The New World (Complete)

Chapter 36 - More questions

Sol watched as Demonio left, his own anger blazing. Demonio had no right to attack, we all knew that and it was even more clear by how Sol was acting.

"You didn't need to provoke him, Fire." I shrugged and turned to Grayson who was smiling.

"Maybe not, but it's in my nature," I replied.

"He knows we won't back down," Grayson added, watching the mist that was left behind from the other God's disappearance.

"He's a strong one, stronger than I gave him credit for."

"And that is something you never should do, underestimate him. He could have killed you, Fire. You are strong, there is no denying that, and you could have done damage, yes, but you need the triforce, not just one force," Sol told me and I bristled at the fact that yet again, my babies were going to have to be part of this, although I knew he was right. I just didn't want to hear it. My gaze looked at the thin air now, my anger simmering. The fucking God didn't know who he was dealing with. "Stop, you're not doing yourself any favors. Save your anger and set it aside. There are other issues we need to address for the moment." I looked at Sol who looked back at me. "Don't try to get tough with me, Fire; I'm still your dad." I rolled my eyes while Grayson laughed. "And I'll expect a 'thank you' at some point for saving your ass."

"You might be waiting a while." With that, I took Grayson's hand and walked back into the building, Sol taking the easy way and misting up to the room.

-----

Mariana watched the exchange from the window, her heart in her mouth. She was surprised to have seen Demonio, even more, surprised to see Fire stand up to him, but the biggest shock came from seeing Sol. When Fire asked her to do the spying game, she knew what side she was taking. She had heard the talk, of course, and she was often questioning if she was picking the right side. Fighting against Demonio didn't seem wise to her. Even worse was taking a stand with Fire, a person she thought was her enemy. But she could see now that maybe Fire wasn't.

But seeing Sol, seeing his power, it struck her. What if Fire had something similar? Mariana knew Fire had some powers, but maybe there was more that was untapped. But regardless, she knew now she was on the right side, as painful as it may be. She also knew, hard to say it, that she was going to need some help. Because she did not doubt that Demonio would come after her once he found out she betrayed him. She looked down at the two little figures that stood beside her, watching the scene as well. It was almost comical to her that the one thing Demonio wanted was right under his nose but he was so focused on Fire and Grayson that he never bothered to look around. Had he looked up, he would have seen the twins and there was no mistaking whose kids they were.

"Mommy and daddy are brave, little ones," she told them, watching as they left the scene.

"They will need to be." Mariana jumped and quickly turned around, seeing the vampire God in the doorway. She glanced over her shoulder but didn't bother asking how he got there. For all the mystery that shrouded around Sol, those that believed he existed knew he wasn't a regular vampire.

"Sol," was her breathy reply and he smiled as he walked further into the room. I walked in with Grayson, and sat down on the couch, looking between the two.

"My dad," I told her and Mariana nodded. "What are you doing here, Sol?"

"You mean besides protecting you," he offered, turning to look at me. "Demonio is, as you saw, a powerful being, and he is certainly not dumb." Sol took a seat and looked back at Mariana. "Don't assume he doesn't know about your betrayal. Something that works in his favor is the ability to pick up essences of species, that's how he rules his realm. He can pick up on who is there and what they want to need to the dark side.