He lifted a brow. “Don’t they? You were the one who killed all those men at the temple. Was that the right choice or the wrong one?”
Her heart jumped at the mention, but she knew the answer. “It was the right thing to do. They were desecrating the temple of Artemis.”
“And what did Artemis do to them?” He tugged her to the end of the dock where Charon had silently joined them in his ferry. “She’s not the kind goddess you seem to think, Kore. One of their men fell out of her favor, merely because he refused to fight in the war anymore. She destroyed their crops and killed their most revered leader. All because she didn’t think this man would be her plaything any longer. He is again, of course. To save his family. But they were still very angry.”
Speechless, she watched as Hades released her hand and stepped into the boat. He looked up at her, still with that pitying gaze, but her mind couldn’t process the words he’d said.
Artemis was the one to blame?
Though her friend was known for being fearless and ruthless, that couldn’t be right. She wouldn’t have forsaken one of her chosen heroes... would she?
The truth hit Kore like a mountain falling down around her ears. Yes. The goddess absolutely would harm those who went against her. Though Artemis was kind to Kore, she still thought of mortals as nothing more than playthings.
She felt like she couldn’t breathe. The air stuck in her lungs before she could breathe in deeper, and then her mind went into a tailspin. Everything she thought she’d known was cracking like glass here in the Underworld.
Everything.
And now she didn’t know who to believe.
Hades waited for her to catch her breath before he looked pointedly at the ferry. “Are you coming? There’s much for me to show you.”
Kore didn’t know how much more she wanted to know. If Artemis wasn’t fundamentally good, what else would she find in this place?
But she did want to know. She wanted to know everything, and if her gut had been right all this time. Kore wanted to know if there was something wrong with the Olympians and the way they ruled their people.
So she stepped into the boat.
It rocked side to side with her movement, but not a single drop from the Styx spilled into the wooden craft. Hades caught her by the elbow and helped settle her onto the small board that served as a seat. Charon waited patiently before he shoved them off from the dock and they all crossed the river together.
Kore watched the bubbling waters. She couldn’t feel the heat coming off the Styx, although she could see the wavering tendrils in the air. She knew this river would poison her with a single drop. The stories claimed so few people had even tried that no one knew what drinking it would do.
They remained silent, almost reverent as they crossed the waters. Charon carefully docked them on the other side.
Hades hopped out first. He turned quickly to help her out, but not fast enough.
Charon’s skeletal hand appeared before her, gently unfurling like the rough branches of a tree. “My Queen,” he murmured. “Allow me.”
She settled her hand in his and marveled at the differences. Her fingers, though delicate and thin, were plump with youth. His age mottled palms were rough against her skin, calluses built from years of ferrying souls from side to side. But the strength of his grip surprised her most. Though terrifyingly thin, he could still lift a woman up onto the dock with no issues.
“Thank you,” she said, once standing on her own two feet. “You’re very kind.”
The fine lines around his eyes deepened in a subtle smile. “You’re the first to say so in a very long time.”
She watched him row the boat back to the shore where the souls waited. And for the first time in her life, she wondered if the ferryman of the Underworld was happy. Or what she could do to help ease his job.
“You have a kind heart,” Hades said. He placed a hand at the small of her back, and she felt heat spark under his touch. “Charon has been here for a long time, and no one has ever worried about him.”
Instantly, a flash of anger burned in her chest. She turned around to argue with him, only to pause when she saw his smile.
Hades curled his fingers at her waist, drawing her slightly closer before his