Soren scoffed and swished a hand at me. “Constantine can’t get anywhere near this. The fire I used is so strong that not even Blaine can touch it. The only beings who might be able to touch it are demon rulers, but you have them sealed up pretty tight I reckon?”
“Of course I do,” I snorted.
He patted the flames. “If anyone is dumb enough to try, they’d get fried to a crisp.”
“That hot, eh?” I let my fingers trail the outer shell of the dome. “Now I'm curious to see if I can handle it.”
“I wouldn’t recommend it...” Soren warned, but I still stuck my hand into the flames. My eyes flashed pure red as I tried my hardest to harness Alice’s element, but even being fueled by a past God wasn’t enough to keep me from being burned. I screeched and yanked my hand free, shaking it wildly as Soren laughed. “I told you!”
“Damn, that’s really powerful. You weren’t kidding,” I huffed as I tried to use some cold water to cool my hand down. The water evaporated the instant I conjured it, though, which made me frown heavily.
Soren clapped a hand on my shoulder. “Let’s head home. I know Sebastian and Odysseus have been looking at wedding stuff all day, so it’s probably best to separate the two before Sebastian takes over your entire day,” he joked as he escorted me from his private room in the obsidian castle he and Blaine shared.
We trekked across the fiery landscape and towards the portal back home, which glistened at the top of the hillside. I marveled over the lava pools we passed on the way to the staircase out, while Soren walked across them, completely unbothered. “When areyougoing to pop the question? I'm more than sure Sebastianhas been pestering you over it,” I asked as we climbed the steps fluidly.
He rolled his eyes heavily. “Oh, trust me, he has. I just... with everything going on... I didn’t want to rush things, you know?” He said this with sadness deep in his tone, as if he wanted otherwise, but was trying to convince himself more than me.
“That’s what I said to Odysseus the other day.” I closed the door to the Fire Realm behind us. “I wanted to wait on getting married, but he wants something positive to focus on, and I’m not going to take that away from him. Besides...” I hugged myself as I spoke, “I can’t wait until I can call him my husband, for us to be bound legally, not just emotionally. To know nothing can come between us again... it really brings me peace."
Soren sighed to himself, swinging his arms as he walked. “I know, I know... Sebastian deserves a special day, for all the nonsense he’s put up with for my sake. I suppose...” He turned to tug on my arm. “Will you help me set up the perfect moment? I was thinking, maybe, we could take a little bro’s vacation, just out of town for the weekend. If we stage it as a get together for the Gods-to-be, he wouldn’t know the difference. I want everyone to be there when I pop the question. It will make it so much more special for Sebby.”
“Where should we go?” I excitedly asked.
His bright eyes dulled as he thought of a response. “I have no clue, honestly.”
I cupped my chin and tapped my foot as I pondered a location. “How about... Italy? He would love the landscapes, the beautiful beaches, the cliffsides. Odysseus would probably get some painting done, and I could use some good wine if I do say so myself,” I chuckled, making the symbol of me sipping a glass. “I can find us a nice place?”
“Oh, Nick, I’m sure-…?”
“Come on, Soren, don’t worry about it. Consider it my engagement gift,” I encouraged.
Soren nodded wildly. “That sounds perfect, then! You set up the hotel, and I’ll work on a ring and convincing Praxis and Griffin to come.” He threw his arms around me with glee oozing from his soul. “Thanks for making this happen, dude. This will be so amazing!”
“I’m very excited for you both. Plus, any chance I can get to see Odysseus in a swimsuit I'll take,” I teased as we walked into the living room of our dorms.
Odysseus was hanging over the couch with a loud groan, his arm over his face as Sebastian blabbed a mile a minute about centerpieces. He held up multiple pictures of flowers as he rambled. “We could always substitute peonies for-...”
Odysseus let out another groan, that made Sebastian pause for the first time in probably hours. “Sebastian, please, can we take a break? I might jump off a cliff if we don’t stop soon!” he whined dramatically.
Sebastian slammed his notebook down. “Break? Do you even want to get married?”
“Alright, that’s enough for one day...” I slid my arms around Odysseus's neck and kissed the corner of his mouth. “I need his help booking a hotel for us, so it’s time to give him back.”
“Where are you two going?” Sebastian sniffed jealously.
I chuckled at his tone. “We’re all going, actually. It'll be a nice little weekend in Italy for the Gods-to-be, to give ourselves from time away from the chaos. I thought we could use some time off since we have a three-day break this weekend.”
“Italy?” Odysseus popped, his eyes wide. “Why Italy? That's kind of fancy for a fun vacation, isn’t it?”
“Nothing’s too good for us,” Soren laughed fakly, which I kicked him for.
Sebastian dumped his magazines and other miscellaneous tools into a storage bin, then clapped his hands before springing upright. “Well, I suppose I should get packing, then. This will be tons of fun!” He reached behind him to pull Soren forward and kiss him sweetly. Soren flushed as red as his hair at the gesture, as he was still reeling with excitement over our plan. This was making him act quite suspicious, but thankfully, Sebastian was too preoccupied to notice. “I would love to check on the fault lines under the Apennine mountains while we’re out there.”
“This isn’t a work trip,” Soren scolded, kissing him again. “This is for us to relax. I want you to enjoy yourself, not worry about anything God’s related, ok?”
“Fine, fine...” Sebastian pulled his bin up. “I’m going to get to it! Nick, I’ll need your opinion on some flower choices later, ok?”
“Yeah, yeah...” I called as I tugged Odysseus off the couch and towards our room. He followed me with a raised eyebrow, as he was suspicious of this trip, and saw right through my façade. “Can you keep a secret?” I squeaked as I slammed our door shut.
