Chapter 3

"Jericho! Jericho! Where the hell are you?!" Pulling her fingers back, Rose blasted power into Jericho's locked doorknob, swinging the door open. "Were you listening? I said to meet..." 

Her voice trailed off, caught in her throat. Jericho was in front of her stark naked, and he wasn't doing much to cover himself. Before she knew it, she was staring at his muscular torso and Rose felt her brain scramble on the most appropriate thing to do in the situation. She came up with nothing.

"I mean, I get it. You finally agreed to marry me. But don't you think it is too soon for us to get acquainted with each other's bodies?" Jericho grinned at her unabashedly. 

Rose felt warm fire go up her cheeks, but held his gaze, "To Father Benedict's office in ten seconds. Now." she snapped before slamming the door shut on her way out. She stomped her way back to the old man's office, grumbling all the way. She was feeling all kinds of emotions for this guy and she didn’t know how to deal with them. 

This is not to mention Trick and Ty, who are also getting on her nerves as they sit on Father Benedict’s huge sofa, bickering as usual. 

"That's enough." Jericho’s quiet voice said behind her, making her jump. He must've followed her closely. But how? He couldn't have moved that fast with his bad leg. Rose frowned at him, but the man just lifted an amused eyebrow. 

"He started it," Trick said, pointing an accusing finger at Ty, who merely grunted in response. His face is as impassive as ever. 

Rose paused, staring at the three men before her. "Wait. Do you guys know each other?" 

"Of course. They're my brothers." Jericho responded with an easy smile. 

"Not literally. We grew up in the same orphan shelter together." Trick supplied with an easy smile.

"From the South, where the Hindu country is?" Rose probed. Father Benedict would not tell her anything about the men who were supposed to be on her team, so she had to take it upon herself to learn more about them. She could tell it wouldn't be easy, though. They didn’t seem inclined to tell her more than what was required. Trick was fidgeting and Ty avoided her eyes. 

And Jericho was making a show of looking at the heavens as he coughed. "Where is the old priest, anyway? I thought we were meeting him here." He asked. 

"I lied. I wanted to meet with you myself.” said Rose, dismissive, “As I'm sure you know, you will be training under me and I want to see exactly what I'm dealing with. So, show me what you can do. Now. Anyone of you can go first.” 

Rose put her hands on her hips waiting. But then a full minute passed, and the men just stared back at her while not moving a muscle. 

"Wait. Nobody ever said about us training under you." Ty grumbled, "What makes you think that we need to train in the first place?"

Rose took a deep breath, gathering her patience, "Look, I don't know where you came from and what your motives are for joining us, but I can't just let you tag around. You don't know Joanna. She's incredibly dangerous. If you're working with me to bring her down, I need to make sure that you're not dead weight. Because frankly, you look like you wouldn't last a second when faced against her. That's not to mention Jericho here who, aside from being unable to run, seizes randomly in the middle of the day."   

Silence filled the room as the men looked at her incredulously for a beat. Then Ty bared his teeth at her, clearly seething in anger, while Trick gave her a hurt look. Rose didn't know what Jericho's expression was as she had her back to him. But she could take a guess. 

"Leave us." Jericho finally broke the silence, addressing Ty and Trick. Without a word, the two men cleared the room. Rose scoffed at them before turning to Jericho. 

"I am not done with them yet." Rose snapped, not balking at Jericho’s glare. 

"I would appreciate it if you didn't insult us, Ms. Cristian. Father Benedict chose us for a reason. If you can't bring yourself to trust us, then trust him. He wouldn't just get anyone to assist. Ty's fighting skills might be unorthodox, but believe me when I say that he's a dangerous warrior in his own right. And with Trick, what he lacks in combat, he makes up with his expertise in magic." Jericho still eyed her angrily, but his voice was calm, "As for me, I don't seize randomly in the middle of the day, as you delicately put it." 

"That incident with the meteor that nearly crushed you yesterday begs to differ," Rose commented.

Jericho blinked and opened his mouth to retort, but the church bell rang loudly outside, making the both of them wince.

"As much as I would like to continue this invigorating argument with you, Ms. Cristian. I believe we have an engagement party to attend. Aren't you supposed to be getting dressed up by now?" Jericho said. He looked her up and down, taking in her physique slowly as his expression morphed from fury to amusement. Rose noticed his eyes linger on her chest, and she belatedly realized the flimsy tank top that she had worn for sleep. 

"Where do you think you're looking at?" Rose huffed in embarrassment, crossing her arms across her chest. 

"Oh come on. You saw mine a while ago. I think it's only fair that I see yours." 

"You're disgusting." Rose spat at him. 

"And you're the most infuriating female I have ever met," he answered, his words yet again infused with enough venom to reach her. 

And that was the last straw. Rose's fist went flying towards Jericho's face, but he dodged it smoothly as if he had expected the movement. Not to be deterred, Rose raised her other fist, sharp and controlled. But Jericho caught her wrist and secured it to her back, pinning her front to his chest. 

"Let me go," Rose warned as she struggled under his strong hands.

"Oh, but I can't," Jericho replied, now seemingly exhausted, "Not unless you calm down. You might pull off the look, but I don't want to go to that party black-eyed and bruised. The whole of the New Catholics Council will be there, after all. " 

That made Rose finally stop moving, although he kept an icy glare at him. "If you want me to stop trying to clock you, then learn some respect," Rose said.

Smirking, Jericho slowly released her, giving her a bitter smile, "I will stop pulling your leg only when you start taking Ty, Trick, and me seriously. If there's anything the three of us need, it's not training. We've already done more than that.” 

“Then what do you need?” 

“The chance to prove ourselves. " Jericho answered firmly.  

Rose opened her mouth to reply, but Jericho continued with a sigh, "How about a trial mission for the three of us, just to put you at ease? If you still find us inadequate, then you can train us. We can do it after the ritual is complete." 

"Father Benedict said the ritual would take about a week." Rose retorted, finally shrugging off his hold. 

Jericho lifted an eyebrow, "A week-long wedding? Now, that's something." 

“He didn't tell you?" Rose asked in surprise, "I’m not talking about the wedding. That will only take a few hours. It's the..." Rose could not bring herself to say it. She'd rather get hit by a vehicle. 

But Jericho seemed to have no qualms about it, "Honeymoon?" he uttered, chuckling, "Now, there's no need to be embarrassed. I'm sure that honeymoon is also part of the ritual and would not actually involve....you know." 

Rose rolled her eyes, already over the conversation, "Whatever. We'll do the trial mission after the honeymoon...or the ritual, then."

Jericho inclined his head in agreement, "It's a deal." 

For a second, they stood in front of each other, with Rose feeling uncertain and Jericho's eyes glinting in amusement. It seemed like getting her flustered was the antidote to his anger. 

"I should go." she finally said, blowing her bangs out of her eyes out of habit.

For a moment, Jericho watched her, his eyes softening, "Of course. I'll see you in a few minutes, Clara." 

Time stopped with those words, halting Rose’s feet. For some reason, her heart suddenly started pounding at a beat that it never did before. Jericho called her the wrong name, but somehow it felt right to her. What the hell is going on? 

"Who...who's Clara?" she asked as she meet Jericho's eyes, which are now drained of any mirth. 

It looked like he surprised himself, too. For a second, he stared at her, mystified. "Rose. I called you Rose," he finally answered. Then, without a look back, he made his way back to his room.