Nexus stood tall, never wavering in the face of danger. Aram's breathing increased as his hands clenched into tight fists; his cold glare met Ruby with icy indifference. "She hurt Odeen. If it were the other way around, you'd want him to pay, too."
Ruby backed away further, catching Odeen's full attention. He shifted his gaze toward Nexus's cold snarl before a chill ripped through him, the likes of which he'd never known. "What's happening here?"
Nexus clenched his jaw, pointing an accusatory finger toward Aram. "Your fucking union is threatening mine. Make him back down, or else." Aram scoffed, but Nexus's brows furrowed tightly. "Or I'll kill him myself."
Odeen felt something shift inside him. The disappointment that had drowned him mere moments ago was now replaced with insult and rage. He stood, shifting an intimidating stare toward where Nexus was staring, successfully meeting Aram's eyes. He held his arm out defensively, protecting Ruby himself. "If you're going to be sticking around, you'll learn quickly that I take care of my own. Ruby is under my care, so she could stab me for all I care. You're never to lay a finger on her. Do I make myself clear?"
Aram tilted his head to the side in confusion, stepping forward to come face-to-face with Odeen. Ruby scrambled to her feet, her breath wavering. "He's right in front of you, Odeen!" Nexus turned his gaze away, uninterested in their squabble.
"I know." Odeen's expression hardened, feeling Aram's breath against his face. "So you're really taller than me? Do you think that's intimidating? I might not be able to see you, but I am not known to go down without a fight. My pride is wounded. But it will heal."
Aram let out a deep, angered huff that billowed across Odeen's face bluntly. "Fine." The vibrations of his low, baritone voice were felt, yet Odeen never wavered. "I'll stand down for now. But I won't soon forget how she broke your heart."
Ruby sighed weakly, stepping forward with her eyes locked on her fiddling fingers. "I didn't mean that I wasn't interested, or that I'd never court you." Odeen's attention perked, spinning around to stare at Ruby in disbelief. "I'll admit it." She shrugged. "I like you a lot. And while it doesn't sound like a bad gig, dating the king of Ocerania, we are in the biggest battle of our lives. We're going up against deities from another world. Of course, I want to focus only on that 'happily ever after' part after the danger passes."
Odeen's heart began to pound against his chest with excitement, approaching Ruby with a tender gaze. "I'd be willing to wait a lifetime for you. After everything that happened since the very moment that you arrived, I don't think I'd be able to be with another. You've given me something that no mortal, nor deity could ever replace."
Nexus and Aram shared an uncomfortable gagging noise before Aram approached Ruby, slinging himself across Odeen's back. "Well, if he's cool with you, so am I. Just don't get on his bad side. Mine's worse." Ruby frowned deeply before Aram turned his attention toward Nexus. "We good?"
Nexus sighed weakly, cracking his neck. "For now. Threaten my mortal union again, and we will have bigger issues. Ruby, I'm staying close by from now on. Odeen sticks to you, which means this bastard won't be far off."
Ruby rolled her eyes, yet she nodded. The instant obedience even set Nexus back a few steps. She took Odeen's hands into her own, letting out a dull chuckle as her mind filtered out the overpowered gods around them. "I just wanted you to know that I didn't reject you for any other reason than we might be facing certain death."
Aram scoffed, nuzzling his head into Odeen's back. "You, maybe. I'm going to keep my cute little mortal safe throughout the entire harmonic period. Do you really trust the most inexperienced deity in the Inbetween with your life? If you accepted Odeen's proposal, I'd protect you as an extension of Odeen's happiness."
Ruby gazed over at Nexus, finding his expression wearing thick with worry. He had the same concerns about his ability to protect her when the time calls for it. The corners of her lips turn up into a pleasant smile. "Yeah, I do." Nexus's eyes widened in shock. "It's not like I need him to. My power surpasses his tenfold. But he's also the only deity known who has created two new gifts, and not only mastered the melodies of the universe, but became the master. That's pretty badass."
Nexus smiled weakly, finally closing the distance between them. "You'd trust me finally? What have I done to earn your trust so suddenly? I honestly thought that you and I would be at odds forever."
Ruby merely rolled her eyes. "Drama queen. Of course, I snapped at you; my phone was dying. It was the last thing that I had from my home. But how could I not trust you? You jumped into the Inbetween to find me, betrayed your goddess, and even though you hate our bond, you stuck around."
Nexus smiled warmly, stepping forward to wrap his arms around Ruby without warning. There was a stiff, stunned silence that fell over the entire group. "Nexus..." Ruby's tone came out wavered. "You're the one touching me. I thought you hated being touched."
"This isn't so bad. Just a minute longer, alright?" Ruby's stunned expression fell into amusement as she wrapped her arms around him in return. Odeen felt himself being pushed forward, digging his heels into the dirt in a futile attempt to stop the inevitable.
Aram opened his arms, throwing Odeen forward to wrap all three of them in a warm embrace. "Awe! Group hug! It seems as though both of our mortal unions are going well, baby brother!"
"Aram, get the fuck off of me! Why do you have to ruin everything?!" Odeen had the same complaint, pressed up against Ruby and Nexus against his will.
Ruby chuckled sweetly, resting her head on Odeen's shoulder. "I think he's the kind to do whatever he wants. You're not going to get him to let go easily." Her eyes fell upon Safire when she entered the area with Genis. "Guys! SOS! The buff one won't let us go!"
Safire fought back the urge to laugh, having to cover her mouth. "Oh, that's actually really cute." Genis raised a brow, looking to Safire curiously. "Not that I want to join, or anything. It just looked like fun."
Genis clicked his tongue, pushing Safire forward with a supportive hand to her back. "We just went over this, Fire. You need to be more open with what you want, right? Now you wanted to speak with Ruby, didn't you?"
Safire sank into herself, clearing her throat nervously. "Not really. It was nothing important, so it can wait until tomorrow." Ruby writhed out of Aram's arms, stumbling back a few steps. "I mean – it'd be nice to clear the air with her."
Ruby brushed herself down, approaching Safire with caution. "I wanted to speak with you, too. Nexus, stay here. I don't need you hovering over our conversation. We need to speak about what I overheard."
Safire sighed weakly, scratching the back of her neck. "Yes, that's what I wanted to talk to you about as well. But it can wait until tomorrow. I'm exhausted." Safire stopped when Ruby took her hand, giving it a slight squeeze.
"No. Now, Safire. We need to clear the air right now so I'm able to trust you again." Safire's face warped in pain. Ruby pulled her away from the group, sliding her fingers between Safire's to lock their fingers together. Once they found a secluded area, Ruby spoke cautiously. "I'm not mad at you. I get why you want Nexus dead. We're all going through hell right now. Nexus took away someone you cared about deeply and tore our souls in half. Added to the death threats, hunting us down, and trying to merge us again. But I believe in second chances. He's trying."
Safire shook her head, pulling Ruby's hand to hold it closer. "That's not it, Ruby. You never heard the full conversation. I don't want Nexus dead. Jasher does. Yeah, he killed Rufus, but it was an accident. I want someone else dead. And you may not forgive my intentions toward that person."
Ruby's head tilted to the side before she took a shuddering exhale of relief. "Oh, thank God, I thought you were coming after my mortal union. I don't get the term, but I feel really connected to him lately. It's strange. Who do you want dead, then?"
Safire winced, lowering her gaze. "I am going to attempt an assassination on Odeen." Ruby felt the world sway, stepping back from Safire, who held her hand tighter. "You don't understand it, Ruby. When this is said and done, you'll be gone. I'll have to marry him. Unless he's gone."
Ruby fought back every instinct to rip her hand from Safire's, sucking in a harsh breath. "That's stupid." Safire jerked. "I am not going back to Earth. I just explained this to Odeen. I'll be staying on Teralu. With you. I'll – uh... Figure something out with Odeen and Hendrics. I am technically you."
Her words didn't seem to ease Safire's worries. "You don't know anything about what's coming for us, Ruby. I've been thinking. What if we did merge? Nexus separated us once before. And as a full being, we could take on-"
"I'm gonna stop you there." Ruby finally pulled her hand away. "I have no intentions of merging with you. Ever. Things are going to go our way, Safire. But if you start thinking like that, we will have a weak link. In you. You have to believe in us as a whole; even if we're fractured."
Safire furrowed her brows. "We're going up against gods, Ruby. You're the one who isn't thinking this through. With your black hole and my black magic, we'd be unstoppable as a unit. Our 'team' is fucking pathetic. We're going to be slaughtered out there if we don't take the necessary precautions to protect both ourselves and our weak team. How could you tell me to believe in what we have here? We have nothing but each other."
Ruby smacked her lips, shaking her head in disappointment. "Thanks for the vote of confidence, Safire. I think we'd be more powerful if I kept hold of this magic, and you took over with yours. Being able to fight separately would increase our chances of winning. You're not thinking clearly. And if you even think about hurting Odeen, Nexus, Jasher, Vatic... You won't have to worry about dying in battle with Serina. I'll end you myself. This little disagreement never happened. I won't split the team up because you're having some sort of crisis. But I won't sit idly by, either. You've been warned."
Ruby turned on her heels, returning to the group silently. Safire hung her head, clenching her fists at her sides tightly. Genis stepped out from behind a nearby tree, grinning wildly. "Well, that was fun! I didn't think she'd have the balls to stand up to you. Get some power into the mortal, and she thinks she's all that. Are you ready to do things my way, now?"
Safire glared at the ground, grinding her teeth as her mind was assaulted with visions of her life before she met Ruby. Her determination turned to stone. "Yeah, I'm going to do this your way. We wait for the whistleblower. Once the confusion takes hold, we'll use that distraction to rip my soul from that walking corpse. Once we're whole, she'll understand that I'm doing this for us. She'll see things my way."
Genis snickered, ushering Safire back toward the campgrounds. "She won't have much of a choice. I'll get the diversion started. Time is against us, and we need someone to bring it up so that Nexus doesn't suspect our plan. If it came from me, he'd know my angle."
Safire's expression darkened. As the night progressed, Ruby sat beside Odeen. She was exhausted, but she could not find it in her to sleep. Odeen was already well into slumber as Nexus paced the grounds, seeming frantic and panicked. Ruby's gaze followed Nexus in irritation. "Can you stop that? You're freaking me out."
Nexus sucked in a harsh breath, shaking his head nervously. "Something is about to go wrong. I can feel it. There's danger lurking around every corner, and the closer we get to the hemisphere, the closer the danger creeps."
Nexus nearly leapt from his skin when Aram snuck up behind him, blowing against his neck. Ruby cracked a smile when Nexus yelped from the shock. Genis smirked, taking the opportunity of distraction to lean down to Jasher's ear, whispering to the half-asleep mortal. "How can Ruby see Aram?"
Genis immediately shifted to Safire's side, away from Jasher. Safire kept her eyes locked on Ruby coldly as Jasher tossed and turned, his brows furrowing with the question that beat around his skull. He soon sat up, directing his attention to Ruby. "Yeah... how can you see Aram? He never called to you!"
Ruby's brows furrowed as her head lowered in ponder. "That's a great question, Jasher. Nexus, how can I see him?" When Ruby's stare met Nexus's, her blood ran cold. Nexus had frozen in place, staring at Ruby with the look of utter terror. "What haven't you told me?"
-End of chapter 34-