The arrival of the following cities passed by in a blur.
I soon discovered that the Goddess of Gluttony, Adephagia, took her responsibilities for excessive eating far too seriously. When she smiled, her mouth was framed with teeth as sharp as sharks, and I couldn't help but recoil. I wanted to crawl away when her three children grinned and shared her triangular teeth. When they left, the tension left my shoulders, and I noticed Hades and Persephone relax as well.
I didn't know whether it should reassure me or not that even the Devil was offput by their animalistic nature.
"What do they need those teeth for?" I asked when they were gone, unsure if I even wanted an answer.
Persephone's lips tightened, but Hades was the one to answer, "Human cannibalism."
My stomach curdled. All the colour left my skin.
"Adephagia has agreed that none of them will...indulge themselves while they are here."
"But you're fine with them eating..." I couldn't even finish the sentence, "...at Gluttony City?" I questioned, beginning to feel the rising anger at his inaction. "Out of sight, out of mind, right?"
Hades' eyes darkened. "Despite what you may believe, I cannot control the acts of every god or goddess. The very balance of nature would be turned upside down if I were to force my ideals on every being in the Underworld."
I wasn't sure what he meant by disturbing the very balance of nature–it sounded like a vague excuse to me.
I pinned my accusing glare on Persephone. "And you're okay with this too?"
Lines furrowed her brow. "There are many things that we would seek to change about the Underworld, but it should not surprise you that there are more alarming matters at hand. There are some issues in the Underworld that even your darkest imagination could not provide. Those are the matters that are dealt with first."
Personally, cannibalism was rated quite highly on my list of horrors, so I didn't want to even consider what other matters could reduce to the gravity of cannibalism to nothing.
My arms weakened and my legs shook. I was close to being sick at the thought of cannibals "indulging" themselves. Fear reminded me that I would be required to sleep in the same castle as them.
After Gluttony, the representatives from Wrath City arrived. They were the biggest party to arrive yet, and certainly knew how to make an entrance. The horses which drew them were purely skeletal, and gave me a renewed sense of appreciation for Calista–Alek's horse–despite its red eyes which I'd once considered too intimidating. Now, those blazing eyes were child's play compared to the screeching of bone against bone as the horses pulled a row of carriages to a stop.
Persephone tensed when the Goddess of Wrath, who later introduced herself as Lyssa, emerged from the carriage, her long, black and unruly hair adorned with a crown of bone. I glanced between the two of them, noting how they both appeared to be opposites. Where Persephone was calm, collected and full of life, Lyssa walked and moved as though everything around her irritated her.
Disdain shone as bright as death in Lyssa's eyes as she somehow managed to stare us down while moving up the stairs. I stopped breathing when she turned those eyes on me. The darkness swirling around Hades moved faster in her presence.
I remained quiet as introductions were made, content to shrink into the background as memories of Alek telling me of how Lyssa had sent monsters to attack Pride City flooded my brain. Seeing Lyssa now, the picture of madness and instability, brought credibility to his story. I did not want to get Lyssa on my bad side. Nor did I want to make enemies of her seven children either.
No wait, one child was missing, there were only six by Lyssa's side. I realised with a sharp breath that Alek had killed the seventh child, Marnix, in Sloth City. Though I hadn't had any personal involvement in Marnix's death, I'd been an onlooking bystander. I wondered whether Lyssa knew of this, but quickly decided that if she thought I was in any way responsible, she would have already killed me by now. She gave none of her thoughts away as she glanced at me, a permanent scowl etched on her face.
When they were gone, my heart thumped even louder when I realised we were only one more arrival away from Pride City. All that remained between Alek's arrival and intense, awkward conversation was Envy City.
In comparison to the other cities, Envy City had a much less intimidating arrival. While their Goddess Invidia was pale skinned and had yellow teeth, I decided that if I was to be stuck in a room with either her, Lyssa or Adephagia, I would definitely have the best chance of survival with Invidia. That was until I noticed the shape around her neck, which I'd assumed to be a scarf, was actually a ginormous, coiled snake. It stirred in our presence but returned to a sleeping position as soon as Invidia's two daughters came to stand on her either side. After all that I'd seen, however, having a snake as a pet was a fairly tame idea. And out of all of the demigoddesses I'd met today, these two looked the most, well, harmless. Both of them were dressed in formal black attire, and their faces expressed none of the disdain or haughtiness I'd otherwise witnessed.
When they were pulled inside to be escorted to their rooms, I resisted the urge to vomit at Hades' feet. Alek would be arriving next, and I didn't know whether to be excited, angry or anxious of this fact. I was also curious. When I'd enlisted Alek to help me reach the North Gate, I'd convinced myself that he had good intentions for helping me. But it was only recently that Cleo of all people revealed to me that he had been spending time with me purely for the bounty over my head.
Alek had adamantly argued that, while he'd once considered the bounty and potential redemption in the eyes of his family for handing me over, he'd decided to push those thoughts aside. Then he'd disappeared despite his promise to stick around, and Cleo had the perfect opportunity to seize me for herself.
I realised I was gritting my teeth loudly enough for Hades to look at me.
Yeah, I was definitely still angry.
"Settle, child," he berated.
I shot him a glare. I hoped it was withering. "Don't call me a child, old man."
"I'll stop calling you one when you stop acting like one."
Persephone hissed. "Will you two please stop bickering? The Pride City representatives are here already." She gestured towards the horizon.
I followed her gaze and my stomach dropped when I realised she was telling the truth. Horses galloped in harmony towards us, drawing a carriage so dark it looked to be made of obsidian. Their pace slowed as they neared us, rounding the Lake of Lost Souls. The carriage and horses reflected on the surface of the motionless water. I blinked. Perhaps it had been a trick of the light or my fatigue from standing up all day, but I could have sworn there was movement on its surface. Most likely it was the tiredness eating away at me. I had been forced to wear heels, and nothing was more alluring than a seat right now.
I ran my hands over my dress, hoping to smooth it over while also getting rid of the sweat in the palms of my hands. Beside me, Hades and Persephone were the picture of elegance–faces calm, heads raised and body language polite. I attempted to imitate them as the carriage finally pulled to a stop.
My breath caught in my throat.
Oh God, could I really see Alek without passing out?
My heart pounded in my chest.
Too slowly, the doors to the carriage opened and a tall, broad-shouldered man appeared. I soaked in the shape of his face, including his thick brows and strong nose, and could straight away see the resemblance to Alek. Except for the fact that he appeared to be in his fifties, while everyone else had maintained the appearance of youth. The age lines on his face, while healthy, made me catch my breath. He was aging like a human. Narrowing my gaze at him, I realised he was human.
He stepped to the side, holding out a hand to help the next person out of the carriage. All my breath left my body when a woman stepped forwards, looking much more the part of a goddess than anyone else. The Goddess of Pride wore her hair straight and sported a smokey, intense cat-eye that accentuated her piercing gaze. The glittering black train of her dress trailed her as she shot the human a look of strong desire, which he returned with a smile, before moving towards us.
I kept my gaze on the door of the carriage, waiting for Alek's frame to appear in its shadow, but I froze when I noticed the human closing the door. No one else was coming. My brows tightened. Alek had to participate in the tournament, or else...
My eyes widened.
Only death excused a demigod or demigoddess from participating in the tournament.
I looked to Hades. He had a tight frown on his face.
"Hades, Persephone, it has been too long since I have seen you both together." The goddess' voice was silky smooth, but something told me it could be sharp and dangerous if she needed it to.
"Where's Alek?" I blurted. To hell with formalities.
To be fair, I wasn't the only one with concerns. I wasn't quite sure what this meant for the tournament if there wasn't at least one representative from every city.
The Goddess of Pride came to a stop before us, the human standing by her side, when she quirked an eyebrow. "And who, might I ask, is asking?"
"This is Princess Serena," Hades said before I could form my own reply. "The Queen's daughter."
Interest sparked in her eyes, and she roamed a gaze down my body. But her look turned sour. Whatever she saw, she was unimpressed.
"Princess Serena," she continued, "I'm the Goddess Hybris of Pride City. This is my husband, Harvey. And I believe you've already met my son..."
My stomach tightened into a knot. "Briefly."
Hybris had a knowing smile on her face. I wondered how much she knew of my relationship with Alek. Of how badly my trust with him had crashed and burned at the hands of his betrayal. Her gaze, dark and penetrating, pinned me in place.
Seeming to realise too much silence had passed, Hybris addressed the King and Queen. "Our sources have informed us that Alek has received word of the tournament. He should be arriving this evening."
The tension in Hades' shoulders lessened. Mine, however, didn't.
But rather than having to prod for further answers myself, my mother intervened, "He was not with you?"
Hybris shared a reluctant look with Harvey. Surprisingly, her husband spoke up. "After escorting you, Serena, Alek didn't return to Pride City. But I have no doubt he will attend as soon as he can, though, considering the consequences are so high."
His eyes lingered on mine for a moment, and I wondered if there was a double meaning to his statement.
Persephone couldn't hide the frown from her face. Hybris caught this and waved a dismissive hand.
"Oh, Alek is fine. It has been long since he was our responsibility, in any case. Though I had hoped he'd return to us in recent events." Her lips quirked up into a smile. "After all, without our son, the Princess would be long dead at the hands of that gang in Greed City–the Aplista, were they called? Surely you can recognise that, Hades."
I didn't miss the suggestion in Hybris' tone. Hades didn't either.
"The involvement of Pride City certainly has not been overlooked," he responded gruffly, leaving out the part where it was also Alek's fault that the Crown Guard had spent days chasing after us. "My Queen and I are eternally grateful."
I snickered at the taut expression on Hades' face. He clearly had great difficulty in acting like I mattered. He ignored me.
"I look forward to seeing that gratitude play out in practice."
Hades chuckled darkly. "Hybris, you are well aware that I'm impartial in all of this. The Three Witches are the ones you will need to bribe. However, I don't believe they would receive threats or bribes quite as well as I do."
Hybris shrugged playfully. "It's good to have friends in all places, though."
"You're right about that," he replied.
A servant appeared off to the side and the Pride City representatives said their goodbyes. Hybris' gaze lingered on me for a comfortably long time as they were both escorted inside. It was with great effort that I broke away from her stare. A minute later, Hades, Persephone and I were ushered inside as well. Hades made a comment about matters requiring his attention before stalking off down the hallway, leaving Persephone and I alone.
I couldn't stop replaying our conversation with Hybris in my head. The way she'd talked about Alek's actions was as though his actions had been her own accomplishments. But at the same time, there had supposedly been a strong family rift between Alek and his parents since the passing of his sister. It was as though they'd forgiven him for any past misgivings as soon as they'd heard he'd had a hand in my capture. It should have been everything that Alek wanted–it was redemption. With redemption, he could have proudly returned to Pride City, rather than wandering the Underworld as an assassin for hire. For that reason I couldn't make sense of why he didn't return to Pride City straight away.
Perhaps I'd misconstrued Alek's intentions all along.
"Whatever you're thinking, don't."
Persephone pulled me from my thoughts, a stern look in her eyes. I wondered what had given my train of thought away.
She quirked a brow. "You make the same face I do when I doubt myself," she explained.
"And what face is that?"
"Absolute trouble." She shook her head, resigned.
I scoffed, imagining the same expression on her face. "I'd like to know what kind of trouble a Goddess of Spring and Life could get up to. I have a feeling it wouldn't be too disastrous. What could you possibly do–grow some crops? Feed the poor and sick?"
As much as I joked, I faltered, because the woman standing before me had certainly stirred up trouble when she'd left Earth.
She noted my hesitation and sighed. "Follow me. I need to show you something."