Chapter Nineteen

Three days later, and still no attacks.

Three days later, and the King had a security detail not just on the property, but on my ass at all times. I could barely take a piss without them hovering around the door to make sure I didn't get attacked on the pot. Of course, something told me that they weren't just watching me to keep me safe, but to also make sure I didn't do anything suspicious, because the gods knew the King did not trust me.

"That's such horseshit," Holly said as we sat in the grass at the park. It was a warm sunny afternoon and strangely, Holly had called up the cousins to have a picnic in the park. Like, a legitimate picnic. Something I'd only ever read about in books. We'd brought a couple of big blankets to spread out in the grass, and everyone got together to pack sandwiches and chips and snacks at Keros's house. It took about two hours before we actually got to the park and set up.

"I think it was smart," Keros responded as he pulled me against him on the blanket and I leaned on his shoulder, "The more people guarding them the better."

"Not if they're watching him because they think he's suspicious," Holly said dryly, pausing to glare over at the guards who stood just a ways off to the left. Lumen stared over at them, then looked at me.

"I think he's just trying to protect you, honestly," she said, "Hannibal has weird ways of showing he cares." I wished I could believe her, but frankly, I couldn't. The King didn't like me and he made that very clear every time I was even in the room with him and he made some dumb excuse to leave. On top of that, he wasn't training me-- Menoetius and Havalia were. The past three days, I'd gone to the barracks and met up with them for one on one training sessions. I didn't say anything to Akin, because I didn't want to get the King in trouble. Plus, I didn't give a shit. The less time I spent with Hannibal, the better.

"He doesn't have to go about it this way," Holly disagreed, "I get he needs protection, but christ on a stick, he's not an infant. Or a terrorist."

"Some say we are," Lumen pointed out, making Holly open her mouth, then close it as if she couldn't think of an argument for that. Lumen smiled and Holly simply shrugged, reaching over to grab a chip from the bag.

"Well, whatever. If the King is gonna be a baby, let him. We got more important shit to do," she said, making me raise an eyebrow.

"What are we doing?" I asked. Holly grinned, which made Wren and Floki both groan. She chucked a chip at them and turned back to me.

"Akin's birthday is tomorrow. We're gonna have the biggest best surprise party ever. We've done it the past few years and it's always gone really well," she explained. I nodded, but Wren gave her a dry stare.

"Really? Because I remember last year someone set something on fire," he said, to which Holly looked at him in mock disbelief, placing a hand over her heart.

"I told you not to let me cook," she exclaimed, to which Floki snorted.

"Oh yeah, that's totally what it was about," he said, making Holly grin wickedly. I shook my head at them as Floki and Wren both threw empty chip bags at Holly. I looked at Keros, who was finishing off his BLT sandwich. He had a bit of mayo in the corner of his mouth. So I leaned over and licked it off, making him go still before looking at me with heat in his bright blue eyes.

"Do that again and I might have to take you somewhere private," he warned in a low voice. I smirked at him.

"Do it," I urged. Keros mirrored my smirk and leaned in to give me a kiss.

"Get a room," Holly drawled, throwing popcorn at us. I laughed, grabbing the handful that landed in our laps to stuff in my mouth.

"I'd love to," I responded, making Holly laugh.

No, but seriously. I'd love to. I was getting impatient. Keros had promised to take me somewhere special, but he had yet to do so. He'd also not asked me out on anymore dates. I was starting to stress about it. Had he changed his mind? Did he not want to date me anymore? Then why did he still flirt with me and kiss me? Why not just throw me over his shoulder and take me to his room and just do it already?

And why was I even so impatient for this? I'd used my phone to do a little research and it turns out; it was going to hurt. Quite a bit. I didn't consider that. Yet that didn't change the ache I had for Keros. It didn't change the ache I had to do things with him. Dirty things. Naughty things.

I felt my cheeks heat when I thought of where else my research had taken me. I had no idea there were so many different kinds of ways to have sex. I thought it was just... basic. Plug and go. Nothing fancy. Except I was completely wrong. There was so much more than what was called the missionary position. There were whole books on the different positions and ways to have sex. It blew my fucking mind.

I also noticed some weird similarities of things I looked into, and the relationship between the King and Akin. For example, something told me that that apron in the kitchen wasn't for cooking exactly.

Not that I wanted to think about that. Those were my... parents, I guess.

"Anyway," Holly continued, "We really should do something huge and amazing for Akin. I know the sibs got together and have a surprise party planned itself, but we gotta put in our two cents worth."

"The sibs?" I asked. Amenti nodded.

"Akin's siblings. They're endless," she said, then sighed heavily and held up her fingers, "Okay, so we got Lucifer's side of the family. That would be Jaques, Akin himself, Thorn, Bali, Wednesday, Raven, Dania, Alaric, and Nikias. Then there's Hades's side, which would be Charon, Zelios, Cerberus, Cain and Abel, Malachi, Theo, Ambrosius, and Nikias again. So they all got together and planned the party itself. It's going to be at the palace, something a little more familial than the parties they're probably gonna throw him all day everywhere."

"Right," Holly agreed, "So we just gotta make this one bigger and louder and better."

"No fireworks," Wren warned, "We did that two years ago and nearly caught the island on fire. We had to pay an actual fine for that."

"I know, that was unbelievable," Holly muttered, making Wren snort.

"Again, we almost caught the entire fucking island on fire," he said, making Holly shrug, "No fireworks."

"Fine, maybe Hadrian and Lumen can put on a light show," Holly offered, looking at Lumen and Hadrian, who nodded.

"That sounds like fun," Lumen said, "I wouldn't mind doing something like that." She looked at Hadrian, who nodded in agreement as he bit into an apple. He didn't eat much, I noted. He ate bits and pieces of fruit and a cucumber sandwich, but not much else. That explained why the guy was so thin. Then again, Holly had mentioned that Hadrian was always on a strict diet for his dancing career. Apparently those guys couldn't drop or gain weight at all without getting in trouble with their agent. Lumen was also on a diet, but where Hadrian seemed to strictly stick to his, Lumen was flexible on hers. Apparently she had a higher metabolism.

"So, let's do a light show and how about something cute with Thirteen?" Holly asked. I frowned.

"What do you mean?" I asked. Holly shrugged and smiled as she bit into a chip.

"I dunno, have him do a drawing or something, something super cute. We can have it blown up and put on a canvas for Akin or something. I think that'd be adorable," she said.

"Aww," Amenti crooned, "That would be great. Like a cute little family portrait or something."

"That's not a bad idea, actually," Wren said, making Holly stare at him.

"Actually," she said mockingly. Wren threw the rest of his sandwich at her and she ducked to avoid it, though getting a streak of mayo on her arm, which she licked off. We laughed at that and went back to eating and making plans. Unfortunately, after an hour or so, one of the guards came jogging over and we looked up.

"Sorry, your Highness, but his Majesty and his Consort have asked that you return to the palace immediately," he said. I looked around for a second, realized everyone was looking at me, then looked up at the guy.

"Me?" I asked. The guy nodded. I stared at him, confused, then nodded slowly as I got to my feet and everyone got up with me.

"Your Highness," Holly echoed, then grinned and elbowed me, "Look at you go, prince. Damn, we got some royalty up in here. Prince Seven. That's got a ring to it." I smirked at that, then shook my head and looked up at Keros, who smiled at me.

"Guess I gotta go," I said.

"I'll see you tonight, around eight," he said, making me brighten.

"Yes. Sounds good," I agreed. Keros leaned down and gave me a kiss on the cheek and I kissed him back before I followed the guards out of the park and back up the hill toward the palace.The guards were silent, as per usual, didn't try to strike up conversation, didn't want to get to know me. They were just doing their jobs and they looked so stern about it, it made me wonder if they resented me for having to watch me.

We arrived at the palace, as they called it, and I went inside, leaving my security detail behind. I made my way through the living room where Thirteen was coloring in a coloring book with Lea sitting on the floor beside him.

"Seven," Thirteen exclaimed when he saw me and gave me the biggest grin and held up his coloring book, "I'm coloring fishies! I'm coloring them like the ones I saw in the ocean before!"

"Cool, kid, that's awesome," I said with a smile, then reached out and ruffled his hair. I nodded to Lea, who smiled, then gestured to the dining room where Akin and the King were sitting with Hades right between them. I grimaced. That couldn't be good. They all looked so grim.

I approached cautiously and took a seat on the other end of the table from them.

"So... What's up?" I asked.

"Well," Akin started, ever the gentle and kind person, "Hades finalized his testing and we got the results back. It's hard to explain, but--"

"You tested positive for the Beast curse," Hades deadpanned, making Akin glare at him and he shrugged, "What? Sometimes it's better to just rip the band-aid off." I stiffened in my seat, gripping the sides before I released and placed my hands on the table.

"Positive? Are you sure? Did you run Thirteen's blood?" I asked. Hades nodded.

"I tested it seven times because I wasn't sure if I believed it or not. Your kid brother doesn't have shit in his genetics, aside from Akin and Hannibal's DNA. You, on the other hand, are filled to the brim with Beast," he explained, and I grimaced, dropping my eyes to the table, only for them to shoot back up as Hades continued, "The thing is... There's something off about yours."

"Off?" I asked. Hades nodded.

"Beasts are cursed at birth. This is something a god has to do, vocally, in order to attach the curse to the soul. Except no one cursed you. You were born with it already, like, it was predestined, which makes no sense considering Beast curses are not genetic. They don't pass down like eye color or anything. So someone did some real hotwiring of your DNA to try and make this happen."

"I don't... So, I was born with it because the King has a Beast?" I asked. Hades nodded. Akin smiled, though, like he didn't want me to get down about it.

"It's alright, though. The Beast curse isn't a death sentence or anything," he assured, earning an agreed nod from Hades, which was surprisingly relieving, "Plenty of people live with their Beasts in harmony. Hannibal included."

"Yeah," Hades agreed, "On top of that, and I can't believe I'm saying this, you have the best Beast person available to you, so I would take full advantage of that and have him train you personally."

"See, that's what I said," Akin said, "Hannibal's been training him for a few days now."

"Has he?" Hades asked. Akin frowned and looked at the King, who tensed visibly and looked at Hades with eyes that promised he'd find him in a dark alley.

"What's he talking about?" Akin asked. The King shrugged casually.

"I've been having Menoetius showing him some things," he started, making Akin frown further. Of course, he had no idea Havalia was joining us on those sparring sessions, but I didn't say anything. In fact, I didn't dare butt in now, because Akin did not look happy.

"I thought you were training him this whole time. Didn't I tell you to train him?" He asked. The King looked like he was choosing his words carefully now.

"I had Menoetius prepping him to see how much he knew," he explained, "So I could better tailor his training to where he's at." Akin studied him for the longest time, then looked at Hades.

"Thank you for coming to tell us personally, Hades, I really appreciate it," he said, strangely calm now. Hades nodded, rising to his feet, clearly getting the clue that something was about to go down. He glanced at the King, who glared at him, then he looked at me and smiled a little.

"Good luck, kid. Training a Beast isn't easy, but it's a cool as shit thing when it goes well. I'll be back in a couple days, hopefully with more information on who's doing the stealing of genetics and shit, because so far, we're coming up with a shitload of nada," he said, looking at Akin, who frowned.

"I see." That was all he said. Hades nodded, then vanished on the spot. It still weirded me out that people did that around here.

"Seven, how about you, Thirteen, and Lea go hang out in the pool for a little while?" Akin asked. I started to ask why until I noted the tension in the air, and the King eyeing the nearest exit like he was trying to think of somewhere to be.

"Ah, sure. I'll do that," I said, then went to the living room to let Lea and Thirteen know. As we headed out to the pool, I took my time, listening to the conversation in the dining room.

"I cannot believe you disobeyed me," Akin was saying, sounding completely put out, "I told you to train him. Not Menoetius. Not anyone else. I said you."

"I understand that," the King responded carefully, "But I wanted to see what he already knew before we dove into training. It's not like I haven't been watching him." Well, that was a flat out lie. Otherwise, he'd know that Havalia was also training me, which he clearly didn't.

"Am I supposed to believe that," Akin demanded, "After you directly ignored what I asked you to do before?"

"I'm not lying--"

"I know when you're lying, Hannibal. We've been married how long now? Do not think me stupid for a second."

"I never said--"

"I've tried talking to you about this. Multiple times. I've offered to take us to Joxeia to see if he could help us get to the root of it, but instead, you're burying your head in the sand because you don't want to face obvious issues that you yourself have."

"We don't need to involve random people--"

"Joxeia is a therapist, not a random person. And I wouldn't need to ask to involve other people if you would just sit down and fucking talk to me. This has happened the past couple years with you. Every time I want to talk to you about something, you change the subject or tell me no. And don't get me wrong; you are totally fine to say no. We both know what the safe words are for this relationship, and you've only used it once. And when you say no, I still hesitate because I want to be sure. But right now, you aren't giving me anything in return. I respect your space and I always have, but right now, you are not respecting me, and that isn't fair."

"I just... There's nothing to talk about. I don't have anything to say."

"Of course you don't. You don't have anything to say? Fine. Come with me. We're going to the room."

"But--"

"Nope. You said you had nothing to say? We're going to the room. Unless you don't want to, then tell me."

There was silence. Akin and the King got up from the table and headed out of the room. I heard a door close somewhere in the house. I watched them go, then turned back to see Thirteen floating around in the pool with a floatie around his waist while Lea sat on the edge of the water with him, pushing him around with her foot. I frowned.

That was a weird exchange. I wasn't entirely sure what all of it meant. I didn't know them well enough to know everything, but safe words? I remembered that from looking it up on my phone. Was Akin going to hurt the King? Was he being punished because he didn't follow through with his promise? I wasn't sure what that meant. I wasn't sure about the details, if I even wanted to know the details.

I just know a strange part of me felt a little sorry for the King.

He didn't like me. That was fine. Nobody needed to force him to like me or want me. He wasn't my parent, even though a small part of me wanted to see things that way. He wasn't obligated to like me or take me in. He was only doing this now because his realm was in danger. I meant nothing to him.

And that was fine.

Because I was used to it.

I wandered over to where Lea was sitting on the edge of the pool and sat beside her.

"They go to their room?" Lea asked, pushing Thirteen around in his floatie while he giggled and splashed in the water. I nodded.

"Yeah."

"Those two," Lea sighed, then shook her head, "It's so disappointing to see them at odds with each other when I've seen them so close before. It breaks my heart that my son doesn't want to see what's right in front of him." I shrugged.

"He hasn't done anything wrong," I said, making Lea raise an eyebrow, "I mean, aside from being a bossy dick sometimes. No offense."

"None taken. He's the King. It comes in the job description."

"Right. So frankly, he hasn't done anything wrong. He's just doing his job."

"It doesn't bother you that he doesn't talk to you?"

"No. He's not my father," I said, making Lea wince, "He's not. I always pictured a father to be accepting, and the King isn't. He's just... a caretaker, for me, until I can find somewhere else to go." Lea frowned.

"Somewhere else to go?" She asked. I nodded.

"Havalia offered to take me in, but that would defeat the purpose of me being on my own," I explained, making Lea frown further, "But, the thing is, I want Thirteen to stay here, with Akin and the King. Because he needs someone to take care of him, someone to love him and show him what the real world is really like. It's why I took him away from the Mother in the first place. He needs to have a normal upbringing and I can't do that for him."

"That's not your job," Lea said, making me shrug, "And, I'm sure Akin and Hannibal will work things out and both of you can stay."

"I'm not counting on it. Nobody really wants me around," I admitted, making Lea swallow.

"That's not true," she said, "I certainly want you around. Akin definitely does. Havalia talks about you all the time, so I have no doubt she does. And your cousins." I hesitated at that. I wasn't sure what to say, because I'd never been liked. So it was weird having people genuinely want me around.

"I... guess," I murmured, "I don't know what to say to that."

"It's okay. And don't worry about Hannibal. He's still learning things, even at his age. We all have things to learn. And sometimes, our trauma just makes it a little harder for us to learn certain things," Lea explained. I frowned. What she said made sense. At the same time, it was hard to imagine the trauma the King went through. I hadn't been to any of the temples or museums in town yet, so I hadn't had a chance to learn anything about the King. But what better place than his own mother?

"Trauma?" I asked. Lea nodded, then hesitated for a moment.

"He doesn't like to discuss it, honestly, and it's understandable. It's not really my story to tell, but then, I suppose it's mostly been made public in order for people to better understand their ruler... Hannibal's life wasn't easy, and I'm so infuriated that that is the case. He was supposed to live a pampered life in my home. In my arms. His whole life."

"What happened?" I asked softly. Lea swallowed thickly and cleared her throat, before she looked at me.

"When I was still young, a Greek god named Iapetus came to me while I was bathing. He attacked me and months later, I found out I was pregnant. I went to the Moirai and they told me of a prophecy about my child that terrified me. That he would suffer, that he would reign over Atlantis, but not without anguish. Eight months later and I gave birth to Hannibal, with no more than one single servant at my side. I was able to spend five glorious years with him, trying to raise him in secret."

"In secret?" I asked. Lea nodded.

"He was to reign Atlantis. At the time, the ruler was Atlan. If he were to discover he'd be overthrown, he'd have my child killed to avoid giving up his throne. Of course, my secret didn't stay secret for long. One night, Atlan came and kidnapped Hannibal and took him away, wiped his memories of everything, and left him for dead on the doorsteps of the male that attacked me."

"Hannibal grew up there, with that god, with his family, and they were... so incredibly unkind and cruel to him. They treated him no better than cattle. They," she stopped for a second, swallowed and cleared her throat, and went on, "They did unbelievably cruel things to him, and worse still, they trained his Beast to kill for them. Relentlessly. He cut paths through entire armies. It was all he knew how to do. Kill and serve his owners, as he called them. Eventually, the Titanomachy happened. By this time, Atlantis had fallen. We were no more. So everything I know from here on out is what I've been told."

"The Titanomachy?"

"A great battle between the rulers of the Greek pantheon, and those that wished to be the rulers. They battled for years and years before finally, the current rulers won and took over. Iapetus tried to save his sorry ass by giving up Hannibal to Zeus as an offering. Zeus took it... and sent Iapetus to Tartarus anyway, which he fucking deserved. Anyway, Hannibal lived under Zeus's rule until Zeus sent him to Hades, who then sent him to his son, Cain. There Hannibal struggled further with his sense of self, with his Beast, who knew only how to kill and torture. Thus, it wasn't being properly attended to and it fed on his anger and hurt. He hurt people and he hurt himself. It wasn't until he found Akin that he found a sense of peace."

Holy shit. That sounded horrible. What kind of life was that? It was a miracle the guy didn't kill himself to escape it all. I probably would've. Fuck knows I'd thought about it in the past, but had never been able to do it.

"I'm sorry," I murmured. Lea shook her head.

"It was prophesied. I knew it was going to happen and yet I still... It doesn't matter now. It's done and over with and there's nothing we can do to change the past. Only move forward. And right now, Hannibal is afraid to move forward. Sometimes, our past is like a tar pit. We are unable to escape it, and it tries to drag us down into the darkest part of our lives. But we can't give up. We can't let it consume us. We are meant for better things. Just like Hannibal and just like you."

"How can you be so sure?" I asked. Lea shrugged.

"Because I've seen it happen, to others, and myself," she replied, "My child was stolen from me, taken away, and brutalized. But he's here now. He's alive. And he's in love. And he's ruling the realm the way he was meant to. And I'm here with him. Even after everything, we're together again and that to me is ultimate joy and happiness, to be with my children, my lover, my people, to live in harmony."

"But what about the Mother," I said, "What about the dangers she brings?"

"If she truly is the mother she claims to be," Lea murmured, "Surely she could understand this. Perhaps she, too, has had something taken from her and is tired of having it taken from her, so she's taking matters into her own hands, when she doesn't need to. She just needs to be patient."

"I wish someone would tell her that," I muttered. Lea smiled.

"Sometimes our calls fall on deaf ears. Doesn't mean we can't find other ways to communicate."

"I guess... You're really wise, Lea."

"No, just experienced," Lea replied, "Wisdom isn't my forte. But thank you, sweetheart. And for the record, I want you here. We want you here. And it would please us greatly if you stayed." My smile faltered, because I wanted to believe that.

I wanted to believe it so bad. To be wanted, to be loved, to be cared for, to be a part of a family like this. It was something I'd craved my whole life without realizing it. I'd just talked myself into not needing it in my life, because I wasn't the one who mattered, Thirteen was. At the same time... I still had this ache. This ache for family, this ache for love, this ache for normalcy. I just wanted it so bad.

Now, I just wondered... could I have that? Would the King let me, or would he send me away at the end of all this?