The Fires of Summer (first draft)

Haley is sure that he's going to lose his mind with Jack before he's even about to get executed. The man doesn't know when or how to shut up, and his relentless arguing with Vane is enough to drive any man insane already. He doesn't know how his other dads manage to put up with this on the daily.

At some point, as they're walking through the blood forest, where making noise is certainly not ideal, they overhear Lukas talking to another guard about his daughter. Jack, of course, can't resist his moment to tease Henry, very loudly. "OI HEN your boyfriend's a DADDY, you like them like that huh 'cos your DAD'S DEAD."

Henry retains his composure very well, only turning around and glaring at him instead of getting into another fight. Dixie, though, seems to have had enough. In his calm, mellow voice he asks, "Does anyone have a gag?"

Jack must be especially annoying if Dixie, who never gets bothered by anything, is getting involved. The guards seem to agree with his idea, because in no time they've managed to produce a cloth gag that one ties around Jack's snapping mouth. He makes garbled speaking noises, then gives up and settles for an annoyed growl.

Vane starts laughing, looking back at him and smirking. "Maybe I should buy a gag."

Haley cringes, figuring that maybe dying won't be such a bad thing if it'll free him of this. They manage to get through the blood forest unharmed with Corvus' guidance and soon they enter into the great city of Gore.

With no event keeping it alive, the place is like a ghost town. People only start to emerge when the prisoners are brought through the street, heads poking out from windows and folks coming to stand out at the front of their homes, holding their children close. Haley feels their eyes on his skin and he wants to shrink away into nothingness, away from their prying eyes and their judgement. They trudge through the middle of the city, moving slowly towards the great steps to the palace.

Just as Haley expects Corvus to start upon the steps, he makes a turn, heading around them and along the side of the mountain. They walk for a few minutes before ducking into a passageway in the rocks. Before them a small cavern opens up, within it a few empty archways that seemingly just lead to the wall. Corvus speaks a quiet phrase and curls his wings towards one of them, and within it an expanse opens up that shows the entrance to the palace. Corvus steps through it and appears on the other side.

Haley has never travelled through a portal before, but when he takes his step through it a deep discomfort settles itself inside of him and he thinks he's going to be sick for a moment. His head spins and then he struggles to adjust to the thin air, drawing in deep breaths. He can't fathom how Corvus was able to do it so effortlessly, because he has to take a break to readjust afterwards, closing his eyes and shaking his head. He's travelled from one place to another with magic before, when he worked under the Raven Queen, through flurries of feathers and darkness, but it'd never been so jarring.

When he finally is able to stand properly, Haley moves aside and his dads come through, all in equal levels of discomfort. Corvus has the mercy of waiting for them all before he continues to walk, taking them through into the great hall of Gore Palace. The guards outside bow to him as he goes, and those inside do too, though he takes little notice of their gestures of respect. The hall looks far more intimidating now that it's empty, the space stretching out far ahead of them, pillars standing tall and the throne looming ahead.

Corvus leads them through the halls of the palace. The hallways are wide and on each side there are flowers on podiums beside the doors they pass by. There are servants rushing about and guards patrolling the hallways, each bowing to Corvus as he walks past. They pass through an archway into a part of the corridor that splits in four directions, and to their side is a flight of stairs heading down into a gloomy torchlit area that looks as though it's been dug straight into rock, the walls looking as though they've been carved out. Haley has to coordinate with the Pirate Lords for them all to get down the stairs without tripping over or pulling everybody down. It's notably colder down there, and it keeps getting colder as they travel down another flight of stairs and then another. Jack keeps trying to talk through his gag, but the rest of them move in silence.

When they finally emerge into the main part of the area, Haley doesn't feel so good. There's a scent of despair and sickness in the air, and as he looks out he sees cells with people in them, their hands clutching the bars as they watch the new arrivals. Most of them look frail and sickly, their hands and arms bony. Haley avoids their eyes, keeping his head down as they're led to their cell.

It's a big cell with hay on the ground (assumedly for a vague sense of comfort) and a bucket in the corner. There's a wall without bars where the door to the cell sits, a small bar window upon it to ensure that someone can see if a person is hiding behind it and enough room beneath it that food can be slid in. The rope is untied from their waists and their hands are uncuffed before they're each funnelled into the cell. Lukas gives them a melancholy look as he closes the door.

Corvus stares at them all coldly, his gold eyes flickering between them as though thinking. "Your executions will be tomorrow afternoon. You can each pick a final meal before you go."

"Do you serve peacock?" Vane asks, examining his nails as he sits down on the hay.

Corvus' eyes narrow and he makes a noise of disapproval, then he turns around. "Lukas, you will tend to their needs at the usual times."

He storms off, the other guards rushing after him, leaving Lukas with the prisoners. He looks at them all with heavy eyes and sighs. "I'll be back for your dinner."

He too goes, leaving the Pirate Lords with just one another. Gambi finally takes the gag off Jack, and immediately he jumps to life. "That was barbaric, you wouldn't like it if someone gagged you."

"Ugh, he's gonna wind up everyone in this jail now," Vane groans, leaning back against the wall and closing his eyes. Haley takes a seat too, pulling his knees up to his chest. It's very cold and there's little they can do about it but huddle together, which they quickly figure out, forming a small circle.

That night they sleep huddled together. Jack and Vane snuggle on the end while the others cuddle in a group, Haley in the middle like a small child. Dixie is on his one side, emanating extra heat thanks to his fur, and Gambi on the other, an eternally warm demonkin. Henry is clinging to Gambi's other side.

Haley stares at the ceiling that night, trying to feel something from Axel again. There's nothing there at all, not even a flicker of life. Haley tries over and over to tug on their bond, and he waits impatiently for a reply, but nothing comes. He wants to cry, to scream and call out for Axel until he can't anymore, but he stays silent, lying in something that cannot be defined as a bed.

Without Jack's constant chatter he can't escape his thoughts. The past few weeks have thrust his life into chaos. He remembers the reunion with Axel, then sitting with him watching the sun set, talking about his plot. So much for that, Haley thinks bitterly. Axel said he was going to kill Corvus on Pirate Island, but one cannonball had put an end to all of that.

Haley wonders, if Axel is even awake, how he feels. Is he going to find a way to work around this setback? How's he going to get to Gore and into the palace before the execution? He wouldn't risk Haley's life like that if he had any choice.

I'm really going to die, he blinks at the stone roof, letting the realisation sink into his bones. He's not sure if he's ready to die, but the longer he thinks about it, the more it doesn't sound so bad. He wonders where an Archangel goes when they die. Do divine beings' souls go to the underworld like everyone else's?

The thought that there might not be anything left after Corvus takes his life is something he's never had to consider before. Whitmore had mentioned that his blade may have been capable of ending a divine being's life. Haley has never heard of anyone divine reappearing in the underworld. If they did, what would stop them from coming right back to the aether and continuing to go about their (after)life? Mars would've come back for revenge on Michael if that were the case - there's no way the dragon god of war would accept defeat so easily.

Haley doesn't know what will wait for him afterwards. Even when the angels went to war with the underworld he never heard them talk of what happened to their fallen. He looks down to his stomach and takes a deep breath. You're going to die after all, his stomach is heavy with grief for what could have been. He'll die and Axel will never have known the life he could've had, what he could've had with Haley.

His mind wanders back to his discussion with Axel. Where would they be if they had a future? Haley wouldn't really be able to sail if he had a child. He wouldn't want to subject them to the dangerous of the sea, so instead he'd stay with Axel while they grow. Axel's been a father before, so he'll know what to do and how to take care of both Haley and the child.

Haley wonders what type of a father he'd be. Would he be overprotective? Flighty? Too soft? He hopes that whatever it is, he'd have done a good job of it.

He wonders what he would've named his child. Gender matters little to him - he'd love them no matter what they are. Still, names swirl around in his head. Maybe he'd name them after a bird. He knows Raven is off the table; Axel already has a son called Raven. He rolls a few names around in his head before he settles on one he likes. He would've liked to hear Axel's ideas for names, to come up with one together that fits, but this will have to do.

With a deep breath he thinks of what he'd do with his child. What games they'd play, what kinds of things would interest them, what toys he'd get for them. He wonders if they'd like pirates, if maybe he'd take them out one day to see the sea and go to Pirate Island and meet his dads and Vimmie. She'd be a great auntie.

He can't help but think of Gray. He remembers what he'd said, about wanting to join up with a pirate crew. He would've made a fine pirate. He was just about mean enough to fit in, and had a drive that'd gotten him through too many years as a butcher that would've seen him through the learning curve of manning a ship. He was a pain in the backside at times, but he was a good friend, a caring friend.

Ellamia wanders her way into his mind like a light breeze pressing to his skin. He closes his eyes and imagines her face, what she'd do in this situation. She'd be joking with his dads, trying to make light of her last moments alive, snuggling up to them for warmth and dying proudly a pirate. He knows she wouldn't have taken any sort of pardon - she's too loyal, too prideful in her role as a pirate to ever turn her back on them. Haley can't help but miss her and her strong spirit. Yet another thing Corvus stole far too soon.

Then he thinks to the Pirate Lords. He wonders whether things might have gone differently if they hadn't been drunk, if maybe they'd have fought off Corvus and none of this would've happened. He can't find it in his heart to be angry at them, and a small feeling inside of him says that the outcome might not have been so different considering Corvus' ice magic.

Would any of this have happened at all if Haley hadn't come back from drowning? Corvus' actions seem spurred on by the reappearance of Captain Undying. Maybe, just maybe, if Haley had never been fished up, this would all be totally different. Seven years had gone by with only a slowly declining force of pirates - maybe that would've been how it went, slowly getting worse instead of everything happening all of a sudden, all at once. A guilt settles inside of him and he doesn't try to shake it off.

In the morning he's shaken awake by Gambi, who is holding a tray of food for him. He finds himself staring down at a small fillet of fish and some beans with olives on the side. He supposes it's not bad for a prison meal, and he starts to eat slowly, finding the taste to be nothing unique. He misses Axel's cooking. He wishes more than ever that he could be standing in Axel's kitchen back in the mountain cabin, watching him make something, telling Haley about how he learned it from visiting Gore or from his mother and the peasants she liked to associate with. He hopes that wherever Axel is he's eating well.

When Lukas comes to take their trays back, Henry approaches the bars. "Do you have any rum, love? We're parched."

"I'm sure I can sneak some in for your last meals," Lukas says, "though I have a feeling you're not going to want to be inebriated."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Henry asks, but the man walks away before he can get an answer.

Jack doesn't think all that hard on it, instead returning to his regular chatter. "Y'know, isn't Lukas a bit young for you?"

Henry groans as he turns around. "Well, at least I'm not a grandfather, that'd make me really old."

The words come out of Haley's mouth completely out of control. "I'm pregnant."

All eyes are on him. There's complete silence, and quickly the realisation of what he said settles into him. He buries his face in his knees, pulling his body into a ball. Tears start to fall, their warmth rolling down his cheeks. "I never told Axel. It survived longer than I thought it would."

Vane reaches out to pull Haley in close, soothingly rubbing his back as he starts to sob. Gambi isn't happy. "That bastard. If I ever see him again I'm going to fucking kill him."

Haley curls in tighter on himself. "It was an accident, but I would've kept it."

"Gambi," Vane snaps as he hears Gambi take another breath, "can't you see our child is crying? Shut your mouth for one minute."

The other Pirate Lords sit at a distance from Haley, giving him some space. Jack tries to lighten the mood. "Well, that makes Henry absolutely ancient. Congrats on being old, Hen."

"Whatever, it's fine. I can deal with grandkids. Besides, it makes all of you ancient, too," Henry points out smugly.

"None of us are even going to live long enough to see them," Haley says, moving his arms to clutch at his stomach as if in apology.

"Well let's celebrate when we get our meals and our rum," Vane suggests, resting his hand on Haley's shoulder, squeezing it gently. "How's that?"

"Okay," Haley agrees quietly, and slowly with his dads he manages to even out his breathing.

When Haley is calmer, Jack takes a deep breath. "Well, since we're confessing things... Vane, I'm never going to say this again, but I do actually like your cooking, I just pretend I don't to piss you off. And I think you look hot but in a romantic way."

"You can't see me you fucking idiot," Vane hisses, but he edges closer to Jack.

"I can feel it with me dick," Jack says, and their lips connect. Haley would find it sweet if they didn't make him cringe harder than he's ever cringed, so he looks away, giving them their moment. He remembers Axel, and his confession, and with it he feels a sliver of joy for Jack and Vane.

Some time later, as they're sitting together, someone approaches. The person is unlike any Haley has seen before, with curly brown fur covering his entire body and wings sprouting where there should be ears. There's another set furled on his lower back. He's dressed well, with a waistcoat and neat shirt, a fluffy tail sweeping behind his legs. His eyes are ice blue and his lashes are long and pretty. When he speaks, he has a breathy voice. "Haley, the King has requested that you join him for dinner."

The Pirate Lords all 'ooooh' at him as he stands up, coming to the door to be let out. The man doesn't cuff Haley's hands, simply turning around and expecting him to follow.

"See you," he says back to his dads as he follows.

Haley is led through more hallways. He keeps his head down, focusing on the other's heels, until a door opens and he's ushered into a large room.

It has enough space for a huge table, but the one Corvus stands beside is big enough for about eight people, keeping a distance between the two ends but still enough to talk over. The walls of the room are painted with scenery of the five continents, the ceiling a great night sky. The carpet beneath them resembles the tailfeathers of a peacock. The table itself has candles in the middle, all already lit, and cutlery laid out for them. Corvus is dressed in white and green robes that sit elegantly on his figure.

"Please, take a seat," Corvus gestures towards the seat nearest to Haley. Suspiciously he sits, looking back to the man who had led him in as if hoping he can somehow get him out of here. The man simply bows to the King and takes his leave.

"So, what's the occasion?" Haley asks, tucking his chair in and looking at all of the cutlery. He's not at all used to fine dining. Three forks and three knives, and who comes up with all of this, anyway?

"I thought a proper meal would be the right send-off for a pirate of your standing," Corvus says. When he breathes the air mists despite the room being quite warm, as though his breath is cold.

"But not for the Pirate Lords?" Haley asks, moving the napkin out of the prettily-painted soup bowl and placing it to the side.

"The Pirate Lords do not require my attention," Corvus mirrors his action, setting his napkin neatly to the side of his knives. "We have much to talk about, Captain Undying."

"That title is dead now," Haley frowns.

The doors behind Corvus open and from them come a team of waiters. Some are carrying wine and others are wheeling in a big pot. They come to Corvus first, then to Haley, filling their soup bowls with a soup full of little beans.

"Fasolada," Corvus says, bringing a spoon of the soup to his lips. It's definitely too hot to eat, but one puff of his icy breath is enough to cool it down. "Cannellini beans, but the whole thing is made up of fifteen ingredients."

Haley doesn't say anything as he swirls his soup spoon around in the soup, waiting for it to cool.

"I find myself pondering on why you have decided to be such a thorn in my side, even after I took everything from you," Corvus hums. He eats very slowly and in very small portions each time, as though reluctant.

"Because you took everything from me," Haley responds, trying not to get worked up, though he can't help the flush in his face. "And even before then, you decided to pick off the pirates instead of leaving us be. We've been on opposite sides since day one."

"Hm, I suppose so," Corvus' gold eyes don't rise from his food.

"Y'know, I've met some of your siblings. One even gave me money. I was more impressed by their hospitality than yours," Haley starts, finally trying the soup as Corvus glares at him. It has a garlic-y taste and he can't help but note just how fine the dining really is as he continues, "Considering you're letting your cousin just rot in prison."

"We're not related. My father and Jack's father aren't brothers," Corvus sounds particularly agitated by the remark.

"You're not a family man, huh?" Haley presses.

"Enough," Corvus' wings twitch, his ears tilting back against his head. "We have more important matters to discuss."

"Such as?" Haley raises his brow.

"The matter of your wings," Corvus says, spreading the ends of his, "it appears you've grown some new additions, and six of them."

Haley doesn't hesitate to respond. "They do that every winter."

Corvus frowns. "It's the middle of summer."

"...I didn't realise in this place," he says in his best attempt to deflect.

"You're the Archangel of death," Corvus doesn't give in to him. "I was amazed when my guards reported to me that Captain Undying was seen with six black wings, but then it solves our little problem of why you can't die. Of course, that's going to make the execution a little difficult, but it's nothing I can't solve."

Haley thinks back to Whitmore and what he said about his weapon. It seems his statement was true after all. He takes a minute to eat his soup, barely full from his tiny breakfast. "So?"

"You're bonded to my son," the King sits back, leaving the rest of his soup untouched. "Axel Sanguis. What a surprise it was to learn he never perished at his mother's hand."

Haley furrows his brows. He's unsure how Corvus could know such a thing. If Ophelia is telling the truth, she stopped sharing information with the Sanguises after the ball, before they went home and the bond happened. He swiftly understands the level Corvus is playing on, and understands more than ever that he's really in trouble. "What's your deal with Axel, anyway? He was just a baby when you wanted to kill him."

Corvus smiles, as though he'd been waiting for this question, but he doesn't answer yet. The doors open and the waiters come in with their next course. They serve them each a plate of three thick raw fish fillets over the top of onions and herbs. A little oil is drizzled over the top. This is Haley's type of dish.

"Lakerda, made from Gore's own dragon fish," Corvus informs him as they both begin to eat. Corvus doesn't eat all of his, so when he finishes his wipes the corners of his mouth and starts to talk. "Axel is a cursed child. There is something evil inside of him that Regus saw when he was just a baby. When he was born, he had black hair and these eyes, gold set upon a backdrop of pure red, and he didn't cry, or make a sound at all. Whatever it is shouldn't have been allowed to continue living for this long. I should've seen to it that he was killed, not Avalia."

"So you wanted to kill him because an old man was superstitious?" Haley rolls his eyes.

"You don't understand," Corvus hisses, his eyes narrowing. "Don't you feel it when you're close to him, the power that runs through his veins?"

He thinks to Axel, and to that heat that always runs through his body, the strength that courses through him and the blood magic he wields without fear. He thinks to the way he fights and walks, like there is fire burning under his feet, but through it all he can't seem to look past how Axel is just a product of his past, a man fuelled by the lessons that have been forced upon him in his youth when any other child would have been with their parents, playing and growing safely, loved. He doesn't see what Corvus sees in Axel, not one bit of it. "I don't feel it. He hasn't done a thing to you."

"Have you not considered what he's done to you?" Corvus tuts, taking a long sip of his wine. Haley realises he hasn't touched his all night and follows after him. It has a taste that reminds him of cold ice melting on his tongue while having all the fruitiness and sweetness of a regular wine, a strange yet tasty combination.

He doesn't know what the question is supposed to mean. What Axel's done to me? "Axel hasn't done a thing. I think you're just bitter because he thinks you're a bad King."

"Axel has you wrapped around his finger. He's taken your freedom by bonding you to him," Corvus says. Haley wants to punch him in the face very badly.

"I decided that as much as he did," Haley insists.

"Did you?" a small smile spreads across the King's face. "You have no idea what you are, do you?"

"You need to stop being so cryptic," Haley groans, poking at the herbs left on the plate with his fork.

Corvus sighs. "You were made for Axel, and not in the romantic sense. The hands that crafted you as an Archangel crafted you to be his companion, to help him further his goal. You have no control over the hand you've been dealt, Haley."

"That makes no sense. How are you even supposed to know that?" he snaps. The implication that his life isn't his own is something he refuses to accept. "And I was made by the Raven Queen. She made me to help her, not my boyfriend who didn't exist at the time."

"My father knows all, he is my informant," Corvus says. Their next course comes out, a cut of meat with olives, salad, and potatoes on the side. Corvus' is significantly smaller than Haley's, and he hums as he cuts into it. "The flesh of a greater drake, medium rare."

"So are these his theories, or is it something he knows for sure?" Haley takes one bite and the rich flavour spreads easily across his tongue with the juice that comes out of it. It's similar in taste to a cross between steak and lamb, and the meat is so tender that it melts on his tongue.

"You underestimate my father's power and influence. He's a being greater than a god," Corvus eats the entire cut of his meat, but he only picks at everything on the side.

"I don't know, all I saw was a really short guy at the ball," Haley shrugs.

"The ball?" Corvus narrows his eyes. "You were there?"

"We danced, remember? I guess I do makeup well because you didn't recognise me, although I think you were more distracted by that orc to pay attention to the criminal under your nose," Haley smirks, watching as the King's cheeks flush a rosy red.

"I was not distracted by Niko- the orc," Corvus sputters, his ears turning downwards. "I remember, anyway. I wasn't looking for a woman that night. I will hand it to you that you won, just that once."

Haley hums victoriously, going to his potatoes next. They're seasoned well with fluffy insides.

Corvus is eager to change the subject. "Anyway, your maker was not the Raven Queen. You were made by much more cosmic hands, so carefully to fulfil a cause laid out far ahead for you. You were made by splitting a piece from Michael. I know this because Regus was there." When Haley doesn't respond, Corvus goes on. "You know it's true. Even before the bond you've always felt a calling to him: why else would he be the first person you run to after seven years? Why else would you agree to a plot without much thought, and why else would you agree to be bonded to a man and not a god?"

Haley doesn't have an answer. His mind begins to swirl viciously.

Corvus doesn't stop. "The same person that made you from the ripped apart soul of your brother cursed Axel. The thing he turned into to attack my ship - that's no dragon I've ever seen."

It strikes Haley that perhaps he is the only person in the world that has seen a dragon like that. The vast sea with the creature under the waves from his dreams comes to mind. The pieces of the puzzle fit too perfectly for him to ignore.

Corvus must have noticed a change of expression on his face because he sits there smug. "See. You do know it's true."

Haley shakes the thoughts away and glares. "Even if it is true and I'm some half-Archangel half-tour guide, who the hell even is my 'creator', where is he? What does he want with Axel?"

The silence from Corvus that goes on for too long is answer enough.

Haley scoffs, "So you don't know."

"That's Regus' secret to share, not mine," Corvus murmurs, looking away and drinking.

Haley can't seem to get comfortable. He shifts in his seat when the waiters come to replace his dish, fighting back the desire inside of him to just run away and find Axel and crumble in his arms. Nothing feels right anymore, and he can't help but consider the notion that maybe nothing has been in his control this entire time.

"It's a shame that I'll have to put an end to a cosmic design," Corvus sighs, sounding painfully pretentious. "This is baklava. One of my favourites."

Haley looks down at the dessert. He uses the knife and fork above his plate for this one, considering he's used all of the other utensils. The dessert is a layered pastry immersed in honey and filled with chocolate and nuts. He doesn't feel like eating anymore, but his Archangel stomach is bottomless as much as it is hungerless, and he doesn't want to be rude to the chefs.

Corvus doesn't know when to stop talking. "Of course, you could've just taken the opportunity I gave you and started anew after I freed you of your piracy."

Haley's stomach twists like he's being grabbed hard. He wants to throttle Corvus, or hit him or just attack him in any way. He stays deathly silent, trying to bore Corvus until he quietens, and finishes his dessert.

"Anyway, on another note, my son Soren came back heavily injured and-"

"You're fucking welcome he's injured and not dead, you're lucky I'm not like you and I don't kill wives on their wedding day," Haley snaps, gripping the end of the table in a desperate attempt to vent the feeling inside of him out.

Corvus doesn't even flinch. Instead, he raises a brow and leans in. "I didn't kill your wife, Haley."

"Don't bullshit me, I saw you," Haley recalls vividly the sight of Corvus behind the flames, fighting Ellamia. "You killed her."

"I didn't take a single life that night," the sincerity in the King's voice makes Haley feel very suddenly sick.

Slowly Haley's anger fades into nothing. He can't feel anything at all apart from a tremble in his hands that becomes a trembling in his entire body. No tears prickle at the corner of his eyes. All there is is a weakness in his limbs and a painful ache in his bones that gets heavier and heavier like a brick dragging him to the bottom of a lake. There was only one other changeling on the ship.

"You're lying! You're fucking lying," Haley yells, shaking his head. It's not fair. It can't be true and Corvus can't be the one to tell him.

"I'm sorry, Haley," Corvus says, and he sounds like he means it.

Haley can't accept it. "You're not sorry. This is your fault!"

He gets up out of his seat and immediately guards rush to him, grabbing him by the arms. He struggles against them but they're much stronger.

Corvus sighs, "It seems our conversation has come to an end. Before you go, I would like to make you an offer. You may take a pardon, if you so desire. Put an end to your piracy and go free."

"Fuck yourself," Haley spits.

"Shame. The child you carry would've helped me expand my kingdom, but I suppose I can use its corpse for power when I put an end to you," Corvus says as he stands.

With a flick of his wrist the guards start to drag Haley back to his cell, kicking and screaming. When he's thrown back in with his dads, he curls up and doesn't answer a word they say. He hopes that his death is quick and painless. Maybe disappearing forever won't be so bad after all.