The Seasons

Chapter 53

Winter had left the building, with the green-eyed man leading him and Marcelle out quietly. Once he disappeared into the building, Winter and her had exchanged contacts, and she had promised to keep her updated on the meetings, as he had lied about how he had even gotten in from that time.

Completely sober and feeling great, Winter knew he could now face Aether, so he and Marcelle split up as he walked back to the busier side of town; the sky was now completely dark, and he knew it would be darker for a little longer as autumn was coming soon, but he didn’t mind. Nor did he mind how the cold air nipped at his skin as the rush to help his friends finally was firm.

He would keep coming back, find out more information, and relay it back to everyone, although he needed an excuse on where he was getting all of this intel from. He knew no doubt that if they found out he was going to the group meetings, they would not let him go and might even have put him on house arrest, so he had to be smart about it.

Arriving at his apartment building, he grinned as he went to the elevator, humming a little song as he scooped his keys out of his pocket and unlocked the door. But he froze when he realised the lights were off.

“Aether?” he yelled as he entered, dumping the keys on the small table beside the door and turning on the light.

Panic rushed through his bones as he realised his apartment was empty. Had Aether abandoned him? He usually never left when Winter went on his walks because he was too drunk to even think about him. He would wait patiently for him, smiling as he greeted him at the door.

“Aether?!” he screamed, although he knew the man wasn’t there. “Where are you?”

Winter rushed to his small lounge area and noticed a piece of paper on the table with a pencil holding it down. He lunged for it, landing on the sofa. Ignoring how fast his heart beat in his chest as he read over the note.

‘Slaine called. When you get back, please meet us at his home. Everyone is there.’

Winter grabbed his keys; once he made sure he had everything on him, he locked the door and broke off in a run as he ran to Slaine’s apartment, a few blocks over. Walking through the reception, he slowed down to not look insane but picked up speed as he was out of sight of the receptionist. He repeatedly hit the elevator button, and when it didn't come fast enough, he saw the stairs and decided to go up them.

When he found Slaine’s floor, he ran to the door, hammering on it. When he tried the handle, it was open, and he threw it open as it barely grazed Slaine’s nose—the man was standing there with a scowl on his face.

“Are you trying to break my f*****g door, Winter?”

“Sorry,” he rasped out as he walked past the man and scanned over everyone in the large room. Some were sitting on the sofa, others leaning against the wall, others on the floor, and the few standing scanned them first.

Blue, Rosalyn, Elizabeth, Warren, Chaos, a pretty man, Jem, Kevin. His eyes snapped back over to the lovely man standing beside Chaos, and although he had so many questions, he needed to see Aether. And he found the merman coming out of the bedroom, a small smile on his face.

“All the kids are still asleep,” he trailed off when his eyes landed on Winter, who breathed relief.

Winter walked over to him silently and stood beside him. Yes, he was leaning a little too close, but he needed to know Aether was still there.

“So,” Winter said as he finally turned to stare at everyone in the room and then at the man. He wore a white robe that flowed against his skin, with the sleeves bigger, causing them to fall past his hands. He had cerulean blue eyes and could see the slight red rim around them. He had untextured pale skin, which seemed to stretch thin against his bones. The delicate shapes of their face, from their soft jawline to their small nose and round lips. “Who is the man?”

“Sion,” Chaos said, looking at him with something in their eyes. Winter turned to look at Slaine, who was staring at the TV, although it was off.

“Also known as prophecy number three, the first secret shall escape,” Wing hissed.

What. The. Fuck

~*~