by Enid Titan
10…
9…
A wasted life.
8…
Uncle Monty. CJ. Mom. They’d be so upset.
7…
6…
I deserve this for killing my mates.
5…
4…
“What are you doing, jazad?”
Penelope’s eyes popped open and she dropped her blade to the ground.
48
Nothing To Fear
“Were you trying to kill yourself?” Ajax sounded appalled.
Poseidon rolled his eyes.
“Your mate is very melodramatic. I don’t know if you’ve noticed. It’s a very human trait.”
“You’re alive…”
“Yes. We’re alive. Where’s the alien?”
“Dead,” Poppy whispered.
“What the hell happened? Why are we in this dingy place?”
The illusion disappeared. Even the soldiers who brought Daphne in had been part of Sibyl’s elaborate construction. Daphne lay slumped over on the ground.
“Fengari perception filter. It works even on Devorans. Daphne’s here, but I don’t know how she is.”
“Why were you trying to kill yourself?" Ajax snapped.
“I thought I’d killed you. I… Sibyl did so much damage to your home planet on a whim. I couldn’t let her… I couldn’t let her hurt anyone else but she said if I killed her, you four would die.”
Poppy cried. Castor ran to her and wrapped his arms around her, pressing her body close to his.
“You have nothing to fear, jazad,” Jason murmured, wrapping his arms around them.
“Touching moment,” Poseidon grumbled.
“If I didn’t know better, I’d say you were jealous,” Castor shot back.
“Hmph!”
“Bring it in you big monster,” Jason said.
They held each other for a moment and then Penelope wriggled away from them.
“Daphne.”
“Everything with The Order this year happened because of the Fengari?” Jason asked before she could run to his sister.
Penelope nodded.
“I’ll go to her," Jason sighed, "We must find a way to alert the Prince of what happened here.”
* * *
Uncle Monty waited for them on the Vortha teleportation pad. Penelope expected him to be angry, but he wasn’t. He was also accompanied by an unexpected visitor. Her mother. She was silent and demure, but she looked up at her daughter with wide broken eyes. There was recognition, which from her was more than Poppy expected.
“I tell you not to head into danger, and I never think for a second how much worse it is than I could have ever imagined,” Monty murmured, wrapping his niece in a tight hug.
“I suppose I should be grateful you have these three… er… four mates to help you.”
Monty scratched his beard as he stared Poseidon up and down. Senior boys towered over first-years, and he’d never really met Poseidon. Poppy blushed.
“Poseidon isn’t my mate, Uncle Monty.”
“Mate. Oh, dear. They grow up so fast.”
He turned cherry and Penelope laughed awkwardly. Poseidon pressed his arm on Jason’s shoulder.
“Don’t worry, consider me their older advisor,” Poseidon said with a grin plastered on his face, “I’ll be here to try my best to keep them out of trouble.”
“You were piloting the ship!” Ajax blurted out.
Poseidon stumbled over his words and Uncle Monty grinned and shook his head.
“As long as you’re happy, I don’t mind. Now. School next year. We should talk about that, shouldn’t we?”
Poppy sighed. Yes. They should. Ajax would be leaving, Poseidon would be graduating, but she still had two years left. It was worth talking about. Just not now. She convinced Uncle Monty to give her a few days.
She walked with the four boys back to their place in Vortha.
“My parents will be coming in a few days,” Jason said, “You’ll get to meet them.”
“Poseidon,” Castor asked, “What will happen to you?”
“I suppose I’ll return to my family. My father insists I apprentice in his accounting department.”
“Sounds boring,” Jason said.
“Why don’t you stay here?” Ajax suggested.
Jason nodded and Castor agreed.
“As long as Penelope is okay with it, you could stay in the house with us.”
Penelope cocked an eyebrow, uncertain if this was an elaborate trap or just an example of the boys’ sweetness. She couldn’t turn down Poseidon.
“Of course he can stay.”
“Good. Someone needs to whip you into shape for hockey next year.”
Poppy laughed. He was capable of humor. She was a far better skater than she was.
“We only have one problem. Daphne. She’s staying with my parents but I know she’ll be miserable there.”
“She can’t move in with us,” Castor said.
“I know…”
“Why not?” Penelope asked, “Haven’t we all been through a lot? Shouldn’t we be forgiving?”
Poseidon shoved his hands into his pockets.
“We aren’t exactly known for being a forgiving people. It’s hard when you can carry a grudge for a century.”
“Jason?”
“My sister is complicated. If we let her into our lives, who knows what she’ll do.”
“We have to try. We have to make an effort.”
“Maybe. I’ll consider it when my parents visit.”
“What about the Fengari?” Poseidon asked.
“I don’t know.”
“Well, if we’re lucky, they will have disappeared out of your life for good.”
Poppy nodded. Yeah. She would like that. At least she didn’t have to worry about any more nightmares from Sibyl, or being forced to train beneath the lunar planet. She’d never understood the reason for what Sibyl did to her and now, it wasn’t important. Sibyl died.
At home, they enjoyed beers and food, and Hecate stopped over to introduce Penelope to her new fling. Her quest for her mate continued. In the evening, Penelope retired to bed with the three boys. Poseidon slept on the couch, his limbs hanging over the edge as he snored.
She closed her eyes and nestled in the crook of Ajax’s arm as he stroked her hair.
“I’ll miss the shit out of you next year,” he murmured, “But I know it’s for the best.”
“There’s no more war,” Poppy whispered, “So it will be safer.”
“Yes. I suppose. Now sleep, little pet.”
Sleeping was easy when they were close and she was safe. Poppy closed her eyes and within a few moments, she was fast asleep. Then she heard a voice. Sibyl’s voice. The Fengari face materialized before her. Poppy gasped.
“You’re dead.”
“Very, very, dead. Thank you for making it quick. And you, my darling, are now the Queen of Fengari. I must be dead to crown you, and now I have. In one year, once the mourning is over, my people will come for their new Queen. Until then, enjoy your boys.”
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