Stumbling across the deck of the largest ship, Jinx's senses were completely overwhelmed. He wasn't entirely sure which direction he was moving in.Between the new powers rolling around inside of him and the wild burst of Underworld aura, he was practically blind and deaf. And his nose was all but useless with all the burning boats, Demon carcasses, and dozens of unfamiliar Hares and toms. Even his connection to Lexi was hard to focus on.The only direction Jinx had that felt reliable at all was moving against the wave of Underworld Hex energy. That had to be Hades and if he could get to Hades, he could find the others. The no-furs were likely to be with him. Maybe Liam as well. Jinx was hoping Lexi was with the no-furs since he'd disappeared with them in the first place.Nearly tripping over a large Grey-fur laying in the middle of the deck, Jinx found himself in the middle of a clusterfuck. One he was almost certain was the fault of his best friend Hades. Of c

The water was ice cold as it closed around Agent's broken body.He wasn't sinking as quickly as he thought he would. Or maybe it was just that moment before death when everything slowed down. He could feel his last conscious thoughts surfacing before the water filled his lungs. They were pleasant recollections of his youth spent under the care of Hares and much more horrible ones from when he had been an abused toy for the toms who ran the breeding ship he was born on.And yet, all of that faded as his mind settled on the tom he'd only known for... what? How long was it that he had known King?In this life, it had been a matter of days. But his heart said it had been a lifetime. And the part of him that was still Tricksy the Orangelo who'd become the Trickster god of Chaos, that part agreed they had been together since the beginning. King had been Tricksy's mate, his Innehavre, before they stepped out of their mortal lives and became avatars of cosmic power

Cradling his lover's head in his lap, Ink had no idea what was going on around him. All he was focused on was Priest and willing him to breathe. Every intake of air was a torment for him. The attempted healing had closed the wound in his chest, but Ink feared it had not finished the work inside Priest's body. Or maybe it was something else. Something more spiritual. Having grown up in the Orangelo way of life, Ink had been filled with stories about toms who were perfectly healthy in body but their spirits ached to leave their lives. Priest had not seemed like one of those toms to him, but Ink did not know about his life before they met. Neither of them talked of where they came from, their traumas, or anything too deeply serious from their pasts. There could be a million reasons why Priest would prefer to die that Ink had no knowledge of. So maybe it was selfish of Ink to lean over Priest, begging him to stay. Maybe he was the worst kind of selfish jerk to not want to let go of his

Lexi was having trouble keeping track of everything happening. He watched in awe as Jinx, glowing with the god aura they quested for his Topsider to find, healed the pirates' Captain and sent Doll and Hades into some form of divine protection.Jinx had been beautiful as he did it. Lexi swore he saw black and white ethereal butterflies all around him. He'd tried not to think about how such a lowly Demon as himself could possibly still be of value to Jinx.After all, the Orangelo hadn't exactly come running for him when he'd made eye contact and, yes, there were important things he had to do. But still, Lexi felt a little shut out.Turning to Cook and Liam - who were having the celebratory reunion he had pictured himself having with Jinx - he spoke up gently, not sure they would appreciate the disruption. "Shouldn't we find a way to get all of them to safety?"Coming up from where he had been sucking fiercely on Liam's face, Cook nodded. "I already thought of that. They're coming home w

Tarsi sighed and rolled over to lick the ruff of Purl's neck. They were snuggled on the pudgy Tom's bed of clouds in their shared nesting place. "This is so nice. Isn't it strange that even though things have gotten more complicated than I could have personally knotted, we wind up with downtime?""I mean, I get the seriousness of being on call for whatever may be coming so we need to be well-rested and clear channels for our power." The First Tom of Fate's cuddly white ball of fur started to do more than just lick him as he ran his coarse tongue over a spot he very well knew made it hard to think. And yet Tarsi was still trying to have a serious conversation. "Can you imagine what might be coming?""I am imagining something coming and I am sure you know that thought is entirely your fault," Purl replied, reaching out with his tiny paws.Sometimes it was easy for Purl to forget he was trapped forever in the form from the time that he held the most clarity during his mortal life. He was