"I see you passed with flying colours," Hades drawled as I marched up to him, grabbing his arm so that he could whisk me away from this place. I shot a last look over my shoulder, checking that none of the Sisters had followed me. Their parting words felt like they'd ran a cold finger down my spine, and I got the creeping feeling that I would be seeing a lot of them in the future, whether I liked it or not. Despite my paranoia, though, no one had followed me.
After nursing my anxiety, my eyes didn't linger on what was behind me. The cave had been beautiful at first, but now I could only associate it with the images of my dad holding a knife, or Alek stabbed in the chest and bleeding out. A shiver coursed through me. The reminders were painful, and I was grateful that Hades didn't tease a reply out of me or force me to elaborate on what had been in my test. Funnily enough, the shadows under his eyes told me he was actually quite grateful for my silence. Our relationship was definitely better off if neither of us spoke to the other.
As soon as we made it back to the castle, I stormed back to my room with Cerberus at my feet. I was desperate for a nap, but I also needed to clean the lingering traces of death and doom from my body. So, I drew a warm, bubbly bath and opted for dunking my head under, holding my breath and soaking in the quiet.
And in the silence, I screamed.
*****
With damp hair and pale skin, I hid my shaking hands behind my back as I entered the Dining Hall. I almost came to a standstill when I discovered that the thick, undeniable tension in the room had given way to something much darker and sinister – misery. Instead of the usual clinking of cutlery and glassware, the few competitors in the room stuck to themselves as they slowly ate the meals before them in silence, casting wary glances around the room.
Well, you know what they say about misery enjoying company.
I noticed that none of the Gods or Goddesses were present, nor were Persephone or Hades. This made me frown; I'd been told that this dinner was supposed to be a formal event, or at least a celebration of the first task being completed, but the atmosphere gave off more of a funeral vibe than anything else. Not wanting to cause too much disruption, I snuck into a free seat mid-way down the table and immediately regretted it, because Himeros, who had been behind me, viewed that as an invitation for him to sit beside me. As our chairs scrapped along the floor, the other participants present – being Jackal, Cleo, Nox, Thanos and Keros, as well as Artemis and the other children of Sloth City – looked up at us. Surprise flashed in their eyes when they noticed me, as though they hadn't expected to see me after the first trial.
Ignore them, I told myself, focusing on putting enough food on my plate to get me through tomorrow's training session. But my curiosity got the better of me.
"Where is everyone?" I asked Himeros, who for once appeared too tired to come up with some flirtatious greeting.
His eyebrows shot up. "You haven't heard?"
"Heard what?" I whisper-yelled back. His shock had put me on edge.
"Someone died during the tournament," a new voice rang, loud and clear. It was Cleo, her gaze latched onto mine from across the table. Great, so much for whispering.
"I heard it was two people," Amar cut in, placing his fork down to give us his full attention. "That it was two demigoddesses from Envy, to be exact."
Artemis sighed and leaned back into her chair. "No, Cleo is right. It was only one person – Lyvia, a demigoddess of Envy."
"How do you know?"
"I passed by Invidia and Lyvia's sister, Megeara, in the hallway. They were rushing off to meet Hades," Artemis replied smoothly. "No Lyvia in sight."
"That's all circumstantial, though. We don't know for sure what happened," I argued.
Jackal cleared his throat, drawing the attention to him. "Lyvia did pass away during the fear-based test. Plutus confirmed it to me and Cleo before dinner. She was driven mad in the middle of it, and supposedly had a heart attack."
Memories of Alek's lifeless face flashed before my eyes, and I gripped the edge of the table with my hands to distract myself. From the rigid expressions of the others on the table, I knew they were each remembering their own tests. I swallowed the lump in my throat.
"What will happen now?" I asked in the silence. Lyvia may not have been the most approachable person – I'd only talked to her once – but that didn't mean she was deserving of a death at the hands of the Sisters.
"Undoubtedly Invidia and Megeara will prepare her body so that she can be returned to Envy City," Jackal said.
"And what will happen to her soul?" I pressed.
"Her soul will seek out the Lake of Lost Souls," he answered nonchalantly. "Where we all go when we die in the Underworld."
I sucked in a breath and leaned back into my chair, worry making me lose my appetite. The Lake of Lost Souls looked as much like a prison as any other room in the Underworld. Out of the corner of my vision, I noticed Thanos turning to Nox.
"If I'm ever dying from something as mundane as a heart attack, promise me that you'll ram my sword through my heart," Thanos muttered.
"It's an embarrassment, really," Nox replied. "A demigoddess dying from a heart attack? That only goes to show how weak Lyvia was. She obviously never deserved the Crown." Nox lowered his tone and spared me a glance as he added, "And to be perfectly honest – I'm surprised she was the only one who failed."
I crossed my arms over my chest and glared at him for his obvious suggestion.
"The purpose of the tournament isn't for people to fail and die," Jackal snapped. "It's to give us a greater opportunity to prove our worth to the Underworld." He pushed his half-full dinner plate away from him. It seemed I wasn't the only one with a lost appetite.
"That may be correct, but when someone dies it still narrows down the pool of potential rulers," Nox said, his head tilted to the right as he passed an assessing gaze over Jackal. "Even you can't deny that sounds slightly tempting."
A muscle on Jackal's jaw ticked, and a sly smile slid over Nox's lips. My stomach squirmed at the pure delight in his eyes.
"I thought so," he said.
"That's enough," Jackal snapped, pushing his chair backwards as he stood up. "If you're encouraging killing to get ahead, I'm not going to play into your game."
"You're always trying to act so noble, Jack. Why don't you just admit it yourself that you would kill for the Crown?"
Before Jackal could form a reply, a new voice cut into the argument. Mine.
"For someone who's so obsessed with getting ahead, Nox, perhaps you should consider the fact that any amount of killing will not make you worthy of the Crown."
In less than a second, Nox's expression filled with fury. He turned his flashing eyes on me and pointed at me accusingly. "Oh yeah? And what would you even know about the Crown?"
He was right, sadly. I didn't know much about the Crown. But that didn't stop me from taunting him.
"The Sisters have made it clear they don't look kindly on demigods purposefully killing those in the participant pool. And unlike you, I've gotten plenty of information directly from Persephone and Hades," I lied, my lips moving faster than my brain. I was definitely going to regret this later.
"I'm not stupid enough to kill anyone myself," he scoffed. "But that doesn't mean others aren't."
He glanced around the room accusingly. Everywhere he looked, his victim straightened in their seat, as though he was putting some kind of curse on them. When he was done, he turned his smug expression back on me.
"Maybe you'll be the next one to die," Nox said darkly. He reached not-so-subtly for the knife beside his dinner plate, letting the candlelight bounce off the silver as he looked at it admiringly. The dark gleam of his eyes soaked in the sharp edges of the knife with too much curiosity to be considered normal. When he turned that gaze on me, I knew he was promising a world of pain. I stiffened in my seat and stopped breathing.
"Everyone, let's please leave the death threats for after dessert," Himeros said lightly, despite the concern in his eyes, "I can only tolerate so much talk of murder on an empty stomach, and we have long since passed that threshold."
And then I felt it. Stirrings of calmness spread through the room and then softened around us like a blanket. I knew without a doubt that Himeros was using his power to de-escalate the tension. His half-shrug when I looked at him confirmed it. But his power wasn't strong enough to calm down everyone in the room.
Cleo watched me as she took a sip from her wine glass.
"Do you have something to say?" I asked, returning her gaze.
"Nox said something that got me thinking..." she started, leaning forwards in her chair and resting her head in her hand, "what does a girl from earth fear most when living in the Underworld? I can only imagine the horrors that you had to face today."
I almost rolled my eyes at her obvious attempt to get me spilling my deepest, darkest secrets. "Just keep on imagining, then, Cleo."
"No seriously, what did you see in your fear-based test? I know you must have had a tonne of mummy and daddy issues to resolve, but there must have been something more."
I flashed her my best bitchy smile – Camilla would've been proud.
"You aren't going to try to make this one of those 'I'll show you mine if you show me yours' moments, are you?" I questioned.
Cleo's full lips stretched into a smile. "Well, now that you've planted the idea in my head..."
I scoffed and pushed the hair back from my face. "I'm not ever going to tell you of the few horrors I had today, Cleo, so–"
"–Shit," Himeros grunted suddenly, catching all of our attention. He'd lost his grip on his glass of red wine, and I was too slow to move as its contents sloshed onto my lap, soaking me completely. The smell of its aroma wafted up to my nose.
For a moment I was frozen with memories of Alek bleeding out and dread filled me from head to toe. The colour drained from my face when I was suddenly back in the test, my hands slick with his blood. My heart beat rapidly in my chest as hyperventilation took over.
When Himeros leaned forward to pick up the glass, I was pulled back to reality. Himeros was grimacing and apologising profusely, while bites of laughter came from Cleo and Nox. I shot them each a glare, which they ignored.
I looked at my lap and sighed. Shit indeed. I wasn't a big fan of the flashy, luxurious dresses that I had to wear in the castle, but Erica was going to have a heart attack when she saw the state that her dress was now in. I also couldn't ignore the fact that she had spent countless hours designing them specifically for me.
"I thought you were supposed to be smooth, Himeros," Jackal said from across the room.
"I'm so sorry, Serena. Here, let me help you up," Himeros apologised.
"It's fine," I replied. "I'll go see if I can save this dress."
I ignored the hand Himeros held out in invitation and stood up from my seat. With a sad pang, I realised the dress had already completely soaked up the wine. Himeros trailed behind me as I left the room and tried not to look like I was running away with my tail between my legs. I could picture Cleo's amused smirk and held my head high as I left the Dining Hall. I'd made it about fifty metres when Himeros grabbed my upper arm, pulling me to a stop. Since we'd left the Dining Hall, his expression had changed from apologetic to concerned.
I sighed. "Himeros, you've already apologised. Don't worry about it, but I have to go and see if I can soak this dress."
His grip tightened, preventing me from leaving, and it was my time to shoot him a concerned look. He removed his hand and stepped back.
"Serena, how many scenarios did you experience in your test today?" he demanded, his lips set in a straight line.
"Does it matter?"
"Yes."
Shrugging, I felt there was no harm in telling him considering the test was already over. "Three, what about you?"
"Twenty-two," he admitted, shocking me, "and I remember each and every one."
"What? How is it that you experienced so many more scenarios than me?" I frowned. "That doesn't sound fair."
Himeros chuckled. "Don't worry about me, Serena. Not when it's almost next to impossible that you only experienced three. I can't believe you were able to drag yourself from the test and back to reality so early on."
I looked between his dark eyes, still not understanding where he was going with this. "I don't get it. How did I get out so early on?" I asked.
He shrugged, returning my gaze. "That's what I would like to know. And what I'm guessing those in the Dining Hall are now beginning to wonder."
My thoughts flitted back to the last thing I'd said before Himeros had spilt his wine on me, and I groaned. "Oh no, I told them I'd had a 'few' fears, didn't I?"
"Yep, and if I'm guessing correctly, I'd say they experienced about the same number of fears as me and are wondering how exactly you drew the lucky straw. Or wondering whether you're lying."
I placed my head in my hands. "Oh God." What a way to draw more attention to myself. I may as well have waved a flag up in the air and shouted for attention. I ran my hand through my hair, exasperated. "So, what, was the test rigged?"
Himeros scoffed. "I don't think so."
"Then I'm somehow good at controlling my fears?" It certainly hadn't felt like that lately.
He shook his head. "Not just good, Serena. You're amazing."
Then, I realised something. "You spilt your wine on me on purpose," I concluded. "To stop me from digging myself into an even bigger hole."
Himeros nodded. "Jackal was right when he said I'm normally a lot smoother," he remarked with a pearly white grin. His smile reminded me exactly why he was the demigod of Lust, and I knew any person would have fallen to their feet in front of him. "In any case, you might want to try to keep it to yourself that you're some kind of God among Goddesses. You don't want a target on your back."
I blanched. "Of course, thanks for your help, Himeros."
He flashed me another killer smile and winked, but somehow it didn't twist and turn my stomach like I'd expected it to.
"Not a problem, Serena. Do you need help getting that stain out?"
"I'll be fine. I just have to get out of this dress as soon as possible, if it has any chance of survival."
His grin widened and his eyes glimmered mischievously. "Now that I could help with," he remarked slyly, then disappeared before I could react.
I rolled my eyes at his disappearing back. I'd walked right into that one. He may have tried to save me, but he was still the same flirtatious jerk that had given me the lust charm. I spun on my heels and began heading in the direction of my room, much faster now that I'd wasted so much time in the hall. Once again, Cerberus seemed to sense that I was nearby and appeared by my side. I didn't know whether he was guided by an undying sense of loyalty to me, or if he was merely doing whatever Persephone asked him to, but I was grateful for his presence anyway.
"Am I a freak, Cerberus?" I asked, hoping he might be able to provide some enlightenment. I had no clue how I'd managed to push myself back to reality in the fear test so quickly. As far as I was aware, I didn't have any powers which might have helped in that situation. And then there was the issue that I may very well have just alerted Cleo and the others to how much of a freak I really was. I certainly didn't consider myself a threat in this competition – I was just getting by for my own sake – but knew no one else would believe my intentions.
I was so distracted by my thoughts that when I rounded the corner, I walked straight into someone.
"Oooft."
All of the air left my body as I slammed into them, almost causing both of us to fall backwards. Luckily, they had better balance than I did and steadied me by placing one hand on my waist and the other on my shoulder. Unfortunately for me, those hands were familiar. I gazed upwards and met Alek's eyes. Images of him dying resurfaced and I took a step away from him, catching my breath and avoiding his gaze. I could feel his own eyes taking in my damaged dress, no doubt coming to his own conclusions about what could have happened.
"Sorry," I muttered, moving around him. I hoped he couldn't hear how fast my heart was beating.
"Serena, wait," he called out.
I stilled, readying myself for him to ask how I'd spilt wine all over my dress.
"I have something for you," he said instead, and I was grateful that he hadn't pointed out the wine. Still, he'd piqued my curiosity and I turned to face him, still avoiding eye contact.
"What is it?"
He grabbed my hand and slipped something small into my palm. His hand was rough and coarse from all his years of physical training, but the way he grazed my hand was soft and comforting. I also noted how my own hands had grown rougher with my own training. Too soon, he removed his warm hand from mine. I unfurled my palm to find a small slip of paper with a cursive title and name written on it.
"I've been meaning to give this to you for a while," Alek admitted. "When we were in Greed City, I asked the librarian in Plutus' palace if they knew of any books with information about the North Gate. I thought it would be useful to prove to you that it existed. The librarian I spoke to gave me the name of this book title and author."
My heart jumped into my throat. "You..." I lost my words and cleared my throat. "Did you find the book?"
"Not yet. But the librarian said there was only one copy of it. Here, in Hades' castle."
I gasped. "So that's why you were in the library that first night..." I risked a glance at Alek, grateful that he was looking away from me, "you were looking for the book?"
I tried to ignore the fact that he'd also found Kadyn and I, tearing at each other's clothes.
"I looked, but I couldn't find it," he admitted gruffly. "Anyway, I figured you should have it."
I slowed my breathing and looked down again at the tiny piece of paper, which was so small but held so much power. "Thank you, Alek. This means a lot."
"You wanted proof that the North Gate existed," he stated with a detached expression. "This could be your proof. The location of the North Gate should be written in this book."
The possibility of what this book could mean stunned me into silence.
A muscle ticked in Alek's jaw and he nodded, starting to head back towards the Dining Hall.
"Alek, wait–"
His shoulders tensed as he rounded the corner, which let me know that he'd heard me but apparently didn't seem to care as he kept walking. I realised that while I hadn't been able to look Alek in the eye, he hadn't been able to look me in the eye either. Perhaps we'd both come away from the fear-based test feeling scarred. Glumly, I chewed on my lower lip and wondered whether I'd really made a mistake as far as my treatment of Alek had gone.
When he had disappeared, I fastened my grip on the piece of paper and decided I would try to find that book, even if it meant I had to tear this castle apart, brick by brick.