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Belos stood in front of the portal. The Collector's voice annoyed him, but what could he do? The Child of Stars is a useful ally and sometimes tolerable.
"It's so boring here! At least introduce me to your grimwalker! Maybe it’ll be more fun with him?"
"Leave my nephew alone. How many times do I have to say, that you won't get his body?!"
"You're so boring, Philip!" the Collector said, and rolled his eyes, crossing his arms over his chest.
Suddenly, the Collector disappeared. Belos turned and saw Hunter running up to him. He was wearing a scout uniform and it was covered in abomination. The teenager's hair was disheveled, and a couple of new abrasions flaunted on his face.
"I know that you told me to stay in the castle, but if I had stayed, I wouldn’t have found this," he said and took out the key for the portal from his jacket pocket.
Belos grabbed the key sharply and peered at it. It cracked. Only half of the Titan's blood remained in the key.
"I can explain everything—"
He wasn’t allowed to finish. The Emperor turned around and hugged his nephew sharply. Hunter could hear his uncle's heart beating wildly. He was worried.
"I'm sorry. I was too harsh. I'm just glad you're back safe and sound!"
Hunter smiled meekly. Belos broke the embrace and put his hand on his nephew's left cheek.
"Why did you disobey me? I asked you to stay in the castle. I was told that you almost died on the previous mission..."
The Golden guard looked away. He knew he had screwed up a lot. Usually Hunter doesn’t disobey the requests and orders of his uncle.
"I'm sorry, it's just… I wanted to prove that I could be useful."
Belos stroked his cheek.
Why did you consider yourself useless? Who made you doubt yourself? the Emperor though.
"Sunshine, you're useful. Never doubt it! Thank Titan you're okay."
"Thank you… By the way, the lake is drained."
The Emperor was a little surprised. He hadn’t been there for a long time and didn’t even suspect that all the reserves of the Titan's blood would run out.
If I had known, I would have seized the key from the Owl Lady long ago. There is no more Titan blood left... We need to hide the key. Until the Day of Unity, it should be in a safe place, Belos thought.
"Thank you for telling me."
After these words, Belos kissed Hunter on the cheek. The Golden guard closed his eyes and chuckled softly. The touch of slightly rough lips always made him smile.
"Go and get some rest. You can even take a day off tomorrow if you are too tired," he said.
"Thanks, but I’m fine. I'm not very tired, but Kikimora will obviously need it."
I almost forgot about her. I was wrong when I sent her on that mission. Never mind, next time I'll pick a suitable task for her, Belos thought, and then nodded to Hunter.
The Golden guard bowed to him and left.
"You’re so sentimental… Did I ever tell you that?"
Belos just nodded. He didn't have the energy to deal with an annoying child. Most importantly, his son nephew is fine. The rest doesn't matter anymore.
I need to take a day off sometime. I'm sure I'll go crazy soon if I keep talking to him, he thought.
Belos would have loved to spend the rest of the day with Hunter, but he couldn't. A meeting of the heads of the covens was waiting for him and it would soon be night. He didn't want to disturb Hunter just because he wanted to satisfy his selfish desires. The boy needs to rest.
* * *
It was raining outside the window. Large and small drops fell on the windowsill. A pleasant sound carried almost throughout the house.
"The rain in the human world doesn’t boil people." Those words echoed in Hunter's mind. He sat on the couch in the living room of Luz's house and looked out the window. It was rather dark outside. It's almost impossible to see anything. Such an environment pleased Hunter, although it didn’t calm him down at all.
He hugged his knees with his hands and looked out the window with a lost look. On his shoulder sat Belos, though it was more of a remnant of his monster form. Blue eyes radiated light, and small horns rested on the pointed ear of the teenager. The former Emperor looked at his nephew. Strong sadness was read in his eyes. He saw that Hunter was unwell. The teenager had difficulty sleeping. When he did manage to fall asleep, he woke up an hour or two later in a cold sweat. At such moments, Belos wanted to hug him tightly and never let go.
This case wasn’t much different from others. The teenager looked even worse than a week ago. The bags under his eyes grew, and he literally closed in on himself. Belos knew the reason for this behavior and couldn’t help but blame himself. If he hadn’t been cursed, he would have gladly consoled Hunter. In his new form, he felt little and couldn’t even speak, but only growl quietly.
Belos wrapped around the teenager's shoulder and pressed against his neck, starting to rub against it. Feeling his uncle's touch on his skin, Hunter looked at him and smiled meekly. He carefully took him into his hand. The former Emperor immediately put himself around his hand and looked into the eyes of his nephew.
He won't last long. You can't hide your emotions for so long. How I want to help! he thought.
Belos noticed more than once how Camila tried to talk to Hunter, but he always refused, preferring to remain silent. The teenager saw how suspicious she looked at his uncle's new form and immediately fell silent. The former Emperor understood why his nephew didn’t trust this woman, but at least she could comfort him. What can Belos do? That's right, nothing. Now he is absolutely useless.
Belos gazed at his nephew intently. With a look, he tried to say "It is okay, I'm here", but his words were lost in the darkness of the room.
Titan would take my fortune! Sunshine, you aren’t alone. I won't go anywhere. Please keep looking at me! Belos thought.
He was snapped out of his thoughts by the sound of sobs. He shook his head and looked at Hunter. Tears welled up in the teen's eyes. He desperately tried to wipe them off, but it didn't work well. Belos immediately changed his expression and began to growl softly. His heart hurt like a thousand knives had been thrust into him at the same time.
Belos carefully climbed onto his shoulder and tried to help wipe the tears from his face. He felt Hunter's body tremble. It was the first time he had seen his nephew so upset. The former Emperor's throat hurt terribly.
My boy, please don't cry. I can get my body back and I won't let anyone hurt you again! Holy Titan, someone, anyone, wake up. I'm completely useless. He needs someone who can comfort him! Belos thought.
Suddenly Hunter grabbed him and pressed him to his chest. Clothes could get dirty or not, he doesn't care. Hunter wants hugs. He wants to feel his warmth, even if it has now become so small and barely perceptible. Belos clung to his nephew's chest. A couple of tears fell on his little horns. One landed on his head, but Belos didn't care. His son nephew needs to cry. The former Emperor is ready to spend at least an eternity in his arms, just to guarantee the peace of mind to the teenager.
"P-please, uncle, d-don’t go away!" Hunter barely said.
So much pain was heard in his voice, which made Belos try to cuddle closer to him, but to no avail. He growled again and rubbed his head against the teenager's shirt.
I will never go away! I will always be with you, sweetie, the former Emperor thought.
For half an hour, Hunter was crying and sobbing quietly, trying to somehow hug his uncle. Only after this period of time, he was able to calm down a little. This couldn’t but please Belos.
"Cariño?"
Hunter flinched and turned at the sound of a familiar voice. Camila was next to him. She looked at him anxiously.
Thank Titan, at least someone is awake! Help him, please! Belos thought and continued to growl softly.
"W-why aren't you sleeping?"
"Can't sleep. I see it's hard for you too."
The teenager looked away. His eyes are still slightly red from crying.
"Are you sure you're fine?"
"Y-yes… everything is fine. Don't worry about me!"
Camila glanced at Belos. He shook his head. It's not hard to guess what he means.
"Look, I know it's hard for you. Sometimes it's hard to talk about your feelings, and I understand why you don't trust me. I don't know if this will calm you down, but I promise you that I will help you all, though I don't know how yet. You don't have to tell me how you feel. I just want to help."
"I-I know, it's just… Aren't you supposed to hate my uncle?"
She paused for a little bit. Camila understood perfectly why Hunter had asked her such a question. Luz told her about what she saw in the former Emperor's mind. The woman knew that he was far from a saint, but everyone makes mistakes, and Luz couldn’t learn absolutely everything in a short visit to Belos's mind.
"On one hand, yes. He hurt my daughter and her friends. It’s unforgivable, but I know he's trying to take care of you. I too, made mistakes while raising Luz. I… couldn’t always be there to support her. I'm… glad she never went to that camp. Now she has friends and a loving girlfriend."
Hunter looked at her again. It was the first time he had seen Camila like this. All week she was kind to everyone and kept calm. Now the woman reminded him of Belos, when he first told the teenager about everything on that ill-fated night.
"I'm really sorry…"
"Don't be, cariño. You didn't make those mistakes," she said, and paused for a moment. "So I'm not mad at your uncle. I won't forgive him for hurting my daughter, but he's already been punished for what he did."
Hunter looked at Belos. He just nodded. The former Emperor couldn’t but agree with her words and reproached himself for all the mistakes he had made.
"Since we’re awake, why don’t we have some hot chocolate?"
"What is it?"
"It's a sweet drink. Maybe it can help you relax."
The teen looked back at his uncle. He nodded in approval.
"Perhaps it would be nice…"
"Then wait here. I’ll be back soon."
When she disappeared into the kitchen, Belos breathed a mental sigh of relief. He couldn't thank Camila enough for the kindness shown to Hunter. The former Emperor didn’t care how he was treated. Most importantly, she won't hurt his child.
A few minutes later, Camila returned with the mugs, handed one to Hunter, and sat down next to him. The teenager carefully took one and felt the steam begin to warm his cheeks. A sweet smell filled the small space. He looked down at the mug and hesitantly took the first sip. The teenager's face immediately changed. He had never tasted something so pleasant before. Belos smiled when he saw his nephew like that.
"It’s so good! I… thank you. We don’t have that on the Boiling Isles."
"My pleasure. I can do it more often if you like."
"You don’t have to! I don't want to bother you. You have done so much for us, but…" he said. "Maybe... could you teach me how to make this hot chocolate someday?"
"It would be my pleasure!"
A small smile appeared on Camila's face. The tips of Hunter's ears turned pink. He isn’t used to kindness from other adults.
Deciding to shelve this thought, the teenager looked at Belos, offering him a sip, but he refused and literally said with a look, "Drink. You need more". Hunter didn’t argue with him and continued to drink. He felt his body gradually relax.
The former Emperor smiled. The sight reminded him of several previous grimwalkers: Hazel, as kind as Hunter, Alastair, whose optimism could brighten up even the worst day, and Dorian, whose fighting style was passed on to Hunter. Remembering them, the smile left Belos's face. They were dear to him. Of this he had no doubt. Sometimes the former Emperor missed them as much as he missed Caleb himself, but he couldn't afford to get too caught up in the past. Now he needs to protect his nephew.
When things get better, I'll be better. No more letting him risk his life on missions. I’ll keep him away from wild magic, and relinquish my title. The Boiling Isles need a better ruler, he thought.
After a couple of minutes, Hunter and Camila washed the cups.
"Good night bebé. If you need anything, feel free to wake me up."
"Okay. Good night to you too…"
Camila smiled affectionately and went to the second floor. Hunter looked after her then at his uncle.
"Do most mothers act like this?"
He said nothing. Belos no longer remembered his parents. In fact, Caleb replaced them, although back then he was a child by modern standards.
He nodded for show and saw the teenager smile.
I could learn a lot from her. Maybe someday I can be a normal parent for him, Belos thought.
Hunter decided to follow Camila's example. Sitting comfortably on the couch; he again took Belos in his hand and pressed him to him, hugging tightly. As soon as he closed his eyes, he immediately plunged into the realm of morpheme.
Belos looked back at the sleeping Hunter. He remembered how he often fell asleep in his arms as a child. Belos smiled again and closed his eyes. He was well aware that for a long time he had treated Hunter not as a nephew, but as a son. The former Emperor smiled at the thought. He had long wanted to call the teenager that, but he didn’t dare. Perhaps when they return to their normal lives, everything will finally change. Belos wanted to hope for that and was ready to wait. The former Emperor will gladly give everything for Hunter’s dear smile. He will take any risks.
Belos fell into a dream. Before that, he promised himself to keep a close eye on Hunter. Now that they didn't have to fulfill their roles, the former Emperor only wanted to be by his side. He wants to hug him and feel his warmth. Without him, life is not the same.