VII. Glimpse

Hayden's P.O.V.

I woke up alone for the first time in a long time. It was a different kind of loneliness. Living alone for centuries was nothing but knowing that she's out there and not being beside her, was anguish. I'd never imagined disappointing her enough to force her out of the house. We hardly argued and if we did it was because I was overbearing and clingy, but somehow, I managed to flip it the completely opposite way. How could I do that to her? Leave her when she needed me the most? I am the monster they tell folk tales of. By the time I reached Penelope's apartment last night, I realised I was way too drunk to make a case for myself. I didn't want to make things worse. They were already as bad as they could be. So, I returned home and crashed. Sunk into the lonely sheets. Giving her some space was my only hope to lessen her anger. I hoped it was enough space for her to forgive me. She's the love of my world. I showered and as I began to get dressed, I noticed a ringing in my ear. It was mild, but still irritating. I assumed it was from the water and continued to get ready. I tried to practise my speech inside my head. I don't even know how she feels about it. What if she decides she doesn't want it because I had been so reluctant? What the hell am I going to say?

As I stepped outside and unlocked my car, the ringing increased beyond annoying. It was starting to hurt. The last time my ears were ringing was in Olympus because Mihai was calling me. What if something happened to Evelyn? I rushed into the car and turned on the engine. I pondered for a second whether to simply go to Penelope's and see if she's okay or to go to Mihai and hope that it was completely unrelated. What if she's there? What if she's hurt? My phone was dead, and I had no way of checking on her. If P knew there was something wrong with Evelyn, she would find other ways to reach me. All of my body was drawing me towards Mihai, and I decided to trust my instincts. The closer I got the worse the ringing was getting. By the time I parked, I could hardly hear anything but the ringing. I ran into the building, desperate to lessen the ache, and rushed to the elevator. The pain was starting to really take a toll as I travelled down towards the dungeons. Holy hell. I held onto my head as the ringing penetrated through my skull.

Evelyn's P.O.V.

"I was so sure he would want this baby. He was so devastated when he found out he couldn't have children. I assumed he would be ecstatic. I can't even comprehend how it happened, but I know that this is as lucky as we are ever going to get." I sipped on the tea Penelope had made me in the morning. I had cried all of the night before, confessing that I was pregnant and what Hayden had said, accusing me of cheating. I could understand his disbelief but accusing me of cheating was a low blow. "I was already so overwhelmed and tired, that was the last straw. How could he even consider that I would cheat, that I would just throw away everything I worked so hard for?" I continued to rant. I was beginning to annoy myself.

"Trust me, he will be here in the next hour on his knees, begging you to forgive him." She smiled, bringing me some French toast. "Eat. You don't want to be angry and hungry." She smiled, pushing the plate of toast closer to me. I smiled agreeing and picked up a piece. She sat down beside me with her own tea, and we ate in silence. It was the best I felt in a week. Being around Penelope lessen my anxiety. My mind was clear, and I felt better. I needed the space. As we continued to eat, her phone began to ring in the next room and she quickly jumped up.

"That's probably him." She smiled, running over to get it. As she paced back, her puzzled expression was underwhelming. I had hoped Hayden would come to apologise the night before and by her face, I could tell that it wasn't him. It seemed he was in no rush to sort out our problems. "It's work." She quickly answered it, turning away from me. "Hello?" She went quiet for several seconds, as I awaited to find out what was happening. She slowly turned around and by her parted lips and glassed over face, I could tell it wasn't anything good.

"What is it?" I asked as she hung up the phone and placed it on the counter.

"They need me to come in. Something happened in the dungeons. They didn't say what, but it didn't sound good." My chest began to ache instantly. Haven't had heard from Hayden all night and morning, I was more than worried.

"I'll come with you." I insisted, getting up from my seat.

"No, you need to rest, besides, we have no idea what it is and if it's dangerous Hayden will never forgive me for bringing you." She insisted as I followed her back to her bedroom. I felt a relentless feeling of worry inside me, which was more than enough to convince me that I had to go with her.

"I'm coming. If it's dangerous they will tell us before we descend into the dungeons and if they say it is, I will wait in your office." I insisted. We hadn't had much time to discuss it, so she had no choice but to agree. She lent me a knit dress and a large cardigan to wear. We got into her car and stormed off. The closer we were approaching the more anxious I felt. Though Penelope insisted she had no idea what happened, I could tell by her worried expression that she knew something. As we approached the building and began to get out of the car, I noticed Hayden's car parked nearby.

"Perhaps you should go up to my office," Penelope asked once more hopelessly. I shook my head insisting to go down to the dungeons with her. My heart was trembling as we approached the lift and got in. My hands were shaking and out of pure worry I reached for Penelope's hand. We looked at each other one more time before the door opened. There was a strange smell in the air, but I couldn't recognise it. It was nearly pitch black, but as we slowly walked over towards the gates, the lights were brighter and brighter. I could hear voices as we approached closer and the bright lights seemed a little dull. As we turned for the gate, I noticed something in the corner. Something large and hairy, which could only be Mihai in his demon form. I had come to love Mihai in both his forms, and I knew that I could count on him to protect me no matter what. However, as we approached closer, I could tell that something was wrong. I noticed three tall figures talking near the corner and the dull lights were covered in something. A liquid. I felt my trembling heart sink into my stomach as our pace lessened and we could clearly tell what the problem was. Despite knowing exactly what I was walking into, I continued to walk closer, to see what happened to him. We were halfway there, but it was close enough. I met Hayden's eye across the dungeon as he noticed us for the first time and my eyes began to tear up. As I took another look at Mihai's mangled body, I felt sicker than I had ever felt. I quickly scanned the room for something, anything, before covering my mouth with my hand and walking over to a different corner of the dungeon and throwing up instantly.

"Eve?!" Penelope followed after me and I could hear Hayden's rapid footsteps approaching. I felt Penelope's soft fingers brush against my face as she moved my hair out of the way.

"Why did you bring her here?!" As Penelope had predicted, Hayden sounded furious. I felt his warm hand rest on my back as he handed me a handkerchief.

"I couldn't stop her," Penelope replied helplessly. "What happened? Who did this?" Penelope's voice was trembling. My whole body began to tremble with her, while just the thought of turning back and seeing it again was enough to make me sicker. Tears began to run down both of my cheeks as I wiped my mouth but continued to stand there. The images of Mihai's mangled, ripped to pieces, bloody body was rotating inside my head.

"I can't look at it again." I shook my head, refusing to move in that direction.

"Come here." Hayden's soft hand landed on my arm as he wrapped it around his neck and lifted me into his arms. I closed my eyes, not taking any chance of another glimpse.