by Elena Monroe
“I’m not the prince of anything,” I spat out in his face, fighting his grip.
“Still denouncing your crown in favor of mortal problems?”
His men wouldn’t question him. They were carrying guns, putting their freedom on the line and putting up with him. They were loyal as they came.
It was a good time to remind him I wasn’t a follower.
I was no longer loyal.
I wasn’t royal.
There wasn’t enough room for me to pass him without barreling through him. “My only problem is you being in my way.”
His thicker than my washed out accent echoed, “Is that why you're crying to the stars in the middle of the night? Needing me, begging me to pop in and teach you how a heart works?”
I turned around quickly, leaving no space, and our noses practically touched. “What do you want? Go back to your role of gang banging, and I'll be the orphan.”
Neither of us moved, pinned this close, when he yelled for everyone to leave again. Caellum’s confused and tortured face searched for my approval, which I granted in a nod. I wasn't getting anywhere with an audience, and I wasn't about to need anyone publicly.
I felt every time I needed him welling up behind my eyes, ready to break free into uncontrollable tears. He grabbed me by the shoulders and pulled me against his chest. Instantly I broke into a thousand pieces—something I had only given permission to one person: Luna. Yet, there I was, sobbing like a child in my father's arms.
His arms were strong, holding me in place and not letting go, even as I fought through the wetness dampening my face.
After an uncomfortable amount of time, his grip on me loosened.
“I looked everywhere I could for you. It’s not easy when everyone looks alike, human flesh and bones.” He moved gracefully, like he was always meant to hold this form.
Slumping down on his throne again, he lazily pet his dogs.
Everyone wanted to be a king, but no one wanted to be responsible for wearing the ring.
Rubbing the wetness away, I looked down at the old silver ring sitting on my second finger.
I wore the ring that symbolized I was the Prince of the Underworld, yet I avoided a throne.
Real kings didn’t need anything to rule.
“I want you to come live with me… Caellum too, if you want.”
I felt like I missed something, and my attention finally snapped up to him and his words.
“What? Why?”
“Beats being alone. Kick it with your old man.”
I didn’t know how to respond. He was acting like no time passed, when it had been fourteen years, a lot of dead gods, and the ticker in my chest growing fond of me.
I was neck deep in feelings I couldn’t ignore now.
Even if Luna did.
“It’s been a long time since…” My voice faltered, not sure how to explain it well enough.
“I know, Son. It’s been too long. Let’s not make it any longer.”
My dad wasn’t Zeus. He wasn’t using manipulation tactics and working your flaws against you. When Hades spoke, you knew it was 100% pure, just like the weed between my fingers.
His arm slung around my shoulders, leading me outside, where his boys stood at attention still. Caellum was sitting on the hood of my car.
“Bro! Off my car!”
Standing in front of Caellum, H studied his features, not exactly his, and squeezed his shoulder.
“Solace for you too, kid. I always liked your fire. Not afraid to get dirty.”
Caellum respected the hierarchy, respected the rules and laws of our gods, but not so much that he wouldn’t break them for his own desires.
Caellum fell more on our side of the evil spectrum.
Zeus banished us from his kingdom, from the good intention.
Caellum was still taking in my dad, trying to swallow him whole and digest him before making any decisions. “So… you’re Hades…? Our Hades… what are you doing here?”
The smart one.
I cried in a stranger's arms, praying it was truly my dad, when Caellum demanded proof.
“The one and only, Kid. We all fled Olympus when the attack happened. Most of our people didn’t get so lucky.” I listened to his voice, still strained, carrying the weight of that truth.
Caellum stood, arms crossed. “What attack?”
I sat on the hood of my car, taking his place, and letting my hand pet our family dog mindlessly, as I dragged the joint to and from my mouth.
Everything wasn't hazy enough for my liking, and outgrowing the high with every new piece of information.
“The Cloth. They didn't find you? We weren't the target; they rounded up all the children looking for the circle.”
“The Cloth? Henry Jon’s bullshit club?” Caellum had been gathering evidence since we got stuck here. He knew more than any of us.
Me, on the other hand? I was lost. I wasn't paying attention to the past when the toes of my boots were hitting the present with every step. As far as I was concerned, the future could fuck off too.
“Club for killing gods. More specifically, the circle. Revenge for his daughter dying. She got caught in the crosshairs of Zeus getting his precious daughter back.”
My memories were pulsing with familiarity, when I heard his disapproving voice when it came to Zeus’ daughter.
Every memory was soaked with hostility when it came to Arianna, and all the actions that sprang from our friendship. Killing Zeus’ immortal ass before we were old enough to understand what that meant stuck out as stupid.
At least Zeus was ready to scorn the earth to find her. My dad was just playing gangster-ever-after.
His hand wrapped around my jaw, forcing my eyes up to his. “Is that who has you swearing to the stars? My enemy's daughter?”
With his fingers digging into my cheeks and tightening with every second of silence, I finally smirked in his face. He deserved some taste of being abandoned for this long.
“Boy...” was all he said in response to my ill-advised smirk.
“Got ‘em…” My voice was silk with sarcasm, and for a moment I felt like Arianna, never serious, always bitter. “It's not her.”
His hand dropped my chin, but his pointer finger assaulted my personal space. “Watch yourself. You aren't too old for punishments.”
Actually, I was fourteen years too old, Pops. I had been human longer than him.
Arianna was the enemy's daughter.
Luna was just too good for me… well, anyone, if we were being honest.
“Where's Mom?” It fell out of my mouth without permission.
“We'll talk. Let's go home. Follow us there.”
Hades opened the door to usher his dogs into the big black SUV with pitch black tints, just before clutching me to his chest again. This time felt like sympathy, and without him having to say a word, I knew by the heavy feeling in my stomach that Mom didn't make it to safety.
For someone who avoided trauma, I sure did win the lottery this time.
Prince of the Underworld sounded like a vacation compared to my human life full of suffering.
Luna
I didn’t know why I was protecting him. Maybe because he was a good guy who made a bad mistake? Somehow I could relate to that.
Working with disabled kids, handicapable kids, with limited ways of communicating, sometimes meant being on the receiving end of love bites or even an overly excited limb.
The bruise Dorian left was almost too easy to ignore. I let it blend in with the pattern of others.
None of my friends even noticed.
I kept repeating the same mantra as it would change reality and become true: Dorian is a good guy.
Stopping in front of my door to shove the keys in the lock, I noticed Nyx’s door at the end of the hall, mocking me with the truth of my mistake behind it.
Maybe this bruise was a reminder I did something bad and punishment finds us all eventually.
Nyx was MIA again. Not really
surprised. He liked to process anything and everything one way: alone.
I wanted to text him, check up on him, but every time I brought up our text conversations, I chicken out in fear he’d pull me in further.
More mistakes.
More guilt.
Worse… more truths.
I fumbled my keys as soon as I heard movement at the end of the hallway. I tried to seamlessly get to the door, but my nervousness choked up my motor skills, and I dropped my keys on the floor with a sharp metallic clank against the hardwood floors.
My eyes kept dragging to the direction of the movement, when I realized it wasn't Nyx at all...
Who the hell was that?
A man clad in leather pants, a fedora, thin scar, and a blazer jacket nodded my direction, while holding a bag in his hands.
“Luna…” He smirked when he said my name, like he knew I would be shocked he knew my name.
He predicted my reactions perfectly when I couldn't manage any words in response.
Finally, getting the door open, I poured inside, still dazed and absolutely confused.
Bolton and Arianna were comfortably sitting on our couch, cuddled up, and looking like pieces that just fit together. A snap of jealousy coursed through me without notice. Ownership of their memories, unafraid to love, accepting of each other in a way that seemed unnatural.
I had two men, and I still didn't feel complete.
“You okay? You look like you saw a ghost.”
“Some guy came out of Nyx’s apartment with a bag and knew my name.” I reached my water, suddenly feeling dried out.
Bolton shot up and took big steps to the window to investigate. As king, he needed to know everything about everything. You could get your period, not tell him, and I was sure he'd feel betrayal on some level.
“Who is he?” I tossed his way, knowing he'd know.
“He texted me he was staying somewhere else awhile... didn't say where or with who. Never seen that guy before, though.”
There were layers to Bolton’s voice: anger, betrayal, discomfort, control, and worry.
That last one didn't make many appearances.
Taking my water with me, I was determined to take my clothes off and shower. As far as days went, today wasn't bad, just long. Dorian and I both got there early to decorate for movie day, and just those few extra hours tacked on made the day seem endless.
Arianna caught my wrist and held me in place. My body remembered before my mind had time to catch up, and I automatically flinched at her fingers wrapping around the same wrist Dorian left his mark on.
Dorian hadn't even mistakenly touched me since that day.
If he was evil, why did I miss his touch so much?
My best friend dropped her hand immediately, and her features turned from playful to worried, just like Bolton over Nyx.
“Are you—”
Cutting off her words seemed natural, even though it was unnatural for me. “Work hazards. I always have a bunch of bruises.”
Her dropped eyebrows stared at me extra-long before replying, “Luna, I know things got messed up, but you can talk to me.”
I almost heard the sound of a snap. “Things got messed up? How would you know, Arianna? You weren't here!”
My words sliced through her rough exterior like butter. I had chopped up her bravery and swallowed it whole.
“Luna…” Her bottom lip trembled.
“I slept alone in our apartment with Omari whispering to me while I slept. Taunting me, hunting me, toying with me. I had to start all over without you. I'm really glad you can act like nothing happened and be happy, but I can't!”
Slamming the bedroom door, I crawled into bed without showering. I wanted to crawl into the dark spaces of my soul and ponder evaporating there.
Where I belonged.
I must have fallen asleep, because I woke up with drool wet in the corner of my mouth and my eyes burning from all the unwanted tears. I sat up in my bed and wasn't surprised to see Arianna’s bed empty on the other side of the room.
Good job… You scared away the girl who doesn't scare.
Standing up, I peeled off every piece of clothing clinging to my skin. Wrinkles were imprinted on my arms and stomach. Stepping into my muumuu, I felt my stomach turn and rumble soundlessly. Carefully pulling the door open, I looked around for Bolton or Arianna still on the couch.
Everything looked clear, so I left the safety of my room to make a break for the kitchen.
My eyes were still straining to see in the dark, when I hit something hard that forced my mouth open to yelp. Before any kind of sound made it past my lips, a hand clamped down over my mouth.
Maybe Omari just needed someone to speak him into existence.
Maybe this was my demise.
Maybe he was always coming for me to balance the scales.
“Relax… it's me. Don't scream.” His voice was familiar, and I knew it was Bolton by the grit of annoyance between the syllables. “I'm gonna remove the hand...”
I was sure he wanted some kind of revenge too. No one talked to queens the way I did, and in front of the king, no less.
My eyes finally adjusted, and I could make out the shape of him. I stepped out of his arms. I whisper-shouted, still unsure where Ari was, “What are you doing?”
“She's in the other room you two refuse to use, asleep. I was hungry. I didn’t want to scare you.”
“No, you don't say. Just some dude in the dark. Totally chill.”
He switched on a dim light as his gaze casted to the other door. Bolton had his flaws, but Arianna wasn't one of them.
“You want crepes?”
“That's not a meal...”
“It's edible... fine. Mac and cheese, killjoy?”
I sat on the bar stool watching Bolton do something selfless, for once, with so much wonderment because I figured I'd never see it again. He didn't often go out of his way for others; he knew that was a risk that didn't always pay off. Bolton liked sure things.
“Are you sure you're good? Dramatics earlier… aren't like you.”
My cheek was in the palm of my hand just watching. “No, but I'm trying to be. You're worried about Nyx?”
“Don't use my good features against me. He hasn't lived here for a few weeks, Luna. He should have told you.”
Few weeks? He needed to escape me that badly?
The “oh” and “wow” sounded off only in my head, leaving the silence thick between us.
“Don't frown. We're all invited to the new place… well, the inner circle is. You gonna bring Dorian?”
I had to force my face to stay relaxed and not flinch at his name.
“He's my boyfriend… Why wouldn't I?”
“Calm down, killer. Nyx isn't here to call bullshit.”
“I don’t know why everyone assumes I'm in love with Nyx…” Ever since he transferred into Arcadia Prep, it was like we all felt the invisible tethers between us.
“Your words, not mine.”
A memory, not the ones I wanted to recover, started to take over the space in my head…
“Who's the new guy?” Kate was already annoyed to have to take out her iron fist this early in the morning, just to prove to some new guy that she was queen of these lands.
Austin, the one in charge of new students (the tours, the introductions, the initial sparks, etc.), presented him to us like a present. The wrapping paper was newspaper, and the tape was duct tape, but Nyx was still a present.
His dark, almost black, eyes were captivating in a way I found hard to pull my gaze from. His hair was still wet and stuck to his soft features, soft even for someone with a scowl on his face.
The new guy was just as annoyed as Kate.
“Guys, this is Nyx. He's from the land Down Under.”
Nyx still didn't speak. No wave. No cracks of amusement or even nerves.
I sat forward, offering my hand, thinking maybe he was old school, even though he was wearing heavy jewelry and reeked of pot. “I'
m Luna. It's nice to meet you.”
Reluctantly, he took my hand, after making it awkward for far too long. “Nyx.”
His voice was smooth with gems of that accent, thick in its vowels and dropped syllables. That day, it became my favorite sound.
Our eyes locked, loaded with fire and water clashing against each other—complete opposites.
I was drowning in my memories of Arcadia. I was lost in the dark iris of Nyx’s eye, smelling his cologne, and I could feel his presence engulf me like he was actually in the room with me, when Bolton’s hand yanked my arm out from holding my chin up.
“Parting gift?” His eyes stared down at the bruises finally starting to fade around my wrist.
Yanking my arm back into safety, I pulled down the sleeve of my muumuu, making sure it was covered.
Bolton eyed his bowl of mac and cheese and me, like he recognized my face, but not me.
“Just don't say anything. Everyone is worried enough.”
He spoke around chewing his mac and cheese: “I'm not the one you should be worried about finding out, and you know it.”
Luna
T he bruise faded completely, and I finally felt normalcy set in again.
Dorian was doting and charming again.
Nyx was providing everyone a cold shoulder, while he stewed in whatever demons he entertained.
The circle settled into being normal instead of fighting it. I'm sure Caellum was secretly still collecting and searching, anything to go home again.
“You sure you wanna go tonight?” I was still careful putting them in the same room after his confession last time.
“Luna, I can handle myself. Your ex-boyfriend doesn't scare me…” Dorian was finally touching me again. Lacing our fingers together, like they were meant to be connected.
Less violently.
“I don't wanna make you uncomfortable. We can always do our own thing. Movies and snacks...?” I was providing an out for us both.
Witnessing Nyx in his new element, happiness, wasn't high on my priorities.
“He doesn't bother me, Luna. He shouldn't bother you either, babe. I'll pick you up later.”
Pulling the door handle, I knew Arianna wouldn't be home. She was over Kate's, and I opted out of getting ready together. I needed to stare in the mirror, say something affirmations, or pray to false gods or something to make peace with the bad reaching out for Nyx.