:CHAPTER 33:

I strode into the building, scanning the rooms. There were no roaming soldiers coming in for breakfast tonight or even one or two coming in from training. The place appeared to be empty. Ria kept her distance behind me.

She had more than enough experience to know that it was not the time to test the strength of our temporary relationship. It was pretty clear that I was out for blood in this mood so it didn't come as a surprise that she'd keep her distance. What did surprise me was that she still stuck around. I had half expected her to go straight to her room and wait out the carnage to come. A better boyfriend would have advised her to. I didn't.

My Pet was a strong bastard. The girl had sat through one of my episodes and came out of it whole. She could take a little blind fury. She could handle this.

"I had imagined that you'd try to talk me out of doing this," I said without looking at her.

"Would you have listened?"

"We both know the answer to that."

"And that is why I won't waste my breath," she replied, "To be fair, I'm not sure what you're going to do."

"You may be as uncertain of the specifics as I am, but I'm sure you have a good idea."

"Yes."

"Yet you stay," I paused and turned to her.

"It's my job as your girlfriend to stay with you when you hurt," she said, "And they have hurt you. Badly. I felt it − through our bond − when you saw the wreckage."

"Did you see it?"

"Parts. Flashes. Enough to understand. Although this is definitely karma for all that you've done to those people, I know this kind of hurt could never go unpunished with you."

"Not unpunished. Unavenged."

"Do what you need to."

I knew I could be walking into danger, but it wasn't an issue yet. Whoever did this knew what those hearts meant to me. This person therefore would know me well enough to know what I was like when provoked and this had been a deliberate move to provoke me.

Bending the corner, I met a familiar soldier. Maine. I remembered the man. He'd challenged me the first time we met and I had sparred with him. I'd carved an A into his face for his brazen use of my first name sans my title. Those were the days of Samuel advising me. God it had been a while.

"Was it you?" I asked, "The hearts. Was it you?"

"No, sir."

"No, it wouldn't be. You've felt my wrath before. You are not the type of person who would do this. It is not a wise risk."

"I know."

"Yes, and you also know who did this."

"Yes, sir."

"But you won't tell me."

He didn't answer me because it wasn't a question. I knew. "You're the fall guy," I shook my head, "It's not a coincidence that you're the first soldier I've seen so far. It is not simple happenstance that we've had an altercation before." Maine sighed his relief. "The person who destroyed my possessions wanted me to spot you and punish you instead. It didn't work."

"I suspected that it wouldn't," a voice drifted from the balcony.

I heard Ria's gasp just I spun around to see the face of the man who'd dared this. I almost couldn't believe it and yet, in the same breath, I could. I watched as he walked down the stairs at his own, leisurely pace. As if I had nothing better to do than wait for him.

My fury still simmered but I'd be lying if I said the shock hadn't doused it considerably. Not that it didn't spark a bit when the other immortal smiled at Ria as if they were great buddies sharing a secret.

"I'd say it's good to see you, but it's not," I said.

"I know that feeling, old friend," Samuel replied.

"You look well," I crossed my arms and watched him from his place on the balcony, "Though admittedly less dead and blown up than I'd expected."

"Surviving your own attempted murder does give a certain glow, I must admit," he offered a smile.

I didn't return it.

"You seem well too," his gaze slid over to Ria again, "I did hear the talk in the neighborhood. Settled down and such. Branded you a Pet. Got a girlfriend and everything. And Ana's sister too. It's always a competition with you and your brother."

"I'm not dating her out of sibling rivalry."

"Oh?" he leaned against the pillar of the balcony, "Then why are you dating her?"

I didn't respond.

"Do you love her?" he damn near sneered, knowing fully well that wasn't it.

"You're not here to talk about my romantic life. You saw me slaughter your family. You survived me trying to kill you. The last thing you'd be here to do is play catch up. You want something."

"Ahh. Yes. That," he smiled at some secret joke, "Come with me, old friend."

Samuel motioned for us to follow him into the nearest living room. I obliged and Ria came on the heels of me. I suddenly didn't trust myself to leave her on her own. Something was wrong with this situation. Far more wrong than a dead man coming back to life.

"I suppose it would be wishful thinking to expect that you forgave him because you're a man of the cloth?" Ria asked preparing the kettle in the corner for tea.

"Yes, I suppose it would be," he responded after a pause eying her closely, "Alejo has that effect on people. He corrupts them. Drags them through the muck and filth of his lifestyle until finding purity is hopeless. You know what I mean."

"He hasn't−."

"Are you still a virgin then? Married to the faith? Sexually untouched by the evil of the man who had his hand at your back moments ago, blatantly branding you as his? Still chaste with dreams of the nunnery?"

Ria didn't answer. She couldn't. I had corrupted all of that and I would not − refused to − apologize for it. A nunnery was no place for Ria. She had too much of a fire in her for such a place. She was too clever in the game of politics. Her potential would waste away in uniformity and goodness. She would never again let me at her mouth, at her breast, inside her heat if they took her. They would tame her and that would not do.

I didn't feel in the least bit guilty at Samuel's words. I knew guilt now. I knew the bitter taste in my mouth that it left behind and the churn low in my stomach. I knew it because Ria had once felt it and, in turn, passed on that emotion to me. I could recognize it in a heartbeat, yet I didn't feel a shred of it now.

I didn't regret what I've been doing with and to Ria. I certainly did not regret what I'd done to Samuel or his family. No amount of attempted guilt trips on his part would make me undo what I've done.

And so I smiled. I smiled the biggest, shit eating grin I could muster. I smiled that smile for the simple sake of fucking with him because there was no doubt in my mind what my smiles looked like. I didn't have a face that was designed for the movement.

Samuel's gaze chilled for a time. He never liked when I purposely screwed with him.

"This has all been really very nice, but what is the point of you. Of your grand return? Why now?" I took a seat and tugged at Ria's hem until she sat perched in my lap, "I'd like to know that much before I deal with you."

"Deal with me? You speak this way in front of your Pet?"

"We have no secrets," I traced the skin at her thigh inching higher than was appropriate before she slapped my hand. It didn't hurt but I smiled at her. Yes, a nunnery was certainly no place for that dark temper of hers.

"None? She knows of your collection?"

"She's seen my collection. She's seen me harvest one from a chest and put it in a jar. She's seen me take the owners off the streets. She's seen it all."

"…and still you sit in his lap. Have you no decency left? What on earth is he holding over your head?"

"Nothin−."

"I can speak for myself," she held up her hand to silence me in a way that not many would.

I motioned for her to take the floor. I watched her get to her feet and take a step closer to Samuel. She was aware that he could reach her just as quickly from that spot as he could from her previous. There was no additional danger. But she was making a point by blatantly challenging him.

He looked at her with interest now. She wasn't of real import before. Now she had stood up to both of us. She was showing off her rank in this household. It wasn't often that she did this, but when she did something burned low inside my chest. I liked it. It said she was mine. It said she was mine and had utmost power because of it. It said she was mine because of her own power. She was no one's pawn and she didn’t hide it.

Her hair was tossed over her shoulders, longer than Samuel had last seen it. A deeper red. Eyes of a brighter blue. Not quite cobalt, not quite ice. Something on the precipice of the two where it could fall either way by a shift in the light. Her fair skin was pale from a feeding today but it was still soft and without flaw. She was beautiful. Sun kissed freckles dotting the cream of her body. Her dress still hung short and tempting to the eyes. More so, she was damning to the eyes and I praised whatever god brought that damning to me.

She looked regal in that moment. Maybe it was the dark power I'd seen in her as she performed in that costume tonight. Maybe it was the surrealism of her makeup that brought out the chill in her gaze. Or the way she stared at the man before her, sizing him up as if they were on the same level.

She was a woman unafraid to reign and I saw it in that moment. If ever I were to take over this world as my own, she was to be at my side. For the sake of a strong, united front if nothing else.

"I've seen all that I've seen and I've seen what could come to pass and none of it is your concern anymore, sir," she muttered, "You have, excuse the pun, outlived your usefulness."

"And you believe you won't."

"That I'm not sure of. But I do know that I haven't yet. Until I do, I will stand at his side, at his back or be his frontline as I am now."

"What do you have to say for him then, Frontline?"

"State your purpose and leave if he allows it."

"If he allows it. You sound just like him. What, you support his madness?"

"…I've accepted it."

"I have come to offer safety to the innocent," Samuel said with a shake of his head.

"Innocent meaning who exactly?"

"Not you. Not anymore. I thought you needed saving but you are far past that. Those who wish to abandon ship and save themselves may leave. The rest will perish under your watch, Alejo."

"You threaten my Pet?" I stood ignoring the threat to my men. I had faith in their fear of me.

Samuel smiled and gave a bow to us both. "Yes. She clearly supports you and I have already taken your men who were happy to escape.

I froze. So that's where those sons of bitches are. They left. "Yes. Let that sink in. Your army, the thing that gave you utmost leverage over the rest of the world, has almost entirely deserted you. And the rest have until tomorrow to all disperse. Then we will come for you with perfected, mass produced UV blades in hand and battle ready."

"I've been breaking in those men for months. Years. How did you manage to turn them in a matter of hours?"

"I didn't. That would be impossible. I did it in a matter of months. Years."

"How?" my temper was fast approaching and it was going to collide with my fury very soon.

"It was me."

Ria and I turned and I felt her breath catch. Ares Odin. I should have expected it. I almost half expected it. And at the same time, I didn't expect it. That bastard double crossed me. I didn't think he'd dare. I didn’t think any of my men would dare. Not for so long. Not in the early days when there was nothing but fear in their hearts for me. That risk could have cost him dearly.

"You. You?" my fists clenched, "No. Of course. Who else could."

"You didn't deserve to be at the head," he shrugged, "I was your Second. I had control over your men when you were too busy to do it yourself. Who else would be better to turn your men against you? Or bribe them with the wine, women and dreams of freedom and revenge against you?"

"All of this courtesy good old Sammy, eh?" I shook my head laughing, "I'm going to be killing you both slow and sweet for the next century."

Double crossing me was one thing, but double crossing me, my Pet and those faithful to my army was inexcusable.  

"That's not going to happen, sir," Ares said walking straight up to me and tapping his chest. The coward's wearing a deflection suit. He'd never dare approach me right now without it and I wouldn't lay a finger on him, knowing the strength of my brother's design. I glanced over at an identical suit on Samuel and cursed the high heavens.

"Hold on. You said you got the UV blade mass produced? Where on earth did you get that?"

"You," he smiled, "I tried to get close to your little Pet there to find out more but she wouldn't bite."

"Screw you," Ria walked away and poured herself some tea before sitting down on another seat.

"I really do like her for you," Ares looked at her, "Hard to faze, this one."

"If not her then how did you get so many weapons from me? I've had it under lock and key."

"More like voice activation and pass codes," he shrugged, "Not difficult to get with years of planning, skulking around and whatnot."

"How did you even find the time to do all of this with all of the extra training sessions that I had you doing?"

"Used that extra time to work on converting your men. In small groups, but it was easier that way. Taught them to fight with my style and training. Made them learn to trust me and not you. Trust is stronger than fear."

"Yes, yes. That's enough gloating for now. We'll be back tomorrow for the rest of you. Run and we will find you. Somehow. Eventually. Prepare yourselves," Samuel nodded at us both and went along on his way.

The first thing I did once they'd left was check on my men. My faithful. The last of the bunch.

It was the most disheartening thing I'd ever seen. A little over one hundred of them. Compared to the thousands upon thousands to come along with the armor and weaponry of Loki's, there was nothing I could do. There was no defense.

Thousands of my men would return to my door tomorrow wearing deflection suits and plucking us off one by one with UV blades. We had nothing to fight back with. Nothing strong enough at least. They would splatter our insides on the floors and paint the walls crimson. There would be no mercy for the man who kidnapped, beat and tortured them. There could be no mercy for the man who killed their fellow men and torched their land and homes. The was to be no mercy for me. None for me or those who would stand by me.

It was a kinder fate to let the others go. That was exactly what I did in the end. There was no point in keeping them. I sent them away. Away, where? I have no idea.

As a first and last act of kindness, they were granted money. Not a lot, but enough to get them by for a while. They'd have to spend wisely and drink in moderation, but it would keep them warm and fed at an inn somewhere for a few weeks until they found a place to go. They'd be better off there than dead.

Ria seemed surprised to see me give out the cash but she didn't comment. She didn't openly acknowledge it, but I saw that pleased little look she hid behind. I watched them all leave me without a backward glance. Without so much as a, "What about you, Master Alejo?" No one said a word and I preferred it that way. I wouldn't know what to tell them.

"So you're not going to fight?" I turned at the sound of Caroline's husband. She was beside him, eying me; waiting for a response.

"Of course he is," Ria said taking a sip of her tea, "He just sent the meager remains of his army away to fetch us some biscuits and blood to snack on before we get annihilated by an army that outnumbers us three thousand to one and that's wanted him dead since day one." There was nothing funny about the situation but hre sarcasm did manage to pull a smile out of me. I fingered one of her curls, not bothering to answer. There really was nothing to add to that.

She'd covered all the bases. We were indeed vastly outnumbered. What men I had were too little and I there was no way to stand against so many. We were too poorly equipped to handle what was surely to come. It was the death of my family all over again. This time, I would not be the only survivor if I was stupid enough to stay behind.

"What are we going to do then?" Caroline asked.

"We aren't going to do anything," Ria sighed, "There's nothing to do."

"She's right," I looked around the room, "You will leave, much like the others. There is no place for you here, old friend."

"Separated again," came her wry reply.

"To be reunited once more," Ria corrected.

"I hope so," Caroline said going to my Pet and leaning in to hug her, "I really hope so."

"Stay well, Carol."

"Stay safe," she looked to both of us, "Return in one piece."

I accepted her kiss on my cheek and watched the couple go to their rooms to pack. The place was being evacuated and quickly.

Ria drained her tea cup and placed it gently on the table. I wondered at her utter calm throughout all of this. I didn't know what to expect of her but I'd half expected some worry. Perhaps hysterics on some level. Certain death was upon us and she was sipping tea out of china. She was consoling others and shooting off that sarcastic mouth of hers. She didn't act like someone who'd been hit in the face with life altering news.

Not even when she was faced with a dead man risen did she panic. I would have thought that she'd seen it coming it if I didn't know better. I'd felt her shock at seeing him and her horror at the betrayal. She hadn't known before now.

"How are you so calm about this?" I raised a brow at her, "You could have died at any time tonight. You could very well die tomorrow."

"I know," she said, "I don't fear death."

"Oh?"

"No, not anymore. I've been in this castle, seen what you're capable of. I've seen death. Kissed him on the lips, stared him in the eyes and gave him my innocence. I've had him drink my blood and play with my hair, all the while knowing that he could kill me if the mood took him."

"And yet you stayed."

"Could I have left?"

"You said yes to this relationship."

"I saw your potential for better. Not good, but better. That was good enough for me."

"And now?"

"Now I'm going to be killed and I'm okay with that. It's a likelihood that one needs to make peace with when living under this roof."

"I wiped the fear of death from you."

"That's what I said," she nodded, "But you didn't become the longest living immortal by making stupid moves."

"No, I did not."

"So I presume that we're not going to sit here and wait for them to come to us."

"Naturally."

"Then we should pack up the essentials and start moving then, shouldn't we?"

"It's the logical thing to do."

"Any destination in mind yet?"

"Twenty-eight so far, but it's only been a few minutes. I should have a plan sorted within the hour."

"I'll meet you back here in that time then," she said.

She gave a curt nod and it lent as much support as a kiss on the mouth and the words 'I trust you'. We went up the stairs together and I left her to go pack.

It occurred to me halfway between shoving weeks' worth of clothes into my designer duffle that we'd never explicitly agreed that we'd be leaving to the same place together. We talked about not staying here, but for all I knew she had plans to ditch whenever it was most opportune.

Considering that she was − at least she had been initially − held against her will, it was a perfectly sound rationale. Everyone else was abandoning ship. Why would she be any different? Our week together wasn't up yet, but I wanted her for longer than that. It was glaringly obvious that I would need far more than a week to grow tired of her. I didn't want her running off on me.

I froze in my packing. Would I still try to keep her if she wanted to leave? I didn't know how to answer that. She wasn't a prisoner to use like she had been in the beginning. We had a friendship now. A relationship. We were Pet and Master. She would not just leave like that, would she? Not without feeling something. Not that any normal person wouldn't go running and screaming the first chance they got.

"Who am I kidding?" I scoffed tossing in underwear, "There's nothing normal about her." She's dating me for heaven's sake…willingly. At the same time, I couldn't be sure. It could have all been a well constructed lie for this moment − her survival until the time make itself available for her to leave. She was clever enough to do it. I suppose I could just wait and see. It would be interesting to see this all play out.

I remember that I read something years ago about animals in captivity. When some of them were kept for very long periods in their cages and freedom was offered, they often remained in the cage. I frowned. I suddenly didn't like that analogy. She was no animal to be trapped. She had earned her freedom. She'd been allowed out alone many times. She left and came as she pleased lately. If ever she wanted to make a run for it, there were many times when she could.

The uncertainty of this was a nagging thing.

Turning all thoughts of that aside, I got to packing; toothbrush, underwear, shirts, pants, well stocked case of weaponry. Normal, everyday travel essentials.

I returned downstairs to see Ria double checking some stuff in her bags. She had a little crinkle between her brows like she was trying to remember something she might have forgotten to pack. I ran through a quick checklist of must-haves aloud and she ran back up for one or two things before returning.

Deciding that now was as good a time as any to ask, I pulled her aside into the hallway. It really didn't make a difference. The castle was now empty. Everyone had cleared out and Caroline and her husband were long gone now. There was no one to overhear us. The castle had never been empty like this since I've lived here. Still, I felt the need for a private space out of habit if nothing else.

"We need to talk," I began.

"This really is not the best time for early break ups."

"Shut up," I returned her smile, "I'm not breaking up with you. I want to remove that little timelines from this…"

"Relationship?" she supplied, "Good to hear."

"Now that that's been said, how do you think we stand right now once we leave?"

"What do you mean?"

"Are you or are you not going to ditch me the first chance you get once we leave this place?"

"Not," her expression turned stony, "You have done some inexcusable things to me and to others that I will neither forgive nor forget, but I've come to accept it. We are in the now and right now we are in danger."

"So…"

"So we're going to get our behinds out of this place and to safety quickly and I'm not going to pull a vanishing act at a time when you need someone in your corner the most."

"I see."

"You're welcomed," she nodded in response to the words I didn't say aloud, "I'm here with you even when it does, in fact, make more sense to leave. I never abandon the ones I care about."

"I will hold you to that."

She gave a sad smile and pushed a lock of hair behind my ear before turning on her heal to get to the garage. I ensured the car I wanted was free of any fatal traps before checking the gas, oil and breaks. My driver had left it in perfect working order before he'd fled. For that, I was thankful.

Packing up our bags and checking our cash supply, I took a breath. I expected this might be the beginning of many journeys. "Where to first?" Ria asked pulling her hair into a messy ponytail and clearly thinking along the same lines. I smiled and took her lips in a long overdue kiss. She'd been more than deserving of one for sticking around. I felt her grin against my lips chuckling through it all.

"I'm not so easily distracted. Where are we going?" she asked.

"To visit our favorite siblings."

"Oh they'll be happy to see us," she scoffed.

"Yes, yes. I'm thinking downright ecstatic," I adjusted the mirrors and shut the doors with voice activation.

"Don't you think we might be walking into a trap?"

"We might…or we might not. Let's go see."

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Look at me. Internship over, no more working for free full time. More time to write. And ha! New chapters and shit. Go Anasa go! *dorky dance*. Alejo's in my head silently judging me but who cares. He can't judge anyone. He's Alejo. 

Sooooo yeah. Two more chapters until the end. It should be fun. I'm glad I did this story. It really was nice getting to do something dark and cool like this. 

For those of you who want to read more of my stuff, I'm warning you that each story is entirely different in terms of feel and sometimes writing style. So there won't be any Alejo-ish stories again.