Chapter 5 - Zane

Both Ryder and I followed Thea into the bathroom. The shower barely fits one person, let alone three, but we managed; I wasn’t going to pass up shower sex. We lay entangled in Thea’s bed; she was asleep on Ryder’s chest, her legs draped over mine, when we heard a thud in the hallway.

“Nico,” I whispered to Ryder.

“Fuck.”

The door opened, and Nico looked like he was going to kill us all. I carefully moved Thea’s legs, and Ryder laid her down gently, covering her. I motioned for Nico to shut his mouth, or he’d wake Thea. She didn’t need to hear what was coming next, so we went downstairs into the kitchen.

“It was bad enough when it was just Zane, but you fucked her too, Ryder!”

“Why are you jealous?”

“Fuck you!” Nico spat.

“Thanks, but I’ve already been fucked today,” Ryder chuckled.

Nico got in Ryder’s face, “You two can’t keep it in your pants, you’ve fucked us all!”

“Nico,” I said as calmly as possible, “I need you to sit down.”

“I don’t want to sit down,” he was breathing hard.

“Nico, this is important,” Ryder said.

Nico begrudgingly sat; his nails were digging into his fists.

“Before I left work last night, Thanatos asked me for a favor. He asked me to bring the sisters dinner.” Ryder and I shuddered; even Nico couldn’t hide his shudder when I said their names.

The sisters, as we call them, are the Fates. They decide the length of all mortals' lives. They live in a little house in a small, forested area in the Under Realm. If you met them on the street, you’d assume they were just three little old ladies who liked to knit. That’s just glamor. I’ve luckily never had to see them in their proper form, but from the stories I’ve heard, even Hades himself is terrified of them in their true form, so it has to be horrific. Lachesis measures the thread, Clotho knits a web of the thread, and Atropos cuts the thread. You don’t want to mess with the fates. I replayed the interaction for Ryder and Nico.

I teleported near their front door and heard them call, “Enter, son of Hades.” A chill went up my spine. I was only supposed to knock three times and leave the food basket. I apprehensively opened the door.

“Welcome, son of Hades,” Clotho whispered eerily.

“Hello,” I swallowed hard.

“He seems to fear us, sisters, " Atropos cackled.

“Do not fear us, son of Hades," Lachesis said. “we have a prophecy for you,”

Fuck!

“Language! Son of Hades!” Atropos hissed.

“Deepest apologies,” I bowed.

Clotho stood up, putting her knitting down. She raised her hands in the air, and her eyes began to flutter. Her voice echoed as she spoke.

“In the gathering dusk, shadows entwine,

Four souls converge, and destinies align.

Bound, they stand for a storm unwinds.

Betrayal brews, lost souls shall reap.

Shadows cloak the ocean’s embrace, and a tempest brews.

As fields wilt 'neath unseen woes, the roots of prosperity wither, heralding an economic tempest untold."

Her eyes stopped fluttering, and she returned to her knitting.

“What does it mean?”

“That is not ours to answer; the answers lie within you,” Atropos said.

“Only you and the ones with whom you are entwined will face this storm,” Clotho said.

“For if you seek help from another, the storm will consume you,” Lachesis warned.

After that, they stopped speaking, and I left the cabin and returned home. I repeated the prophecy to Nico, and he just sat, not saying a word.

“It’s fucked up,” Ryder said. “I told Zane that this morning.”

“What does this have to do with Thea?” Nico grumbled.

“Dude, four souls converge,” Ryder said.

“This changes nothing! She’s still the daughter of a mighty goddess. And you two fucked her daughter.”

“Nico, you’re not seeing the whole picture; something is coming,” I said.

“What’s coming? Those three are..”

Nico stopped himself and thought better of accusing the sisters.

“Every prophecy they’ve given comes to pass, you know that.”

“She’s a fledgling.” He bellowed.

“She put Willow in her place,” Ryder snickered.

“Yeah, well,” His lip curled ever so slightly. “Willow is insignificant compared to everything she’ll have to learn.”

Thea was standing in the hall, wearing my blue shirt, which reached the top of her knees.

“What’s going on?”

“Sorry, love,” Ryder said, inviting her to sit on his lap.

I didn’t know who would break the silence first.

“Would you three please stop playing your silent game of not it and tell me?”

I told her what happened with the sisters and the prophecy. She was twisting my shirt around her finger; damn, she was beautiful. These few days with her have been a whirlwind. I felt drawn to her; something was different, even Ryder noticed. I’m sure Nico does, too; he just won’t admit it. What we’ll face, gods only know.

“I’ve learned over my lifetime that you can’t prepare for anything like this. People have gone crazy analyzing, preparing, and worrying about prophecies since the beginning of time. It’s best to let things happen naturally. The worst thing you can do is try to underestimate the Fates, but the waiting can be maddening.”

“So what do we do?” Thea asked.

“Not much we can do except wait,” Nico said gruffly.

“We just have to sit and wait for whatever this is to happen?”

I nodded, “Many people have tried to figure out prophecies to no avail. You don’t mess with the Fates. It’s more than frustrating; I get it. But that’s one thing we’ve learned to accept.”

“Well, maybe you all are willing to wait this out; I’m not,” she said very passionately; I could see the determination in her eyes.

Ryder took her into his arms and brought her close. “It’s wonderful you want to figure this out, love, but you can’t let it consume you,” he kissed her on the cheek.

The clock struck three, “You should try and get some sleep; we’ll keep it down, I promise,” I smiled. Thea looked at me. “We’ll be there soon,” I said, touching her cheek. She gave both Ryder and me a quick kiss and then left.

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.

“I still think you should sever this quickly; it’s not good.”

“You feel it too; you can’t hide it from us,” I told Nico. “Don’t think I haven’t noticed how you look at her. You can fool her, maybe, but not us; we know you too well,” I raised a brow.

“It doesn’t change anything. Prophecy or not, do you think Athena won’t raise all hell when she finds out?”

“Athena sent Thea here,” Ryder said. “Why did she send her daughter here of all places?”

“She was testing her and us, and you both failed in less than thirty-six hours!” Nico spat.

“What if she sent her here on purpose?” I asked.

“Why would she do that?” Nico asked.

“Why do the gods do anything they do?” I asked. “For their own gains, for their own amusement. You know that better than anyone. What’s the real problem with you and Willow being together?”

Nico knitted his brows, fist clenching on the table. He was super sensitive about the entire thing, but he stayed quiet.

“Absolutely no reason, except for Zeus and Demeter flaunting their power and wanting your obedience.”

He stayed silent.

“You haven’t obeyed them either, not that you should,” I said. “I’m not condoning your relationship, I can’t stand the bitch, but there’s no reason why you can’t do what you want with your life. Why should any of them tell us what we can do? What’s the point? We’re stuck in this house and have been stuck together in some form or another for centuries. Each time we get summoned to them, they promise us that whatever they want will get us out of here. How well has that worked out for us so far?”

“They keep dangling our freedom just to snatch it away,” Ryder said.

“Hades is adding to my responsibilities, didn’t even tell me to my face. They’re not even pretending anymore,” I said.

“Even though we can’t prepare for whatever is coming, we need to see what she is capable of. We don’t need her putting us or herself in danger because she’s inexperienced,” Nico said.

“Finally!” Ryder chucked.

Nico knitted his brows, “Don’t get too far ahead of yourself.”

“I think it’s time for bed,” Ryder smiled deviously.

“Don’t wake her,” I raised a brow.

“What do you take me for?” Ryder said, pretending to be offended.

“You know very well what you are,” I chuckled.

We quietly opened Thea’s door; she was awake in the bed, waiting for us.

“I can’t sleep,” she said.

Ryder and I lay on either side of her; Ryder grabbed her waist and pulled her close to him. She softly touched my cheek as I brushed her hair out of her face.

“It will be alright, love.”

She let out a small sigh and reached for my hand. She closed her eyes and was asleep in minutes.

I looked at Ryder, he gave me a big smile, and we drifted off.

The following day was Sunday, so Thea would have to go to the Healing Center the next morning.

“I’ll get you there, love,” I said as she poured her cereal.

“Thanks,” she said. I can’t wait until I can teleport on my own.”

“What are your abilities, exactly?” Nico asked.

She was mid mouthful of cereal; she put up her finger.

“Ciphers, code cracking, puzzles, riddles..”

“Breaking and entering,” Ryder chuckled.

“Yes, breaking and entering,” a smile curled her lip.

Nico raised a brow; I could see he was impressed. That’s no easy task.

“You’re the daughter of Athena, so once you ascend, you may get new powers, we all did,” Nico told her.

“My birthday is never going to get here,” she huffed.

“It will be here before you know it,” Ryder touched her nose.

“Do you even remember your life before you ascended?” She raised a brow, and a devious smile curled her lip, goading Ryder.

He stood up and picked her up by her waist; she screeched, not expecting it. He flipped her over his shoulder and tossed her on the couch, kneeling by her feet, hands on both sides of her.

“Are you implying I’m old, little goddess?” he smiled.

She tried to stifle a laugh, shook her head yes, and burst out laughing. He kissed her deeply, then flipped on his side, caging her in his arms. I sat by them on the couch. Nico joined us, sitting on the chair across from us.

“I think we need to teach her some self-defense,” Nico said, looking at Ryder and me.

“Um, I’m right here,” she raised a hand. “And, I’m the daughter of Athena; don’t you think she would have taught me self-defense?”

“Ok,” Nico said, “let's see what you got, little one.” He stood up, and Ryder held on to her.

“I don’t think this is a good idea, love,” Ryder said.

“I got this,” she smiled, and he begrudgingly let her go.

“Don’t be too tough on her,” Ryder looked at Nico.

“If she gets attacked by someone who wants to hurt her, they’re not going to go easy on her.”

“Don’t be an ass,” I said.

A smile curled on Nico’s lip. Thea stood confident. Even though she said she could handle it, Nico has been known to go too far, so hopefully, he doesn’t with her.

Nico reached for her wrist, and Thea pulled back. Ducking under his other arm as he swept it near her. Taking his hand and grabbing over her, trying to get at her neck so he was behind her. He touched her neck, and she spun around to face him. He swept under her legs, and she jumped over him; she tucked and rolled across the floor. He got behind her and grabbed around her front with his arm. She took her elbow and hit him in the chest so hard I could see it knocked the wind out of him for a second. He released her, and she swung her leg around and got him in the knee. Both Ryder and I were watching intently; Nico winced in pain; grabbing his knee, she got in front of him and pinned his arm behind him. He grabbed her with his other arm and stood up; he was behind her again; he lifted her by the waist, and she spun herself around somehow and wrapped her legs around his neck. She crawled around him and wrapped her arms around his neck from the back, legs around his chest. He lost his footing and started to move backward, trying to get Thea off of him; he hit the wall,

“Ack!” Thea winced, breathing heavily, sitting against the wall. Nico was rubbing his neck.

“I’m impressed, little one,” Nico said. “You lasted longer than I anticipated.” He held out his hand to help her up. Thea stood and turned quickly, getting Nico’s arm over her shoulder, and tossed him to the ground like a rag doll. Ryder and I stifled a laugh. Nico was on the floor; Thea stood over him and then sat straddling his chest.

“Never take your opponent for granted; they might surprise you, and never assume a fight is over until your opponent is dead,” she said with a devious smile. She kissed him deeply on the lips. I could tell that surprised him, too. He started to lift his arms, like he was going to hold on to her, but changed his mind. She broke the kiss and got up, sitting back on the couch.

“Another one of my abilities is kicking ass. I’ve been taking self-defense and karate classes since I was nine. Sorry, did I forget to mention that?” She fluttered her eyes at Nico—little minx.

Nico rolled over, a slight curl on his lips, “Well played, little one.”

It wasn’t all settled between them, but I counted this morning as a step in the right direction.

We made a lazy day of it, trying to keep Thea’s mind off of tomorrow. I could tell she was anxious; she always twisted her shirt when she was anxious. We watched movies, and she requested junk food for lunch, though Nico insisted we have a real meal for dinner. Somehow, I managed not to drag Thea into the shower, which was good because I got an unexpected visitor. I turned off the water to have my aunt holding my towel in the bathroom; I grabbed it quickly.

“You know I hate when you pop in like this!” I snipped, wrapping the towel around me.

She smiled but ignored my words.

“I hear you had to bring the sisters their dinner the other night,” she raised a brow. “And something about a prophecy?”

“I hate when you do that, too; you know that, don’t you?”

“Perks of delivering the sisters their meals. I hear things,” a smile curled her lips.

She followed me into my bedroom, “Tell me.”

“Could you at least let me get some pants on, please?”

She smiled and stood there.

“You can at least pretend you care about how I’m feeling at this moment, can’t you?”

“Alright, fine, you have two minutes,” she left the room.

I grabbed the first pair of pants within reach and opened the door.

“This place needs a woman’s touch; it screams frat boy bachelor.”

I knitted my brow. “Take that up with the triad running our city,” I gritted my teeth.

“Maybe this new responsibility Hades gives you will do the trick.”

I raised a brow, “Sure. You keep thinking that. Oh, and thanks for telling me, by the way; nothing like reading it in a memo, Aunt.”

“Sorry about that,” she shrunk her shoulders. “It wasn’t intentional; I had to turn a little witch into a cat.”

“You didn’t throw her into the alley this time?” I chuckled.

“No, she wouldn’t talk, so she’s sitting in a crate in my apartment,” she chuckled.

“You enjoy that way too much for it to be considered normal.”

“Nice try,” she raised a brow. “What did the sisters say, Zane?”

I let out a sigh and repeated what the sisters told me.

“Four souls converge?” She questioned.

“Thea,” I said, hunching my shoulders.

She sat on the chair at my desk, “Athena’s Theodosia?”

I nodded.

She picked up a pencil and started twirling it in her hand.

“Something’s coming, and it involves Thea somehow. I’m trying to do what you told me all those years ago and not think about it, let things happen naturally, but she’s..”

My aunt sat next to me. “She’s young. True, but don’t underestimate her. Sometimes, it’s better to have someone on your side whose mind hasn’t been manipulated for centuries. They aren’t as cynical, and they’re more aware.”

“Oh, I’m not worried about her not being able to take care of herself; she handed Nico’s ass to him and threw him around like a rag doll,” I chuckled.

My aunt snickered, “She’s the daughter of Athena; he should have known better than to underestimate her. It’s his own fault. It’s good; it’ll keep him humble; we need more of that around here. So if it’s not her safety, what is it?”

“I felt something when she came here. Ryder felt it, too, and I know Nico as well; he won’t say it out loud yet. It’s only been a few days, but our feelings are stronger like we’ve known each other our entire lives. She’s not been around as long as we have, so it doesn’t make sense, but I don’t want to stop being near her. Neither of us do.”

“If it’s that strong, and she’s fledgling, that tells you something. The sisters don’t put out prophecies for no reason. Why now? Who knows? The sisters probably don’t even know the answer to that. We can’t spend our lives questioning the reason behind everything. Something is coming, and the sisters seem to think it’s something you and the others can handle. I’ll do what I can to help when whatever it is starts, but you know I can’t meddle too much. It’s not allowed.”

“Yeah, I know.”

“I know you’ll do your best to protect everyone like you always do, but you have to trust in them as well.”

“What about Thea’s mother? She’s going to flip her lid. When she finds out we..-”

“Athena won’t mess with the sisters. Plus, didn’t she send Thea here?”

“Yes.”

“She was playing at something, too. You don’t send your fledgling daughter into a house with three demigods and expect nothing to happen, don’t worry about her. See you in a couple of weeks, nephew.”