Chapter 136: Third Wheel
The sounds of celebration still thundered in the distance. Firecrackers, applause, Stella Banner’s voice spilling across the air like a gilded net.
But here, at the edge of the wreckage Hermes had left behind, it was strangely quiet.
Or maybe it only felt quiet because Hermes’ ears still rang with his own heartbeat. His chest rose and fell like he had sprinted for miles, though the hooded figure had slipped away after only seconds.
His hands shook as he clenched them, again and again, into fists.
He didn’t even notice Ymir and Magni until they were already beside him.
"...What the hell happened here?"
Ymir’s voice was sharp, cutting through the haze. His pale eyes swept over the mess—the overturned carts, shattered glass, toppled chairs, the smear of melted cotton candy on the pavement like spilled blood.
Magni crouched down near the edge of a broken stand, touching the splinters with a massive hand. "Brother Modi was chasing someone. Weren’t you?"
Hermes tried to answer, but the words caught in his throat.
Ymir stepped closer. "Hermes. Look at me. Who was it?"
Hermes forced his gaze up. He didn’t want to. Not into those cold, glacier-blue eyes that saw through him too easily.
"...I thought it was Eirwyn." He rasped.
Ymir froze, only for a second. Then his brow furrowed. "Thought. Meaning it wasn’t."
"It wasn’t." Hermes’ voice was bitter, like he’d swallowed acid. "But they knew. They said I’d see him again. And then they vanished."
He spat the word like it was poison. "Vanished."
Magni stood, brushing dust from his palms.
He exchanged a look with Ymir, who sighed and said: "We should get you out of sight. Before anyone connects this mess with us."
"They said I’ll see him soon..." Hermes muttered.
Ymir’s hand brushed Hermes’ arm—not a full touch, just enough to stop him from spiraling further. "We need to lay low first. There."
He nodded toward the Ferris wheel that dominated the festival skyline, its lights spinning in slow, hypnotic circles of red, white, and blue.
Hermes felt his own mind spinning like that huge wheel. But when Ymir’s warm hand settled more firmly on his elbow, guiding him towards it, Hermes didn’t resist.
***
The Ferris wheel cabin rocked as they climbed in. The operator barely looked twice at them, distracted by the mob of fans still pressing toward the main stage.
The wheel groaned as it carried them up. The city spread beneath them, a patchwork of lights and motion. Fireworks painted the horizon in bursts of color. The festival’s chaos became small, almost fragile, from above.
For the first time all night, Hermes exhaled. Long. Slow. His back pressed against the seat, eyes closing. The tremor in his hands eased.
"Better?" Ymir murmured, sitting across from him.
Hermes cracked an eye open. "Y-Yeah."
Ymir leaned back, his posture deceptively relaxed. Only his eyes betrayed the sharpness beneath. "Now. Tell me what you saw."
Hermes’ lips thinned. He described the hooded figure in clipped words—the smirk, the laugh, the vanishing act. When he spoke Eirwyn’s name, his voice faltered, but he pushed through.
When he finished, silence filled the cabin.
Magni whistled low. "And you wrecked half the festival chasing them."
Hermes’ jaw tightened. "...Yes."
"You’re lucky Somner wasn’t here to see it." Magni said, not unkindly. "He would have given you a scolding."
Hermes let out a bitter sound that wasn’t quite a laugh. "I don’t need him to. I already know I look insane."
Ymir’s voice cut through, softer now. "Yeah, you are. But... It’s not your fault."
The words landed heavy. Hermes looked away, out the glass, watching the wheel carry them higher. The night wind brushed against his face, cool and clean.
The Ferris wheel slowed as they reached the very top. Their cabin rocked gently in the night breeze, suspended above the carnival. The music below was faint, muffled, as though it belonged to another world.
"...I don’t know how to stop." Hermes whispered.
Ymir’s expression softened. Just slightly. His hand lifted, hesitated, then rested on Hermes’ shoulder. The touch was cool, grounding.
"You don’t have to stop. You just need to breathe."
Hermes shivered under the touch. He hated how much he wanted it. How much he needed it.
Magni shifted in his seat, stretching his long legs out. He watched them without comment, his face unreadable in the shifting lights.
Hermes noticed. And guilt twisted in his stomach like a knife.
He knew Magni’s feelings. Knew the way the lava man looked at Ymir when he thought no one was watching. And here Hermes was, stealing touches, stealing comfort, stealing what wasn’t his to take.
But Ymir’s hand lingered. And Hermes... couldn’t pull away.
The silence stretched. Fireworks bloomed outside the glass, bursts of red and gold. The reflections painted Ymir’s face in shifting hues, and for a moment he looked almost otherworldly. Hermes’ breath caught.
Ymir noticed. His lips curved, faint and knowing. "You could paint a picture. It would last longer."
Hermes jerked his gaze away, heat prickling at his ears. "I wasn’t—"
"Yes, you were." Ymir said simply.
His hand slid down, fingers brushing Hermes’ arm.
Hermes’ pulse thundered. Every instinct screamed to retreat, to push him away before Magni saw too much, before this spiraled into betrayal.
But he didn’t move.
Ymir leaned closer. Not enough to close the space completely, but enough that Hermes could feel the chill of his breath.
"You don’t have to run yourself into the ground just for some stupid asshole. If they want to come and taunt us, let them. But next time, call us, ok? We’re all fucking ready to kick their asses."
Hermes tore his gaze away, squeezing his eyes shut.
"This isn’t fair," he muttered.
"No." Ymir agreed. His voice was quiet, almost tender. "It isn’t. But life is never fair."
"It’s not fair for you all to be roped into this. This is between me and him—"
"Oh shut up, Potentia."
Hermes laughed, broken and bitter. Then Ymir’s hand cupped his cheek, cool against his overheated skin, and the laugh died in his throat.
The cabin rocked as the Ferris wheel began its descent, lights shifting again. Hermes leaned in before he could stop himself. Their foreheads touched, just barely. His breath trembled against Ymir’s.
It wasn’t a kiss. Not yet.
But it was close enough to feel like a betrayal. And Magni still watched, silent, steady as stone.
Hermes pulled back at last, gasping like he’d surfaced from deep water. His hands shook again, but not from fear this time. From wanting. From guilt.
The wheel carried them down, back toward the noise, the lights, the world waiting below.
Hermes pressed a hand over his face, muffling a groan. "...Thank you. Both of you."
Ymir’s lips quirked, wry. "Yeah, whatever."
Magni chuckled, low and rumbling, like distant thunder. "I didn’t even have to do anything, Brother Modi. Turns out the ice prince is pretty good at pep talks after all."
Hermes peeked at him, startled. But Magni wasn’t angry, wasn’t hurt. Just amused. And maybe... maybe a little sad.
The Ferris wheel slowed, the ground drawing closer.