Page 61 of Chaos Unleashed

Rival’s arms tighten around me and he kisses my shoulder, making my heart hum with happiness. I’m in a state of disbelief at the moment; I know that they are here, really here, but there’s still a small part of me that thinks that they’re part of one of Hiromu’s illusions, one that he’s going to savagely rip away from me any second now. It’s because of that I’m still on edge waiting for the other shoe to drop, but maybe I should just let it go. If this is an illusion, then I’m going to enjoy it as much as I can before I’m thrown back into my harsh reality, and if it’s not, then well, that’s awesome.

“Sorry,” Grey winces and then immediately starts to explain, “those axes were formed in the god realm, much like my own blades.”

“Wow, that’s pretty cool,” I mutter, stroking the axes.

“Yes.” H agrees and then adds, “But only gods and goddesses can touch them, and they never bond to anything but a god or goddess.”

“And they are clearly bonded to you,” Grey’s eyes are filled with the answers, but as he opens his mouth, nothing seems to come out.

“Which means you’re a goddess,” H says, and Grey nods in agreement.

I stare at them for a moment before the realisation hits me.

“Well, that proves it. Hiromu fucked up with that; I mean, a goddess? Seriously?” I question.

I’ll give it to him though the guys stay in character as they all look confused, he’s even got the realisation dawning on Hades and Khaos’s features. I slowly get up off Rival’s lap, pick up my axes and start to cautiously back away, moving away from them all as I grip the axes tightly, they may be a part of this illusion, but they’re freaking badass, and if any of the other illusions are anything to go by, then I’m going to need them.

They’re all watching me closely, concern on their faces and anger on Grey and H’s.

“Farren? What’s wrong?” Loki asks.

I don’t say anything as I crouch down into a defensive crouch and wait for them to make their next move.

“She thinks this is one of Hiromu’s illusions,” Grey says, managing to keep up the act as his eyes fill with sadness.

“What?” Mayhem asks, his gaze not moving from me. “She thinks that all of this is fake?”

Grey nods sharply once.

“Why does she look ready to fight us?” Reaper asks cautiously as if he already knows the answer.

H’s voice comes out as a growl, as he replies, “Probably because in the illusions we attack.”

“What!” Storm practically explodes.

I tilt my head to the side. His reaction is a new one. In fact, all of their reactions are new; they all look absolutely horrified.

Storm stands up, and I automatically take a step back.

“Careful, brother, she thinks that you’re about to turn on her,” Killian says, shadows clouding his eyes.

I don’t like the look of pain that I see there, and it makes me want to go to him to comfort him, but I know that it’s probably a trick, and as soon as I get close, he’ll attack.

I force my feet to stay still.

“How do we help her? How do we get her to realise that this is real?” Loki asks, his tone desperate.

“I’m not sure,” H replies, his eyes scanning me from head to toe.

Suddenly, Mayhem makes a noise, and I glance over at him to see his eyes light with knowledge. He looks at Hades, “Most illusionists have a tell, right? There’s usually something in their illusions that isn’t quite right, something that is slightly off. So while still terrifying and traumatic, if the recipient can find that they at least know it's fake, right?”

“Yes, that’s right.” Grey replies and quickly cottons on to what Mayhem is getting at; his eyes move to me, and in a soft tone, he adds, “Farren, this is real. Even Hiromu isn’t good enough to have infallible illusions; I know you; I know that you’ve found the tell, the thing that will tell you whether this is real or an illusion; what is it?”

“If she tells you, she’s going to think that Hiromu has manipulated it that way and that this isn’t real,” Zev points out. He looks at me, “Don’t tell us, Farren.”

I am now incredibly confused; the illusions have never behaved like this; even Poca isn’t acting how he would in the dream and is whining quietly.

I start to doubt myself.

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