CHAPTER FORTY-FIVE

"NOT A chance, Diego," Freya snapped at him before he had another chance to say something contradictory. After splitting off from the rest of the group, the two of them found somewhere separate to argue in peace. "It's not happening, so don't even try it."

"I think it's the best option."

"And you think that because your cursed spawn is marinating inside me that you get to make my choices for me?"

Diego's jaw snapped shut, and he blinked several times. Finally finding his words again, he pointed a finger at her. "Did you just say marinating?"

Freya pursed her lips. She was supposed to be angry, she reminded herself. Don't laugh. "Don't change the subject. I know what this is about, okay? And imagine if Reginald didn't tell you anything about the baby. You would've had no problem with me going."

"Freya," he sighed, scrubbing a hand over his face. "I know you. I know you don't care what happens to you, okay? But I do. And yes, you're right, maybe before I would've have argued for you to stay. But I can't risk losing you and our baby. I go in there, I may die. If we go in there, succeed, and things go back to normal, I want you here with our baby."

"And if things don't succeed, we're dead anyway," Freya said bluntly. "Either way, I'm going."

"Do you have to make everything so goddamn difficult?"

She turned to look at him, her brows raised. "Do you really need me to answer that question? I'm not here to make your life go smooth-sailing. I thought that was very much given a long time ago."

"Can I just be right?" He demanded, losing his temper. "Just once? Just let me have one thing!"

Freya scanned the room, and reached past him to grab an item off the table. Without a word, she pressed it into his hand. "There."

"The hell is this?"

"You said you wanted one thing. There you go."

Diego's eyes narrowed, and before she knew it, he was kissing her. Roughly and passionately like he couldn't live without doing it. Like he couldn't breathe without her, and Freya gripped the back of his neck, pulling him towards her.

"God, I love you," he told her hoarsely through kisses. Freya's heart jumped in her chest.

Stunned, she pulled back to stare at him. Thunder rumbled from outside, but that was the only sound from around them. "What?"

Diego's eyes were wide. "Uh."

"Hey," there was a knock at the door, and Freya whirled around, annoyed and ready to hurl an icicle at the interrupter. It was Allison. "Hour is almost up. Come on."

Diego hurried on. Freya stared at the back of his head, throat dry, but nodded and followed after the two of them wordlessly.

"I think you can all guess which way I'll be voting," Allison stated once they were all together again. Freya sat next to Diego on the stairs, trying to catch his eye, half-listening to Allison's speech.

God, I love you.

Now, he refused to meet her gaze. She knew how he was. He felt vulnerable now, and because she hadn't said it back instantly, he was going to pull away.

Though he was an idiot. How could he not see how she loved him? How he was the reason she got out of bed every morning? Diego was a broody prick, but he was the sun that shone through the clouds each time it rained. Silently, she grabbed his hand, and interwove their fingers together, and though he still didn't glance her way, she felt him relax beneath her touch.

A subtle gesture that he hadn't scared her off. Hadn't been too vulnerable.

"We've all been through a lot," Allison went on. "We've all lost people." A pause, a glance to Five. "Mannequins. But their deaths have to mean something. Which is why I'll be voting to go with Dad."

"Let's go save the bloody universe!" Lila threw her arms up, and hopped to Reginald's side.

Diego rose to his feet, and Freya's hand fell back into her lap. "And I vote go."

She watched him step to the opposite side of the room, but when he finally met her eyes, his gaze was pleading.

All right, Diego, she thought. I'll give up my pride. That should be enough to show how much I love you.

"I vote stay," Freya said, surprising herself. She hadn't actually expected the words to come out of her mouth. Diego's shoulders sagged with relief.

"You're not serious," Lila groaned. "Come on, Freya. We need you over here."

"It's her vote, Lila," Allison said, but Freya didn't miss the dark look she received. "Klaus?"

"I am with father," Klaus answered.

"Okay, that's five to one. Viktor?"

"Look, I wanna believe, okay? I really do. I just can't shake the feeling we don't know what we're getting ourselves into."

"No," Allison agreed. "But we know what we've got if we don't. We have to go into this together. Viktor. A family."

"Are you really pulling the family card after you told him we should've left him in the basement? What about that says 'ooh, you're my brother?'"

Klaus whooped, and Diego raised a brow. She could practically feel him straighten at her boldness, and Allison fell quiet.

Viktor pursed his lips. "You can't keep throwing the word family around. She's right. I vote stay."

Allison crossed her arms. "Luther?"

"Uh... Well, Sloane and I talked. We're out. Look, we wanna spend whatever time we have left together, not fighting some guy with a sword and ringing bells and stuff."

"Wait," Diego's voice cut through the silence. He was staring directly at Freya. Allison briefly looked in his direction. "I take it back. I'm out."

"What? Diego-"

"Luther's right," he moved quietly to the 'out' side, standing beside Freya, who was sat on the stairs. "We might not even make it through. I'm spending my last moments alive where I belong."

His hand found her shoulder, and Freya laced her fingers between his, looking up to smile at him. He returned it, and the sight made her heart squeeze.

"That leaves you, Number Five."

Everyone turned to him. "Well, I saw the future, and it told me to sit this one out. I vote stay. It's time we accept our fate."

Allison scoffed. "You're all pathetic."

"Why can't we just go in there?" Ben asked as Allison stormed off. "Just the four of us?"

"That would mean certain failure," Reginald told him.

"There must be seven."

"I'm not a math genius," Freya murmured to Viktor. "But even if we did decide to go, there's nine of us."

Before Viktor could reply, Reginald began to speak. "Children, I can't say I'm happy with this. But I see now the blame falls on me. I failed you when you were young, and I have failed you now. And in doing so, I have doomed the entire universe. If anyone needs me, I'll be in the courtyard...awaiting the end."

"Was that a real apology?" Viktor asked.

"The man's never apologized for anything in his life," Luther responded.

"I actually feel bad for him," Diego admitted. Freya squeezed his hand.

"Don't worry," Five reassured him. "It'll pass."

Sighing, Freya stood up, eye-level with Diego. "Unfortunately, he's right."

"See you around," Five dismissed. "It's been interesting."

Begrudgingly, Diego allowed Freya to pull him to the elevator. She hit the button to their floor, and face him, but he was staring at a far wall. Apparently, giving up her pride hadn't been enough. "Hey," she murmured quietly, gently putting a hand on his chin to turn his head in her direction.

"Yeah?" He asked, a glimmer of hope shining in his eyes.

Freya leaned up to brush her lips against his cheek. He stilled at the contact, but she felt the light touch of his hand against her waist. "I love you."

Relief visibly flooded through him. "You do?"

Smirking, she pulled back. "Well, now that I think about it..." Freya trailed off, turning serious. "Yes, Diego. I love you even when you skip my favorite songs or chew loudly in my ear."

Diego brought both hands to her face and kissed her until she was breathless, until she was pushed back against the elevator wall. They kissed until they got to their floor, and they continued to kiss down the hallway, barely coming up for air.

It wasn't until they heard a blood-curdling scream from one of the rooms that they stopped. Sharing perplexed looks, they both broke out into jogs to follow the sound. They wound up in the weird pink suite that had the entrance to Hotel Oblivion in it.

And when Freya saw Luther dead in Sloane's arms, the world stopped spinning. The others piled in shortly after, and Five demanded an explanation that Sloane couldn't give.

"It must've been him," Lila stated. "The guardian."

"She's right," Diego nodded. Freya's line of sight found his injured hand. "Whatever did this had a long curved blade."

"How...how can you be sure?"

"I don't know much," Diego confessed. Under other circumstances, Freya would've laughed. "But I know knives."

"Children, what's going on?" Reginald asked, but stopped short once he saw Luther. Freya gauged his reaction. Maybe she was just paranoid, and maybe it was a bit of a stretch, but what were the chances of Luther being on the floor that he was, and in the room that he was, right after making his vote to stay? There was a large chance that Freya was reaching, but she couldn't shake the feeling of suspicion.

"If we attacked first, he would still be alive," Ben stated.

The paranoia only grew in her gut. Was there a thing as too many coincidences? It almost seemed like... Freya shook the thought away, focusing on Luther again. No, the theory was wild. But it almost seemed like this was a set-up from Ben in order to get them on board with going to the other side.

Suddenly, the room shook. The walls chipped into nothing, and chaos arose within their group. Sloane didn't leave Luther, and Diego grabbed the weapon from above the fireplace.

"Freya," Diego briefly squeezed her side. "Come on."

"You said we were staying."

"That was before they killed Luther. I need you to destroy this bastard for me. Fire or ice I don't care. Strangle him with a vine. Anything. Come on."

She spared a quick glance over her shoulder, but the others were close behind. She pressed close to Diego, and jogged after him through the tunnel.

And into the other side they went.

──-ˋˏ☂︎ˎˊ-──

authors note

freya girl u were this this close to being right with ur theory. anyway surprise update!!