Chapter Thirteen.

"Is he sleeping?" Eden asked when he teleported into his living room after a training session with Adam.

Cam was curled up on the couch, using Jenna's lap as a pillow as she watched T.V., his eyes closed and breathing rhythmic.

"No," Jenna ran her fingers through Cam's hair. "Just exhausted. He didn't get much sleep last night, and his attempt to nap this morning didn't work out so well. He was super moody a few minutes before you showed up, then curled up on my lap and went like this, refusing to speak."

"Alright," Eden stretched. "I'm going to take a shower, where's Callum?"

"No clue," Jenna shrugged. "He put up some wards and told me to make sure Cam didn't leave, then he just vanished."

Eden grunted, then went to the bathroom to shower as Jenna poked Cam in the ribs. He fidgeted, slapping her hand away.

"We'll find him," she told Cam. "I know we will. You got us some good information, it's only a matter of time before we find him."

"I know," Cam sighed. "But we're gonna have to fight. I'm done with fighting. I don't want to fight anymore. But I'm going to have to, aren't I? It's the only way we'll be able to find Ty. My trick with the security place won't work everywhere. We're going to have to fight."

"You don't have to fight if you don't want to," Jenna told him. "You can just wait outside. You're good at telling if someone's lying, right?"

"Yeah," he huffed. "But that doesn't mean anything if they simply refuse to give the answers and are thinking about other stuff or have mental shields. I'd have to pry, then. And push. Hard. And I don't want to do that."

"Wouldn't Callum do it for you?" She asked.

"I don't want to rely on him for everything," Cam sniffled. "I don't want to be weak! I don't want to always need a bodyguard! I want to be able to fight for me! But when I think about fighting, I get reminded-reminded of that night at the warehouse. When Blake died. He was so strong and cool. I wish I could be like that."

"You can be," she said. "Just eat lots of food, train your body and magic, and you'll be even stronger and cooler than him. I promise."

"Yeah, I guess," Cam moped, then fell silent for a few minutes. "When I fled the prison – the fairies' prison – I killed a lot of fairies, Jenna. I mean a lot of fairies. And then I killed Titania."

He sighed.

"I still have her corpse."

"What?" Jenna exclaimed, and Cam giggled.

"Fairy parts are extremely valuable in alchemy and magic rituals and stuff," he told her. "The more powerful the fairy, the more power the parts hold. I had to negotiate with Grandpa Alex her eyeball to get the universal key for slave collars. I dunno what he's doing with it, though – I didn't ask. I could probably make billions off her body. Or trillions! Maybe even quadrillions!"

Jenna stared at him, then chuckled.

"Sit up, Cam," she said, and he did. "You're going to be okay, Cam. I promise."

"I know," he sighs. "It's just a lot to take in. I'm going to have to kill again, and I don't know if I like it. But that's the life we live, isn't it? As long as I'm part of the magical underground, there's a high chance I'll have to kill, isn't there? Especially with all the wars going on over me. I'm a valuable prize. If they can collar me, they gain the most powerful slave in the world. The heavens are literally destroying themselves to get me. That's been paused, but I don't doubt that it's going to start up again. Dad says that, too."

"Dad?" Jenna stared at him. "You talk with your father?"

"He regularly kidnaps me when I try to nap to attend one of his ridiculous parties," Cam nodded. "Sometimes, I get covered in champagne or punch. Yesterday, it was chocolate."

"Is that why you keep taking a shower after your naps?"

"I feel icky after the parties," Cam nodded. "Even when I don't get covered in some random thing. But it makes my dad happy to have me at the parties, and I guess it keeps me from the nightmares. He said that I just have to come to terms with what happened and overcome it, and I'll be fine again. I dunno."

Jenna stared at Cam for a few moments, noting his shifting mood. Reaching forward, she pulled him into a hug, slipping her hands under his shirt, sliding them across his back until she reached his sides.

Then, she started tickling, holding Cam against her as he struggled to break free. He was much too thin and suffering from three years of malnutrition too many to resist her, though, and was unable to break free, no matter how much he squirmed and twisted.

Despite being weak from malnutrition, Cam was still the son of a High God, which meant his strength was still above a normal human's. Enough so that his wrestling with Jenna, another child of a High God, was too much for the couch they were sitting on, and it broke with a loud crack.

Jenna continued to tickle him as Cam squealed and giggled, stopping only when Eden ran out holding a towel around his waist, still soaked in water from the shower he'd jumped out of.

"What is going on in here?" He exclaimed. "The couch!"

"I'll get Callum to fix it," Cam giggled. "Jenna and I were just sitting here and it just broke. All on its own. Nothing happened. We most definitely were not wrestling around on it, and Jenna most definitely was not using her bigger muscles to keep me in her grip as she tickled me."

Eden sighed, then smiled at Cam. It was the first time he'd seen him giggling in… well, forever. He was sure Cam had giggled at some point before, but he couldn't remember hearing it.

At least he seems to be a little happier, Eden thought.

"I'm finishing my shower," Eden told them. "Please try not to break anymore furniture."

Eden returned to his shower, and Cam looked at Jenna.

"Thanks," he hugged her. "That was fun. Lots of fun. I promise, Jenna, I'm gonna do everything I can to find Ty for you. And not just because I like you."

Cam's face flushed as he realized what he admitted, and Jenna stared at him in shock at the confession.

"You like me?" She asked, and he gave her a slow, hesitant nod. "Come here."

She pulled him against her in a hug again, this time just hugging her.

"I like you, too, Cam," she said. "Part of the reason we left was because I didn't want to hurt you, I promise. Ty and I were constantly getting into fights, and it was scaring you, and I dunno, I didn't like that I kept scaring you. I'm so sorry, Cam."

"Woof."

Jenna and Cam turned to face Soldier, Eden's golden retriever, who was standing right beside them, wagging his tail.

"Alright, alright," Cam reached out, pulling the dog into the hug. "You're a good boy, aren't you?"

"Yes, please keep doing that to him," Callum said, and Cam grinned at his cousin, who had just returned. "Please, Cam. Don't treat me like a dog."

"Then don't turn into one?" Cam offered, and Callum sighed. "Where'd you go?"

"I was investigating something," Callum answered. "The location you found."

"Without us?" Cam scrambled to his feet, pulling Jenna up with him. "But-"

"No," Callum held up a hand. "I did this to help you, Cam. I was watching through Soldier's eyes while I was gone. Do you want to overcome what you went through, Cam? Do you want to try to push it back and accept it, accepting that you have killed and will kill again, if it means protecting those dear to you?"

Cam thought on that for several long moments. Did he want to kill again? No. Would he? More than likely. He knew that. He knew that fighting the traffickers would be the only way to do it. And they would send their agents after him trying to kill him. And their slaves.

Then there were the angels and gods fighting over him. When they returned, he would need to fight again. He couldn't rely on Callum forever – he didn't know how long his cousin would be around for. His father refused to answer.

"Yeah," Cam nodded as he slipped a hand under his shirt to scratch a part of his back. "If it means not getting kidnapped again and being able to protect my friends, then I probably will."

"Are you willing to stay short forever?" Callum asked.

"Huh?" Cam gave him a befuddled look.

"Just curious," Callum responded. "I know you hate being short. You're the equivalent of a fifteen-year-old human, but are rather short for that."

"Well, no, I don't want to be short," Cam glared at his cousin. "Why would you even ask that?"

"Why are you scratching your back?" Callum asked.

"Huh?" Cam realized what he was doing and pulled his hand away. "I dunno, it just itches."

"Better start eating a lot," Callum entered the kitchen. "You'll probably hit your final growth spurt soon."

"What are you, psychic?" Cam asked.

"No," Callum answered as he started pulling out food. "But demigods finish puberty between the ages of thirteen and fifteen, when they become the equivalent of an eighteen-year-old human. You're thirteen, so you're in the right range. And you're scratching your back. You probably only have three or four months left before your wings manifest. When that happens, you'll stop aging, stuck forever in the body of an eighteen-year-old. So you need to eat lots of food and train your body. Get those last growth spurts in before you finish."

"He's only a week older than me," Jenna told Callum, who had begun preparing burgers. "Does this mean I'll probably start soon?"

Callum gave her a once-over, then shrugged.

"Probably," he answered. "But you might have time. You look to be the equivalent of a fifteen-year-old human, so it's probable you're at the final stages as well. The last few years of aging take place in the span of about three or four months, and begins with the itching where the wings will manifest, once they come in. You look healthy enough to not need the extra food and exercise, but Cam's growth was stunted by the years on the street without proper nutrition."

"Maybe if I'd been more willing to fight sooner," Cam muttered. "And wasn't such a coward back then."

Jenna snorted, then hugged Cam again before he pulled away and sat at the counter to watch his cousin cook.

"Burgers?" Cam asked.

"Yes," Callum nodded. "They are something I discovered while you were missing. Quite delicious. Lots of meat, and we can even add some vegetables. I'll make you four of them, Jenna two, and Eden… I'll make him one. He's only mortal, even if a prodigy, and these are thick patties."

"Is it me, or is he talking a lot?" Jenna asked Cam as she sat beside him.

"He is," Cam confirmed. "I think he really cares for me."

"Of course I do," Callum snorted. "You're one of the kindest people I've met in my life, even for a son of your father's. You have a more mischievous side than most of his children, too."

"What does that mean?" Eden asked as he joined the other two teens, dressed in shorts and a sleeveless, his hair still wet from the shower he'd just finished. "That he's more mischievous?"

"Ulrima's children tend to fall into one of three categories," Callum stated. "The first is the lover and lust-filled kind. The second is the cold-hearted-kind. The third is the mischievous kind. Cam falls into the third category, it's why he tends to be playful."

"Not because he's a kid?" Eden asked.

"That, too," Callum nodded. "But I'm sure he'll stay playful and mischievous once his wings come in. Cam, stop scratching your back, all you're going to do is rip it open."

"I clip my nails short," Cam snorted. "It's just rubbing with the tips of my fingers."

"Wearing it down will do the same thing," Callum told him. "The itching will come in phases. Towards the end of your final growth cycle, it'll become nearly unbearable."

"Is there any way to stop that?" Cam asked. "Because it's unbearable now."

"Not that I'm aware of," Callum shrugged. "They may have invented something to ease the itching, though. Eden, Jenna – do you want cheese on your burgers?"

"What about me?" Cam asked as the other two teens gave an affirmative response.

"You're getting cheese," Callum said. "A growing demigod needs all the nutrients he can get."

"No mustard or tomatoes!"

"And after you finish lunch," Callum told him. "I'm taking you to where the slavers with any use are being held. If you want to overcome your trauma, you can practice on them."

At the mention of Cam practicing on people, the young teen quieted down, losing much of the energy he'd just displayed. His cousin's words made him realize his cousin had already dealt with the location he's sought and had singled out the people who would have any information that they could use.

Cam didn't like the idea of using his powers to interrogate people, and found himself having lost his appetite at the thought of it.

But it was to save a friend, so he resolved himself to do what he could.