Son of Hades

11: The Right Choice

11:

When I wake up, I'm back on the bridge in which I'd been pushed over. My chest is slightly orange-red, and my body feels wrecked. A deep fog envelops the bridge now, nearly impossible to see through. It drifted nearly up to our waist. But I can hear Xavier humming, and I follow the tune to find him sitting on the edge.

He holds the vile in his hands. He hardly looks at me as I approach. "I've taken your heart," Xavier stops humming. "But Castiel has taken your mind."

Nervous, I hoist myself up to sit beside him and let my feet dangle dangerously close to the edge. "Xie, don't start."

"And why not?" He demanded. There were tears shimmering in his eyes. "If we return, you'll save that spoiled Prince just in time. Every Prince deserves a Princess like you." I felt my cheeks getting warm. "But I'm not a prince, and I'll never be good enough for you like Castiel will be. I'll lose you when we return." He shuts his eyes, and a tear rolls down his cheek. "I don't want to lose you."

I lean my hands over to touch him. This time, I'm the one who dries his tears. "Then you won't." Xavier opens his eyes again. "You're much more than just a servant, Xie. You took my heart, and now it's yours forever."

Xavier smiles. His hand touches over where my heart had been; the glowing orange-red fusing with his fingertips.

He pulls me closer on the bridge, into a strange embrace and shoves both of us over the edge as we tumble towards the waters below; initiating his watch at the last moment. He holds me to him, the wind whistling in my ears as we fall. The vortex opens up in the waters below; churning harshly and dancing with orange flame.

We go through it together.

I hate to think that this is the last time I will see the stars.

I land harshly on my hands and knees; resisting the urge to throw up. The first time was the hardest. And the second became a little easier. My muscles ached, and my body felt even worse as I struggle to lift my head.

I was in a dark room, the same exact room where our bodies have once laid dormant. The watch is still on my wrist. This room gives me the creeps. A silent hum overtakes the room, and a faint blue-green glow is the only light in the room. The absence of the portal is overwhelming.

"No, Ariel!" His voice made me weak. Sent goosebumps up my arms. Relief floods through me. And then a wave of terror. "Help me. Help me, please. She's here." She's here. Castiel was here with me. Somewhere in this insufferable darkness.

Where has Xavier gone?

"Castiel?" I whisper. "Where are you?"

A laugh echoed through the dark room, and a shriek followed. So loud I almost covered my ears. "I'm here to challenge the Queen of Darkness!" I shouted. An eerie silence follows that make my skin crawl.

The laugh stops. From the darkness, Jasmine becomes visible. That smile of hers makes me angry. Makes me want to hurt her. The scream sounds again, and when my chest lightens, the scream fades into sobs. "Welcome home, Princess." Jasmine taunts. She's wearing a beautiful white gown, stained dark red. "Come to save my husband, have you?"

I grit my teeth and held back tears. "You're reign here is over Jasmine." I stood my ground bravely. "Release Castiel, and I'll let you live."

Jasmine threw her head back and laughs. The shrill scream, again. A different one follows. "Here's how this is going to work." Jasmine begins. And as soon as she says it, a harsh light fills the room. Xavier and Castiel have been forced to their knees, hands roped behind their backs. "You're going to choose between the two. Whichever boy you choose, you'll save from my wrath. Whichever you don't will end up in the fields of punishment for a decade before finding solace in the darkness of Tartarus."