CIX ||| Twenty-Six Out of Twenty-Six

My skin turned bright red.

Fine. You won.

{"I know you crave for me too, no need to be shy! Because I can't wait to strip you naked and be all over you again, babe. Inside you, and with you on top of me. Or pressing you against the wall, in that way we both love doing so much!"}

I gasped, face burning. Not here. Don't get me horny now.

{"Too bad. I love doing that,"} this bastard.

If you keep this up, I'll kill you.

{"Ah, I love when you threaten me, babe. Turns me on so much."}

Stop, arsehole. Not now.

{"Can't way to tire you all night again,"} he winked.

"You are an arsehole, you know that?" I growled.

"I know," smiling he gave me a kiss. "She's in!" He told them.

"Uh? What the hell? Just like that?" Rio gasped.

"Did he just won in a staring context?" Yumi frowned.

["Oh, they are kind of telepathic now,"] Jack opened his big mouth. ["Also because of the winged-serpent mating bond. And that's not all-"]

I glared at him, "Shut your bloody arse up, Jack!"

"What do you mean telepathy?" Savannah gasped.

"What more?" Rio crossed his arm, insistent, and looking at him now, I couldn't not remember of Lazarus and his annoying arse messing with Melina, Cornelius, and bickering with grandpa. "Why are you looking at me like that?" He gasped, turning bright red.

Ignoring him, I turned to Oliver, "Those cloaks make it look like a Cult, you know?" That made him laugh.

"I want one!" Felix exclaimed, staring at Igor and then Henrihk.

Dora snapped her fingers and summoned two normal cloaks and a small one that definitely fits Jack, using her light magic, then, grinning, she threw it at us. "We had already gotten them for you. The boys and Oliver gave us your measurements."

Of course, he did. "So, just asking, are you in, for real?" I looked at each of their faces, analyzing it. "In the whole twenty-six against Meredith? Even with the death note? Are you sure about this? Because you need to think this through. Is it worthy to risk your life on this, do not act purely on impulse, because this is not a little game, or a child's play."

But they didn't even think, "We are in, Hel! We've decided!" They exclaimed like a choir.

"Besides, in or not, we are all with our lives on the line," Felix tilted his head, putting the cloak on, and then dressing Jack with it. "Believe, I am scared, but I am doing this. I am not going to be used. I want to be on this and be with you, and kill her," I respect that.

My eyes met Agost and Nicolette's. "And you? This will be harder for you, you are aware of this, right?"

A stern and firm nod from both, "We are in, Hel!"

"We might actually end up in hell," I chuckled anxiously, then I put the cloak on. Taking a deep breath, I jumped over the table, sitting over it with my legs flying, turned to all of them. And I'm serious.

{"You are serious?"} Oliver frowned and I closed my eyes. "Babe? What exactly happened to you? Why were you like that?"

When I opened my eyes, I let out an annoyed sigh. "Where do I sit? I mean, you must have your places marked by now, no?" I turned to Oliver, and he pointed one of the chairs in the left center.

"As there's always a place empty near Igor and Henrihk, Felix can seat with them. You sit on my side. We sit in couples, the singles sit with each other," then he pushed the chair for me like a gentleman, and I jumped from the table with a mischievous grin. {"I am a gentleman, love."}

Outside of bed? Definitely. Pressing my lips together, I took the sit.

{"You wouldn't want me to be a gentleman in bed."}

No. I wouldn't. Ignoring his naughty remarks, I watched as all the others sat down together. "So, now, everyone, right hand up. Oli too." They stared at me with curiosity but all of them did what I said, then, I looked into my ring and found the collection of thirty emerald sculpted rings then I summoned twenty five. Using my telekinesis, I put them on their left pinky. "You're welcome."

"I love it!" Felix exclaimed excitedly.

Henrihk giggled, "Of course, you do. It's emerald."

"You're obsessed with it," Igor winked at him.

"I am," Lix beamed in the middle of the two.

"So," Dimitry gave me a narrow look, "what's this for?"

"Oh? I don't know," I giggled. "Mom made them," I showed them mine to them. "There's thirty, though. But it felt like they were made for this. They are all identical too, with a serpent sculpted on it."

{"Now I have two rings from you,"} he licked his lips. {"I love it."} "Why do you think there's thirty, beautiful?"

I'm glad you liked it, Oli. "One might be for Agatta. Two for two people I might meet outside of the Academy. I don't know, though, it's just a thought. I'll have to ask my mom when we go there!" Maybe it's the girl my grandparents told me to find. Sunna.

{"What? When did you talk to them?"}

Long story. I'll tell it in a minute, then I intertwined our hands.

{"You MET them?"} He tightened his grip on mine softly.

It's more complicated than that, but kind of?

"Wait!" Yumi gasped, beaming. "We'll meet your mom?"

Oh, I always forget Yumi is a fan girl. "If I managed to get mom in corporeal form, as they say people with manipulation of spiritual energy can, then yes. If not, I'll be meeting her and you will just be there, watching me as if I've lost it," I tilted my head.

Shiryu's eyes widened, "We might meet Shay Miralanthor!"

"When?" Rio gasped.

"We'll be stopping on Abellona, and in mom's lair, before we go up Everest, to where Emerald Sky City is," I turned to my siblings. "Why are you pale?"

Agost pressed his lips together, "Will it be okay for us to go?"

"Given… everything," Nicolette gulped.

I tilted my head, scoffing softy, "My mom isn't the type to blame a child for their parents, or grandparents mistakes. Besides, you are still her mate's children. She may be slightly annoyed at first, but she will treat you well. Definitely better than I did. Though she might talk about killing your mother, and that may be uncomfortable for you."

"Not really," Agost scoffed, haunted.

"After all she did?" Nicolette clenched her jaw. "I don't think so."

{"I told you, babe. They had already planned on doing that.}

Seems like it's a trend in here to want to kill your mother or father. I never really went through that, but it's not hard to understand.

{"Well, I do understand that."} I can feel his anger mirroring mine.

We'll kill them together, Oli, I assured him. It'll happen!

He kissed my hand that he's holding. {"I love you, Hel."}

How could you not? I grinned, trying to soften the overwhelming love I'm feeling from him. Too bad I hate you though.

"Seems like I underestimated you," with a wink, I turned to Rio. "After the tournament. Though we'll be stopping by a place in the pacific first, which you will have to wait for me and Oliver, as you were no invited. Then we'll head to Everest!"

"I can't believe I'm going to Everest," Ivar gasped. "Dope."

"We'll be able to tattoo our weapons?" River asked.

A nod, "If you want to, yes. I can stop time and then make that happen, since tattooing takes a bit of time. But it'll be better for using them."

He grinned, "Awesome."

["Now,"] Jack began, laying down on the middle of the table, head to me, because he can't help being the center of the attention. ["Spill it. Why did that happen to you? What did you just said about the mirror."]

{"Yes. What was that about you seeing your grandparents?"} Oli turned to me, curiosity blooming on his beautiful face. {"You love my looks, don't you?"} Arsehole.

How could I not? You're just painfully handsome. "The Academy was given this name after the spirit in the mirror. It's actually one of the Royal artifacts of the black winged serpents, that's why it acted up on my arse. Her name is Belladonna Sabine van Amstel. And that is not a magical portal mirror. It's the Emerald Mirror of the Soul, gifted to my kind, by the Triple Goddesses, in the same way they gifted them the Crown of Chaos," I turned to Oliver. "And the Crown is pretty much, literally a Crown."