not to be locked in a cage. I might be a prisoner in this realm, but at least I had some freedom. As I entered the space, I noticed that the firelight flickered on the hearth.
Someone had been there to light it.
My stomach grumbled.
“Beatrix?” I called softly, hoping she had returned.
There was silence.
How long would it take her to get back here? I went to the bathroom, the place where she’d first appeared through the window.
Sitting on the sill was a small black bag. I hurried to it, catching sight of the moonlight on the sea below. It glittered, too beautiful for a place as dark as this.
Inside the bag were a handful of protein bars. Lots of energy, easy to carry.
Smart Beatrix.
I tore into one, eating it quickly. The next one went down a bit slower, and I hid the others in the cushions of the couch. I returned to the bathroom to wash my face and found Beatrix sitting on the sill, her dark feathers gleaming.
“Hey!” Happiness surged inside me.
Magic sparked around her, and she shifted into her human form, still sitting on the wide stone windowsill. Her legs were encased in shimmery blue leggings this time, and her wild hair was pulled back in a messy bun.
“Are you all right?” she asked, worry in her eyes.
“Yeah. Thank you for the food. You’re a literal life saver. How is Mac?”
Her brow creased. “Mac is the same.”
“Anybody at home have any idea how I might escape?”
“We’re looking into it, but from everything we’ve found so far, there’s nothing we can do. You’re in the Underworld. It’s Hades’ domain. Without his permission, no one can leave. Or enter.” She grimaced. “Except me, apparently.”
Disappointment surged through me, but I forced it back. “I can’t tell you how much I appreciate that you’re here.”
“Of course.” She gave a smile, clearly trying for reassuring. “And I want to be here. I really do. I just wish I understood the magic that makes it possible.”
“I feel you.” Not understanding your own magic was a problem I was well familiar with. For all I knew, I really was Persephone.
No. Don’t think like that.
I didn’t want anything to tie me permanently to Hades.
“Everyone is doing what they can on the outside to get you home,” Beatrix said. “But . . .”
“It’s going to be up to me.”
“It seems like it. We’ve had no luck so far. And I don’t think I can stay here for long periods of time. I keep feeling the pull of the other side.” As if it had heard her, the air around her shimmered and her form seemed to waver. She raised an arm to indicate the change, a frown on her face. “See?”
“Oh, that looks dangerous. You’d better go.”
“Soon. What about that cure for Mac on your end?”
“Not yet. I’m trying to get Hades to agree to cure her, but I don’t trust him. I need to find something else, just in case.”
“Damn it.”
“I’m going to start looking around on my own here. There must be another cure. Or maybe I can get him pissed off and he’ll do the mist thing again, and I can get a sample.”
“While I waited for you, I did a little recon as a bird.” Beatrix looked out the window, as if imagining herself flying through the clouds. “I heard someone mention an apothecary and potion master. Very skilled. She lives near the castle.”
“She could know a cure.” My mind raced. “Worth a try, at least.”
“I don’t know where she lives, though.”
I frowned. “I could ask the maid. I bet she’ll be back in the morning.”
“Do that.” She gestured to my face. “And get some sleep. You look exhausted.”
“I feel it.” Weariness pulled at me so hard I wanted to collapse where I stood.
“There is one thing I don’t understand, though. Why does he want you specifically?”
“He says I’m Persephone.” I hadn’t mentioned it before, not wanting to believe it myself.
“You’re joking.”
“That’s what I said.” I threw up my arms. “I can’t be!”
“Honey, if death taught me anything, it’s that nothing is impossible.” She gave me a long look. “Get some sleep.”
I nodded.
She transformed back into a raven and disappeared. I turned toward the bedroom, mind racing.
Could I really be Persephone?
No.
No way.
But if I were . . .
Hades would know more about me. About what I was and what I could do. Could I learn from him?
Probably.
But it wasn’t worth the risk. No way. I needed to keep my head in the game and