my eyes closed and praying. Please don't let me through, please don't let me through. But disappointment melted through me as my foot entered the darkness without a hitch. I took a shuddering breath, and stepped through completely. The darkness was as terrifying as I remembered it, but this time power surged hard through me, blocking the fear and the smells. I couldn't block the sounds of screaming though, as I walked carefully forward, alongside the flaming river. With a screech and a flash, Ixion appeared above me, shrieking. I gulped back my trepidation and took another stride forward. All I had now was myself, and I was not going to cower in fear. Cronos would meet the goddess I knew was inside me, not a naive girl or a terrified woman.
He would meet the goddamned Queen of the Underworld.
'Cronos!' I bellowed, summoning every ounce of courage within me. The flames in the river roared up, and a deep rumbling shook the ground. Illuminated on my right suddenly was a row of grand chairs, and a man sitting on one of them cried out when he saw me.
'Help me, please,' he screamed, and I recoiled as I saw the remnants of flesh and blood stuck to the vacant chairs. The man and the chairs melted back into the darkness before I could say a word.
'Cronos, I'm here!' I yelled again. The rumbling grew louder, then the mass of light I'd seen in the memory from the river appeared before me. Shadows intertwined with the white light, spinning and turning in a mesmerizing dance.
'Little goddess,' Cronos said, and a man stepped out of the light.
He was so beautiful I gasped, my lungs not working properly for a heartbeat. His eyes and his hair and his eyebrows were made of what looked like pure daylight, and instead of being creepy, it was stunning. He held his hands out and light shone from them too.
'I will not free you,' I choked out, my eyes streaming in his brightness.
'I wish, so very much, that you did not have to die. I would have liked for you to rule beside me.' The calm, soothing voice I had come to trust in the Atlas garden washed over me, and I clung to my anger, refusing to let him addle my brain.
'I will not free you,' I repeated. 'You can't make me use my vines.'
'It really is such a great shame to lose one as beautiful as you. But needs must. And the world’s needs are greater than our own.'
'You were imprisoned here for a reason, and you will stay here,' I said, wishing desperately that I could grow, like Hades and the others did. Standing before Cronos, I felt tiny, despite his physical body being barely larger than mine. His presence was immense, as though he was light itself, more element than being.
'Little goddess, I have an offer for you to consider. I have become fond of you, and I would rather do this with you willing. It will hurt less.' My hands shook as I stared at him. He wasn't scared of me. My words had no effect on him at all. What the fuck was I going to do?
'You can't make me use my vines,' I said again. 'If I have to fucking stand in front of you like this forever, I will.'
'If you cooperate with me, I will allow Hades to live, free of his obligation to the Underworld,' Cronos said. I froze. 'I will free his soul of this place, and he will finally live the life he has always craved.'
Twenty-Seven
Hades
I had to get to her.
Cronos was the strongest being still in existence in Olympus, and only my power over Tartarus gave me dominion over him.
Persephone didn't stand a chance. Fury swept through me, my head pounding with pain.
'You'll pay for this, Ankhiale! When I've got my power back, you'll fucking pay!' I bellowed. She stepped from the flames, shaking her head.
'Hades, you won't get your powers back, you fucking moron. You'll be consumed by them instead.'
'What if I offer you a deal?' I tried, changing tactics. 'What if I give you more than he can?' She laughed.
'More than Cronos can? Please. You're half as strong as him. What could you possibly-' she cut off abruptly, screwing her face up as a small flash of light sparked behind her. I frowned, then struggled to my feet as a shimmering burgundy powder appeared from nowhere, showering her whole body. A slow, easy smile