Betrayal in Elysium [malexmale]

Chapter Twenty-Five

Chapter Twenty-Five

We followed behind Blaine as he led us down the hallway, looking absolutely miserable and pissy. We kept a close eye on him, though, and stuck near in case he tried to make another run for it. Theo twirled his dagger playfully, mocking Blaine, who looked like he wished he could rip Theo's head off and stick it where the sun don't shine. Malachi and Charon walked on either side of Blaine, both looking grim and annoyed.

Cain and I stuck very close behind everyone, moving more slowly. Pain rocketed up my legs with every step I took, my bones creaked and threatened to turn to pudding. My head was a symphony of throbs and pangs of pain. My throat felt like I had swallowed a ball of cotton, cotton wrapped in barbed wire, so that even breathing hurt. Eventually Cain had to carry me again and the warmth from his body was a mild comfort from the fever that swept through my body like the plague.

"Are you okay?" Cain asked after a while as we walked. I just nodded against him so he could feel my response, because talking just hurt too much. Cain sighed, squeezing my thighs and turning his head to nuzzle me. I gave him a tired smile to let him know I was fine, even though I felt anything, but. I just didn't want to worry him or turn him into asshole because he felt the need to protect me.

I knew we were going to start trying to make this relationship work. It was going to take some time for Cain to get used to the fact that I wasn't the helpless doofus that followed at his heels when we lived in the mortal realm. I was smarter now, older, opinionated. I knew more now than I did before, and I knew what I wanted and what I could do.

Of course, right now, I was useless and it burned me to the core of my soul. I hated being helpless and burdensome. I wanted to contribute, to do something to help, even if it was just opening the doors to let my brothers out of their prisons. But even I knew I couldn't do that much and it hurt my pride like nothing else.

"Why do you hate Cerberus so much?" Malachi asked Blaine as we walked. Blaine gave him a dirty look.

"I'd think that was rather obvious. If you can't see it, I won't tell you." He answered dryly, then looked away, disgusted by Malachi's question. Malachi rolled his eyes and Theo scoffed, elbowing Blaine hard between the shoulder blades. Blaine hissed, but Theo ignored him as we traveled through the maze of corridors.

"He's just pissed he has the worth of a single drachma." Theo told Malachi, who sighed warily. Blaine glared at Theo pointedly.

"I hope you choke on your fat tongue." He spat. Theo whacked him over the head and Blaine stumbled forward, almost falling, but Malachi caught him by the elbow and Blaine instantly recoiled from the touch.

"Stop touching me!" He seethed. Malachi eyed him curiously. I don't think he knew why Blaine acted this way, seriously. He hadn't walked in on Cerberus abusing Blaine, so he didn't understand. Of course, it didn't really help that Blaine refused to say anything about it, but as someone who was also humiliated so brutally, I understood his wanting to keep quiet about it. Thankfully, no one spoke for a while longer as we moved down the hallway.

At least not until there was a long, eerie howl that froze everyone in place. We slowly turned to stare down the hallway, back the way we'd come. The howl echoed off the walls and sailed through the corridors, a long mournful sound that I recognized instantly, but Charon was the one who spoke.

"Cerberus." His tone was hushed. The howl was full of anguish and pain. It sent shivers up my spine to hear. Cain tightened his grip on me, gritting his teeth. Theo and Malachi shared uneasy stares. Blaine started to back up so he could take off, but Malachi grabbed him by the arm and shoved him back down the hallway.