The Underworld Crown (Series)

Chapter 8

"I'm assuming you probably talk with a lot of the other servants then?"

"Naturally."

I took a deep breath. "So you've probably heard a lot of things Aergia has said. By any chance, do you know if there's any way–"

"No," she said, cutting me off.

"You didn't even let me finish my question!"

"Because I knew what you were going to ask." She sighed. "No one knows how to get out of the Underworld. It would kind of defeat the purpose of it being the Underworld, you know? Besides, even if there was a way out, there are hundreds of creatures outside of the city you do not want to meet."

"But there's a way in, so surely there's a way out!"

Raven chuckled darkly. "You know, you sound exactly like one of my crazy friends–"

"Who?"

She rolled her eyes. "Just someone I know who hangs around the city's clubs too much."

My jaw dropped. "You have clubs here?"

She gave me a pointed look. "Yes, but whatever you're thinking – forget it. Nothing in the Underworld will be even remotely similar to Earth. And trust me when I say you shouldn't trust anything those people say; they're only conscious five percent of the time."

Even as Raven tried to instil sense in me, I couldn't deny the world as I knew it was shifting, changing. It was like my memories of Earth were growing fainter; a hazy dream I'd just woken up from. It was only moving further away from me. My gut instinct told me the longer I stayed here, the slimmer my chances of returning to Earth.

I knew deep down that I shouldn't go risking my life based off the talk of people who'd lived in Hell for eternity – and perhaps for a reason – but at the moment it was the only string of sanity I had to cling onto.

"Raven," I said, placing a hand on hers. "Please, you have to help me get to them. Any chance there is, I have to take."

"But it's not true," Raven said sharply, standing up. "You're stuck here as much as I am. If there was a way out, I would have figured it out by now." Her voice softened. "I'm sorry to say, Serena, but you're out of luck."

~~~~

Raven and I moved around the bedroom in silence. I decided that, if I really was going to be stuck in the Aergia's clutches, I would at least take advantage of it first. 

I fell backwards on the bed, relishing in its softness. Gazing upwards, I could spy tendrils of gold embedded in the ceiling. After I asked her about it, Raven explained Aergia's irrevocable obsession with gold. She said Sloth City was renowned for its gold and slavery system; people were taken off the streets every day only to be put into a slave camp for gold mining. It made me sick to the bone knowing people were being handed axes and little else, forced to chip away at the ground deep below the Underworld's surface.

Hearing these stories from Raven made me feel guilty for being given this bedroom, despite the fact I had no say in it in the first place.

But don't count yourself too lucky, I reminded myself darkly. Hades was an omnipresent thought in my mind; I found myself worrying for the next couple of hours what he could possibly need or want from me. A small part of me hoped that I really was summoned by mistake, and that as soon as Hades realised this he'd send me on my merry way back to Earth.

Yeah, right. And when he lets me go, I bet he'll hand me a map and compass, too.

I swallowed thickly and raised my head to look at Raven. There'd been a frigid awkwardness between us after she'd shut down my hopes of an escape. She kept avoiding my eye and was sure to stand at the exact opposite side of the room, wherever I moved.

But despite this, I realised Raven really did believe I was different, that I didn't deserve to be here. She kept doing small, nice gestures for me, like laying out new clothes that she thought would help me make a good impression on Aergia, hanging up my blue cloak and pouring me glasses of water.

I told myself that she was just following the orders she'd been given, which was to serve me, but it was nice to have her company nonetheless. From the look of her, bustling around the room to fluff up pillows she'd fluffed two minutes ago, she needed something to do anyway.

The outfit I changed into was eerily similar to what Aergia was wearing when I met her. It was clear to me that Aergia took pride in her loose clothing, so I didn't complain when that was what Raven had laid out for me.

A loud knock sounded on the door, making me jump in surprise. Raven seemed to have expected it. She moved calmly across the room and opened it, revealing another servant. They talked quietly for a few moments, but as much as I strained to hear what they were discussing, the only sound I could make out were their hurried whispers. The visitor left, and Raven turned to me, a surprised look on her face.

"Her Highness has invited you to dinner," she said.

My jaw dropped. "Does she...does she normally do that?"

"No," Raven replied, biting her lip. "She usually orders food to be taken to pris–I mean, guests. Mind you, no one has been given this chamber before, either." Her eyes narrowed in on me. "Something is definitely different about you."

Lucky me.