“Come on, little nigga!” he shouted, then turned to Zeus. “Damn, that little ape nigga making moves. You should be proud.”
Scooter stood closer to the stage with Morgan beside him screaming.
“I see you, twin!” Scooter shouted.
Zaria had already started crying while Sasha rubbed Zeus’s back. Chevy focused on the line intentionally.
“If it ain’t about Chi, then why?! We’re strong, we’re solid, and we’re dogs!” the line shouted.
My head turned back to Dio. His eyes glanced at his brother, then back straight as his eyelids fluttered.
Eyes on me.
There it was, the moment that made my heart race, butterflies appear, and the soul tie we had reconnect.I’m proud of you, I mouthed. When I saw his head slowly nod, a tear left me. All the guilt of being so selfish washed over me at once. I quickly wiped my tears, but they kept coming. Alyse pulled me into a hug.
“It’s almost over, girl,” she whispered.
They all thought that as soon as this was over, Dio and I would live happily ever after, but I knew Dio and I had said goodbye to each other already.
DIO
PRESS PLAY
We stood there with the hot, sweaty masks over our faces in the blazing spring heat. Even though it seemed like everyone skipped class to watch us, I only cared about my family coming to see me. I watched as each one of them stood there proudly. The Big Bruhs paced in front of us. Beans came toward me, then stopped. He nodded his head before moving out of the way. I stepped forward as he pulled the torch out of my hand, while the other brothers grabbed the torches from everyone else. Right as I was about to start, I saw Percy, who watched sadly, almost as if he wished he were up here.
“Chi! Chi! Chi!”I shouted.
I started the show by doing some of the moves we worked on. I jumped up and down, clapped my hands under my leg, stomped, made a beat, and stood straight, giving some of the history. I sucked in a deep breath before leaning all the way back with my hands to my chest, reciting the principles at the top of my lungs.
“Zoo!” I heard my Zoo family shout.
I lifted and turned. “Hades the God! The Alpha of the Underworld. The dark unknown. Hades, the master of eternal life. Itdoesn’t matter how you try to break me; I. Cannot. Be. Broken!” I barked as I glanced at Thick Neck.
My blinking became rapid, and my lips trembled under the mask as I watched my brother cry. His shoulders bounced up and down as he sobbed. Our eyes connected, and tears welled. My fucking brother, the reason I was even alive. My pops, the nigga who raised me. The man I’d been through hell and back with, who sat by my bedside while I was dying. The man who wasn’t perfect, but I wouldn’t change him for the world. Zeus, the god and father of Dionysus. My head slowly nodded because I wanted him to know I saw him. Me standing here was something I never thought would happen. This was bigger than being a prince or a menace; this was a moment that changed a lot for me. I was Black fucking excellence.
My eyes landed on Samara. The girl who took me by storm in New York. Who came to Toussaint and still chose me. She cried, and I knew the tears weren’t just because I was standing here, but fear of the end for us. Mars, my fucking star. My wife, my future, and the love of my life.
Thick Neck must have caught me looking at her because he stood in front of me. He stood there with his chin held high. He tried giving me the gaze of a proud father, but it was fuck him. He knew he was at the end of his fate. He knew he had done shit that he couldn’t take back, and he knew giving me the name Hades was his death sentence. He dropped his head as he backed away.
When Clark stepped toward us, my eyes scanned the crowd for Chevy. He stood there focused on Clark. If anyone looked close enough, they could’ve seen his mouth sizzle. Although I knew how he felt about Clark, I didn’t want the nigga to react and mess up a moment I had been waiting to get to.
We finished off the show, now standing in a Chain One position.
Beans came back in front of me. “I’m fucking proud of you,” hewhispered before rolling up my mask and taking it off. The moment my face was revealed, the Zoo went crazy.
“We don’t fuck with you! We only fuck with the Zoo!”they shouted.
The moment we were done, I wasted no time rushing over to my family. I damn near ran into Zeus’ arms.
“I’m fucking proud of you, Dionysus,” Zeus cried.
“I did it, Zeus! I fucking did it,” I sobbed like a baby.
He held me tightly as he poured into me. I pulled away, wiping my tears, and Z pulled me into a hug. “I feel like a proud momma. I love you so much, Dio. You will forever be my angel.”
I looked at her. “You will forever be my peace,” I told her.
Percy came over to me, his daughter in his arms, and dapped me up. “You did it.”
