Captured (Shadow Guild Hades & Persephone #3) - Linsey Hall Page 0,14
respond. The stem lengthened and the leaves grew.
“Careful not to let those buds open!” Eve warned.
I nodded, pulling back on my magic at the last moment. This kind of precision work was good practice. When the plant was twice its size, I met Eve’s gaze. “Is this enough?”
“It is, thanks.” She grinned. “If you ever need a job, you know where to find me.”
“Ha. With the amount of work waiting for me at the library when I return, I’m going to be full up.”
If I returned. I could be trapped in Tartarus.
The idea sent a shiver down my spine. I should tell Hades that I was fading. It was the same curse he’d had—he might know how to help.
No.
He needed to focus on stopping Chronos and helping those who’d been frozen, and I didn’t want to distract him. I’d deal with my own problems.
Eve returned to her work, and we waited in silence. I could feel Hades presence like a flame at my back, and I turned to him, unable to help myself.
As expected, his gaze was on me.
“Check the window,” I said. “Do you see any ice?”
“I don’t feel Chronos, no.” He turned and looked out onto the street. “I see no ice, either.”
“You can feel him?” Mac asked.
Hades nodded. “I can feel his power as it expands and nears me.”
I shivered, turning back to Eve. Soon, I would hopefully see my grandmother. Even though we were meeting because I needed help with something awful, I was excited just to see her.
“There!” Eve turned from the cauldron and held out a tiny glass full of steaming liquid. “I’ve finished it.”
“All I do is drink it?” I asked.
“And maybe sit down,” Eve said.
Out of the corner of my eye, I spotted Hades moving toward a chair. He picked it up and brought it to me as Eve handed me the glass. It smelled strongly floral, almost medicinal, and I met her gaze. “It’s going to taste gross, isn’t it?”
“Like a petunia jumped in a bog and died, yep.”
I grimaced, then sat and swigged back the liquid without hesitating.
It did indeed taste utterly foul, and I grimaced as I swallowed it. Immediately, my head began to swim. The room faded out, taking my friends with it, and all I could see was a faint white fog. No floor, ceiling, or walls.
Just…nothing.
It was so disorienting that if I’d been standing, I’d have likely fallen smack on my face.
“Nana?” I called. “Are you here?”
There was no response. Nerves pricked my skin, and I rose unsteadily to my feet.
The strongest wave of vertigo hit me, and I collapsed back into the chair.
“Careful, dear.” Nana’s voice sounded through the fog. “If you leave that chair, you could lose yourself here.”
“Where are we?” I searched the mist for her. “Where are you?”
“I am not sure.” She appeared in front of me, moving slowly through the mist. Her beautiful white silk robes and ivory hair blended well with the fog, but her brilliant blue eyes gleamed brightly, cutting through the haze. “But I felt you arrive.”
I grinned, my heart feeling ten times lighter just from seeing her. “My friend Eve helped me come here. I need to speak with you.”
“Ah, yes. Eve, the fae. Not all is as it seems there.”
“It never is,” I said. As much as I wanted to pry about Eve, it was none of my business. “Are you well?”
“Of course! I was enjoying a nice game of bridge with the Willmots when I was yanked away to see you, but I can’t say that I mind the intrusion, when it’s you.”
“The Willmots?” I vaguely recognized the name.
“Yes. Our neighbors when you were young, once we’d left Cyprus. You remember them. They lived next door.”
“They’re dead, though.”
She laughed. “So am I.”
Fair point. “Well, I hope you’re wiping the floor with them at bridge.”
“Of course I am.” She reached for my hand and gripped it. Warmth and comfort rushed over me, and I squeezed her hand back, looking up into her lovely face to meet her eyes. Fates, I loved talking to her.
She waved a hand, and a chair appeared behind her. Without releasing her grip, she sat. “Now, tell me what is wrong.”
“Chronos has escaped.” I cursed. “No, I let him escape. It’s my fault.”
“Surely you meant well.”
“Of course. But that doesn’t matter now. He’s freezing the entire world.”
Nana nodded. “It was prophesied this might happen. But do not fret—if you can send Chronos back to Tartarus, the humans will forget what they saw.