it was all better than losing my entire life. Jax remained silent but his tensed expression already showed his displeasure.

For the rest of the trip, we sat in complete silence, and I was on constant alert for any signs of unwanted chasers behind us. I looked down at my own ruined thigh and injured arm, cussing in my heart for the huge mess I had made on myself. It had to be all the receding adrenaline and my bleeding wounds, my eyelids felt so heavy, and I was seeing double in my vision. I knew I wasn't supposed to lose consciousness at this moment but being with Jax made feel safe.

This goddamned sense of security.

My mind wasn't too into thinking logically about all the mythical nonsense. I took a quick glance at him through my blurred vision, and I closed my eyes, allowing darkness to take over my senses as my mind slowly faded out.

◩

LONDON
June
Location: Elysium, Lethe

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The smell of antiseptics felt like a nightmare as I jolted awake, opening my eyes wide open as the white light from the ceiling blinded me. Disorientated, my body reacted on instinct as I pushed myself right up and touched myself all over to realised that I was clad in a hospital gown, and I scanned my surroundings in panic. My hands were searching everywhere aimlessly until a touch of warmth jarred me back into attention.

My head jerked to my side and before I could react, a force pulled me into a tight embrace as the person holding me against him mumbled sleepily, "Shh, you're alright, latreía mou."

"Jax," I realised, from the huskiness of his voice and his familiar scent that he wrapped me within. I shrugged a little as I tried to remove myself from him, but he wouldn't move. It was obvious that Jax was still asleep, but his body had reacted instinctively to calm me when I was anxious and disorientated when I woke up.

A sudden urge to cry surfaced when I was held within this familiar warmth, but I wished everything could've been different. I laid back down on the bed, bringing Jax with me as he still hugged onto me. I ran a hand into his dark hair, feeling an ache in my heart as I laughed at myself.

My divine fate.

Unknowingly, Jax appeared in my life without any reason. I was attracted to him, and he made me feel so many emotions without a single explanation. Except that, this was all part of a divine plan. I was made to encounter him. I was made to fall in love with him. And none of these was natural.

"Thanatos," I mumbled quietly.

A sudden flash of memory appeared right across my vision again and a jolt of sharp pain struck against my temple as I saw a scene right ahead of me.

-

The man that stood beside held no expression and his silver-blue eyes were almost empty of any attachments. I couldn't feel a single bit of warmth from him even when we stood so close.

"Thanatos," A voice echoed through the entire place.

We stood in front of an altar, in front of an incredibly beautiful man who had long silver hair that flowed past his shoulder as he looked up to gaze at me with white eyes, almost absent of irises. He was smiling at me lovingly, gazing towards me with a tenderness I couldn't understand.

"I am my beloved," the man beside me spoke in a hardened toneless manner, stretching out his left arm.

Uncertain and confused, I said, "And my beloved is mine."

The man ahead of us took my left arm and rolled the sleeve up. I felt a burn and realised that a string of words was carved on my arm, above the vein that led closest to my beating heart.

"Kýrios, we had a situation back at the manor."

Without looking at me even once, the man beside me marched out the church with his butler. I stood where I was, feeling empty until a touch on my arm jarred me out of my daze.

"Diavgís, my child," the silver-haired man called out to me. "May blessings be with you as you ascend."

"Patér," I said.
(Translate: Father)

"Do not fear, darling," he comforted. "He will be with you."

Without another word, a pair of hands grabbed onto mine as the Fates brought me out of the church. My gaze remained on the man who I addressed as my father as he slowly faded away with the halo surrounding him.

-

Inhaling a sharp breath as tears fell from the corner of my eyes, I murmured, "Patér."