by Tigris Eden
“Did you know, Isaiah?” Gabe questioned.
“Yes. We always know.”
“Then why the fuck didn’t you give me some kind of warning? Am I no longer part of the in-crowd?”
Grey crossed both arms over his chest before his lips thinned. “You were never part of our team, Angel. Last time I checked, you had your freedom.”
“Greyson, you really need to get over yourself. There’s nothing I can do about your predicament. You’re on an entirely different playing field than I am. But I still fed you guys information when you needed it. Having Ann here could have jeopardized the entire Unit. There are families here. This isn’t just some office building. What about Faith, Caleb, Reese, and the others?”
Gabe was right. There were children living here along with their families. They were all part of Draven’s pack. Belinda kept the twins at the Enclave and even they were kept in another realm. Ece and Erastus barely got to see the light of day.
“The wolves are capable of protecting themselves. Besides, Ann isn’t here for any of the wolves; the children are safe.”
“She could get desperate,” Gabe argued.
“Yet she’s somehow managed to offer her services, which we all know goes against an Enforcer’s code. She’s putting her life in danger,” Isaiah informed.
“Gabriel,” Xee called softly. “Let’s get the information we need and move on from there. Ann’s offered to get us an audience. Take it.”
“I don’t think it’s safe.”
“Nothing about what Enri wants is safe.”
“You got that right,” Grey said under his breath. The Seraph knew something else but wasn’t telling.
“What do you know?” Xee asked, standing up from her spot in front of her desk and walking over to face the male.
“Whatever I know is not for you.”
“Why not?”
“It’s the way of things.”
Gabe shoved past Grey and pulled Xee into his arms. It wasn’t like she was going to do something. Although if she could, she’d have no problem cutting the male down to size.
“He can’t say because he isn’t free to. Whatever information they give us is because they’ve been allowed to give it. Isn’t that right, Isiah?”
“You already know the answer to that question. All I can tell you is that going with Ann could turn bad, but will still be the right thing to do. Even after everything is over.
With those parting words, both brothers left.
“Well, that gave us absolutely nothing.”
“It gave us something. Isaiah said we need to take Ann up on her offer.”
“What happened to finding out all the details to this plan before going in without all the answers?”
“Sometimes, Blossom, we don’t get to ask the questions—we just have to carry out the plan.”
That was a shit saying.
“I don’t agree.”
Gabe pulled her into his chest and she felt comforted, but only for a second. Leaning back, she looked up into his champagne eyes and pleaded with him.
“Something is off with this. I don’t know what it is—because I don’t know what I’m looking for—but going after Hades isn’t going to be something that’s good for the team. Royce is right; someone’s laughing their ass off right now.”
“Draven says we’re going, we’re going. I won’t ask you to come. It’s too dangerous. But I need you to keep an eye on things here.”
“Who else is going with the two of you?”
“It will be me, Draven, Jesminda, and Sam. Adam can’t go, and Hawke is staying behind to help with logistics. And the twins and Belinda refuse. They’ve gone back to the Enclave.”
And there it was.
A line had been drawn.
The Unit was officially divided.
Yewa watched, stunned, as Enri gave Aurora a body. She could tell he took perverse pleasure in what he’d done. Aurora thought she was getting the better end of the deal. She wasn’t. Beauty wasn’t skin deep—it was soul deep. She knew, because if Aurora could see what Yewa saw, she’d know Enri had given her a body lacking physical beauty. But somehow Aurora was ignorant of that fact.
I’ve given her exactly what she deserves. Enri whispered inside Yewa’s mind. Her perception is not the reality.
Enri had given her a body, but it wasn’t a body his sister would have wanted. She was tall, and although the skin appeared smooth, it wasn’t. There were pus-filled bubbles that seemed to move as Aurora examined her skin, the sores were out of her sight so she couldn’t see. If she looked at her arm, it appeared blemish free and perfect. Her face—well, that was something else. entirely. A large bulbous nose, and beady eyes, but when she asked to see a mirror, what stared back at her was creamy white skin with sparkling blue eyes and pouty blood red lips. Aurora thought she was flawless, incomparable to anyone or anything.
Enri had done that. Made her look beautiful only to her while being ugly to others.
“They say beauty is only skin deep, but it really starts from within. So I let your inside become your outside, baby sister.”
“This body feels amazing.” Aurora spun around, a wide smile on her face. “I can’t wait to try it out. What do you say, big brother? For old time’s sake—want to take me for a spin?”
Enri’s eyes narrowed briefly before he folded his arms across his massive chest. He stood, glaring.
“Sorry, I have to pass. I’m wifed up now, in case you forgot.” When he tugged Yewa to his side, she let out a little gasp, but otherwise said nothing. She was his mate. And a very huge part of her didn’t want to admit how the prospect of being mated to Enri appealed to her.
The Fates sat quiet in their corner and Yewa could see they, too, suffered the same fate as Aurora. They, of course, appeared beautiful all the time until one of them pierced a person with their vacant eyes. That was when their mask would drop and their real faces were revealed.
As Aurora preened in front of the mirror, Enri addressed the women who continued working, “How are you lovely ladies doing this fine day?”
“We are grateful, Lord Chaos.”
“Is that all?” he asked.
This wasn’t a side of him she was particularly fond of. He was cruel and unforgiving.
One of the Fates, Clotho, spoke up, then. She didn’t raise her eyes to his, but talked as she spun.
“No, my Lord. That isn’t all. We’ve been working day and night, as is our duty.”
“I see that. Causing all kinds of trouble, too.”
“No, that is not our doing. That would be Dike; she is the one.”
“Tell me about the Recommence. What all does it entail?”
The three women said nothing at first. There was silence, followed by a collective inhale from them and then they began to speak as one.
“The Recommence is the action that will have things to begin again. It will be the actions of father and son.”
“I know this part, but what does it entail?”
“War. The Recommence will reveal all to everyone.”
“Reveal what?”
They weren’t answering his questions. Not the way he’d wanted. Yewa could tell Enri grew frustrated. His body stiffened and his jaw tensed. The color in his eyes started to shift between blue and the night skyshe knew were hidden in their depths. Maybe they were worlds that were alive, or maybe they were thoughts or ideas of unfinished creations from his past.
“It will reveal the very fabric of life, Lord Chaos—things will begin again.”
“And the Sahidic—tell me more about the part I’m intended to play.”
“We cannot; all we can tell you is its purpose. We hold no power when it comes to you and your family’s life force. All we can see are those around you.”
“Fine, who is affected by the Sahidic?”
“All who go in search of it. There will be those that will die, those that will be forever changed, and are changing as we speak. Sides will be chosen. One, in parti
cular, will have to run the Gauntlet of Life and face the five trials of Tartaros.”
“Who’s running the Gauntlet of Life?”
Yewa knew exactly what the gauntlet was. Her lips thinned. She prayed it wasn’t someone from her brother’s team. It was a maze guarded by the one with no name. It was perilous and if someone was meant to run it, it was because they were stuck in between life and death. And not a death of rebirth, but a true death. There would be no one on the other side to greet them if they failed. They’d cease to exist.
“The one with four hearts.”
“Give me a name.” Enri spat.
“Vibanus of House Atrades.”
That had Enri cursing under his breath before he asked, “On what side does Yewa fall?”
“She falls on the side of good. But she also falls on the side of evil.”
How could that be? She’d only ever supported good.
Enri. He is Evil.
No. She wouldn’t believe that. He wasn’t evil. He might have done many bad things. But she could see, especially during their talks, he wasn’t evil at all. Mostly misunderstood. His lack of guidance was his downfall. He just needed a friend to steer him in the right direction. Or a mate.
“What of the Unit? Where do they fit in all of this?”
“They, too, will be divided, Lord Chaos. As things begin again, a new threat will rise—one that has been sleeping for far too long. The new will revert to old, and the old shall reject the new. Mortals will be caught in the crossfire. Many lives on all sides will be lost. Sacrifice is necessary.”
“Did you do as I asked?”
The subject change was so abrupt it took Yewa a moment to regroup. Whose lives would be lost? Who was Vibanus? That was what she wanted to know.
“Who will lose their lives?” Yewa rushed out to ask. Enri gazed down at her with a stern look on his face, but she couldn’t help the outburst. She needed to know. The women ignored her question.
“We did as you asked, Lord Chaos. To answer the female’s question. There are rules. We’ve already given Lord Chaos the answers he seeks, the rest will be threaded into the tapestry of their life. It is not for you to know.”
“Rules?”
“Yes, rules. We do not answer to you, only to Lord Chaos.”
“Enri, ask them the question,” Yewa pleaded.
His annoyance showed as he scrutinized her. He wasn’t going to grant her request. He didn’t care about the lives lost; what he cared about was the Throne of Creation and what would happen when he claimed it.
“Will Draven be successful in his collection of Hades?”
“He will succeed, but he will also fail.”
“That tells me absolutely nothing, will Hades meet his end?”
“He will be defeated, yes, but he will also gain force before his downfall.”
Enri’s shoulder relaxed for a moment, and Yewa felt his arm around her tighten. He wanted something more. He stepped forward, untangling himself from Yewa in the process. He walked over to a wall holding several patches of someone’s life. He looked them over, each one, studying them as if they were some puzzle that needed solving. Yewa took a step closer and to see the pictures. They weren’t a life that was new, but one that was old. One she was all too familiar with. The Fates had plucked the horrific pieces out of her memory and weaved them into life once again for her to experience.
Death, torture, and vile scenes were on display for her to view. A montage of her horror.
“Why are these here?” Yewa whispered, humiliated at what was out for all to see. What was out for Enri to see. The three Fates cackled and continued their work. One weaving, one feeding the thread, while the other rolled. They sat in the middle landing, surrounded by stairs on all four sides. Oil-slicked water beneath them with floating fire.
“I asked for them.”
When had he done that?
“You’ve been with me the entire time. When and how did you ask to have my most horrid memories draped out for you to see?”
“I can be at many places at any given time. I’m everywhere all the time.”
“Even now?”
Enri clasped his hands behind his back and turned to face her.
“No, I’ve been wholly with you for some time now, Yewa. It’s a first for me.”
There was anger welling up inside her. It wasn’t because he’d essentially gone behind her back and did this without her knowledge. It wasn’t even because of all the things he’d said or done to her in the past. No, what pissed her off was Enri evoking feelings she’d long thought she’d buried. Things he’d been the catalyst of.
It was one thing to be sold into slavery by the people she thought were family and friends. But to know the person who’d given her over to a man who had nothing but malice and hate in his heart, a person she swore to help, all but gave her allegiance to, would have the tapestries out in the open. She knew now what Enri was. He was cold. Unfeeling. You were foolish in your reasoning about him. He had to have known. Had to.
The pictures of her debasement and her torture were on display. Even Aurora, who moments ago only cared about her new body, stared at the tapestry on the wall.
“I want them taken down. I want them removed.”
“No can do, no can do. They remain here with us, in the Halls of Tapestry. To take them down would be to end your life, your time, your purpose,” the one feeding the thread to her sister said in a singsong voice. “Lord Chaos demands to see the truth of you, his blooded bride. You, who have given so much of herself, but will give a lot more. Your sacrifice will not go unrewarded, Yewa, healer of people.”
“Fuck you!” She spat. Words she heard used in such situations, lent her a sort of power she was unused to. Even before when she’d used them on Enri, it had been a way to shock and grab his attention. There’d been no power behind the word. But to see her ugly life on display had hurt her heart.t Yewa’s body shook with uncontrolled rage. Clutching her chest, she took a step back only to find Enri had taken hold of her and turned her into his chest. “No, leave me be. Let me out of this place!”
“Chaos cannot let you leave. You still have purpose,” one of the Fates said. She couldn’t tell which one. Their voices all sounded the same to her.
“Clotho, you will silence your tongue.” Enri’s voice held strength, power. “I wish for you to tell us what is next in Yewa’s life. Since you can’t tell me my path, I wish to know hers.”
She burrowed her head into Enri’s chest. As angry as she was, Yewa still felt the need to seek him out for solace. It was something she did more frequently and without question.
“I don’t wish to hear what they have to say. I don’t need to know.”
“I know you don’t, but I do. Our lives are now intertwined. Remember what I told you earlier?”
Yes, she did. He told her to understand everything she heard would be a masked version of the truth.
“Go on, tell me.”
“Yewa’s thread is fading fast. Her life is now a part of yours. I can only tell you what we’ve woven thus far, and it isn’t much. She will bring the dawn.”
“Do you see her with the cup?”
What did she have to do with the cup? That wasn’t right. He was tied to the cup—him and Jorunn. This had nothing to do with her.
“We see her with many cups. Cups to drink from, cups to wash, cups to hold. There are many cups in her life. Is there one in particular you seek?” This made the Fates all laugh.
The ground beneath their feet started to roll and cracks appeared along the side of the wall.
“Foolish bitches. You just lengthened your already long sentence.”
“Lord Chaos, we give you what you ask. We’ve done our time here—we’ve done all that you asked and more. You wanted things moved, and we did. You asked us to place certain people on certain paths, we wove their stories. You wanted a thread cut, we ended life.”
“Everything I’ve asked of you, yes, you did. You play me for a fool;
I will not stand for this. You provoke me.”
The oily water from below began to rise, and with every breath Enri took, it appeared as if the water rose higher and higher. The slick substance sloshed at her feet, coating her shoes black. There were candles lighting the way, and with a smile on his face and anger clear in his eyes, Enri stepped away from Yewa and walked over to a sconce on the wall.
“Sundara, you’re going to want to step away now. Go out into the hall, and wait.”
“Enri, you can’t.”
“I can. I will.”
“But you said without them, things would be undone. They will unravel.”
“Things are already starting to unravel. They won’t die, but they will suffer.”
“But won’t the thread they’re working on suffer?”
“Everyone has to at some point. Now go—unless you’d like to watch.”
Yewa turned to the Fates and begged, “Give him what he wants!”
She could see the defiance written on their faces. They refused. Would rather suffer at his hands, than give him what he wanted.
“Go, Yewa. Wait for me in the hall.”
She’d barely started walking toward the door when she felt the heat at her back and heard the wails of the women. When she turned, Yewa could see they were surrounded by a wall of flames. The fire hissed and crackled as it enclosed them. Aurora, unaffected as was her brother, walked right through the flames. But the three women stayed their ground. Didn’t move from their spot.
Enri stopped just outside the entryway and brought a hand up between him and his sister. She stopped abruptly, her once sparkling blue eyes now dull.
“Our business is done, Aurora.”
“It is, and now, I must do my duty.”
