She looked back at Xander, who was also anxiously looking at Lee. He had never acted like this before. She suddenly felt like she was imposing by coming near him. Maybe he was angry with her. She didn’t want him mad at her, or upset with her in any way. At that moment, she realized how much her very own emotional state depended on Lee’s. She knew what they were going to be doing was dangerous, and he wouldn’t like it. It wasn’t like she was thrilled about him battling against Mephisto, especially when the demon sounded so confident about killing him. In fact, it was Mephisto’s confidence that had her terrified. It was as if Lee was but a fly to be swatted at. Was it just an act? Or did he really think he was that much stronger than Lee?
Lee was thinking back about the Slayer. It had been such a long, long time. He was trying to dig through his memories of the creature. He knew it was a powerful darkness that was born out of Endymion. As he thought back about Endymion throwing himself into the black hole, he did remember something. The Slayer wasn’t just pulled into the black hole. It was captured into it as Endymion sealed it. He purposely dragged the creature in with him. There was a reason behind it. He began pondering over its existence and its power.
He slowly opened his eyes, his gaze landing on Reiya, who was right in front of him, and he could see how upset she looked. Her eyes were wide, and she was wringing her hands.
“Hey, come here,” he cooed softly, wrapping his arms around her. “It’s okay.” He brushed his fingers through her hair. “I’m not upset with you, Reiya. Calm down.” He kissed the top of her head. He was so busy thinking that he didn’t realize how his actions would look from the outside. It probably looked like the calm before the explosion …
“That’s it!” Lee exclaimed suddenly, straightening up.
“What’s it?” Xander asked, looking over at a confused Hunter.
“I was trying to think of the reason Endymion dragged Slayer inside the black hole. There had to have been a reason behind it. It’s strong, but nothing any of the deities couldn’t handle.” Lee held Reiya tightly into his chest. “Endymion went into the black hole to use his energy to seal it. However, he must have thought ahead as well. If you simply took Endymion out of the hole, it would still need a power to bind to. Something it could gravitate around.”
“So he brought in another powerful existence in anticipation of being rescued.” Xander’s eyes widened as he shook his head. That made sense.
“That means we can’t destroy this Slayer creature, then.” Hunter watched as Lee shook his head.
“No. Its existence will be needed. It will be the black hole’s center in a sense.” Lee rubbed Reiya’s back soothingly. “We’re going to have to find out how to subdue it in case you run into it. Something to buy you time. We’ll start by checking the Sage’s library. Maybe even reach out to your mother and grandmother. We still have some time. We can surely find something to help hinder it. Who knows … maybe Endymion already planned for that, too.”
“You scared me for a minute, Levi. I thought you were about to flip out.” Xander chuckled.
Lee smiled down at Reiya. “I could never be that upset with you. Not my sweet fairy.” He tenderly kissed the top of her head.
“I’m sorry, Lee. I’m sorry I keep having to be in these situations that worry you,” Reiya said quietly.
Lee’s smile widened even more. “After all of this, I plan to lock you away for safekeeping, so enjoy this excitement while you can.” He pulled her close and hugged her tightly. “I love you. I don’t like it one bit. But we will get through all this, and then we’ll live a wonderful and happy life together.”
Hunter smiled as he watched how gently Levi looked after his sister’s well-being. This also made him think about his own relationship. It wasn’t fair not to tell Freja. Levi might not have liked it, but there wasn’t anything that could be done about it. And he was sure he would much rather know than be left in the dark. Freja would rather know, too. He was sure of it. Tonight, he would explain everything to her, that this was something they were going to do regardless of the threat. It was the right thing to do. He was also grateful for his mate. Someone that the goddess had paired him up with. Freja was everything to him. At the very least, he also owed it to Selene to try to get her partner back.
“I think, after all this is over, we need to have a huge party to celebrate. You know, like the ones we used to throw at the end of the school year,” Hunter said, and Reiya turned, beaming at him.
“That would be amazing. Those parties always lasted for days. Yes! That’s exactly what we need. OH! And we can take turns each night. We’ll rotate between the Black Ice Pack and the West Dragon Kingdom. It’ll be a traveling party.” Reiya smiled widely at Xander.
“Are you skipping out on Elysia?” Hunter chuckled.
“Elysia is also the retirement home for fairies. I don’t think they would appreciate a lengthy party there.” Reiya giggled. “Xander just hosted a month-long party, so I know his kingdom is game.”
“I have a feeling our dragon party might be much tamer than the party you’re talking about. But nonetheless, we have the room for it. And a party sounds great.” Xander was all for celebrating after they were done defying death.
“I’m glad to see that Levi takes good care of you. I guess I don’t have to risk my life trying to fight him.” Hunter chuckled, and Lee smiled at him.
“Just like I told your father. She’ll always be well taken care of and loved unconditionally. She is my world. She is my everything.” Lee squeezed Reiya into his side.
“I guess I can relax now, seeing it for myself.” Hunter turned and grabbed the door handle. “I think the meeting is adjourned? Next step is gathering as much information as we can. You search on your end, and I’ll send mom a message. Also, I’ll consult with the vampires. They might have some knowledge on this as well.”
“That is a good idea,” Lee said, as he walked to the door with Reiya in his arms.
Reiya pulled away from Lee and looked at Hunter. “I’d actually like to speak with Hunter for a few moments, since we can finally have a moment alone here.” She could see Lee’s irises quiver slightly, but he smiled and nodded his head.
“I’ll wait for you back at the pack house then.” Lee and Xander slowly walked out, and Hunter walked back in, looking at Reiya quizzically.
Hunter shut the door and smiled. “So what trouble are we planning to get into?”
Reiya chuckled. “We used to have to hide from Brody and Chasen like this, too.”
“They could be suffocating at times, and they took their jobs way too seriously.” Hunter grinned. “So, what is it?”
Reiya nodded her head. “You know our … our power together, the double-edged sword?—”
