Prisoner

Chapter Twenty

Chapter Twenty

"He's coming into his powers. He's in danger now more than ever."

"He's also standing right here," I said flatly, folding my arms over my chest. Hades cast me a sour glare that I returned, and those glowing blue eyes swung back around to Lucy, who was sitting at his desk and rubbing his temples as if dealing with both of us was giving him a headache.

"I do not want him leaving the property," Hades told Lucy again sternly and Lucy glanced up at him with a grimace, "I do not even want him to leave the fucking building, let alone go running around Inferi or Portius planning a wedding that is never going to happen."

"Okay, I thought this was a free world," I said, "What happened to I can do whatever I want if I take your guys' side?" Hades closed his eyes for a moment, then shot me another glare.

"That's not what we meant. If you didn't have every able bodied prick in the world hunting you down, you could fuck off to wherever and do whatever, but your life is in danger. The safest place for you is here in the palace."

"Really? Because that's how many times now I've been attacked in said palace?" I asked. Hades's eyebrow twitched and he turned to face me fully, like he was trying to intimidate me with his height, not that it did shit. Didn't matter if I was glaring up or down, his size didn't mean shit to me.

"Yes, but each time we were able to put a stop to it immediately because you were right here where you belong. If you're running around town, how the fuck am I supposed to keep track of you and be there when something goes wrong?" He demanded. I rolled my eyes.

"Oh, don't pretend you give a shit. The only reason you're hanging onto me is because I'm connected to your fucking sister. If the Mother was some dude in a wig, you wouldn't give a rat's ass about me." Hades ground his teeth together and I caught a glint of light on his fang before he pursed his lips and turned to look at Lucy, who peered up at him. They stared at each other for a second and I groaned, making them both look at me.

"For fuck's sake, stop with the psychic talking bullshit! I'm standing right here! You have no right to make decisions about my fucking life without even talking to me!" I snapped. Hades glared at me.

"You're hardly mature enough to make your own decisions. Including marriage."

"Are you fucking kidding me? You think I don't know how marriage works?"

"No, you absolutely do not," Hades replied coldly, "You only know whatever the fuck Hera crammed down your throat, which need I remind you isn't how things work around here."

"Yeah, yeah, you guys do a big ceremony and hold hands and kiss and live happily ever after... in this weird fantasy world you idiots have," I tacked on, then put my hands on my hips, "I'm marrying River for political reasons. I know you're not that stupid, Hades. You know all about the Windstorm clan's connection to Apollyon." Hades stiffened and Lucy blinked, then snapped his head to stare at Hades.

"Apollyon? As in, the Apollyon? The harbinger of destruction, Apollyon?" He demanded, making Hades close his eyes in frustration before pinning me with a menacing glare.

"That's just a legend they tell themselves so they sound better than the other royal families. It's hardly based on truth--"

"You're gonna stand there and tell me you don't believe in an ancient angel hybrid when you're fucking staring one right in the face?" I demanded. Hades glared, but said nothing. Lucy looked at me.

"You're not a hybrid angel--"

"I have the blood of a god and the blood of an angel running through my veins. What the fuck do you call that?"