Chapter Nine

Maybe this was a stupid idea.

What made me think Lea was even going to tell the truth? What if she knew as little about the truth as I did? What if she was lying on purpose just to spite me? What if she was lying because she wasn't actually working with Xenon, but Atlan? What if this, what if that. A thousand of them ran through my brain and most of them were obscenely ridiculous, and yet I couldn't help thinking of them.

It was in my nature to assume the worst of everyone.

No one did things out of kindness, especially towards myself. People were cruel by nature. They never looked past the shell to see what was truly inside a person. They based opinions on people and things without ever looking into it... And I hated that.

Therefore, it was only fair that I gave Lea the benefit of the doubt.

Even though it galled me to do so.

"Do you want me to come with you?" Akin had asked me when I woke up that morning and informed him of my plan to confront Lea. I shook my head and leaned down to hug Akin tightly in my arms, taking comfort in the way his arms encircled me back, before we broke apart so I could bump our foreheads together gently.

"This is something I have to do alone, master. I'm sorry." I said quietly. Akin smiled and cupped my face in his hands, placing a chaste kiss on my lips.

"Don't apologize, sweetie. I wish you the best of luck, and remember, whatever happens, it won't change the beautiful and powerful man you've become. And it won't make me love you any less." He promised. I smiled, kissing him back before leaving the room.

Now I stood at the end of the hallway that led to Lea's room. A wave of anxiety swept through me and rooted me in place as I stared down the hallway at her door that was just four doors down from my own. Her room was barely twelve feet away this entire time. She could be in there, doing god's know what, or she could be gone.

Please be gone.

Even so, I couldn't get my feet to budge. I was stuck in place, and I wasn't sure why I didn't want to go near her door.

Maybe Akin's right... Xenon's right. I'm a coward. I wasn't sure why I was terrified of getting near her. Maybe it was the thought that she could do worse to me than anyone else, or that she already had, or that she wouldn't love me the way everyone insisted she would. Lea still didn't know the truth about me. She didn't know what kind of monster I'd become since she last saw me. For all she knew, I could still be an innocent child. She probably thought I was pampered somehow, or loved, and I was now, but it took centuries before someone could actually take my hand and smile at me as if I were important.

And the first person who did that had the power to hurt me... and he did.

Cain was the first person who smiled at me, or rather more of a smirk, and took me in. It was the end to a vicious cycle of passing me around. Cain hired me, gave me a home, clothes, personal items to call my own. For the first time, I had a beautiful bedroom complete with everything from a massive iron bed with a thick soft mattress to a plasma screen television. I was allowed to cover every inch of my scarred body, and Cain insisted I follow him as his new second-in-command.

I'd never thought I could get that far. I was esctatic and knowing that Cain wanted me there made everything so much better. I had thought what I had for Cain was love. It had to be. I was devoted to him willingly and would do anything for him no matter what he asked... I even bent over naked and let him whip me with a barbed whip, let him grind his heels hard enough into my groin that it would've caused permanent damage to any normal person. I let him beat me and mock me, so long as he still wanted me that was all that mattered.

And the moment he and Abel started to drift back together, I found myself standing on the sidelines, watching them as that red spark returned, the red that bleached my vision and surged through my veins like fiery magma.

Stop! Look at me! He barely paid any attention to me. And even when he was around me, all he talked about was Abel this, Abel that. How he was going to get Abel back, how he was going to do this to him, and that to him. Abel was his entire world and I was no longer in Cain's sights.

The pain was unbelievable. At the time, the pain had only given way to anger. Pure rage that boiled my blood and set fire to my temper. I no longer saw anything, but red. And Abel was the source of it.

If it hadn't been for Abel, Cain would still love me.

Or at least, that was my thoughts. Later, after getting beaten and nearly killed several times, after Hades threw me in the cold dank dungeon beneath his palace, I lay there, battered and bruised, realizing that Cain never really loved me.

He used me, just like everyone else used me. And then he was done with me, just like everyone else, and he cast me aside. Like my mother, like Iapetus, like Zeus, and Hades. No one wanted me, not even the one person who had finally smiled directly at me and used my name and gave me things I'd never even dreamed of having.

And then Abel made me the offer of a lifetime.

"If you help us," Abel demanded, that hot day in the Labyrinth, his blue glare fierce, "I will wipe you from existence. I swear by the River Styx." And he broke his promise. He didn't wipe me from existence, not that he could anyway. Charon and Alexion had discovered the truth behind why I couldn't die all those years. Why all those murder attempts and suicide attempts were failures.

I was cursed to true immortality.

I died for about twelve hours maximum and came back in the morning, whole and healthy, save for severe scars that I probably could get rid of, but didn't care enough to bother. It helped keep people away from me, which I'd come to learn was a good thing after I'd ended up on the streets of Styx.

Once again, I was reduced to nothing more than a gutter rat scraping trash cans for food and wearing the same pair of pants for months. It wasn't until I met Akin in that club in Styx that I felt another spark, but this one was different. It was a quick flutter of the heart, a tensing of the muscles, and everything in the world around me had faded, leaving nothing, but Akin to stand in front of me, a flirty smile on his face and his hands pulling me against him as he forced me to dance with him on that sweaty hot dance floor.

Finally someone wants me. Even after I was convinced Akin would throw me out after that first night, I kept holding my breath, then sighing in relief whenever he willingly touched me, kissed me. He even gave me endearments, like sweetie and baby and even pet. All of them made my chest swell up, made me grateful for each beat of my heart, each breath I took.

And admittedly, the moment Akin threw me out, I knew I was finished.

I was so done with everything. No one was going to keep me or want me. Who would? I was a monster, everyone was right. I was nothing, but a worthless beast that was best left alone.

Later, I'd scraped up enough coin to get something to drink at the bar. It wasn't until I finished that the room started to spin and tilt and I slammed to the floor on my side, breathing hard as I struggled to get up until someone hauled me up by a handful of my hair. I blacked out and woke up hours later to someone on top of me, soaking me in sweat, blood, and other foul fluids. My wrists bent behind my back, my collar tightened to cut off my air supply, my mouth stuffed full of dirty underwear. The sound of music pulsing and vibrating the world around me, people shouting and jeering.

For a moment, the desire to struggle and destroy everyone surged through me, until I heard someone lean down in my ear when I started to rip my hands free.

"You deserve this, you fucking monster," That voice snarled, "This is what you get for everything you've done! How does it feel, huh, pig?" I'd settled back down on the floor and took a deep breath through my nose, then breathed out and closed my eyes.

You deserve this.

Fucking monster.

How does it feel?

Like everything else in my life. Miserable. Painful. Irritating. Useless. Empty. Cold.

A shudder wracked me and I instinctively grabbed at my arms, hugging them tightly around my chest as I took a deep breath to try and clear my mind, trying to focus on the task at hand. Still, the memories had brought back old pains, old bitterness. It was making it harder to approach Lea now, knowing that this entire time, it was her fault I had ended up like that.

Oh, please. It wasn't her fault you attacked Abel. It wasn't her fault you were born. It wasn't her fault that you were miserable. It's your fault.

Thanks, subconscious, I was just about to gain some modicum of strength, but I felt it fly out like the air being let out of the balloon.

"Hannibal?" I shot upright at the sound of Lea's voice behind me. Every muscle in my body pulled taut and I sucked in a sharp breath.

Great timing, lady.

I turned around to see Lea standing there staring at me, holding a couple of shopping bags. She wore a black dress with white glitter stars spotting them and a large crescent moon at the center of it, and matching ankle boots, her black hair done up in a simply ponytail that somehow managed to look royal and elegant. I stared at her, my breath leaving me slowly.

She is beautiful, I thought grimly. She really is a goddess, through and through. Even better, she was a pure blood god, a god that leapt straight from the Source, a primordial, a full-blooded Atlantean, the younger sister of Atlan, king of the Atlantean gods. A queen in her own right.

"Are you all right? Should you be up?" Lea asked, tilting her head slowly. That little action made me go cold inside. It was an action I involuntarily did whenever I was confused by Akin. It reminded me of a cat when it saw something interesting. It made my stomach coil into a sharp knot. I had a lot more in common with this woman than I originally thought.

"We need to talk." I said at last, finding my voice. Lea's expression brightened instantly. You'd think I just told her I won the lottery and willed it all to her with that face. She gave me a genuine smile and I tried to reach out my powers to pick up on some kind of lie, something that would indicate her reaction as false, but nothing about it was false. It was pure, like her, and it aggravated me, but I said nothing as she gestured for me to follow and while normally such a gesture would make me want to defiantly stand still, my legs moved on their own and I ended up following her down the hallway to her room.

The whole way, my heart was kicking into overdrive, beating frantically. I tried to steady my rapid breathing with thoughts of what I was going to say, but nothing wasn't coming to mind. I hadn't practiced what I was going to say to her at all. What was I supposed to say? Tell me why I'm having psycho dreams about your incestuous relationship with Zetnos?

Yeah, that'll work.

I said nothing as I kept a safe distance behind Lea, watching her open her room with not only a key, but a self-placed spell to keep out intruders. I frowned at that little paranoid gesture. You'd think being in Lucifer's palace would make her feel safe enough... Unless there was someone here she didn't trust, or didn't want poking around in there.

I followed her inside, instantly surprised by the room as I stood just inside, watching her take her bags to a cream chaise at the end of her large red and white canopy bed. The room was gorgeous, fit for a queen like Lea, with rich silks and satin, velvet throw blankets, mahogany furniture and a mannequin set up with a uniform that looked like Hades had made it judging from the flawless design and what appeared to be hydra skin armor.

Impressive.

But there was something else about the room that I wasn't accustomed to.

Woman things. Perfumes and makeup scattered across a vanity desk, magazines with things circled with pink and red pens. Dresses and skirts and girly clothes in the closet, hanging out of the dresser, a large colorful rug splayed out beneath a pair of armchairs in front of a giant flat screen. The room smelled feminine and sweet.

I was so used to being around men that I had never noticed the missing touches of femininity. Akin had his moments, but he was still a man through and through. He was also a stickler for being neat and tidy, so he never left his eyeliner or lip-gloss sitting out on the counter top. He had it meticulously organized in the cupboards, and his hair straighteners and curlers tucked away in a bin beneath the sink.

Lea's were scattered out on table surfaces, and she even had her straightener still plugged in neat a vase of brightly colored flowers and an open make-up kit that looked like a cat ran through it and sent everything flying.

Women are weird, I remembered Raven saying once, and I completely agreed.

And yet, somehow, it was oddly refreshing.

"Sorry about the mess," Lea said as she set her bags down by the dresser, tossing her new clothes carelessly into the drawers, save for a dress that she hung up in the closet, "It seems I took Lucifer's make yourself at home to the next level." I said nothing to that. I wasn't sure how to respond.

I just stood by the door stiffly, uncomfortable, watching her move around before sitting on the bed. She sat there for a moment before her cheeks colored for a moment.

"You can sit down." She offered, patting the seat on the bed beside her. I wasn't so sure I was ready to sit that close to her. Just being in her room with ten feet between us was irritating me and putting me at unease. I drifted toward the bed, though, to at least get close enough to where I could study her.

I could see her a hundred times and still not quite comprehend a thing about her. It was like her body was a magnet to my eyes. Definitely not in a sexual way, no, there was only so much incest a god could handle, but there was something about Lea that made it difficult to look away. I blamed my paranoia, because the first thing I checked was for a weapon. I reached out my powers, let them flutter and float through the air as I scanned for daggers or swords or even bombs.

Meanwhile, Lea stared at me with a face that was difficult to decipher. I suppose I could call it curiosity, disbelief, awe, excitement, concern. She was unsure about my presence. She wasn't sure why I was here, and to be honest, neither was I. I'd forgotten why I even wanted to come here, what stupidity had possessed me to even try this.

Should I just ask her about my visions? Ask her why she was at my apartment that one time? Ask her about the drakus, about the Kirati? About why Atlan would want me? About why.... About why she didn't want me? What was so wrong with me that she couldn't keep me? What made everyone hate me?

Do you love me?

No. There was no point in asking her that. I wasn't sure I wanted to know the answer, and even if she said yes, I had a feeling I wouldn't believe her. It was going to take more than a few simple words to make me believe anything she said. Another reason that made me wonder why I bothered to meet with her. I was incredibly skeptical about this whole thing, and yet, something told me to come here.

And I could tell she was getting uncomfortable with the silence. It was almost like she was slowly wilting in front of me, picking at stray threads on her dress, averting her eyes to pretend to be interested in the floor or the ceiling.

I cleared my throat and she looked up, perking instantly at the sound and that made me uneasy, so I took a step back and recovered, reaching into my pocket and taking out the charm I'd found outside my apartment, the one that wouldn't leave me the hell alone.

"You dropped this outside my apartment the other day when you stopped by." I said without thinking. Lea blinked, staring at the charm before she looked up at me, surprised.

"You knew I stopped by?" She asked. I stiffened.

Yeah, I hid behind an obnoxious poster because I thought you'd kill me if you saw me, which is stupid considering I can't die because of you.

I nodded and Lea gave me a small smile.

"I left the charm hoping you'd find it... Why didn't you come talk to me? I was waiting for you." She added. I took another step back, uncomfortable with her eagerness. She appeared confused by that. I set the charm on the bed, not wanting to get close enough to actually hand it to her, and took another step back.

She still looked confused as to why I kept putting distance between us before she reached over and picked up the charm with a frown, then looked up at me, holding it out to me.

"It's a gift." She said. Those words succeeded to making something snap inside me.

"I don't want your gifts." I answered coldly. Lea flinched, then withdrew her hands to hold the charm in her lap. She looked down at it, her expression sad as she ran her thumbs over the ridges of the dragon's body.

"I made it from one of my daggers," She said after a long moment of silence, "I wanted you to have something to remember me by. Hades told me it would be useless, but I couldn't help it. I didn't want you to forget me." I narrowed my eyes.

"Trust me, I can't forget you." I replied icily. Oh yeah, I remembered her. How could I forget the woman who was too stupid to kill me while I was still an infant and instead let me live for eternity in agony because she was selfish and cruel? If she had just killed me in the beginning, or just not given birth to me, my life never would've happened. I never would've killed all the people that I did, never would have suffered at Iapetus's hands, Zeus's, and Hades's. I never would have met Cain and never had him crush my spirit. I never would have hurt Abel.

You also never would've met Akin.

No, Akin would've met someone else. Someone who was worthy of his attention. Someone who treated him well, treated him like a prince, someone who was a better submissive, a better friend, and a better husband than I could ever be.

"I don't understand," Lea started, sounding frustrated, "I--"

"Of course you don't understand," I snapped suddenly, watching her stiffen, "Don't even try to. I just came back here to give you your stupid charm back. Keep it. I don't want it and I don't want you coming anywhere near me. This was a stupid idea. I should've just mailed it to you." I turned to head to the door and Lea shot to her feet, throwing her hand out to slam the door shut in my face when I started to open it. Anger whipped through me and I whirled on her with a menacing glare that she met with one of her own.

"Even if you mailed it to me, it would've gone back to you. I made it so that it always came back to you, because it's yours."

Yeah, right, she probably just made it so I would be forced to bring it back here. There was no purpose in my coming here.

"You didn't just come here to return this," Lea insisted, making me clench my fists and grit my teeth, refusing to turn and face her now as I stood in front of the door, debating whether to splinter it or not, "You came here for another reason. You said we need to talk. What does that mean? What's going on?" I hesitated at that.

Should I even bother? What would discussing it with her even achieve?

An understanding.

Maybe. If even. I couldn't even tell if she was lying or not. I reached out with my powers, but I felt nothing once again. She was being sincere. It made me uncomfortable. Everyone lied to me at least once or twice. Even Raven fibbed once in a while when he didn't want to hurt my feelings about cancelling plans together or when he avoided the topic of my days in Styx. And yet, everything about Lea seemed honest.

Maybe that was what made me uncomfortable.

If she confirmed what my visions were trying to tell me, that means my mother did give a shit about me and wanted me and something happened that plunged me into the hellhole I was forced to share with Iapetus and his family. It would also mean I had suffered unnecessarily and I wanted to slaughter the person behind it.

But what if it wasn't true?

What if it is?

There was only one way to find out.

I took a deep breath, reaching up to smooth the frown off my face before turning to face Lea warily. She frowned, relaxing visibly when she realized I wasn't hostile anymore, or at least, not outwardly. Inwardly, I wanted to murder something and drink its blood, but I knew when to keep that side of me under lock and key... most of the time. I remained silent for a moment, watching Lea settle until she was calm, but I could still feel her suspicion and wariness hanging in the air.

"Visions," I said after a moment, watching Lea frown further, giving her head that curious tilt, "I'm having these... visions. I'm seeing some kind of garden... And you. Someone named Zetnos, and I've never met him or even seen him before in my life. And then everything gets dark, like someone's taking me there." Lea's eyes widened at that and I frowned, sensing instantly that she recognized what I was describing. She opened and closed her mouth for a moment, then plopped down on the bed with a quiet gasp, reaching up to clutch the side of her head.

I scowled at her reaction before she looked up at me, eyes still wide in awe.

"You remember," She said after a moment, sounding stunned and choked at the same time, and when I frowned in confusion, she swallowed hard and spoke again, this time her voice shaking, "The garden. Two days after you were born, I took the umbilical cord and I buried it in an empty plot at the center of my temple. From that sprang a garden. It was your favorite place."

A whole garden from one umbilical cord. Someone would probably laugh and instantly call her a liar, but in a world where Cronus ate his children, Zeus took on animal forms to kidnap most of his lovers, and Athena turned one of her enemies into a spider, well... It made perfect sense. But to call it my favorite place was a little far fetched, and I was sure it was showing on my face, that or Lea was good at reading people because it was like she picked up on my feelings as her eyes widened slightly and she sat on the edge of the bed.

"I'm telling the truth," She exclaimed, looking hurt by my skepticism, "You loved that garden. I could never let you leave the temple. If I did, Atlan, or one of the other gods, would find you and take you away from me. I couldn't risk it, so I kept you in the temple at my side at all times. We spent hours in that garden. It's where Valarian always took you after breakfast, where Zetnos taught you how to walk, where you said your first word." Her words confused me and I didn't recognize the name Valarian. None of what she said rang any bells in me.

"I don't remember any of that. I don't know who Valarian or Zetnos are." I responded monotonously. Lea appeared frustrated. Her eyes welled with tears for a moment before she blinked them back rapidly.

"Valarian was your caretaker. My most trusted desdios. He and Zetnos were the only other people who knew of your existence. They loved you." Her words would've made me laugh if I was capable, instead, I managed a short breath through my nose, taking a step from her again.

Now I knew she was lying. No one loved me. That was ludicrous.

The only person who loved me now was Akin.

"You're so afraid of loving someone else, of someone loving you, that you won't even try. You keep comparing everyone to Akin. No one can amount to Akin. Don't get me wrong; everyone can see how happy he makes you, but you can have more than one person who loves you, Hannibal. What about Raven? Arikos?"

My stomach cramped at that. I didn't want to think about anyone else. I took a risk with Akin, and the Fates granted me one person in the whole world who loved me. Raven and I were best friends, but could that be considered love? I didn't understand it and it was frustrating. I could feel the same anger I felt when I realized my relationship with Akin was more than just sex, more than just company... When I realized our relationship was really honest love.

Frustration because I didn't understand it. Anger because I could never understand it, and it was Iapetus's fault. It was his fault I couldn't grasp such a basic concept. It was his fault that something that seemed normal and okay to everyone else seemed offensive and threatening to me.

"Hannibal," Lea said softly, snapping me back, making me frown at her as she swallowed again, as if swallowing down tears, and she looked up at me, "Your name... Who named you?" I frowned.

"I did." I answered, unsure of why I even bothered. Lea pursed her lips tightly for a moment.

"And... And Iapetus?" She asked. His name made my skin crawl.

"What about him?" I snapped. Lea hesitated that, looking taken aback by my reaction. I mentally cursed myself for it. I was more angry at myself than I was at her, and I was involuntarily taking it out on her, which meant I had to go somewhere else after this to calm myself down. I didn't want to go near Akin when I was angry. I didn't want to hurt him on accident.

"What did he call you?" She asked. I scowled.

"Why?" I asked.

"I don't know," Lea admitted, wringing her hands out as if I was making her nervous, of which I had no doubt because it was a natural reaction to those around me, "I want to know you. I want to know more about you. Why you chose that name for yourself. In Atlantean, it means 'warlord'." I knew what it meant, but I hadn't chosen it for the meaning. I'd chosen it because it was the name of the first soldier I'd ever killed on the battlefield.

Ironically, it also became the name of the famed Carthaginian General who led an attack against Rome. The name was also used to name a famous fictional serial killer/cannibal. The latter seemed to be what made most people cringe at my name, but those who knew the ancient meaning behind it, the Atlantean meaning, trembled before it. A serial killer was scary enough, but a warlord was ten times worse.

But why would Lea care? What did my name matter to her? What did it matter what Iapetus called me? Did she need inspiration or was she competing with him for who could come up with the best name for me?

"Why?" I asked after a moment, wary. Lea looked deflated by now, like she was positive she would get nowhere with me and that angered me even more.

"I don't know, maybe because you're my son?" Her voice was strained and her eyes bored into me, pleading me to understand. I narrowed my eyes in disgust at her words.

"I am no one's son." I responded before I could stop it. Lea flinched, dropping her eyes to the floor and clenching her fists. I could sense her anger and especially her pain, which surprised me. It was thick and pungent in the air and while it fueled my rage, it made me feel... strangely guilty.

Why should I feel guilty? Shouldn't she be the one to feel guilty for giving birth to me? For giving me away? Why did she give me away? What was wrong with me?

The question burned inside me, but I wasn't going to ask her. I wasn't sure I even wanted to know why. I knew why Iapetus hated me. He happily reminded me every single day of my miserable life. Even now as he rotted in a cell, he still abused me.

"Akin may have given you the collar, but Iapetus holds the leash."

Fuck you, Xenon... Or subconscious Xenon, or whatever the hell my visions were made up of.

I clenched my teeth. I didn't come here to try and make up with Lea. There was no chance of that happening, but I did want to know why I was having these visions. I wanted to know why Atlan wanted to kill me, why I was involved in their petty war.

"Why would Atlan send a Kirati and a drakus after me?" I demanded after an elongated pause. Lea's eyes widened and she shot to her feet, expression alarmed.

"Atlan's after you?" She demanded. I frowned.

"No. Kirati and drakus come after me on a daily basis." I responded sarcastically. She grimaced.

"You sound like Xenon."

Why, that was endearing. Keep it up, lady. At this rate, we could be embracing in a pool of rose petals and I'd be willing to forgive several thousand years of betrayal, hatred, and anger.

"So you don't know." I said instead, avoiding the sarcasm for now, even though it galled me to do so. Lea frowned.

"I had no idea. How did you find this out?" She asked.

"Xenon told me." I deadpanned. Lea's eyes flashed angrily and without another word, she went straight to her door and threw it open so hard that handle smashed the plaster of the wall. I glanced behind the door, raising an eyebrow at the damage, and for some odd reason, I followed Lea out of her room and two doors down. Lea didn't even knock on the door and threw the door open, opening up to a large elegant room decorated in blues and creams.

Xenon sprang up off the bed, almost bashing his head into the bedpost while Dorean jerked the blankets up around himself, his wings stiffening and his tail snapping behind him in anger.

"Aunt Lea! Jesus!" Xenon protested in horror.

"No," I said to him mockingly, waving my two fingers apart, "It's Hannibal. Say it with me, now. Hannibal." I said my name slowly, using the tone Xenon had used to mock me with the same words not too long ago, and the glare Xenon gave me could wither marble if I wasn't already pissed at him myself. Ignoring the fact that we'd obviously walked in on a private, intimate moment, Lea slapped Xenon so hard on his backside that Dorean jumped and I took a full step back to avoid just the sound. It actually made my backside tingle.

Christ.

"Ow," Xenon yelped in agony, leaping away from her as he struggled to pull his jeans up without catching himself in the zipper, "What the hell was that for?"

"For not telling me Atlan was hunting my son!" Lea shouted at him. Xenon paled. I gave Xenon a droll look, folding my arms over my chest as Dorean scrambled out of the bed, pulling on his clothes.

"What? What's going on?" He asked, baffled. Xenon winced as Lea went to spank him again, but he backed up until he was against a wall, his hands covering his backside. So Lea whacked him in the chest and Xenon hissed, rubbing at the red spot there.

"Atlan is hunting Hannibal," Lea snapped angrily, then pinned Xenon with a glare that was a cross between rage and hurt, "Why didn't you tell me? Why do you keep hiding things from me? First you don't tell me that that son I've been mourning for, for nearly ten thousand years is living four blocks from where we're staying, then you don't tell me that Atlan wants him dead? When did you find out? When did you plan to tell me?" Xenon opened and closed his mouth as if he were trying to find the words to reply, then looked past Lea at me as if to ask for help, but I took a step back and gave him a glare, mouthing "fuck you" to him.

"It's not his fault," Dorean spoke up worriedly, sliding over the bed to get between Lea and Xenon, "He wasn't sure why and he wasn't even sure he heard Zetnos correctly. Zetnos is in a medically induced coma from the damage Atlan did to him. There's no way he can speak another word without hurting himself. Please, Lea. I know Xenon can be a dummy, but he just wanted to get the facts before he went around spreading the word." Xenon wrinkled his nose.

"Dummy?" He asked. Dorean popped him in the stomach and Xenon grunted, rubbing his stomach. Lea clenched her teeth, looking at Dorean for a moment before glaring at Xenon, who gulped nervously.

"Aunt Lea, please. I am honestly, sincerely sorry. I wish I knew why Atlan was doing this--"

"I know why he's doing it," Lea said angrily, making everyone stare at her, "I just didn't know he knew where Hannibal was!" Xenon flinched.

"That would be my fault," He admitted uncomfortably, causing all eyes to turn to him in a glare and he groaned, "Please stop doing that. It wasn't my fault, again. When Atlan had me imprisoned, he forced Xiphrus to read my mind or brain or soul or whatever. He saw Hannibal in my memories and thoughts and found his location." I frowned at that. Lea took a step back to cover her mouth, still looking peeved and nervous at the same time while Dorean turned to pat Xenon on the chest, making Xenon grimace.

"You're not gonna hit me again, are you?" He asked. Dorean smiled.

"Not yet. Maybe later." He offered with a seductive curve to his lips Xenon blushed fiercely all the way to the tips of his ears. I rolled my eyes, annoyed by their exchange, before I turned to glare at Lea.

"What do you mean you know why Atlan's coming after me? Why?" I demanded. Lea nibbled on her nails for a second, studying the floor while folding an arm over her chest. Xenon and Dorean now looked at her uneasily before she clenched her fist and dropped her hands to her sides to turn to face me.

"When I found out I was pregnant with you, Atlan was furious. He wanted you dead and I had no idea why. Gods knew it wasn't because Atlan cared for me. He'd been trying to knock me down a peg since I beat Xanius in our first battle. I had to know why, so I went to see the Moirai."

"Wait," Xenon said, waving his hands for a halt, making me pin him with a glare that he swiftly ignored, "Wait, you mean, the Fates? As in the Fates that haven't been seen in over several thousand years? The Fates who weave, cut, and read our destinies?" Lea gave him a droll stare.

"No, the other super powerful destiny weavers," She said sarcastically, then cursed and gave me a quick look as if to blame me for the slip up, then looked at Xenon, "Yes. The Fates."

"How would they know anything?" Xenon asked.

"The Fates," Dorean repeated, giving Xenon a chiding stare, "You just said they read our destinies." Xenon still didn't seem to catch on, so Lea sighed in frustration and rubbed her forehead.

"I think this is left over damage after Teslius dropped you on your head as an infant," She muttered, making Xenon wrinkle his nose before Lea took a deep breath and spoke sternly, "I went to see the Fates because they had to know why Atlan wanted my baby dead. His lies about not wanting a baby born of violence was idiotic. He was one to talk. So, with Zetnos's help, I found the Fates and they gave me a prophecy. See, after I was attacked by Iapetus, Atlan waged war on the Greeks. He'd been salivating for a reason to attack them for years and now he finally had it, so he launched his war and went to see the Fates himself and received the same prophecy I received."

"What prophecy?" I asked when Lea paused. She stared at me uneasily.

"On the eve of the final battle against the Greeks, a warrior soaked in blood would rise from the darkness of the battlefield, defeat Atlan in battle, and take the throne as King of the Atlantean pantheon."