Unhinged

by Chani Lynn Feener

  Ok, so Hadrian had omitted a little. Was she pissed? Hell yeah. But Thayer didn’t need to know that. She couldn’t stand that smug grin on his face, and wanted nothing more in that moment than to wipe it clean off.

  “I could care less about his relatives,” she lied. “I’m only here for one reason, and we both know that it isn’t him.”

  “That so?” a new voice came from behind her.

  She silently cursed. Between the two of them she was a shoo in for a heart attack, forget being killed off by a malicious spirit or the God of Death. And of course he’d choose now of all times to appear, just in time to hear her say that.

  She turned so that she could keep both brothers in her sights, backing up slightly so that the wall was close enough to touch.

  Hadrian stood on the opposite end of the hall, directly across from Thayer. He’d switched it up and was wearing white skinny jeans with a black v-neck now. His feet were spread apart, and his arms hung at his sides, the tightly clenched fists not going unnoticed.

  He was watching her, a hint of anger and amusement mixed together apparent in those deep blue depths.

  “Your disinterest in me has been noted,” he added once he had her attention.

  Shit. She’d wanted to seek him out in order to call him out on being so cut off lately and attempt to make things right between them, not worse. It seemed that Thayer was screwing up more than just a few of her plans.

  “Why you insist on carrying this on any further is beyond me,” Thayer said to his brother in a bored tone. “There is no gain here, and she certainly isn’t anything like the woman who came before her.”

  Spencer stiffened. Was he talking about one of Hadrian’s ex-girlfriends?

  “She is of no concern to you,” Hadrian countered.

  “You’re mistaken, brother. What she is makes her precisely my concern. We had an agreement. It was written in blood.”

  “But not sworn on the river Styx.”

  “This is an error in judgment,” Thayer maintained. “A risk that you should not be willing to take. Think of all we lost last time we went down this path. All that we destroyed only to end up empty-handed at the finish.”

  “This is different.” He hadn’t even hesitated, though it was clear he followed the other god’s meaning.

  “The only difference is that this time I don’t want what you’ve got.” His hand dropped to the hilt of his sword absentmindedly. “But know this, I will not stand back and allow the same catastrophe to unfold once more. She’s messing with the balance; those who are dead should stay dead. I won’t allow this to pass.”

  “If you touch her,” Hadrian snarled, “there will be no one who can save you from my wrath. I am the king here. I make the final decisions.”

  “You don’t know what you’re doing.”

  “You’re wrong.” He took a threatening step closer.

  Spencer pressed back harder against the wall, trying to make herself as small as possible between them. Neither looked very friendly at the moment, and what’s more, she was starting to really get why the Greeks were so terrified of their gods.

  “She already bares a mark,” he went on. “You cannot mark her again.”

  “No,” Thayer agreed. “But that won’t stop me from taking her life. She doesn’t need to be dead for me to do that. Watch your step brother. War is something we do well, you and I.”

  “This doesn’t have to be like before,” Hadrian insisted. “Call off the spirits. Let’s lay this to rest.”

  “Laying it to rest is exactly what I want to do.” He tipped his head towards her. “Starting with the mortal girl. I think I’ve realized why you’re playing this little game,” he said then. “You’re under the assumption you can control her. Was that not the same theory you formed the last time? Because that turned out so well for you.”

  “She and I have a deal,” Hadrian growled, refusing to acknowledge Thayer’s words.

  “So break your deal,” he sneered. “Cut her loose, and allow me to right the wrong I made months ago on that bridge. She is an abomination, and already her existence has resulted in dire consequences.”

  She couldn’t help but feel insulted by his statement.

  “Why are you willing to put everything on the line for this girl?” Thayer demanded.

  “Until the year is up, she is under my protection.” Hadrian took a deep breath, steeling himself. “I will not go back on the deal I made with her. I swear on the river Styx.”

  Thayer looked stricken for a moment, his shoulders drooping some. Most of the fight left his eyes, as if he was saddened by his brother’s conviction. He shook his head, hand dropping from his sword to hang limply at his side.

  “Then you doom us all.” With that said, he disappeared.

  Vaguely, Spencer recalled Ferris saying the exact same thing to her when he’d found out about her plans to enter the Underworld. Now that she was alone with Hadrian in the hallway, she turned to look at him.

  He was watching her intensely, inspecting her almost. He didn’t seem very pleased.

  She knew what swearing on the river meant, that he’d all but deemed his statement so with just the utterance of Styx. There was nothing that could make him go back on their deal now, even if he later wanted to. He’d sealed his fate.

  Why?

  “What did he tell you?” he asked when it became obvious she wasn’t going to be the first to speak. There was an edge to his voice, an underlying meaning she couldn’t decipher.

  “Just that you’re a triplet,” she told him honestly. “Who’s your other brother?”

  “That’s not important now. Is that all he said? I need the truth, Spencer.”

  “Yes,” she repeated. “You came before he could get much more out than that, and a few threats.”

  He nodded, seemingly satisfied with her answers. He ran a hand through his dark hair, somehow managing to make the strands stand up even more. All of a sudden he appeared weary, deflating just as his brother had done moments ago. His eyes grew dim only for a split second, however, before the harsh rush of electric blue flooded them.

  “What were you doing on this side of the castle?” he asked.

  While it wasn’t exactly the way she’d initially planned their little talk, this would just have to do. No way was she waiting until her next visit. She didn’t want to have to go searching anywhere alone for him again.

  “Looking for you.” At his questioning look she crossed her arms defensively. “I haven’t seen you in hours.”

  “Was there something you needed? You’re not due to leave for a while yet.”

  “What I need,” it was odd how easy it was to get mad at him, whereas facing Thayer had been next to impossible, “is to know what the hell’s been going on with you? You’re barely around anymore and when you are, you’re reserved and distant.”

  His face remained almost completely impassive, but she caught the slight twitch to the corners of his mouth. “Is that your way of saying you want to see more of me, Spencer?”

  “Wha—no,” she stammered, “I mean yes. But no. I mean…Quit putting words in my mouth!”

  “I wouldn’t have to if you’d just learn to speak your mind,” he told her the smile full blown now. He moved closer in that way she’d grown accustomed to, the one where he more resembled a lion stalking its prey than any man. “Admit it,” he pressed, “you miss me.”

  She frowned, struggling to follow the topic as he closed in on her. “Is that what you want?”

  He paused, staring down at her unblinkingly. Then he placed his palm flat against the wall over her head, tipping himself forward so that he was a mere breath away. His gaze slipped down to her lips before meeting hers once more.

  “And if it is?” he offered, his smooth melodic tone coming out like warmed honey. It seemed to seek her out, flow through her.

  Her tongue felt like it was tied in a million knots. She was so unsure of what to say. How did one respond to the God of the Dead when he came
on to them? If that was even what he was doing. She was probably just reading into it. The last time she’d been hit on had been by Micah, after all.

  “I don’t like being here alone,” she hedged. “And…if I’m being honest, I do like this…friendship that’s developed between the two of us. I miss our talks, Hadrian. How you explain things about this world to me. And I don’t understand what happened between us to make you feel differently.”

  He stilled, clearly those not being the words he’d expected. Bringing up his other hand, he successfully had her caged between his arms, bringing him even closer towards her. The tip of his nose brushed against hers, and she could see his long dark sooty lashes flutter closed briefly.

  “If you don’t understand,” he said in a strained whisper, “then I can’t explain it to you. It’s not the type of thing you vindicate.”

  “Hadrian…”

  “I haven’t been far, Spencer,” he stopped her. “Who do you thinks’ been keeping the spirits away? They know I guard your house when you’re in it and not down here with me. And did you think I like attending high school classes? Listening to Mr. Kemmer butcher my history? It was bad enough the first time I heard it with the Greeks.”

  “You’ve been around?” She didn’t know why she was so touched by that notion.

  “I wouldn’t leave you alone like that,” he told her. “Even with my own family telling me I should, I can’t seem to bring myself to walk away from you. Everything about you fascinates me more than it should. I find myself laying awake thinking about you. Wondering what you’re doing those few moments we’re apart. The thought of you harmed…it makes me livid. I can’t justify my reaction to you. There’s still so much you don’t know.”

  It would have been one of the sweetest things anyone had ever said to her, if he hadn’t added the term fascinates in there. It was a swift reminder of what she really was to him. Something to pass the time, a curiosity he needed to settle. A puzzle he needed to solve.

  The second she stopped being of interest, he would abandon her. He’d admitted it himself. At the same token, he’d sworn to stick with their deal, so at least she didn’t have to worry about that. But she wanted more. And she hated herself for it.

  Think about Micah, she ordered.

  “You can’t just brush me off because you’ve grown bored with all my questions,” she said, drawing her shoulders back in the process. She needed to get a grip fast, before she allowed herself to actually buy into the crap he was spewing. She was a fascinating curiosity. Nothing more.

  He bristled, the muscles in his arms at either side of her head straining as he obviously attempted to contain himself. Black swarmed into his eyes, eliminating all signs of the blue she’d grown so found of. He shifted closer, this time meaning it to be more punishing than any need to get closer.

  “You mortals are so vapid,” he hissed. “Searching out for something that is no longer there, and constantly missing what is in the process. You blink away the obvious, turn a blind eye to the truth thrumming in your blood. In your spirit. And what can I do but sit idly by and watch you all ignore your inner truths? Is it really so hard to be honest with yourselves? Is it really so unendurable?”

  He flung himself from her before she could even think up a response, moving as if she’d burned him. Any of the softer emotions she’d seen cross his face had vanished, leaving behind a harder, sterner version of him that had her wishing even for the statue.

  “You’re just like them, Spencer,” he continued. “So blinded by what you think you should want, you fail to see what you really do. You’ve orchestrated all of this for the St. James boy, you claim? Claim that true love can surmount all, and that you have it with him? Newsflash, death defeated you, not the other way around.”

  She saw red the same moment tears began to pool in the corners of her eyes. She reached out, shoving him as hard as she could. It didn’t matter that she only managed to push him back a few inches.

  “Not yet!” she said, as she felt the moisture roll down her cheeks. “We might not have beaten it yet, but we will. That is what this is all about, the main reason I made this deal with you in the first place. Micah means everything to me, Hadrian. Everything. He and I are meant to be together.”

  “So go be together!” he yelled back. “No one’s stopping you! Go!” He flung a hand in the air. “Your time is up here! Go topside and be with him then!”

  She opened her mouth to yell back an unintelligible “fine” when he lifted his hand once more. A second later she blinked and found herself steaming in her room.

  Completely alone.

  Chapter 25:

  “Micah never showed up last night, did he?” Quinn asked sympathetically from across the circular pink table.

  The three of them had gone a town over in order to spend the day shopping for new homecoming dresses. So far Quinn had been the only one successful, going with the first dress she’d tried on, a shimmery gold strapless. They’d stopped for Froyo after another few hours of fruitless searching.

  The froyo shop was decorated in girly pastels, from the pale yellow walls to the mint green floors. They’d chosen one of the five circular tables inside, each one seating four people.

  Spencer shrugged, not wanting to rehash the events of the night before. She stabbed her spoon into the swirl of caramel frozen yogurt.

  “That would be a no,” Syd answered for her, taking a healthy bite of her own strawberry froyo. “It’s getting worse. I mean from the sounds of it, he’s almost never around anymore.”

  “He’s with his father,” Spencer reminded, even though a selfish part of her wanted to latch onto her friend’s words.

  “And while that’s great and all,” Syd went on, “it doesn’t mean he has the right to blow you off. You are still his girlfriend, even if the relationship has become a little more…complex.”

  “You should really talk to him,” Quinn said.

  “I can’t.” Spencer slumped down in her chair, pushing her frozen dessert away. Not even ice cream-like treats could make her feel better. “The truth is it’s not even just about him.”

  “Then what’s it about?”

  It was driving her crazy not being able to voice her confusions, and they were her best friends. She’d just have to risk them judging her.

  “Swear you won’t over react?” she asked, just to be safe, inwardly groaning when Syd’s eyes honed in on her with a predatory gleam.

  “Spill.” Sydney leaned in conspiratorially, her half-filled cup all but forgotten.

  “It’s Hadrian,” she heaved. “He’s being a bigger jerk than usual; and I know half of that is my fault, but the other half of the time…I just don’t get him. One minute he’s telling his brother off in my defense, and the next he’s all but throwing me out. And this whole malicious spirit thing has me completely on edge. It could be anyone, possess anyone.”

  “They still haven’t found him, huh?” Quinn said. “Ferris says there’s been no luck. There’s no tracking device for souls.”

  The two of them had been hanging out more and more, but Spencer didn’t point it out. At least he could keep her safe, unlike Spence, who was completely powerless.

  “We’re barely two months into the deal,” Spencer said. “What if I can’t make it through the next eight? If one of you gets hurt because of me…”

  “We’ll be fine,” Syd assured her. “We’ve got a Reaper on our side. Plus Hades, don’t forget him.”

  “How could she?” Quinn shrugged at her glare.

  “Ugh, whatever.” Spencer stood, the sound of the chair legs scraping against the green floor like nails on a chalkboard. “Let’s just get this whole dress shopping thing done. I can’t talk about this anymore.”

  She didn’t even want to go to the stupid homecoming dance, but her friends and Micah insisted. She’d been playing with the idea before finding out about Thayer, but now it just seemed like an extra risk that she didn’t need to take.

  “I could alw
ays just wear the dress from last year,” Spencer told them as she browsed through a rack in the last dress store. Nothing stood out to her. It was probably because her heart wasn’t in it. After all, it wasn’t like she was going to get to go with anybody this year.

  Remembering that made her think of Micah, and the hollow ache in her chest returned tenfold.

  “Yuck,” Syd made a face. “No way.”

  “We can’t all afford to buy a dress a day,” Quinn pointed out, only half joking.

  “Funny coming from the only girl currently all set for the dance.”

  “Just give Micah time, Spence,” she picked up the conversation from earlier, noticing that they’d lost their friend’s interest.

  “Yeah,” Syd rubbed her arm comfortingly. “He’ll come around. He loves you.”

  “I know,” she sighed, feeling foolish all over again. “I just miss him, that’s all.”

  “Join the club,” she countered. “At least you have the option of getting to see and talk to him.”

  She was right. She needed to be grateful for what she did have with him, and accept that he’d finally gotten the chance to see his dad again. She was happy that he wasn’t disappearing whenever she was away. It meant they both got to live their…what did she call what he was doing? It wasn’t technically a life so…?

  Grabbing a handful of dresses at random from the rack, she turned towards the direction of the changing rooms.

  “I’ll be back,” she threw over her shoulder. They must have understood that she needed a moment alone, because neither of them tried to follow.

  The changing rooms were all the way in the far left corner of the store. Inside there were ten separate rooms, all a warm cream color. Ducking into one, she shut the door and quickly locked it, pressing her forehead down to the cool surface.

  The dance was a week away and she was already dreading it. Even after getting Micah’s blessing she felt guilty for going without him, for being able to go. For all intents and purposes, she should have died that night with him. Or, stayed dead, as was the case. If she had, all of this could have been avoided. All the stress and the chaos.