Chapter Twenty

Mayhem

T o my utter surprise, as soon as we’re right at the edge of the bed, they get up, moving away from Farren and leaving space for us instead. Farren lifts her head to see where they’ve gone, and when she sees us, I almost expect her to play it off like it's nothing and pretend that she wasn’t crying; instead, she cries harder, like seeing us allows her to feel what she is really feeling.

Neither of us can stand it a second longer, and we both dart forward at the same time. I lie down next to her pulling her head onto my chest as Rival moves behind her and wraps an arm around her; we hold her close as she falls apart in our arms.

“Let it all out, Farren. We’ve got you,” I tell her softly as I hold her hand in mine, wishing that I could take the pain away and make it easier for her.

“We’re not going anywhere,” Rival adds, holding her tighter.

My eyes meet his over the top of Farren’s head resting on my chest, and I know that he’s finding this as hard as I am, seeing her in pain and not being able to take it away for her, not being able to make it better and only being able to offer her our comfort and nothing else. We come to an agreement at that moment, without words needing to be said, no matter the cost, we are going to protect her and help her. We both care about her a lot more than we should and far more than the warrior bond is supposed to help us care about each other.

Eventually, the sobs quiet, and she drifts off to sleep. She hasn’t asked us to stay so I’m not comfortable staying while she’s asleep; the last thing I want is for her to think that we think that we’re expecting something just for being here for her. My eyes connect with Rival’s over her head, and I can see clearly how hard this was for him.

“We should go now that she’s sleeping,” I whisper quietly.

He nods, “Yes, I don’t want her to think that we’ve taken advantage of the situation.”

I nod in agreement and slowly start to edge myself out from underneath her, trying not to disturb her as Rival starts to lift his arm from around her waist so that he can move out from behind her.

“Don’t leave, please?” Farren mumbles and we both glance at each other before my eyes drift down to Farren to see her red rimmed eyes gazing back at me.

She reaches one of her hands down and rests it over the top of Rival’s hand on her waist showing him that she wants him to stay too.

“If that’s what you want, Farren, then of course we’ll stay.” Rival replies, snuggling back down behind her.

I lean forward slightly and kiss her forehead, “We’ll be here for as long as you need us to be.”

Sleepily she replies, with her eyes now closed, “What if I never want you to leave?”

“Then we won’t leave,” Rival replies like it’s the easiest promise to make to her and it is. Neither of us is willing to leave her; we’re both in too deep.

“Get some sleep, we’ll be here, and if your demons decide to come back to haunt you, then we’ll protect you. You’re not alone.” I add.

She doesn’t bother to reply as she smiles softly and drifts back off to sleep. Rival soon follows, and I worry that this situation could trigger some of his own memories, and mine. I struggle to fall asleep after that because I want to make sure that I’m there for both of them, even though they both seem to be sleeping peacefully. At some point, Meri and Poca join us on the bed as well, and I become surrounded by soft snores that are strangely relaxing.

**********

Farren

I wake up slowly, wrapped in warmth that, at first, I think is thanks to Poca and his always hot fur, but then last night comes flooding back, and I can’t help the smile that lifts my lips. I felt like I was drowning until they came in, and somehow, they made it easier. I have no idea how they knew that I needed them, but I will forever be grateful that they did. If they hadn’t shown up I know I would’ve been stuck in my horrifying memories for the rest of the night and they wouldn’t have stayed specific to Astaroth they would’ve included my father and several other experiences that I’d rather forget.

“How’re you feeling, Sparky?” Mayhem asks me, using the nickname he gave me yesterday.

“That was probably the best night’s sleep I’ve had in a long time,” I reply honestly.

He continues to watch me, his expression is unguarded, and because of that, I see when it switches from concern to something else entirely, my body immediately heats.

Mayhem’s voice comes out gravelly as he says, “You need to stop looking at me like that.”

My smirk widens as I reply, “Look at you like what?”

The bed shifts behind me as Rival’s face appears above mine, his eyes filled with heat, “Like you’re thinking about doing dirty things to him.”

“To you both, actually,” I reply, taking advantage of their shock to lift my head and kiss Rival. His lips caress mine with a hunger that shocks me. I’m in control of the kiss for mere moments before he takes over, as he nips my bottom lip and takes advantage of the gasp that escapes me to tangle his tongue with mine.

I become aware of Mayhem’s hand clenching my hip, and there’s no way that I want to leave him out, pulling my mouth from Rival’s, I turn to look at Mayhem; his eyes are blazing with heat, and instead of simply kissing him, like I did Rival because I’m not sure how he’ll feel about it I raise one of my eyebrows and give him a challenging look. He rises to the challenge with no hesitation at all as he pulls me on top of him and I eagerly kiss him, his hand runs up my back and tangles in my hair, holding me tightly as he deepens the kiss. When I feel a different set of lips start kissing my shoulder and up my neck, I damn near explode at the sensations and moan needily as all the nerve endings in my body spark and ignite.

I don’t want to stop, I want them both naked and wrapped around me, but my stupid fucking instincts are telling me that I need to slow this down. I am so fucking tempted to ignore them, but the feeling intensifies, and I know that if we did continue and I did get what I wanted, this feeling would ensure that I don’t enjoy it properly anyway.

I smile as I pull back from Mayhem, giving him one final quick kiss and then turning to Rival to do the same before hopping off Mayhem.

“I now need to take a long shower,” I mutter, grinning and then quickly getting distracted by the delicious show of abs that they’re putting on right now. I mean seriously, they’re so fucking defined that they both look like damn sculptures.

Rival pushes up so he’s leaning on his elbows and makes his stomach flex as he asks, “Weren’t you going in the shower?”

Feeling more than slightly flustered, despite the fact that not only did I start this but I was also being so cool about it earlier, I reply eloquently, “What, huh, hmmm?”

Mayhem’s eyes dance with heated amusement as he adopts the same pose as his brother and adds, “The shower? Sparky, you were going to take a shower.”

Clearing my throat and reluctantly dragging my eyes away, I murmur, “Right, shower. That’s what I was doing,” throwing my hands up in the air, I turn back to face them, “you know this is entirely your fault if you weren’t so damn lickable, I wouldn’t be having trouble concentrating right now.”

Rival looks like he’s desperately trying to hold in a laugh as Mayhem asks, “Wait, you’re mad at us because you think we’re lickable?”

I nod, trying to remain serious and not laugh, “Yep, totally your fault.”

Rival finally bursts out laughing, and Mayhem grins, raising his eyebrow, “Whatever you say Sparky.”

Their laughter follows me into the bathroom as I shut the door behind me and lean back against it, unable to stop myself from lifting my fingers to feel my kiss swollen lips. Damn, those two can kiss, and although the kissing me at the same time didn’t last that long, it does make me wonder just how well they work together in other aspects of the bedroom because, yes, please, do I want to explore those. I have no idea why my instincts warned me not to continue, it’s not like I’m shy about sex or even that I don’t trust them. After last night I trust them with not only my life but the rest of me as well. I trust them on a more personal level and not just to have my back in a fight. That’s special to me, because I don’t give that kind of trust out easily.

When I finally come out of the shower after relieving some of the tension that the two had built up in me, I find the room empty and a note on my pillow.

Reading it out loud I chuckle, “Best morning wake-up ever. I think you might find yourself with permanent bed buddies now. Rival and I have never slept so well. We’ve headed to the kitchen for lunch since we all overslept,, Poca came with us, but Meri’s hanging out somewhere.”

Sure enough, Meri bounds towards me from underneath the bed. He’s still the size of a house cat but has obviously decided that my shoulder is where he wants to perch. As he flaps his wings and lands smoothly, he rubs his face against mine, chittering happily like he’s telling me all about his morning. I hum and ah in all the places I should as I listen to him on the way to the kitchen.

“Morning Love,” Loki smiles as soon as I enter the room and I receive similar greetings from them all.

As I take a seat between Storm and Killian, I ask, “So, what’s on the agenda for today?”

“Well, we need to get into the last two factions and destroy the spells on the objects that the princes are using to control them.” Grey starts.

“Definitely. I was thinking about it last night, and if Poca came through, then hopefully, that means that whatever is holding the Shadowlands hostage has started to weaken.” Reaper replies thoughtfully.

“Maybe you should try and see if you can get outside the barrier using the Void?” Zev suggests.

“Yeah, that’s a good idea. I mean, in theory, it’s a similar mode of travelling as what Poca does when he appears and buggers off.” I reply.

“After everything that’s happened, I’d rather that one of us goes with you, I’m not risking you. If the rest of the fae realm have worked out that the Shadowlands is on lockdown, then it could cause problems, the last thing that we need is to be questioned or taken in,” Storm adds.

I nod with a smile, “You won’t catch me arguing.”

“That’s a first,” Storm replies sarcastically with a grin.

I stick my tongue out at him but don’t bother replying as the guys all try to figure out who will be coming with me.

“Can I go, if it’s okay with Farren? I haven’t been into the Void with her before and I’m curious,” Grey asks.

“That’s fine with me,” I reply, standing up.

Grey’s eyes widen slightly, “Wait we’re going now?”

I raise my eyebrow, “Yeah, no time like the present and all that shit. A couple of things though, do not let go of me. You will get lost if you do, and there are things in the Void that don’t take kindly to strangers and will most likely try to eat you.”

“Got it,” Grey agrees, with an excited light in his eyes, “I can’t say that it would be a hardship not to let you go.”

Reaper chuckles, “That’s why he really wanted to go.”

My smile is amused as Grey just smiles and shrugs, not even trying to deny that’s why he wants to come.

“Are you shrinking down and coming too?” I ask Meri, just assuming that Poca will stay behind, he's not keen on coming with me into the Void.

Meri answers by making himself smaller and then scurrying up my arm and settling on my shoulder. I hold my hand out for Grey to take, and he quickly accepts it.

“Be careful, and for fuck sake stay together okay?” Killian warns.

I nod as I pull on my Void powers and step through into the darkness that always feels like home to me and fills me with so much peace.

Grey

I have to admit that I am intrigued to see what the Void looks like through her eyes, it’s been a long time since I’ve travelled it, and I want to see if I can see the changes that she’s saying that she can see. I thought I was somewhat in the loop when it came to Farren but it appears that there have been some things left out. Unfortunately, I am more than aware of how these things usually work and if I haven’t been told then it’s for a reason.

Not that I’d be able to tell them or help her in any way, thanks to this stupid fucking silencing spell on me. I was looking for a way to break it even before they all turned up, sensing that I was going to need to be able to speak freely. I found nothing.

It’s hardly surprising that when I step into the Void that the changes that Farren spoke about are evident. However, I pick up on something else, something that she didn’t measure and something I’m not sure even she is aware of. The creatures that reside here, seem to be drawn to her, they’re following alongside us, just outside of the light that she is radiating. What is strange about their behaviour is that they are by no means harmless, but they’re all watching her almost reverently, the urge to speak to them to see what they know and why they’re behaving like they are is strong, but I can’t let go of Farren, and if I show her that I can speak to them then it’s going to trigger the negative effects of the silencing spell and if that happens I won't be able to communicate with them anyway.

They are clearly protective of her and I have no idea how they would react to me anyway. Their behaviour is baffling.

“So what do you think?” Farren asks as we linger in the Void instead of heading straight through the door that will lead to just outside the barrier.

For the first time since we entered the Void, I look at her instead of the surroundings and the strangely behaving creatures. She looks stunningly beautiful; she’s glowing, her hair seems to be moving in a breeze that only affects her, and her eyes are not only glowing, but they’ve turned black with bright glowing flecks of gold. Using one of my gifts, I look at her more closely and see the swirling strings of magic surrounding her, not only that but she seems to have a direct attachment to the Void itself which I have never heard of before. Squinting I notice something in her magic that is concealed but connected to all of her magic somehow.

“Grey?” she asks, snapping me out of the magic I was using to see her magic here. The grip on my hand tightens.

“You look different here,” is my eloquent reply. I can’t help it; she undoes me and affects me in ways that after so long I thought it was impossible to feel.

“I do?” she asks me curiously, a small smile tilting her lips.

“Yes. It’s cold here,” I reply, trying to change the subject.

She shrugs as we continue forward toward the glowing orb that she refers to as doors, “Is it? It’s always warm and comforting for me.”

“Hmm, that’s interesting,” I reply thoughtfully.

“Can I ask why or is it one of those things?” she grins, looking up at me as we continue to move the door.

“One of those things, at least I think it is,” I reply honestly.

“Alright well, let’s not risk it. Let’s see if we get through to the other side.” She suggests.

I pull her to a stop just before we step through, “Wait, where is the exit point? I don’t want to risk running into any guards that they may have put outside.”

“Why would they put guards outside the border?”

“Because the shadowlands pose a threat to all of the courts in the Fae realm, from the Shadowlands you can exit into any of the courts, it holds a central position. If one of the courts gained control of the Shadowlands, then they’d have easy access to all of the courts.”

“How did I not know that?” she asks.

“It’s something that the kings and queens of the courts have worked very hard to keep out of public knowledge,” I explain.

“Okay, could there be a link between that and the Princes plan?”

Her question shocks me because I hadn’t even considered that, “Why would you think that?”

“For one, my father was heavily into dark magic, and that sounds like something that he’d do,” she replies.