The Golden Prodigies

Chapter 64

Jacota felt weightless when he woke. His dreams gave him hours of stress-free bliss until he drifted out of them and remembered who had died. The war was over, despite the losses, and it was no longer eating away at him.

He couldn't help but think about Nathan and Kayla, his uncle and step-aunt died an awful death. In the end, Nathan was still in denial about his son's poisoned mind. Vic had worked with Grace for thousands of years. He turned her into a werewolf, the monster she used to hate, so she could be stronger in the war. To her, fighting as a human wasn't good enough, but a human killed her. Jacota hadn't decided whether it was a good or bad thing that William killed her. His older brother despised the woman who caused their family pain.

Just because she was family didn't mean they had to tolerate her twisted mind. Sometimes, family members were the most toxic.

Jacota turned around to distract his thoughts and fill his head with Hunter, who to the God's surprise, was staring at him with dazed eyes.

"I thought you were still sleeping," Jacota whispered. Their faces were close.

"I haven't been awake long." Hunter eyed the mud that dried and flaked onto the sheets. "How about that shower now? I feel gross."

* * * * *

William emerged from his and Sam's room shortly after Jacota and Hunter. Most people slept until the evening. The cleaning was done to the best of everyone's abilities. The kitchen, once again, had no windows but it was still hot outside, and the humans appreciated a breeze.

Corey's parents and Vinny's parents worked together to make a massive pot of soup. Those who didn't manage to sleep well had to eat and keep their bodies healthy, even if their minds were withering away. Everyone in the room had witnessed a lot of deaths and sights no being should see.

Sam placed a steaming bowl of vegetable soup in front of his mate, sitting him down at the table. The werewolf pulled bread apart and dunked it in his bowl.

"How long have you been up?" William asked, rubbing the sleep from his eyes.

"Not long. About half an hour." Sam followed William's gaze to the garden.

Scott and Maisie sat together on a bench, deep in what looked like a fascinating conversation.

"I got so used to seeing him being alone; I forgot what he looked like in love."

"Do you ever think he was in love with Grace?" Sam asked. "Like really in love?"

William watched his father smile, and his eyes gleamed. "No. Maybe he thought he did, but I never saw him look at Grace like that."

"Who could? She was Lucifer's soulmate. That speaks volumes," Sam scoffed but quickly covered his mouth. "Sorry. I'm just not done hating her yet."

"It's okay, me neither." William rubbed Sam's back.

As the human dug into his soup, Milokan was forcing a hairbrush through Kaiden's matted hair. Blood, dried mud, and bits of wood and metal were stuck in the black mess. Kaiden had spent the day looking for his parents. Thankfully, Jeronah flew Meloras away before the gold wave of power could kill her.

"Ow," Kaiden scowled when Milokan yanked a brush over his head.

"Maybe you should shave it off?" Vinny suggested. The demon's hair wasn't long, but he didn't take great care of himself, especially over the past few days.

"Maybe you should shut up," Kaiden barked, gritting his teeth when the angel tugged hard enough to pull him off the seat. "Will you be careful!"

"Relax," Milokan smiled, trying not to chuckle. "There is no easy way to do it."