nerves as I descended the stairs. The shadows grew deeper, enveloping me. When it had become so dark that the stairs had nearly disappeared in front of me, torches flared to life on either side. More torches gleamed against the walls below, disappearing into the depths of the earth.
I shivered.
How deep did it go? To the center of the world, it looked like.
I drew in a deep breath and kept going, my mind spinning with possibilities of what I would find down there. I was so distracted that I stumbled. Breath caught, I reached out to stabilize myself and grasped the wall.
My fingertips dipped into a divot, and I looked over, frowning.
There was a carving on the wall: a man, tall and broad. As I watched, a dark mist crept from the stone. I stumbled backward, and within seconds, a figure stood before me. His body was formed entirely of the mist that had seeped from the wall, as if I’d ignited a spell just by touching it. Even though the creature stood on the stairs below me, he was still taller than I was.
Was it even a man? I had no idea.
The magic that billowed from it nearly bowled me over, and I stepped backward a few steps, climbing away from the figure. Its magic smelled of decay and tasted like rotten fruit. My heart thundered in my ears as I breathed shallowly, trying to absorb as little of the magic as possible.
Despite the disgusting nature of it, the darkness inside me seemed to respond positively, rising up inside me. From nowhere, Echo landed on my shoulder. I clung to him, drawing strength.
“Persephone.” The voice rumbled through me, and I shuddered.
I didn’t bother correcting the figure. Instead, I just stared hard at it. “Why am I here?”
“To fulfill your destiny at Akamas.”
“Akamas?” I hadn’t heard the name of that place in years. I was from Arcadia. It was a tiny village on Cyprus where I’d been born.
“Yes. The plain by the sea. That is where your destiny will fulfill itself.”
“That is the place from my vision?” I hadn’t recognized it.
“Yes.”
Fates, had it been so long since I’d seen that plain that I hadn’t even noticed it was my home?
Yes.
I’d left so long ago, I hardly remembered anything. But how could this figure know so much? “Who are you?” I shivered. “You feel a bit like the darkness in the pit beneath Hades’ castle.”
The figure merely inclined its head at that statement and said, “I am Chronos.”
Chronos? Hades’ father?
Holy fates, did Hades know that? If so, he’d never mentioned it.
But was Chronos really his father? The myths said so, but they weren’t right about me.
“Shouldn’t you be in Tartarus?” I asked.
“Indeed, I should. And I am. For now.”
“For now?”
The words made a chill race over my skin. Worse, I still felt the darkness rising inside me, drawn by his proximity. It was like he called it out of me, trying to get it to take over my soul.
“You will do as your destiny commands, Persephone.” The voice rumbled through me, tugging at the darkness.
I resisted, stepping back onto the stair behind me. I needed to get the hell out of here. I’d fulfilled my part of the bargain and walked into this stupid stairwell, and now it was time to go.
“You cannot run from it,” he said. “You will not want to.” He waved a hand in front of his face, and an image appeared.
My three friends—Eve, Mac, and Beatrix—all bound in black rope, their eyes wide.
“What did you do?” I demanded, rage and fear rising within me.
“Incentive.” Satisfaction rumbled through the voice. “I know that you resist your fate, and I am helping it along.”
My anger bubbled to the surface, surging through me as I fought the fear that threatened to drown me.
“You do not like this?” the monster asked. “What about this?” He flicked a hand, and Beatrix screamed, her face twisted in pain. “I can do that as much as I like.”
Fury like I’d never known filled me to boiling, turning my soul black and my intentions blacker. I reached out toward the shadowy figure, vines sprouting from my hands, though I held no plants. They wrapped around Chronos, finding purchase despite the fact that he appeared incorporeal. They squeezed tightly, and satisfaction surged through me. I’d make him pay for what he’d done to my friends.
Tighter.
I commanded the vines with my mind, and they obeyed, wrapping around him in such great quantity that he nearly disappeared