Chapter Twenty-Five

Farren

"You're trying to?" I question, "Does that mean that you're doing something that you shouldn't be doing?"

"Aren't I always Farren dear?" Monty smirks. When we all just stare at him, waiting for him to answer, he sighs, "Fine, yes, I am. But quite frankly, I refuse for Farren to go through anything else so quickly, and you all need a rest for what's coming. The other doors are being guarded and watched."

"Watched by who?" Zev asks.

"Unfortunately, that is a step too far and not something that I can comment on," Monty says.

"Alright, if we're not supposed to go through any of the normal gates, how are we getting out?" Killian asks.

"Through the Soul side," Monty replies.

"I thought it wouldn't be a good idea for us to go through the soul side?" Loki asks, and I'm guessing it's from a conversation that they've had before.

"Under usual circumstances, it would be, but you need to get out of the Underworld without being seen; not only that, but you have Hades with you, so you should be okay."

"This is really the best way?" Khaos asks.

Monty nods, "Yes. I must warn you, the princes have pretty much ignored the soul side; the Helliers and Underworlders that help to keep it running smoothly are doing the best that they can under the circumstances."

Grey growls, "If they weren't already dead, I'd be torturing them."

"I tortured Dagon if it helps. I figured I owed him for this," I say as I hold up my hand, which is missing a finger.

Of course none of them look surprised or shocked, they all probably noticed my finger, or lack thereof, almost immediately, however, anger does flash on all of their faces.

"Yes, it does make me feel better, actually," Grey replies.

"One more thing," Monty says, and he looks at Grey, "you're going to have to drop the glamour and go in as Hades, it's the only way to ensure that you will get through to the door smoothly. They are more aware than the rest of the Underworld of what the princes were doing and as you can imagine they're all on high alert, anyone that's seen in the soul side of the Underworld that shouldn't be there are dealt with swiftly."

Grey nods, "Okay, to be honest, I've been dying to get this glamour off me, so I can't say that I'm disappointed by that, but are you sure because I've been gone for decades and my appearance is going to cause a commotion as it is."

"Yes, but it's also going to give them hope, and right now, they need that. Don't forget you still need to get the last key fragment from the Dragon realm," Monty replies.

"We do?" Loki asks, his eyebrows dipping into a confused frown.

I'm glad he asked because I thought it may have been something else that was spoken about when I wasn't around.

Monty's eyes go comically wide as he sarcastically replies, "Oops, did I say too much?"

Before any of us can ask any questions, he just disappears in a strangely un-fanfarelike way. He's just gone.

It's silent for a moment before Kahos says, "So, the Dragon Realm, huh?"

My eyes are watching Reaper closely; his hands are clenching at his sides, his claws slipping in and out as he tries to contain his shift, his eyes switching back and forth between his own and Ryu's; they aren't taking this news very well. It doesn't take long for the guys to notice the same thing that I do, and they all take a cautionary step backward.

"It's okay, Reaper," Storm says, and then adds, "Ryu, we won't let them get their hands on you again."

"You're so much stronger than you were before. They wouldn't be able to capture you," Kill adds, his voice soothing.

The words don't seem to be helping though and Reaper's whole body starts to vibrate with the need to change, even I know that it would be really bad for him to change in this emotional state. So, I follow my instincts and make my way toward him.

"Go carefully, Farren," Loki warns, although he doesn't stop me.

"I don't think that's such a good idea," Khaos adds.

I roll my eyes, although I can't blame him for his warning. I am about to approach an almost out-of-control dragon and a very fucking strong one at that. I don't say anything as I simply wrap my arms around him, rest my head on his chest, and hold him tightly. His reaction is immediate as he stops shaking, and his arms wrap around me, his head coming to rest on the top of mine.

"I'll never get used to the way that she can so easily calm him," Zev mutters, shaking his head, "the outcome if she hadn't would've been bad, really fucking bad."

I ignore them as I pull back slightly so I can look up at Reaper, "I don't know what is going on, but we can figure this out. If we really do have to go to the Dragon realm, then maybe only some of us go, and you can stay in the Shadowlands. You should know that if you do decide to go, I will personally take apart anyone who has or wants to harm you piece by piece until they're begging for death, and even then, I won't give it to them."

"Okay, that was a little scary," Loki mutters and then adds, "but super fucking hot."

"Agreed, it's incredibly hot when she shows how bloodthirsty she is," surprisingly, Khaos is the one to agree.

Reaper's arms tighten around me. He nods once, "I will not allow any of you to go there without my protection, but I will admit that I may find it difficult. I was abandoned, imprisoned, and tortured for most of my childhood there until I thought I was saved, brought to the Fae realm, and subjected to the same thing."

My blood boils with anger; I know that there is far more to the story and that he is telling it in such a casual way because it still greatly affects him, which is evidenced by the fact that the mere mention of us having to go there almost made him shift.

I squeeze him tightly, "As I said, we'll figure it out. We may not have to go. For now, I think we should focus on one thing at a time. The first thing we need to do is get through the Soul side of the Underworld safely and get back to the Shadowlands; then we can figure out our next step."

"She's right," Rival says, "we can figure it out when we get there."

Before Reaper can reply, Khaos adds, "I've been to the Dragon Realm several times, in fact, over the centuries, and you have nothing to worry about, power-wise; you're one of the strongest dragons that I've felt for a long time."

"Even for an alpha, your power level is really high," Grey adds.

"Alpha?" Reaper questions as he turns me so that I'm pressed into his side instead, his arms still around me, but now I can see the others as well.

Grey tilts his head, "Yes, you weren't aware of that?"

"I have been in the Fae realm since I was a child; I can count on one hand the dragons that I have met since, and none of them were willing to share any information with me. The dragons are so secretive with what information outsiders have that all I know about my own kind are things that I remember from before I left, things that I have first-hand experience in, and what we're taught in the schools in the Fae realm." Reaper explains, "I know that Alphas exist for dragons, but that's it. It doesn't tell you what the signs of an alpha are, or their gifts or anything like that because they're hunted."

"Wow, stupid prideful dragons," Khaos mutters, disbelief in his tone. "To not teach one of their own just because of where they live is just stupid."

"But not unexpected," Mayhem points out and then adds, "as soon as Reaper became one of us, I did as much research as I possibly could on dragons, hoping to help him and to learn more as well; I was extremely frustrated by the lack of information."

Khaos nods, "Yeah, they're pretty fucking good at keeping shit to themselves."

Reaper nods, "I'm better now. We can cross that bridge when we get to it. For now, how are we going to get to the Soul side?"

It's obvious that he wants to change the subject, and I can't say that I blame him.

"I can open the door here, and we can all step through. I'm not going to take the glamour off until we're on that side, but from what Monty said, I'm going to have to do it pretty quickly to make sure that we're not dealt with."

"We all need to be prepared that we're going to have a delay as everyone reacts to Hades being back, but there are only a few Helliers and Underworlders on that side, so it's not like a whole realm reacting. They're also the best of the best, so it should go smoother than it would if he were to be announced here," Khaos explains.

"Got it," Storm replies for all of us and then adds, "Is there anything that we need to know?"

"We're going to be entering into the communal area, which is where all the souls can choose to socialise if they wish to, I can explain more when we're there," Grey explains.

"Could you not zap us straight to where the exit back to the Shadowlands is?" Loki asks, "That way we could avoid all of the drama of them realising that you're back?"

"One, they're going to know as soon as I step foot in the Soul side, even if it's for only a moment, so it's going to cause a reaction regardless, and two, there's only a few ways to get into the Soul side of the Underworld as it has to remain as secure as possible, I'm going to transport us as close to the door as I can but we're still going to have to travel for a few hours maybe a day or so in order to get us to the door that we can exit through," Hades explains.

"Don't forget what Monty said about the Princes ignoring it," Mayhem reminds us, "you don't know what condition it's going to be in, and that could bring up some problems that we haven't considered."

"That's very true," Grey replies, "what's giving me hope is that Monty said that they've ignored it, and the Underworlders that oversee it are incredibly capable."

"The Hellier's I trained for the punishment side of it are elite and stronger than most, I'm sure that they've managed to keep it running as smoothly as possible in our absence," Khaos adds.

"I think the biggest issue is going to be the effect of not having me here and my magic feeding the realm," Grey admits.

"I hear you, but Monty wouldn't have warned us unless the soul side was experiencing some issues," Zev points out.

"Yes, you're right. We will proceed with caution," Grey agrees. He looks over us all. "Is everyone ready?"

"Sure," I reply.

He grins, and I feel his magic build in the air as he builds the portal that will get us to the soul side; a sense of excitement goes through me; we're getting a sneak peek of where we go when we die and that's pretty cool.

The portal pops into existence, and whereas I'm used to them being swirling masses of colour that are somewhat disorientating to step into, this one isn't; it's like looking through a window. I can see what we're going to step into, and curiously enough, it appears to be a town, and we're looking at a street with houses on either side.

"I'll go first," Grey says, "to make sure that you all arrive safely and don't get killed as soon as you step through."

"Appreciate it," Zev jokes, making me smile.

Grey steps through without problem, and I see him instantly drop his glamour. He's truly magnificent and the vision I had didn't do him justice. The smile that breaks out on his face as the glamour falls is full of relief, and I can't help but smile in response. It has to be so freeing, especially after having it on for so long. I also appreciate how difficult it must have been to put the glamour on again after he'd finally managed to get rid of it. I feel pretty shitty that it's taken me this long to realise that.

As soon as I step through the portal before I even look around or anything, I head straight to Hades, and in this form, he is definitely Hades; it just feels right to call him that.

He looks at me curiously, and I move up onto my tip toes. When I realise that I'm still too short, since he's a freaking giant now, I use my air magic to help me float. It wasn't my intention to kiss him, but he looks so amused that I have to use my magic to put me on the same level, that I want to do something to shock him.

So, I get really close until my lips are a hair's breadth away, causing him to still I'm not sure he's even breathing.

"Thank you for wearing that god awful glamour to come and get me, even when you didn't have to wear it," I whisper because he's close enough to hear me.

As he begins to open his mouth to talk, I lean forward and kiss him. I meant for it to be a quick kiss, just a simple thank you, but I'm lost as soon as my lips touch his. His arms wrap around me, holding me close, which is a damn good job because as soon as our lips touched I lost the grip I had on my magic and I would've dropped to the floor if hadn't held me.

Our lips move together as my hands move into his hair, and my whole body comes alive.

He pulls away before I'm ready, and I groan in protest.

"As much as I want to kiss you forever, we've just stepped foot in the Underworld, and I'm fairly certain that we're going to get company soon. These people haven't seen me for decades and most likely think I'm dead," he starts.

I finish his sentence, "And it's probably not a good idea for the first time they see you again to be when I'm stuck to your face."

Hades bursts out laughing along with the others, who must be standing close enough to hear us.

"I wouldn't quite put it that way, but yes, that's what I was getting at." Hades replies.

"Okay, fine. I suppose you make sense," I reply and then smirk, "I'm calling you Hades from now on. It suits you better, and I like it more."

Hades' eyes heat as he practically growls, "I like it when you say my name."

"Er, guys, whatever Farren was going to reply to that was going to lead to you guys making out again, and while I didn't mind watching at all, and I know I'm not the only one, we do have something that we need to focus on right now." Zev interrupts.

I glance over my shoulder, and I'm surprised to see heat in all of their eyes. Oh, well, that's an interesting turn of events, but it's not something that I can really focus on right now. That sort of revelation needs time to explore, and as we've been reminded multiple times now, we don't have that time right now.

Hades gives me one last quick kiss and then puts me down.

"I'm surprised we haven't had any visitors yet," Khaos comments, looking around with a frown.

Now that I'm not distracted by Hades, I get a proper look at the Soul side of the Underworld. Just like it looked through the portal, we're on a street. It's a long stretch of road with offshoots, grass verges, and trees lining it. It's incredibly well looked after, and there aren't even any potholes, which is a sure sign this is the Soul side of the Underworld.

The difference here though is that unlike a usual street like this, every single house is entirely different, they're all from various eras, different sizes, and styles from all throughout the many realms. There's a house that I recognise from the Earth realm, there's a tree house where I know druids like to live, there are caves and cliffs, there are examples of all kinds of houses from as many places as you can think of, as we start walking I even see an ocean, with a shoreline and everything.

It's absolutely incredible.

There's also an overwhelming sense of peace here, and I take a breath; I've not felt anything like it before and want to soak up as much of the feeling as possible.

"Since we haven't been stopped yet, I'll explain a couple of things that I'm sure that you're all wondering about," Hades says, his eyes scanning around us rapidly.

"Each of the houses that you see is a person's individual heaven. They're entirely unique depending on the individual's beliefs and religions in life and what realm they've come from, that sort of thing. But they're not simply the house; the house is just the front of their heaven; most have whole worlds inside them."

"Wow, that's pretty fucking cool," Mayhem mutters, his eyes wide with wonder.

"We put members of the same family near each other, and of course, family pets are there as well. Each family has an optional communal area that's just for them where, when the souls are ready and have accepted that they're dead, they can meet up and hang out." Hades continues to explain.