My thoughts stutter and then disappear completely as Rast’s arms wrap around me tightly, crushing me to his chest.
His head drops to the top of mine, and he takes a giant stuttering breath.
I feel the tension drain from his body, and I wonder when the last time he had a hug was.
I have to admit that there is a part of me that relaxes too. It would have been absolutely horrible if I had read the situation wrong and he ended up pushing me away or cursing me out.
That would have really sucked, and if I had fully thought about it before I did it, then that would have been enough to make me not do it in the first place.
That was a somewhat convoluted thought. What I’m trying to say is that I’m glad that my impulsiveness stopped me from overthinking this time.
I know that Rast needed this.
The longer that I stay wrapped in his embrace, the more I start to think that I may have needed this from him too. I can’t explain it, but the jagged, torn, and tortured side of me settles as he holds me, and I hadn’t even realised that it was in turmoil.
Although it makes sense, I have thought of parts of my past today, and that always tends to set things off.
We walk away and continue following the road, leaving no trace of Ricollio behind us.
Once we’ve been walking for a few minutes, I can’t help but ask, “Why did you look like you realized something when Mayhem said about Ricollio’s soul?”
Hades' eyebrows rise slightly with surprise, and then he smiles, “You know it never ceases to amaze me the things that you notice.”
I grin, “Thanks. That didn’t answer my question though.”
“Laikynn, are there any ears nearby?” Hades asks.
“No, you are safe to talk,” Laikynn replies from somewhere in the darkness.
I smile when I realise that I could have answered his question myself because the realm is constantly giving me information.
“Well, come on, mate, I’m curious now as well,” Mayhem says with a slight smile.
“When you first told us a bit about what you could do, I said that not even my guards in the Underworld had that ability,” Hades starts.
Mayhem’s eyebrows raise, but he nods, “Yeah, I remember.”
“Well, that’s true, but what I hadn't connected was that my helliers don’t have that gift, but there is a legend that the warriors that were left in charge of Purgatory do have a similar gift,” Hades explains.
“Whoa, hang on,” Khaos says. “The warriors of Purgatory are in a league of their fucking own, that’s why we send the worst of the worst there. They’re feral, bloodthirsty, and the most important thing is that they cannot leave Purgatory, only you have the capability of sending souls there. No one can get out of Purgatory. It was designed that way on purpose. If the guards could get out, then there was a good chance that someone could be bribed or, in the very unlikely scenario, they could overpower the guards and escape.”
“True,” Hades replies. While we all listen to the conversation with fascination.
“I think what Hades is trying to get at is that, unfortunately, our father is definitely our father, and there’s no way that our mother cannot be our mother. I remember us being born, I remember our mother's face,” Rival explains.
“Holy shit, you do?” Loki asks in shock.
“Yes,” Rival explains simply, while Mayhem doesn’t look surprised at all.
Reaper shakes his head, “That’s crazy, dude.”
Rival shrugs, “Maybe. The point I’m trying to make is that it would be impossible for Mayhem to have those same gifts unless he inherited them from a parent who had those gifts. Our parents do not have those gifts. Obviously the magic gifted is different from the parents in thesense that no two magics really work the same, but they’re always in the same area. We’re Fae, our parents are Water and Air- that’s their main magics, so we have elements too.”
“Yes, but we have all of the elements and a couple of extra, so we’re already not following the norm,” Mayhem points out.
“But they’re still elements like our parents,” Rival argues.
Hades nods, “Yes, you are both right, and that’s where it gets confusing. There’s no denying that the gifts are the same or similar to the Purgatory guards, but the guards can’t leave. No one can leave Purgatory, so I don’t know how it’s possible.”
