Chapter Fifteen

 You can do this.

Just do it.

One step is all it takes. Just go out there.

"Easier said than done." I muttered through clenched teeth as I stood in the doorway of my bedroom that led out into the long wood-floored hallway. Expensive lights that turned on automatically when they sensed movement, both nifty and frightening, especially in the middle of the night. I swallowed hard, tugging at the front of my black sweatshirt, shifting bare feet across the floor.

Akin had said that, before we could do anything major, I had to get used to basics. And included in that fun package of basics was actually being able to leave my room on my own, without any help, and going to a destination and doing as I pleased. I'd decided, after sitting on the closet floor for three hours, that I needed to do something with myself and I was hungry and Hannibal wasn't scheduled to make lunch until one.

So I was going to make myself something to eat and pray to God Cain wasn't there to yell at me like he was the first time.

I took a deep breath and pushed off the door frame, stepping out into the hallway. I held my breath, waiting to see if anyone would come out of one of the rooms or come charging down the hallway, but I was alone. I let out a long breath of relief and closed my door as silently as I could behind me before turning to the right and inching down the hallway. My feet didn't make a sound on the floor, which was good. No one would know I was here and jumped out at me.

Not that they would.

Everyone here was very cautious around me, except Hannibal. Akin made sure never to touch me, although, I could tell he really wanted to hug me sometimes. I'm glad he didn't. I don't think I could handle hugging just yet. Jahlia, who was required to touch me as a doctor, was very gentle and playful when she spoke to me. Abel often visited the mansion and would check up on me. He was a little strange, but Akin told me that was normal. According to him, Abel had been kicked into the river Acheron and somehow managed to get out without going completely insane. And to be blunt, Cain was an asshole and he took every chance he could to remind me of it. He would try and trick me into doing what he said or scare me into staying away from the windows. Suffice it to say, he was on my list of people to gut when I could actually do it again.

The rest of the people in the mansion were just members of Sons of Anarchy. One man, the vampire I'd seen with Hannibal at the camp, was named Kristoff. He dropped on during the night, sometimes with his wife, Bella. Another man that visited was an Egyptian, extremely tall and intimidating, named Sept. He gave us reports from his lord, and apparently lover, Theo. A couple other of the men around here were civilians or people mascarading as soldiers in other camps around the underworld, constantly feeding updates.

But I noticed there weren't other slaves around the building.

I'd asked Hannibal about it the other day and his response was "most slaves want to go home right away". I wasn't sure if he was trying to jab at me or not. It wasn't a Hannibal thing to do, but I'd only known him for a couple of weeks, so I couldn't say I knew him entirely.

But I did like the fact that he didn't treat me like a fragile doll like everyone else did. I knew they were just doing it out of consideration, and at times, I appreciated their lack of harshness. But sometimes I felt like they were treating me like a wounded animal, not to be bothered or touched. It made me feel... uncomfortable. Like maybe I was just too filthy and they didn't want to get their hands dirty. It was a silly thought, but I couldn't help it.

But Hannibal didn't care. He wasn't dainty or careful with me. He treated me like just another person. If I annoyed him, he'd gladly let me know by glaring at me or flipping me off. He was a man of few words. He didn't speak as much as he did that night he gave me a pep-talk. Most of the time his responses were nods, head shakes, crude hand gestures, or short sentences. When I asked Akin about it, he just told me that Hannibal only spoke when he felt like he should speak. He didn't waste his time with small talk or petty conversation.

I finally made it to the kitchen without running into any of those people, though, much to my relief. I crept across the kitchen to one of the fridges and opened it to peer inside. There was so much food in there. It was so hard to decide what to eat, but I didn't want to completely ruin my appetite for lunch. Hannibal was a great cook and I always looked forward to his meals. I finally settled on a small container of yogurt. I started to eat it in the kitchen, then changed my mind and decided to test myself a little more.

I drifted out of the kitchen and further down the hallway until I came into the living room, which never ceased to amaze me. It was so vast and luxerious. If someone had told me I'd be able to stand in a room like this a few months ago, I would have told them they were insane.

I walked across the living room to the window and stared outside. There was a very light cloud cover, and while the sunlight poured down across the porch and warmed my face, it was raining. There was still snow on the ground, yet, somehow the temperature allowed the rain to come pouring down in a delicate sheet. It pitter-pattered on the glass of the window and the towering roof.

"It's weird, right?" I jumped, startled and whirled around to see Abel coming into the living room. He smiled apologetically for scaring me. I didn't say anything, just watched him walk over to look out the window.

"Even in the winter, it rains in Inferi," He murmured, reaching a hand up to touch the glass, the warmth of his hand against the cold glass making it steam for a moment before it faded, "So, I got a small update about what your family's up to, if you want to hear it." I tensed for a moment, a chill coursing up my spine. A family I hadn't seen in over a year, one that I spent all that time cursing. I swallowed that rock of guilt down and just gave Abel a short nod. He lifted his hand away from the glass and turned to face me, arms folded over his chest.

"Jaques took down a troop of Greeks in the southeast two days ago. He killed sixty men and interrogated one before beheading him. Thorn and Ambrosius, according to Blaine, are doing well, but I hear Thorn is still dead set on proving you're alive. He's spent the last two months trying to hack into Hades's personal files, but Hades hired someone to keep a twenty-four hour watch on everything. Not that Thorn could find anything on an electronic system anyway. Hades is old-fashioned and paranoid. He probably hides all his dirtiest secrets under his mattress. Anyway, Bali, Wednesday, and Alaric are doing well, nothing really new there, except that they're actually going into public now. Dania and some guy named Alexis are married--"

"What?" I choked, dropping my yogurt on the floor. Abel jumped, then looked up at me, confused.

"Your sister? The cannibal one that's a thorn in almost every pantheon's ass? Dania. She married a Greek soldier named Alexis."

"They got married?" I managed. Dania got married? She was never the type to settle down, ever. She was always running all over the place, wrecking havoc, terrorizing pantheons, upsetting natural balances because she's bored. She's visited every country in the mortal realm and nearly every other realm with her side-kicks, Coyote and Loki. And now suddenly she's married? And to a Greek soldier?

"Sorry," Abel offered, "I didn't think that'd upset you. If you want, I can turn on the television. I'm sure they're still doing reports about it." I could only nod numbly as I went over to the sofa and plopped down. Abel turned on the television to the news channel before snapping his fingers to clean up the mess I'd made with the yogurt. The screen flickered on a moment later. The report showing was just about a couple of battles that had been won, a commercial about some new television show, and segement on why someone was in a failing relationship. Finally, after what felt like an hour of useless babble, the report came on about Dania's wedding.

The reporter mostly discussed the location, which was in the St. Lucifer Chapel down on 9th Street, a handful of blocks down from the palace. The ceremony itself was only open to family and friends, but thousands of civilians had gathered outside to cheer and congratulate her. They started to talk about her dress when they showed a picture of her, and a lump formed in my throat.

She was beautiful.

Petite and slender, with long auburn hair that fell down to her waist, except in the photo, her hair was done with two braids on the sides brought together in the back to form a sort of crown, her bangs framing her perfect pixie face. Her eyes were ringed with black eyeliner with flicks on the sides, making them appear a bit more slanted, but emphasized the fact that her eyes were blue. Her lips were painted a shade of rosy pink. And, this didn't surprise me at all, but her dress wasn't white. It was a deep chocolate brown, strapless, that hugged her figure well. The skirt was pleated on one side before fading to just long and ruffled on the other, with a celtic knot design on the back with two long ends that hung down to the floor from just between her shoulder blades. She wore a heavily decorated gold choker with glinting moonstones.

That was my sister, I thought in agony. My little sister. The one who used to run around the house drawing on the walls with paint. The one who used to pick her nose and blame the collection under the table on Alaric. The one who could chug more whiskey than any bar regular. The one who ran around the universe, stealing and bartering. The one who hung out with society's rejects, Coyote and Loki.

And now she was married.

She looked positively angelic in her dress and what made my heart ache was the smile on her face that didn't quite reach her eyes like it used to.

They showed a short video clip of her leaving the church with Alexis, who wore a brown silk tuxedo with his dark hair brushed off lazily to the side, yet still managed to look so good. His hand was tucked down between him and Dania, their fingers laced together tightly. He leaned over to whisper something to her that the camera didn't pick up and whatever it was, it made Dania laugh and whack him in the arm.

Thousands of people cheered for her, throwing flowers and what appeared to be candy. Later, the report claimed Dania wanted candy thrown, if anything at all. And she had refused to wear a white dress because it was "too girly and pure and god knows this big guy and I aren't pure after dating for a year". A very Dania thing to say that made me smile for the first time in a long time.

But yet my heart still bled.

I hadn't been there to see her get married. I didn't get to hold her hand or help her pick out a dress, even though we both know I'd be more trouble than help, but it was the thought that mattered, the experience that spoke, not the dress. And Dania had always loved the color brown, so it didn't surprise me that she'd chosen the color for her dress. It was such a beautiful warm shade of chocolate and it made her glow. It set off her auburn hair even more, and her blue eyes...

I wanted to cry again, but it was as if all my tears had dried up and I couldn't.

I had missed my baby sister's wedding. I missed one of the biggest days of her life.

"She's beautiful." I managed. Abel smiled.

"Yeah. Must be great having a sister," He added with a wistful sigh, reclining back on the sofa with an arm thrown over the back, one leg folded over the other, "I have seven brothers. Three of them are anti-social, one's a self-proclaimed sociopath, one's a chronic alcoholic, one's my neutrotic boyfriend, and the other one ran away. We put the fun in dysfunctional family. You should see us during a family reunion. We're that family that everyone hopes gets in a car accident on the way to dinner." I grimaced at that, looking at him quizzically. He's a little insane. I reminded myself. Friendly and interesting, but not collectively here.

"Will you be leaving for the holidays?" I asked at last, trying not to look at the screen anymore in case I broke down. Abel seemed to notice and just casually changed the channel to a local news channel before shrugging.

"Probably not," He answered, "We don't celebrate Christmas. Or, well, Cain and I do. We're Christian born, no matter what Hades says. And Jesus is a great guy. My brothers just stick to themselves on Christmas, though. And Hades locks himself away in his palace during this time of year so he can spend it all with his dearly beloved wife." I shuddered to think Hades could have a significant other, given how twisted and sick he was.

"I was thinking we celebrate Christmas here, though," Abel said suddenly, making me look at him in confusion, "A lot of people here don't have families, and if they do, their family would cut them if they showed up. So, it's be fun if we could get everyone to stay here for Christmas and we have our own Christmas party. Fuck everyone else." The idea sounded intriguing, but it was also mildly nerve wracking to have everyone in the building altogether. I had pretty much met everyone here, and the max amount of people ever in the building was only fifteen, but it still made me uneasy. Abel seemed to notice right away.

"Don't worry," He assured, "No one will bother you if you don't want them to. Besides, think of it as a challenge. If you can talk to everyone at least once, you'll definitely know you're on the way to a speedy recovery. I know it won't be easy. But nothing ever is. If it was, what would we do in life?" I considered that as I sank back against the sofa, staring at the television, suddenly feeling emotionally exhausted.

My siblings were slowly, but surely moving on. Dania was married. Married. As in, she had a husband now. A husband that was my brother-in-law. I had a brother-in-law and he was a Greek soldier Ambrosius had kicked the shit out of. And... I blinked, turning to look at Abel, who was scowling at the news report that had something to do with a new shop in Styx.

"Lucifer," I said, making him look at me curiously, "What's he doing?" Abel blinked, then frowned slowly.

"I'm not sure. He hasn't left the palace, that much I know. Otherwise, the news would blow up about him finally coming out, but he's stayed there as far as I know. Guess he's finding it a lot harder to move on." He admitted. I averted my eyes at that, rubbing the back of my neck uncomfortably. It was strange to think that my father would mourn me. He'd already lost a son to Hades. What was another one? Especially one as stupid as me. He'd told me he didn't want me to go fight in Tiploca, but I'd gone in anyway and now look at me... I shuddered, then went back to my earlier thought, eyes widening as I looked at Abel.

"Wait. Wait, Lucifer said I had a brother that was already here. Who?" I asked. Abel blinked owlishly for a moment, and for a split second, I saw the knowing in his eye glint before he shrugged and stood up.

"Dunno. Not my department." He stated. I looked at him, bewildered.

"What? That's not fair. If I have a brother here--"

"If you have a brother here," Abel corrected, "Lots of ifs in this world. And my job isn't to go on a wild goose chase for a brother we don't even know is here. I'm already putting my ass on the line to make sure Hades, and Julius for that matter, don't find you here. If they do, Julius has full authority to take you from us because you have his brand on your foot." I swallowed hard at that. I'd forgotten about that, and I hated myself for it. I looked down at my foot and the intricately designed pattern on the underside of my foot that had puckered my skin and darkened it. I looked up at Abel, who stared back at me grimly.

"Worry about your mystery brother later. Right now, we need to worry about you and how we're going to get that brand off your foot. Normally, I'd have the authority to remove it being a son of Hades. Unfortunately, Hades demoted me and stripped me of half my powers a long time ago. I'm only running on fifty percent now. So now the only person who knows about you and has the authority to remove it is Cain. It's going to take some convincing him to get that brand off your foot. That you can leave me, of course. In the mean time, you need to focus on recovering. Test yourself. Teach yourself." He explained. I hesitated. It was still bothering me that I had a brother here in the underworld, but I didn't know who... However, Abel had a point. Even if I did run into my brother here, I'd die before letting him see me this pathetic.

So I nodded and Abel relaxed. He stuck around for a few minutes to explain to me what he was going to be doing for the day before he got a call and had to take off. I was left alone for only a few minutes before Akin showed up. He had definitely just woken up judging from the way he was only wearing a pair of Gothic Hello Kitty pajama pants and a matching long sleeved shirt, his long blonde hair twisted up into a hairclip.

"Hannibal's making lunch," Akin said as he came in, smiling and plopping down on the sofa beside me, "Are you watching the news?" I shook my head and handed him the remote, making him beam delightedly as he changed the channel.

"My sister got married." I said after a moment. Akin blinked, then looked at me, surprised.

"Dania?"

"Yeah," I murmured, folding my legs so I was sitting cross-legged, "She married a Greek soldier sent in during the whole wraith incident in Purgatory. When the rest were recalled, he stayed behind with Dania and they got an apartment. His name is Alexis... And now Dania's married to him." Akin shifted a little, then offered me a smile.

"Well, that's great, isn't it?" He asked. I shrugged, sitting back against the sofa and fiddling with a thread on the cushion.

"It should be," I agreed, then frowned a little, "But... I don't know. I didn't get to see her in her dress, except on TV, and that's not as good as the real thing." Akin nodded solemnly at that, then paused to tilt his head before he got to his feet.

"Well, maybe she'll wear it for you when you get back. In the mean time, let's go get some lunch, huh? Hannibal was making chicken alfredo last I checked." He said. I nodded and got to my feet, following him out of the living room to the kitchen. Sure enough, Hannibal was in there at the stove, looking right at home as he set up several plates and started dishing out thick noodles onto plates, tossing seasoned breadsticks along with them and a small portion of steamed vegetables. My stomach cramped with hunger as I inched forward, getting closer to the hot scent that wafted into my nostrils.

"Oh, baby, that smells wonderful." Akin purred, coming up behind Hannibal to wrap his arms around his lover's narrow waist. Hannibal paused and a shiver caused him to twitch as he blinked back an obvious expression of pleasure at Akin's touch. Akin snuggled against his back while he continued to spoon out generous helpings. I stood nearby, trying not to get in the way as Abel and Cain eventually entered the room. Cain dominated the room with an air of arrogance and power that both irritated me and made me nervous. He wore a deep red corset with black velvet designs swirling up on it, matching the tight black under armor beneath it and his leather pants.

"Ah, fuck," Cain spat the moment he came in, making Akin clench his teeth and withdraw from Hannibal, who didn't react to Cain's presence, "If I knew he was making food, I'd of ordered take-out."

"Fuck you." Akin deadpanned. Cain curled his lip and took a step toward him, but Abel touched Cain's shoulder and shook his head.

"Cain, calm down. Don't be such a baby. Hannibal's cooking is great and you know it." Abel scolded, making Cain glare at him.

"I thought you said I cooked great."

"Yes, you do, and if you try and start a fight over this, I'm going to take my things and move in with Malachi again." Abel threatened. Cain clenched his teeth and he looked like he was seconds from attacking, when he caught me out the corner of his eye. So he turned on me.

"And what the fuck are you doing in here? Trying to steal something else?" He demanded. I stiffened at that and Abel glared directly at Cain, giving him a rather harsh shove in the shoulder.

"He can come in here whenever he wants, Cain. This isn't our house anyway. So technically you're stealing too."

"Yeahhh, but I'm not a common street whore."

"Cain!"

"I'm not hungry anymore." I left the kitchen before Abel or Akin could come to my defense, because I didn't want them to come to my defense. I went down the hallway to my room and shut the door before going into the closet, shutting the doors and sinking down under the blankets.

I should've known Cain would try to do something like that. I should have been prepared for it, and not hurt by it, but it hurt anyway and it made my stomach twist into knots. I tried to repeat what Hannibal had told me, but it wasn't enough to make me feel better. Because no matter what I told myself, it wouldn't change the fact that I'd had sex with over a hundred people in the past year. Unless you wanted to count all the times people came back for seconds or thirds, then the count got too high and it depressed me further.

Even worse, because of everything that happened, sex no longer seemed like a rare gem. I remembered the way Dev talked about it like it was the ultimate source of pleasure and show of affection. It should be saved for the people who made your heart beat in your ears and your body ache with physical need.

But it was nothing like that. It wasn't a beautiful sense of peace shared with someone beloved. It was a violent act of humiliation and degradation. A show of power that made the victim feel so miniscule, even dirt had a higher place above them. There was nothing pleasurable about it.

Even weeks later, my body still throbbed and ached in places I didn't want to think about. I could still feel hands on me, people violating me, those cruel slurs that were eternally embedded into my memory, playing on a demented loop.

And worst of all, it didn't matter what anyone said. In the end, I was filthy and used.

Maybe Hannibal didn't think I was a whore, but I knew I was.

And that's all that mattered.

I heard someone knock on the bedroom door and stiffened, sinking below the blankets. Someone opened the door, as they learned I would never answer the door, and I listened to light airy steps moving toward the closet door, signifying it was Akin who'd come to visit me along with a warm steaming plate of food. I held my breath as Akin opened the closet door and knelt down in the doorway, holding the plate toward me.

"Hannibal made you a plate." He offered. I shook my head. Akin sighed and set it down on the floor, then sat cross-legged and tilted his head against the door.

"Cain's an asshole. You don't have to listen to him." He said quietly. I averted my eyes, tucking my arm beneath the pillow and pulling the blankets up to my chin, tucking them around me tightly out of instinct of having someone so near me while I was laying down. At least if someone attacked me here, I had a way of hiding.

"Doesn't matter." I said briefly. I knew that if I told him Cain had been telling the truth, that Akin would be rushing to assure me it wasn't and I was tired of dreaming that I could be clean and pure again. It wasn't going to happen and I had to face the music.

"Raven," Akin said softly, making me glance over at him as he studied me with a sorrow swimming in his crystal blue eyes, "I know that look on your face. I've seen it on... someone else's face before too. Don't sit here in the dark and loathe yourself. You're not accomplishing anything."

"I am." I murmured. Akin appeared skeptical.

"And what's that?"

"Coping with the truth."

"Raven, Cain was--"

"Don't. I really don't want to hear things like it's not true or you're not a whore. At first, it was a nice gesture, but now it just feels like someone's lying to me. You can pin it with whatever name you want. Whore, slut, victim, whatever. In the end, it all boils down to one thing..." I didn't finish that sentence, but I'm sure Akin heard the unspoken words.

As crazy and stupid as it sounds, I'd clung to my virginity without even knowing why. I felt like I had to keep it. I'd eyed plenty of people in my time, particularly Dev, but I never acted on it. Something in me told me to wait... and now that stupid waiting had ruined everything. I could have given it to Dev. I should have given it to Dev. At least it would have been someone I trusted and respected as an equal, someone who wouldn't have abused me.

Instead, Julius had taken it and torn it to pieces right in front of me and split up between the dozens of men he forced me to take in a single night. There was no delicate process to it, and half the time, they didn't even need to use lubrication. There was plenty of blood. The stench of it was rancid and I could still smell it lingering in my senses. I slammed my eyes shut against it and tried to push it from my mind, but it was too hard.

That kind of thing couldn't be erased, like Hannibal said. It was a permanent scar on the mind, and the soul.

I just had to accept it.

You're a whore. Get over it.

I opened my eyes again slowly to stare up at Akin, who stared back at me. I couldn't read his expression, but I could tell he was thinking. He probably just pitied me like everyone else. Well, except Cain, who saw me for what I really was.

That thought finally sank in.

Get over it.

I reluctantly propped myself up on an elbow and started to eat. Akin relaxed, appearing relieved with my finally getting something in my stomach. He stayed for a little while to tell me they were having a movie night tonight, but I didn't say anything to that. I didn't want to be around so many people, especially Cain. Akin seemed to pick up on that and finally left me alone to finish my lunch before I climbed out of the closet.

I changed out of my sweatshirt and pulled on a tank top instead. I took the plate back to the kitchen, which was thankfully empty now. I quickly dropped it off and went down the hallway in the opposite direction.

Jahlia had told me there was a gym somewhere down near her office. I prayed it was empty when I got there. It took some time, walking through all those hallways before I found a pair of large double doors with a couple of windows that looked into a prestine well-equiped training room. And even better, there was no one inside.

They must all be at the movie night.

Thanking the gods for that tiny mercy, I came inside and studied the equipment. Punching bags, a couple of treadmills, a variety of barbells, a few other complicated exercising machines, and even some electronic television games that required movement. But I needed something simple. I hadn't exercised in so long-- unless you counted rape as exercise. My muscles felt loose and thin. I'd lost weight in all kinds of ways. Thinking about it made me shudder. I probably looked like a pathetic skeleton incapable of the simplest tasks...

And that's why everyone felt like it was okay to look at me like I was weak and defenseless.

I clenched my fists and went over to the treadmill first. I set a speed and time before hitting start and getting started. I found an interesting music player built into it, and fed up with the silence, I hit play and let the music pulse through the speakers. I concentrated on the vibrations coursing up my arms as I gripped the bars. After a while, I slowly moved my hands away from them to walk on my own.

I ignored the aching pain in my calves and the stretching of muscles in my legs. Strangely enough, though, the feel of my muscles pulling and stretching again was soothing. I had no idea how much I'd miss exercising, actually exercising.

I picked up the speed until I was jogging. I paused it to grab a water bottle from the mini fridge near the small kitchen area in the far corner, drained it, grabbed another, and went back to the treadmill to run until it said I'd run nearly four miles. My whole body ached and throbbed, but it was a warm powerful feeling, not a pathetic breaking feeling.

I moved from the treadmill to the barbells. I definitely couldn't lift as much as I used to, but I was determined to change that. With each equipment I went to, I set a goal for myself for the week. By the time I finished, it was dinner and I was starving and feeling oddly exhilirated.

For the first time in a year, I felt... amazing.

I took my water bottle and left the training room to go to my room and change out of my sweaty clothing. I threw on a beige sweater and a pair of jeans before heading to the kitchen where, surprise surprise, Hannibal was cooking. He didn't stop, even after I entered the room. I came to stand near him and he wrinkled his nose for a moment. I scowled, sniffing at myself before looking at him.

"I don't stink. I wiped myself off."

"With what? Cain's underwear?" Hannibal deadpanned. Maybe it was hearing someone as serious as Hannibal make a crude joke, but whatever it was, it made me laugh. Hannibal appeared to relax at that as he continued cooking and I forced myself to stay put, despite the little twitches in my muscles that were trying to urge me to put some distance between us. I had to get used to standing close to someone and I would rather practice with Hannibal when I know he wouldn't beat me.

"So you found the training room." Hannibal said at last. I nodded and leaned my hip on the counter, folding my arms over my chest as I watched him stir vegetables in sizzling stir fry sauce.

"Yeah. It's nice. But I like being in there by myself, for now," I explained and Hannibal nodded as if he understood, and I chewed my bottom lip in silence for a moment, then spoke, "Do you mind if I help? I need something to do and... last I tried, I wasn't a bad cook." Hannibal nodded and indicated the chicken with the jerk of his chin.

"That needs to be tried in panko."

"Say no more." Not that he would anyway. I got to work doing as Hannibal instructed, laying stripes of panko dusted chicken in a frying pan. Every so often, I'd glance at him to see if he was all right. He was just silent, frying vegetables with ease and adding sprinkles of seasonings and lemon. He moved so fluidly through the kitchen, like he was born in one.

"Where did you learn to cook?" I asked without thinking. I saw his muscles tense for a moment and regretted asking, but to my surprise, he responded.

"My mother's the one who taught me first. Serving Hades for a few centuries assisted in my improvement." He answered. I grimaced at that.

"You served Hades?" I asked. Hannibal cocked his head, giving me a light shrug as he shut the stove off and let the vegetables cool while he moved onto the rice.

"My time with Hades was infinitely better than my time with my mother." He assured me. I frowned curiously at that.

"Seriously?" I asked. Hannibal gave me only a nod an indication. It made my stomach twist. If Hades was evil to the marrow of his bones, what was his mother like? I didn't even want to ask. Anyone would want to forget someone cruel. And yet, I found myself wondering how a mother could be so cruel to her own child. My mother was definitely not a winner of the mother of the year award, considering the moment she gave birth to me, she fled and I never saw her. But at least she didn't make me compare her to Hades.

"Step-mother, actually." Hannibal said after a moment. I blinked, then looked at him.

"Then what about your real mother?"

"She was a slimy bitch too."

"Ouch."

"Doesn't matter. They're both dead anyway."

Wow. Hannibal's family life sounded like a bucket of daisies. I didn't say anything more after that. We just cooked in silence before Abel came into the kitchen, and much to my chagrin, Cain was following right behind him.

"Oooh," Abel groaned, "That smells good. What's cookin'?"

"Stir fry." I said when Hannibal didn't answer. Abel nodded, coming over to peer over my shoulder as I shut the stove off.

"You can cook?" He asked, perplexed. I nodded as I helped Hannibal stick the chicken onto the plates with the rice and vegetable stir fry mixture. A smile curved Abel's lips as he put his hands on his hips and watched us, like he was pleased by the display. Of course, it was no surprise that Cain approached us with a bottle of wine he'd taken from the cellar, raking both Hannibal and I with a sneer.

"Oh great, food cooked by bastard scum and whore. Just what I was looking forward to." He mocked. Hannibal didn't even flinch at Cain's words, but Cain's words succeeded in pissing me off. Hannibal just took it like it was nothing, but the twitch in his muscles told me otherwise.

"At least we're doing something." I snapped at Cain, who pinned me a glare so merciless, my heart did backflips and I debated just making for the exit again.

"I liked it better when you were quiet."

"I liked it better when you were gone." I replied. Cain twitched and opened his mouth to speak, but Abel whirled on him with a vengence, grabbing Cain by the arm and surprising me, and apparently Cain judging from his wide eyes.

"That's enough," Abel snapped at him angrily, eyes flashing brightly, "You've been a brat all fucking day and I'm sick of it. Don't talk to them like that. I told you to behave and you're not doing it. You can have fun sleeping somewhere else tonight, you self-centered little prick." Without another word, Abel roughly let go of him and vanished from the room. Cain appeared bewildered and Hannibal just stood there, completely emotionless as he held a couple of plates in his hands. Hannibal held one plate out to Cain, who blinked, looked down at it, then glared at Hannibal. I could see Cain's hand twitch in preparation to knock the plate back into Hannibal's face, and with a speed that genuinely shocked me, I caught Cain by the wrist before he could move.

A second later, the back of his hand, knuckles and all, hit me across the face so hard that I lost my balance and fell against the counter, gasping in pain as the edge of it bit into my back and my jaw throbbed. I clutched the side of my face, sinking to the floor, clenching my teeth. But when I looked up, expecting to see Cain's sneering face, I was stunned to see that Hannibal had caught him by the arm, twisted it behind his back, and pinned him against the counter.

"Get off of me, you fucking pervert! I'll rip your goddamn head off, do you fucking hear me, you cum-stain?!" Cain snarled so viciously that it awoke a fear in me I had tried to keep down this entire encounter. I swallowed hard against the lump in my throat, staring at Hannibal, who neither flinched nor reacted to Cain's rage. He kept Cain pinned him until a sharp voice cut the air.

"Hannibal, heel!" Akin barked. The moment he heard Akin's voice, Hannibal's eyes flickered and he instantly let go and stepped back, staying between Cain and I. Cain whirled around to go for Hannibal, only to pull up short as Akin took a spot in front of him, blocking him from Hannibal.

"You touch one hair on my baby's head, or Raven's, and I will bring down a wrath upon you that will make a mockery of anything Hades could dream about." Akin threatened dangerously. His vivid blue eyes flashed, telling me he wasn't making an idle threat. Cain hardly appeared intimidated by him as he met Akin's eyes levelly, his lip curling back into a sneer.

"You can't hurt me, mortal."

"Don't tempt me, Hades spawn." Akin challenged. Cain gritted his teeth and I could tell he was seconds away from breaking Akin's neck. I swallowed hard, watching as Cain finally backed own, raking Akin with a glare so foul, even Julius would be envious.

"Sleep with one eye open, freak show." He warned, then left the kitchen without another word. Akin watched him go, remaining tense and ready to beat Cain down if he came back. After what felt like an eternity, Akin finally decided Cain was gone. He turned to give Hannibal a worried look and Hannibal just shook his head. Akin then looked to me and reached for me, but I snapped back and scrambled away from his hand, moving to the corner of the kitchen, breathing raggedly. Akin winced, as if I'd hit him, but he didn't get angry. He looked at Hannibal.

"Grab a bag of ice, sweetheart." He ordered. Hannibal obeyed without question. How could he do that and not be angry or offended or feel used? I'd never understand it. Akin reached for me again, but I really didn't want to be touched, so I hissed at him and shot to my feet, moving with my back against the wall to get away from him. I think the message got through, because Akin stopped moving toward me. Now he just looked hurt. And I felt guilty, but I couldn't bring myself to go near him.

Hannibal approached me and I tensed. He held the ice pack out to me and I gingerly took it from it, confused by it for a moment until I remembered the throbbing agony pulsing in my jaw. I held the ice to it, grimacing.

"What happened?" Akin asked, turning to Hannibal for an explanation.

"Raven and I were preparing dinner when Cain and Abel came in. Cain was pestering Raven and Abel got angry and left. Cain took it out on Raven. He was going to kick him and that is why I pinned him down, sir." He explained. I blinked, confused both by his honorific and the fact that he hadn't mentioned Cain's cruel words towards him. Hannibal was a victim too. Why didn't he say anything?

Akin sighed wearily, running a hand through his bangs to push them out of his face, only for them to come falling back. He put his other hand on his hip, glancing at Hannibal, then over at me.

"Are you all right?" He asked me. I swallowed hard and just nodded numbly, even though my heart was still racing a hundred miles an hour and my body was wracked with a very unpleasant kind of pain that reminded me way too much of my time with Julius.

"I'm sorry," Akin said at last, making both Hannibal and I look at him questioningly, "Next time, I'll make sure to be here to keep Cain off of you guys. He's testy because Julius's troop is nearby and he doesn't want to get caught... or rip Julius's head off. He's hated Julius for a long time. Just ignore everything he does or says. He feels like shit, so he's trying to make everyone else feel like shit." I didn't know what to say to that. It didn't make me like Cain or sympathize with him. I just hoped he tripped on a patch of ice outside in those heels of his. Hopefully the fall would knock some sense into him.

No one spoke again as I stood nearby with the ice on my face while Hannibal and Akin took the food to everyone else. I ate quietly in the kitchen, alone... until Hannibal showed up with his plate.

I waited for him to just grab something to drink and leave, but instead, he pulled a stool over to the other side of the island counter I sat at, and took a seat. He started to eat without saying a word to me.