The outcry from the city below seems to ring through the palace throne room like bells. I'm already halfway to the balcony overlooking the rest of Ersetu, to test my newly-grown wings, when the din of thousands of voices rises and chimes like bells.

"What is happening?" Belen asks, bewilderment on his face. He still looks a little green from being sick.

"My Princess is home," Nateos announces, a broad smile stretching across his face. His eyes have lightened in pleasure, dare I say it, almost brown.

Thane and I are racing to the balcony, throwing ourselves off of it without any hesitation. We can see the formation of warriors heading straight through the main gates of the palace. It winds like a spearpoint, a viper with blade and teeth. The Basru is here.

In their lead is Lier.

And in his arms... Mara.

Her red hair flows over his thick arms clutching her tight. Furs are wrapped around her, hiding most of her, just one slim hand is out. It's pressed against his bare skin, just below his throat.

My wings catch the wind. Sore from their reforming, I still push their limits. I have to touch my Flame again, hold her, love her.

Thane hits the ground running and I'm just a step behind him. When he hits Lier and Mara hard enough to tumble her from his arms to the cobblestone street I'm shocked for a split second.

It's like he doesn't notice Mara's slight form tumbling from Lier's arms. The furs fall away, revealing her frailty. My heart stutters. She is so thin, so delicate. Her lips, usually a deep red, are pale white. Shadows under her eyes stand in stark relief to the brutal cut of her cheekbones. I grab her, clutching her to me, grabbing her to my chest. The air I'm pulling into my lungs hurts. My Sprite is dying, even here, in the fucking Underworld, she's so fragile.

"Mara? My Sprite? What... what do I do, Thane?" I ask my brother.

He doesn't respond. I look up and get the second shock. Thane is tangled with Lier, his hand at the dark male's throat, fangs bared and dripping with venom. His tail is whipping in the air, his other hand struggling against Lier's own to plunge into the male's guts and rip them out.

"Fuck Thane! What are you doing?" I bellow. I pick up Mara and move backward to safety. The Basru circles the two warriors, eyes grim, claws and teeth at the ready.

Two of them shift into wolven and charge in between the two males to break them apart, only to be thrown off by my brother without Thane relenting the pressure on Lier's throat at all.

"Not yours," Thane sneers.

Lier chokes, prying at the hands on his throat.

"Traitor. Did you think that I would let you touch my Princess? You whore of Inanji's. I will slice out your eyes and cut off your balls and sew them to the holes in your empty skull," Thane bellows at Lier.

"Feed my daughter, Thelios," Nateos commands. He is watching the fight between my brother and Lier with an odd twist to his face.

I gather my Sprite closer as I take a claw and slice along the vein in my throat. Fresh blood spills, some of the droplets splattering on Mara's too-pale face. "Mara, Sprite, drink. Drink, firesprite." I press her mouth to the wound.

At first, nothing happens, then I feel her softly inhale, feel her tongue dart out and taste. She hums a soft sound of pleasure before she sucks gently, then swallows.

"More, Sprite. That's it, drink up," I croon, gently stroking her hair, her back.

She starts drinking in earnest after the first few swallows. I feel the euphoria of my Fated in my arms, of the bloodloss, of my own lust rising as Mara sates her need for my blood.

"Gods, I missed you, Sprite. I love you so much," I whisper to her softly. She makes a soft purring noise, but doesn't stop drinking.

I hear Thane roar in Lier's face as the male manages to free himself, "I will carve your oath into your heart, you fucking bastard!"

"Papa?" Poppy approaches me cautiously. Her hand is entwined with... gods, is that Thane's spawn?

"Let go of my daughter," I rumble my warning from my chest towards the white-faced adolescent male.

A wordless sneer is all I receive in return. I should bash his too-perfect face in, but Mara is still snuggled tightly against me, drinking deeply from my vien.

I slowly go from kneeling with her, to having her in my lap, my ass firmly planted on the ground. Woozy, I don't stop her. She's like a bird under my hands, so light I'm afraid I'll crush her.

"That's enough, daughter. His supply of blood isn't endless," Nateos says from above us.

I open my eyes lazily. I wasn't even aware that they had closed. Mara pulls away with a soft protest. I smile at her. She is so completely gorgeous, her eyes bright with life and, gods, I truly hope, love.

"I love you," I tell her.

"I love you," she murmurs. "My Captain."

I wince a little at the title. Her Captain. Am I her Captain or is she thinking of Thane?

Where the fuck is my brother, anyway?

I turn and look over my shoulder. It's carnage. Lier and Thane are ripping at each other, both males bloody with scales pierced and flesh torn. The two demon warriors are surrounded by what looks like a good brothel fight. Fists are flying as males I don't recognize battle with the Basru.

I would be concerned that we are under attack, but the gargoyle's antics assuage that worry. They are throwing mud, rocks, sticks, anything they can get their hands on with glee written all over their ugly faces.

They don't seem to be too picky about their targets, either.

I stand, helping Mara to her feet, even if she seems steadier than I am right now.

A face I recognize flashes in front of me. "Hanish?" I ask in disbelief.

"I am Gired, Prince Thelios," the male bows before bounding back into the fray with a whoop. I glance at Mara, who bites her lip, looking sideways at me with a blush of guilt coloring her face.

"They are goblins," she admits softly, "Rasted and Gired. Umm... I made them?"

"Made them?" I quirk an eyebrow at her. "So clever," I murmur, before capturing her lips with mine. Gods. Forever. It's been forever since I-

A clod of dirt strikes the side of my face. I pull away, glaring angrily at a sheepish looking Mishu.

"Mishu," I growl, taking a step. A male, one of the Basru, knocks into me. I stumble, then right myself, sending a powerful left hook right at his stupid head. He blinks, shakes it off, then leaps on me.

I tumble into the fight, grinning at the laughter and boastful talk I'm surrounded with. For the first time in... well, ever, I feel like this place is home.

---

I wrap my arms around my father, Poppy squashed in between us to her protest. My tears are pouring while he holds us tight, murmuring assurances. He smells of brimstone and faintly of my mama.

"Is mama here?" I whisper.

"In our suite, my daughter," Nateos says, wiping my tears away with his roughened palms.

"I missed you and her," I say. "I was so hungry, father. It was dumb of me-"

"No. It was brave of you. You have shifted the balance of this game in our favor, sweet daughter."

Poppy manages to wriggle free, skipping back over to the ever-watchful Erra. His blue eyes are brightly examining the fighting males.

Am I the only one slightly put out that my reunion with my Fateds has been taken over by this childish battle?

I look at Nateos for a long moment. "Lier... he is your son," I say quietly.

My father frowns, his expression darkening. "By blood, daughter."

"He is my brother." A scoff is the only answer. "How can you call me 'daughter' and not him 'son?'"

"His mother is not yours, Mara," he snaps a little frostily, his eyes deepening to infinite black.

"But he is your son, father."

A muscle in his jaw flexes. "He needs his family just like I do," I whisper. My father has given me so much. Including a family.

"You are easy to love, daughter."

I smile at him. "I would like to have my big brother, father."

Nateos nods, once, slowly. "Your mama doesn't know," he says softly.

I wrinkle my nose at him. "Mama is a smart female, father. She can add the years," I say a little hotly. Too hotly, judging by the unamused expression on his face.

Slowly, his anger seems to fade away. "As you will it, daughter. If she is angry with me, I will just tell her how our daughter has two Fated males and she intends on keeping them both." He smirks knowingly at me. "I haven't told her that, either."

I feel the shock ripple through me. I narrow my eyes on my father. "She'll be fine with my Fated males," I say with no conviction whatsoever.

My father just smiles, then begins to steer me inside the palace. "Of course, daughter. Now, let's get you cleaned up. Come, Poppy, Erra. Kalla will be pleased to finally meet you two."

"What about..." I look over my shoulder. Thane has a male tucked under his armpit as he punches him in the gut over and over. Thelios is attacking three males at once, laughing boisterously. My gargoyles have stopped participating and have settled on the sidelines, watching with eager faces.

"Let the males fight out their energy," my father replies.

A little dazed at the ridiculousness of my grand entry into the Underworld, I allow my father to bring me inside the palace.

"Oh," I breathe out. My hand reaches out, grasping Poppy's. I give my little girl a smile. She smiles back, happily swinging between me and Erra.

"You approve?" my father asks proudly.

"It's beautiful. Everything here is so utterly gorgeous."

I run my fingertips over the glossy black walls, the carvings of battles and cemeteries of materials I have never seen before. The stone has veins running through it, as if it's alive.

"Marble," my father tells me.

It's cool to the touch. Marvelous. I look down and see an intricate mosaic designed of wood of every color. "My goodness," I say out loud. It's exquisite. I trace the designs with my eyes, whorls like blades dancing, until my gaze reaches my toes.

"I'm so dirty!" I wail, shocked at the blood and mud caked on my feet.

My father laughs. "Your toes are not the only things that need to be bathed, daughter."

I turn to look at my reflection in the highly polished black walls. My eyes open wide on myself. Red blood coats my mouth, rolls down my throat to soak my chest and stain the tiny bit of clothing I am wearing. There is a stain on my chest where the stake was hammered through. The wound is gone, but my entire left side is covered in dried blood. My hair is nothing more than a bedraggled rat's nest.

I blush. I'm not naked, but it's close. A spurt of anger races through me.

This is how I entered my father's kingdom for the first time? A helpless, pathetic-looking waif, starved and soaked in her own blood, with the sand of the Forgotten clinging to me. I am nearly nude.

"Daughter?"

"Your other daughter," I say to the god, waspishly, "staked me as a Forgotten wearing nothing but a filthy rag! I am a goddess! How dare she?" I am seething, the boiling hot anger rising up faster and faster. My fingers go to the scrap of cloth clinging to my thin body. My hands are shaking, my vision hazy from the fury I feel toward the bitch who orchestrated my own demise in the above.

My father's hands settle on my shoulders and I feel the anger fade, leaving me limp and exhausted.

"What is happening to me?" I ask.

"You are feeling your place here, Mara. Everything you are as the Lady Grief will be tenfold here in the Underworld. We will take it slow, yes?" he starts to steer me away from black mirror.

"What is next in this war, father?"

"The gods will come here, my daughter. And everything that will come to pass will come to pass."

I heave a heartfelt sigh. My father still speaks in riddles, even here.

"My sweet Parijan," a feminine voice chokes out.

"Mama!" I fly into my mother's arms. My body presses against the jewels and beads draping her clothing. I am sure that I'm spreading my blood all over her finery, but I am equally sure that my mama doesn't care.

We are both crying, my tears dripping to the floor, the droplets running over the marble floor and staining it with more streaks of pink.

"Look at you, my sweetheart," mama sobs. "What has happened to my daughter?"

"Erra says mama was killed by the bitch goddess," Poppy pipes up.

All of the adults freeze. Poppy is standing next to my father, Erra on the other side. As usual, their hands are entwined. There is no guilt on Erra's youthful face. The look of hardened cruelty in his blue eyes belongs on a male far older than he is. And to think, he is actually much younger than he appears. I think the only softness he ever shows is towards Poppy.

"Is this my granddaughter?" mama asks, smiling through her tears.

"Grandmother?" Poppy puts her fingers in her mouth and cringes away. Erra wastes no time, picking her up and glaring at my mother for upsetting his heart, even if it was unintentional.

My own heart breaks and I swear silently to find the ones who hurt my precious baby and make their souls suffer. I have all the time in the world to do so. As soon as I find Inanji and make her pay her blood price for all of this suffering. What happened to Poppy and her mother should have never occured.

My mother cries harder when she sees Poppy's reaction. I hurry to try and right this for them. "Let's call her Nana, right, Poppy?"

My daughter nods, peeking out at my mother with her head half-buried in Erra's shoulder.

Blue eyes swing sharply to me. I see the message in them. Erra wants his piece of justice for Poppy, too.

He may have to line up behind my males and myself.

Where are my males? Tears prick my eyes, but I fight it off. If they want to act like children then so be it.

"Urto is influencing them," my father tells me in a low voice.

I look up at him, startled.

"You were looking for your males," he says quietly, smoothing my hair back. "For now, my daughter, let your mama fuss over you. Your males will remember their places at your side, eventually."

Eventually?

I let my father draw me away, knowing that I am pouting.

I barely notice the bathtub, the fine oils and scents being poured into the water. It's not until I am about to step into the frothy water that I realize that it's just plain water.

"No! Where is my pool?" I ask the attendants filling the tub. Dark-eyed females, they look to each other nervously.

"Mama?" I call out. She looks up inquisitively from where she is fussing over a quiet Poppy and watchful Erra.

"Where is my pool?" my voice has tears in it. I'm tired of acting so weak, but, damnit, I have no desire to bathe in this... water.

"Pool?" my mama's hands flutter in agitation.

I am ready to scream or cry or something.

"I'm hungry and dirty and I want my pool!"

"I will take her," a deep voice calls out into the opulent room.

"Lier," I say in relief. "Do you know where my pool is?"

"I can find it for you," comes his reply. He enters the room, having washed himself already. His hair is soaking, hanging down his back in braids. He is wearing a clean pair of pants and nothing else. I narrow my eyes on him. His skin is painted with dark bruising. One mark high on his right cheekbone is still a bit swollen.

"Who are you?" Mama asks with suspicion.

Oh, shit.

"This is..." my voice trails off. I bite my lip, eyes wide on Lier. My father couldn't have just told mama that he had another child? Honestly, is every male a selfish bastard?

"I am the Commander of the Lady's Basru, madame Queen," Lier responds carefully. His words fall between us, heavy and meaningful.

And just like that, my older brother has sworn himself back into my service.

I open my mouth to speak. To say what, I don't know. There seems to be too much to say.

"I thought there was a Captain?" my mother says with a frown.

"Thane is the Captain, mama. But he is also..." Damnit! Eyes wide on Lier, I blurt out the only thing that I think can get me out of this conversation, "I'm hungry and need to bathe in the pool! Poppy, Erra, stay with Nana, alright?"

Lier, thankfully, understands, picking me up, throwing me over his shoulder and sprinting from the room. The attendants watch with wide eyes.

Well, that will start some interesting rumors.

Outside of my mother's rooms is Belen.

"Belen!" I squeal.

The laughing male takes me from Lier, whirling me around in circles until I'm dizzy and breathless from laughing. He finally sets me down, ignoring the scowl planted on Lier's face.

"Where are we going?" Belen asks us, a twinkle in his green cat-eyes.

"Oh, Belen," I say, hugging him again.

"We need a place at the river for Mara to bathe," Lier says stiffly.

He and Belen size each other up. I interrupt their posturing with a huff. "Now, males!"

Belen takes us down into the bowels of the palace. I'm happy to see only a few souls in what looks like a laundry and kitchen along the way.

The river runs along the eastside of the palace. Stone walls hold the water back from flooding the yard, but there is a staircase down to a small dock. We walk down to the dock and I smile at the privacy in the place.

The river is just as beautiful as I remember. Scooping up a handful of water I sigh in pleasure at the feeling of it washing over me.

Stripping off my rags, I slip into the water. It's waist deep and the current is slow along the dock. A small shelf built into the stone wall just under the water line is a perfect seat while I rinse my hair as my toes dig into the sandy bottom of the river.

"Are you alright, Princess?" Belen asks me. I glance over. Both males have their backs to me. Belen is at the stairs and Lier is facing upstream.

"It's perfect, Bel."

"Keep talking so that we know you're alright," Lier orders.

I start to hum softly.

That's probably how my males find me so easily.