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“Do what? Not go back to Eden?” I’d already passed the tests. I’d told Henry I’d be back. We were married, for crying out loud.
“Everyone’s acting like you’re the be-all and end-all for Henry,” said James. “It isn’t fair to put you under that kind of pressure.”
Good lord, he really was talking about not going back. “Listen, James, I know you liked Greece—so did I—but if you think you can talk me into not going back—”
“I’m not trying to talk you into anything,” said James with surprising firmness. “I’m trying to make sure no one else does. This is your life. No one’s going to take your mother away from you now if you decide you don’t want to do this after all.”
“That’s not—that’s not why I’m going back at all,” I sputtered.
“Then why are you, Kate? Give me one good reason, and I’ll drop it.”
“I can give you a dozen.”
“I only want one.”
I sniffed. It wasn’t any of his business. I’d nearly died in my attempts to save Henry from fading; I wasn’t going to walk away from him because of the possibility that I might not like the Underworld. “I don’t know how you do things, but I love Henry, and I’m not going to leave him just because you don’t think he’s good for me.”
“Fair enough,” said James. “But what are you going to do if Henry doesn’t love you?”
I slammed on the brakes and forced the car into Park so violently that the head of the stick shift snapped off. The car was a piece of shit anyway. “That’s impossible. He said he loves me, and I trust him not to lie to me. Unlike someone else I know.”
I glared at him, but his expression didn’t change. With a huff, I climbed out of the car, cursing as the seat belt caught on my jeans. After my few failed attempts to untangle myself, James reached over and gently undid it for me.
“Don’t be mad,” he said. “Please. After what happened to Persephone—I want to make sure you don’t have to go through the same thing, all right? That’s all.”
I wasn’t an idiot. I knew part of Henry would always be in love with Persephone. After all, he’d lost the will to continue after she’d given up her immortality to die and spend eternity with a mortal, and he wouldn’t have felt that way if his entire existence hadn’t revolved around her. But I could give him the one thing she never had—requited love.
“If you really are happy and you two love each other equally, then great,” said James. “Good luck to you both. But if you don’t—if you wake up one day and realize you’re forcing yourself to love him because you think it’s the right thing to do, not because he makes you happier than you’ve ever been—then I want to make sure you know you have a choice. And if you ever want to leave, all you have to do is say the word, and I’ll go with you.”
I stormed toward the front doors of the manor, yanking hard. “Great, so if I ever decide that Henry’s life isn’t worth it, I’ll be sure to let you know. Help me with these, will you?”
James didn’t say a word as he joined me and opened the heavy doors as if they were made of feathers. I slipped inside and forced a smile, expecting to see Henry waiting for me in the magnificent entrance hall made of mirrors and marble. But the foyer was empty.
“Where is everyone?” I said, my smile fading.
“Waiting for you, I suspect.” James stepped in after me, and the door slammed behind us, echoing through the hall. “You didn’t think we were going to stay here, did you?”
“I didn’t know there was anywhere else to stay.”
He draped his arm over my shoulders, but when I shrugged it off, he shoved his hands in his pockets instead. “Of course there’s someplace else. Follow me.”
James led me to the center of the foyer, where a crystal circle shimmered with a rainbow of colors in the center of the white marble floor. When I tried to continue to the other side of the hall, he grabbed my hand and stopped me.
“This is our stop,” he said, looking down.
I stared at the crystal beneath my feet, and finally I saw it. A strange, shimmering aura seemed to emanate from where we stood, and I jumped out of the circle. “What is that?”
“Henry didn’t tell you?” said James, and I shook my head. “It’s a portal between the surface and the Underworld. Totally safe, I promise. They’re like shortcuts so we don’t have to take the long way around.”
“The long way around?”
“If you know where to look, you can find an opening into the Underworld and travel through various caves and that kind of thing,” he said. “Dark, gloomy, time-consuming, and trouble if you’re skittish about having millions of pounds of rock pressing down on you.”
“There’s nothing underneath the surface except lava and dirt,” I said, ignoring the thought of being buried alive. “Every eight-year-old knows that.”
“We’re gods. We’re excellent at covering our tracks,” said James with a boyish grin, and this time, when he offered me his hand, I took it and stepped back into the circle.
“What else are you good at?” I grumbled. “Turning water into wine?”
“That’s Xander’s specialty,” he said. “I’m surprised he hasn’t turned the Dead Sea into one big keg party by now. Must be too salty for him. As for me, I can find anything or anyone or anyplace you want. Didn’t you notice we never got lost in Greece?”
“Except that one time.”
“We weren’t actually lost then, either,” he pointed out.
“Still.” I gave him a look, and he turned pink. “I just thought you knew the area well.”
“I did, thousands of years ago. They’ve made some modifications since then. Close your eyes.”
A rush of electrifying power swirled around us, and a roar filled my ears. Without warning, the ground dropped from under us, and I shrieked.
My heart leaped into my throat, and my eyes flew open as I tried to pull away from James, but his arm wrapped around me like steel. We were surrounded by rock—no, we were inside rock, and we went through it as if it weren’t any more substantial than air. James’s expression was as calm as ever, as if slicing through stone and earth and god only knew what else was perfectly normal.
It seemed to last for ages, but only a few seconds later my feet landed on solid ground. James loosened his grip on my shoulders, but my legs trembled so badly that I clung to him even though all I wanted to do was thwack him upside the head.
“That wasn’t so bad, was it?” he said cheerfully, and I glared.
“I will get you for that,” I snarled. “You won’t see it coming, but when it’s over, you’ll know what it was for.”
“I look forward to it,” he said, and at last I felt steady enough to stand on my own. I bit back my retort as I looked around, and my eyebrows shot up.
We were in a massive cavern, so big that I couldn’t see the top. The only way I could tell it was under the earth—besides the harrowing journey I’d barely survived—was the lack of sunlight.
Great. Apparently Henry lived in a cave.
Instead of the sky, rivers of crystal ran through the rock, providing a glowing light that illuminated the entire cavern. Giant stalagmites and stalactites joined together in rows of columns that couldn’t have possibly been natural, and to my relief, they formed a path to a magnificent palace made of shiny black rock that looked as if it had grown out of the side of the cavern.
“If I may,” said James. “On behalf of the council, let me be the first to welcome you to the Underworld.”
I opened my mouth, but before I could say a word, Henry’s enraged cries filled my ears, and I fell to my knees as the world went black.
CHAPTER TWO
GIFT
Henry appeared inches in front of me, his face twisted with such fury that I shrank back. He was in the Underworld, surrounded by the same crystal-infused rock I recognized from my landing, but the cavern wasn’t the same. It was so vast I couldn’t make out the other side, and it was bare except for the massive gate that looked as if it were made of the wall itself.
Henry raised his trembling hands against a thick fog that seeped between the bars made of rock, his jaw set. His brothers, Walter and Phillip, flanked him on either side, but it was clear that Henry was the general in this battle.
“It won’t work,” said a girly voice that made my insides turn to ice. Behind Henry stood Calliope, her eyes bright with amusement. “He’s already awake.”
“Why?” said Henry, his voice strained with effort. “Are you really so far gone that you believe this is the answer?”
But whatever the question happened to be, I didn’t get the chance to find out. Henry and his brothers vanished, and I opened my eyes and sucked in the cool, damp air of the cavern that held the palace. Somehow I’d wound up on my hands and knees, and James knelt beside me, his brow knit as he rubbed my back. “Are you okay?” he said.
“What happened?” Catching sight of two approaching figures in the distance, I tensed. It couldn’t be Henry and Calliope. He would never let her anywhere near me.
“Nothing,” said James uncertainly. “Did you hit your head?”
I didn’t answer, too busy scrutinizing the two silhouettes. James wasn’t worried, so it couldn’t be Calliope—but had he seen the cavern with the gate? Did he know she was out there, fighting against Henry and his brothers?
Finally the two figures came into view, and relief flooded through me. “Mom,” I called, standing on shaky legs. James steadied me, and I managed to take a few steps forward.
My mother, who had spent years battling the cancer that had eventually killed her mortal form, walked toward me looking radiant. I still hadn’t adjusted to the idea that she too was a goddess and had failed to mention that to me for eighteen years, but at that moment all I cared about was filling the hole that had grown inside of me during the six months I’d been gone.
“Hello, my darling,” she said, embracing me. I breathed in her scent, apples and freesia, and hugged her tightly in return. I’d missed her more than I could have possibly put into words, and as far as I was concerned, no one would ever talk me into leaving her for any length of time again.
“What was that all about?” said a second voice. Ava. My best girlfriend and the reason I’d met Henry in the first place. Another one who’d lied to me about being mortal. “Kate looked like she was having a fit.”
“It’s nothing that can’t be controlled with a little practice,” said my mother, touching my cheek. “I see you got plenty of sun. Did Greece treat you well?”
She let me go, and Ava swooped in for a hug and a squeal. “You look gorgeous! Look at your tan—I’m so jealous. Did you dye your hair? It looks lighter.”
I searched over her shoulder, but the path that led to the obsidian palace was empty. Henry hadn’t come to greet me after all. My heart sank, and I avoided James’s stare. I didn’t want to see him gloat. “What do you mean, something that can be controlled with a little practice?”
“Your gift, of course.” My mother’s smile faltered. “Do tell me Henry explained this to you last winter.”
I gritted my teeth. “From here on out, how about everyone assumes that if Henry was supposed to tell me something, he didn’t. Sound like a plan?”
“Probably didn’t think you’d survive long enough for it to matter,” muttered James.
Ava ignored him and looped her arm in mine. “You’re grumpy today.”
“You would be too if you fell through a hole in the floor and wound up in hell,” I said.
My mother took my other arm, and James trailed after us as we headed toward the palace. “Don’t let Henry hear you call this place hell,” she said. “He’s very touchy about that sort of thing. This is the Underworld, not hell. It’s where—”
“—people go after they die,” I said. “I know. He told me that much. Where is he?”
Even as I asked, I had a sick feeling I knew exactly where he was.
“He and a few of the others had a matter to attend to,” said my mother. “They will be back before your coronation ceremony tonight.”
“Does that matter have anything to do with a giant gate and Calliope?”
Ava stopped short, and I tugged on her arm, but her feet remained planted on the ground. “How did you know that?”
I shrugged. “That’s what I was trying to tell you all—I saw it, just now.”
Up on the surface, seeing visions like that would’ve gotten me committed, but my mother didn’t so much as blink. “Yes, sweetie, that will happen from time to time, and eventually you will learn to control it.”
“Great,” I said waspishly. “Could you at least explain what it is?”
“No need to get upset,” said my mother, and my exasperation immediately dissolved. She may not have been dying anymore, but after I’d spent four years watching her teeter on the edge between life and death, I’d all but forgotten how to be upset with her. Six months away wasn’t going to change that.
“I’m sorry,” I said, guilt rushing through me. I glanced at James, who lingered in the background, his hands shoved in his pockets and his mop of blond hair falling in his eyes. But I wanted answers, not more diatribes about how I had a choice. “What’s going on? Why could I see Henry?”
My mother wrapped her arms around my shoulders, and I relaxed against her. “Why don’t we go inside where it’s comfortable, and then we’ll tell you everything?”
Somehow I doubted that I would ever really learn everything that was going on when it came to my new family, but my jeans were damp from the ground, and the sooner we got to the palace, the sooner I would see Henry. And then—
And then what?
James’s offer trickled back into my mind, circling my thoughts until I couldn’t ignore it any longer. He was wrong. He had to be. I’d survived; I’d passed, and Henry loved me. As soon as we saw each other, everything would fall into place, and things would be normal again. And I’d feel like an idiot for ever questioning Henry.
The path was shorter than I’d thought, sloping downward toward a courtyard in front of the palace. Instead of flower beds and trees, the ground was littered with magnificent jewels in a rainbow of colors that glittered in the light. Much in the same way that my mother’s gardens were art, this was a masterpiece, and I couldn’t take my eyes off of it.
“Persephone designed it,” said Ava as we approached the intimidating doors. I bit the inside of my cheek to stop myself from a rude retort. I’d never considered how much being in the Underworld would remind Henry of Persephone, and after they’d spent millennia together, there was no way I could combat every piece of her that lingered in his life. But I hadn’t been prepared to face it this soon.
I took a deep breath. Everything would be fine. I was jet-lagged, that’s all, and as soon as I got some rest and saw Henry, everything would go back to normal. Getting angry about every little thing wasn’t going to help.
The entranceway was nothing like I’d expected. Unlike the darkness of the world outside the palace, it was cheerful inside, with red walls and mirrors much like the ones that hung in Eden Manor. This room was smaller though, homier somehow. From the gold accents around the mirrors to the brown leather furniture scattered throughout the corridor, everything was warm. The palace was huge, but inside, it didn’t seem the least bit impressed with itself.
I liked it.
“This is where I’ll be living during the winter?” I said, and my mother nodded.
“This is the private wing of the palace, meant for you, Henry and your guests.”
“There are guests?”
Ava skipped beside me, almost wrenching my arm out of its socket. “Like us, silly. The entire council’s here right now to see your coronation.”
“They are?” My mouth went dry. “I thought it was just going to be me and Henry. And you guys.”
“Of course the entire council is here. Henry will be crowning a new Queen of the Underworld tonight,” said my mother, setting her hand on my back to lead me down another hallway. “That doesn’t happen very often.”
She seemed to know exactly where she was going, and trepidation bubbled inside of me. She must’ve spent time here with Persephone, who had been her daughter—my sister—and her familiarity with the palace was one more reminder of how deeply entrenched Persephone had been in Henry’s life. How deeply entrenched her memory still was.
“Your bedroom,” said Ava, pointing toward an elaborately decorated door at the end of the hallway. I wanted to ask her how she’d known that, but as we drew closer and I recognized the intricate wooden carvings, I nearly choked.
It was the exact same door as the one in Eden that led into Persephone’s bedroom. On the top half was a beautiful meadow, and somehow the artist had managed to create sunlight in the wood. Below it stood the Underworld with its pillars of stone and gardens of jewels, and it was all I could do to speak. “Do you think Henry would mind if I did some redecorating?”
Ava and my mother exchanged a confused glance, but James, who had been quiet up until then, stepped forward. I didn’t want his sympathy though. Or his understanding. Henry was busy, not ignoring me, and he couldn’t have possibly known how a simple door would feel like a punch to the gut to me. I didn’t want him to choose between me and his dead wife; I only wanted to be a more important part of his life now. Maybe it would take some time, but that was time I was willing to put in if Henry was, as well.
I shook my head. Of course Henry would want this. He’d been the one to approach me beside the river to begin with. He’d been the one to protect me during my time in Eden. He was the one who’d helped bring me back from the dead. He was the one who’d stayed by my bedside nearly every waking hour after. He cared. He had to.
That was all before I’d been granted immortality by the council though, said a small voice that sounded suspiciously like James’s in the back of my mind. My mother was Henry’s favorite sister. Maybe he was only trying to protect me for her sake.
