"Wonderful," he clapped. "I'll get the staff to prepare the maternal wing for you to stay in!"

"What are you doing, Axel?"

The question came from Zev. He had his arms crossed as he narrowed his eyes suspiciously on the incubus, driving my own suspicions higher. What was he up to? During my stay at the manor, I was fairly certain he didn't even know that Kai, Timothy, and Henry existed. Why was he suddenly interested in bringing them here and housing them...

Because he wanted something.

My eyes narrowed on him, joining Zev's and a few others.

Axel released Timothy from his hold. The redhead looked visibly relieved to be free, stepping back as Axel shifted his focus to Zev.

"Just making things easier for Nea."

"Easier?"

"Hmm, this should make it easier for her to fall for me," he said, sending me a grin with his stupid line.

All he was doing was making it easier for me to ignore the small splatters of blood on his shirt. I knew it was an act that hid how dangerous he truly was, but it was a good one seeing as I saw him as less frightening than when he first made his appearance.

Zev scowled as Jaxon rolled his eyes.

Axel made his way over to us, making my alarms rise. Ares's hand tightened on me in response to the sudden alarm that was causing my heart to pound.

Axel may have been trying to hide it, but his control had slipped. His eyes had melted to sliver for a moment before a quick blink had them returning to their grey state.

He patted a hand on Ares's shoulder that gave the illusion they were on good terms. "It would be easier if her newer additions offered assistance seeing as we-"

Ares shrugged Axel's hand off, stopping g his words as well. "I'm not going to discourage your efforts to court her as long as I deem them acceptable, but that doesn't mean I will be helping you either."

Axel's kindness fell away. "You helped Jaxon earlier."

"No, I helped Nea. Her overcoming the fear she has of you benefits her. If the dragon benefited from my actions, then so be it, but make no mistake, if I help, it's only for Nea." The air around Ares seemed to grow heavy. "Once she decides to tell me why she feels fear the moment she spots your face, or the others, I have a feeling you're going to need every bit of progress you've made with Nea to get her to save you from me. But until then I'll let you gain her favour to stop me from killing us all when the truth is revealed."

A tense silence echoed in the room following his threat.

Henry's voice had all eyes snapping to him when he interrupted it. "I like this one."

The words earned a raised brow of surprise from Ares, but it lowered as the corner of his lips turned up. He looked down at me, his smile growing further.

I hadn't realized a smile of my own was dancing on my lips in response to Henry.

"Do I like him, little one?" He asked teasingly although he already knew the answer.

I grabbed his hand and pulled him toward the men that stood out among the opulence that filled the room. I was sure I did too with my messy hair and borrowed shirt. It was easy to forget the state I was in when It came to Henry, Timothy, and Kai. They had seen me covered in shit countless times, I wasn't too concerned about keeping up appearances before them.

Henry stood tall, his hands clasped behind his back. He didn't lower his eyes out of fear, there was no sign of it on his face, but out of respect. It was always out of respect, even if the recipient didn't deserve it. It was a simple action then.

But I could see in his eyes when they lifted to meet mine that he meant it. He wasn't lying when he said he liked Ares.

Timothy stood by him. Though it wasn't as obvious as it was with Kai and his shaking limbs, I could see the tension lining his body as he held himself straight. He was someone who knew what consequence showing fear could hold.

My heart warmed the slightest towards my ex-husbands as I watched Kai nervously glance around at the men in the room, his eyes meeting mine with an equally nervous smile. It was clear the younger boy hadn't learned that lesson in their manor. He wouldn't dare look them in the eyes, even if just briefly if he did. Now that I had been able to unravel a few of the layers of fear that encased my mind, I could see his fear was formless, not concrete.

When I came to a stop in front of Henry, the man who nearly matched Ares in height, he held out a hand in greeting.

"Henry," he introduced himself as Ares took his hand in his firmly.

"Ares."

"Timothy," the bearer of the name announced as he followed Henry's actions. "This is Kai," he introduced once Ares released his hand.

Kai was hesitant in offering his hand. The youngest of the trio seemed to find Ares more frightening than he did the other men occupying the room with us, surprisingly seeking Zev out with his eyes before reaching out the final few centimetres to meet Ares's hand.

Which told me more than I wanted to know.

I could reluctantly feel more of the fear and hatred I felt towards them get chipped away. It could have been me coming to terms with the fact I was stuck with them, trying to find ways to come to terms with it after Ares confirmed it, but it had reduced my fear of them somewhat. It was comforting to know they didn't go around tormenting others regularly as they had with me. Guess I was special.

"Not going as anticipated?"

I looked back out of the corner of my eye when the privately spoken words reached my ears. Jaxon was smirking smugly at Axel while the violet-haired man was frowning at us, his arms crossed over his chest. It was clear he didn't like the lack of attention.

The way they acted like grown children wasn't helping them appear as terrifying as they once were, especially with the absence of their abuse.

"Come on, I'm going to need help tying Cassius's fat arse up. The man weighs more than a stallion." Annoyance could be heard in Axel's voice as he redirected the topic of discussion.

Ares tensed at my side. I could feel his hand tighten against mine.

"Don't let him hear you, he may develop a complex," Jaxon joked back as footsteps began to sound, signalling their movement.

"Sorry to cut this reunion short," Ares said as I began to tell him about how I knew the three. "But we need to go."

My eyes widened as I looked up at him, my heart sinking.

He glanced over his shoulder, eyes narrowing. "Though I know I'll eventually have to trust them, I'm not willing to leave it to them to contain the greatest threat against you, especially not if it's considered necessary to do so for a simple conversation. Plus, two of them aren't bonded to you, they have nothing that would make their loyalties to you greater than their King."

"That's where you're wrong, Ares." The hard tone of Zev's voice sounded across the room. I hadn't expected him to be able to hear Ares's hushed voice across the room. "But you'll learn that soon. Let her be. This part of the castle is closed off to those without authorization. She's safe here with her friends while you ensure he's secured. "

Ares's eyes narrowed on him. His hand tightened on mine.

"Why don't you let her pick? I'm sure she'd rather stay and catch up with her friends than trail behind us."

He had a point.

"Think fast, mouse," Axel said, grabbing my attention a moment before tossing something at me.

A yelp left my lips as I scrambled to catch whatever he had tossed towards me. I rose my hands, preparing to fumble the small object, but Ares rendered my preparation unless. Inches before my face, he caught the small metal key Axel had thrown me.

Holding it up he examined it.

"Give it to Nea so we can get moving," Zev said. "The rooms are spelled. Locking it activates them. She's safe. If she wasn't, neither Jaxon nor I would be willing to leave her."

I could see the validity of his point reach Ares and settle in. He looked down at me, hesitant before closely examining each of the men that stood before us.

"Are you going to constantly shadow her for the rest of your days Ares?" Zev asked in annoyance. "Do you think that benefits Nea?"

I placed a hand on Ares's arm stopping him from going at it with his brother like I could sense he wanted to.

Gently, I pulled his finger open and took the key from his hand. "Go," I said. "I'll be fine."

Ares was reluctant, evident in the hard set of his eyes and lips, but he relented. Only after being shown the protection the lock provided. Once he was confident there was nothing to fear, his reluctance eased. He still didn't like leaving me with men he didn't know, but it didn't take much to convince him that I trusted them, he could sense it through our bond. An unexpected benefit.

Locking the door, I turned to face the friends I had thought I would never see again. I couldn't stop the tear that left my eye when Henry's salt and pepper covered cheeks moved in a warm smile.

"Been busy, haven't ya, lass?"

* * *

"I still say we get the muzzle. The poor boy always did have difficulty holding his tongue when being defied."

"Now, Sovereign Mother, he may be the most difficult, but he still deserves to voice his opinion. Whether we listen to it or not is another matter," Axel shrugged at Cassius's mother.

I nervously played with my fingers in my lap as I sat seated at the table, watching as Axel, Jaxon, and Ares man handled Cassius into a chair. It had taken them a surprisingly short amount of time for his mother to hand over something strong enough to hold the Demon King.

The sovereign mother tilted her head to the side, curiosity shining in her eyes as she watched Axel. "Where did my son find you?"

Axel sent her back a smile. My eyes narrowed on the sultry smile that graced his lips. "Oh, here and there."

She hummed. "Well, it's just Mother, dear. We are family now."

Axel tightened the black rope that the Sovereign Mother had provided to tie Cassius in place, drawing a groan from him.

"Does he need another shot?" Ares asked Ezra as he made sure Cassius's hands were secure.

Ezra shook his head in response. "He should be lucid and capable of understanding and communicating by the time he's secured."

Ares nodded, not questioning or challenging the response.

It was...odd seeing him and Ryder work so well with the others. Things were changing too rapidly.

Ryder had even shown earlier than I hoped to retrieve me. There was still so much to talk to Henry, Timothy, and Kai about, the twenty or so minutes I had weren't enough. Luckily they were being led to their rooms even I was leaving, indicating Axel wasn't lying when he said he would have rooms prepared for them. I knew I have a chance to finish catching up with them later.

I couldn't get the images of Timothy and Kai's smiles out of my head when they learned they weren't here to work but to live.

"What the..." Cassius slurred words were followed by a threatening and low growl.

"There," Jaxon said, standing to his feet. He had been crouched at Cassius's side, securing his legs to the chair beneath him.

He was dusting his hands off when Cassius gave a hard tug of his leg trying to break the bonds. Though the ropes holding him in place showed no strain, the chair beneath him looked like it could snap under his weight.

"What happens if the chair breaks?" Ryder aired the question everyone seemed to be pondering.

Cassius's mother waved away the worry. "They're enchanted," she said, referring to the binds. "If the chair breaks, the worst that'll happen is he'll end up with a few splinters in his behind. The ropes will constrict to keep hold of him. They were a saving grace during his rebellious years. He couldn't sneak out the window if he was tied to his study desk."

I was liking Cassius's mother more and more with each new random tidbit of information she provided.

A faint red tint could be seen making its way up Cassius's neck. If it wasn't for the colour showing his embarrassment, the scowl on his face would have had me trembling.

His eyes narrowed on her as her lips rose in a smirk, chuckles sounding around the room. "Mother, care to explain what's going on?"

"I'd love to dear!" She said pulling out a chair by my side and dropping into it with exaggeration that had Cassius giving a rare eye roll.

I tensed, not expecting her to shift her focus towards me. Placing an arm on the back of my chair, she brushed her hand down the side of my head, smoothing down my hair.

My muscles grew painfully tight as she continued the soothing action. Once the initial awkwardness passed, the action began to remind me of my mother. Whenever I used to seek her out after a nightmare, she used to gently pat my head as I laid against her, soothing me to sleep. Though Ares's mother's movements differed, they sent warm quivers reminiscent of the old memories through my body.

Her hand paused when she felt my body react. I paused, too, wondering if she would stop the action that I found myself wanting her to continue.

I sighed softly when she resumed, but my next breath got caught in my throat as she continued to speak.

"It seems I have failed as a mother."

The air seemed to be sucked from the room. No one expected those words. At all.

"When I received your notice about Stephen's betray, I had chalked it up to your father succeeding in getting his claws into him. That was until your concubines shared what you had planned for this sweet girl."

"Mo-"

"Do not call me that, boy. Not when you chose to follow in your father's footsteps."