by Bree Despain
A strength pounds in my chest, as if something were trying to break free—but it feels different than an electrical current. More like power.
I stand, shaking Terresa’s grasp from my arm with ease.
I look down at the others, all sitting on the ground. “Daphne needs our help,” I say. “Why are you all lazing about? We shouldn’t wait any longer, we should go into the Skyrealm now.”
“We agreed to wait until nightfall,” Ethan says, as if this were a logical choice.
“I will not wait any longer. Let us do what we came to do.” I scoop up Brimstone against my chest and hold my other hand out to Terresa. “You will take me to the Skygate.”
“Of course, my love.” She hops up and jogs to me. Her arm wraps around mine. “Just say the word.”
“Haden, wait,” Ethan says.
“Waiting is for cowards.” I nod to him and Jonathan. “Are you two coming or not?”
“Haden . . .”
“I don’t have patience for protests.” I smile at Terresa. “Let’s go!”
Terresa wraps her arms around my waist and then pulls me into a crouching position. She’s balancing herself on her toes. A burst of lightning explodes from her feet against the forest floor and then she and I are rocketing up into the sky. Wind whips around us, filling my lungs with air.
“Kalash!” I exclaim. I’ve always daydreamed about being able to fly, but this sensation is even more exhilarating than I could have imagined. “I had no idea lightning could be used this way.”
Brimstone, on the other hand, is not enthused by flying. She yowls and clings to my chest with her tiny claws.
“It’s okay, Brim. I will not drop you.”
I hear a second blast and look down to see Ethan, with Jonathan in his grasp, rocketing up after us. A third blast comes a few moments later, with Jessica hefting my unconscious father. The ground shrinks away under them, the forest looking like a scrubby blanket below us. This must be how birds see the world.
It strikes me that the height might normally bother me, but it doesn’t now. The higher we get, the closer we are to the Skyrealm. The closer we are to finding Persephone. The closer we are to saving Daphne.
“Can you take us faster?” I ask Terresa.
“Sure thing!” Terresa punches the air and our speed increases so abruptly that I have to cling to her so I don’t fall. She gives a laugh that I think is supposed to sound flirtatious, but reminds me more of a cackle. It makes me smile. Perhaps she isn’t so terrible after all.
“You must teach me to do this!” I shout over the sound of the wind.
Brim hisses in protest to this idea.
Our upward trajectory only lasts for another minute or so. Terresa slows and we come to a stop. We start to fall, hurtling downward, until she sticks her feet out and we land in a cloud. “Don’t let go,” she says as I loosen my grip on her arm. I tighten it once more, realizing that even though the cloud seems solid under her feet, it is nothing but water vapor under mine. “I might be able to teach you to rocket, but cloud walking is a Skylords-only trait.”
She shifts so she’s standing facing me, and places her feet under mine. She takes a step backward while indicating that I should move with her in unison. I probably look like a child walking on an adult’s feet, but I could not care less.
Ethan lands with Jonathan in the cloud beside us. “Can we wait for a minute now?” Ethan pants. Jonathan isn’t exactly a small man, I note as Ethan struggles to keep his father afloat—who seems a little less enthusiastic than me to be in the clouds. It’s probably been centuries since he lost his godly wings.
“I could use a rest also,” Jessica says, dragging my father by the wrist behind her through the clouds.
“No,” I say. “No more waiting. Take me to the gate.”
Terresa complies. As we sail through the clouds, I feel almost as if I were dancing.
From behind us, I hear Ethan ask Jonathan, “What exactly did you give him?”
“A shot of confidence,” Jonathan says, his voice wavering. “Only I’m afraid I may have given him too much.”
chapter twenty-two
daphne
I grab the talisman and tuck it behind my back as Shady enters the cave. It must be morning, because that strange ethereal light of the Underrealm floods in from behind him. I squint, realizing it’s been far too long since I’ve seen daylight—or even an otherworldly facsimile of it. I think I might go crazy if I have to spend another day inside this cavern.
Shady has some sort of small, scaly animal—of the dead variety—slung over his shoulder. He sets it and a pile of herbs next to the torch. I watch silently as he uses two rocks to grind the herbs into a thick paste, all the while letting my eyes drift occasionally to the cave entrance, which he has left wide open.
Forty-eight hours, my subconscious reminds me. I only have two days to find the Key and reunite with Haden. To kiss him for real and seal his cure.
I glance at the cave opening. Could I make a break for it?
I roll my eyes at my own stupid thought. With my injured knee, I’d get about two feet before Shady caught me up. And then what? He might decide I’m too much trouble as a houseguest—caveguest—and decide to eat me for dinner.
No, if I’m going to find Charon, I need Shady to help me.
Shady approaches with the paste he’s made. I let him unwrap my bandages, dress them with the soothing paste, and then rewrap them with new strips of cloth. He stops for a moment after finishing my shoulder. His fingers hover over the pomegranate pendant that hangs from my neck.
“Kore,” he moans in a whisper as if he were paying the necklace some sort of reverence.
“Do you want it?” I ask, pinching the ruby-encrusted pendant.
“Noooo,” he says, snatching his hand away. “Not mine.”
I find this weird, considering ownership didn’t seem to bother him when it came to the things he added to his hoarder’s heap.
“I’ll make you a trade,” I say. “Help me find Charon, and I’ll give it to you. It would make the perfect addition to your collection.”
“I am not worthy of thisss thing. You can hear me. Means you are worthy heir, Kore.”
“Daphne,” I say. “My name is Daphne, not Kore. Kore is gone.”
“No! Don’t say that. You must be Kore now.”
He shuffles away to the entrance of the cave, grabs the small animal and storms outside. I assume he’s going to shut me in again, so I am more than surprised when he leaves it open. I grab the torch that extinguished itself nearly an hour ago, and use it as a makeshift cane to hobble to the front of the cave. It takes me a few minutes to get there, but when I poke my head outside the cave entrance, I find that Shady is building up a small campfire on the ledge that surrounds the entrance of the cave. He’s positioned the animal on a roasting spit over the fire.
“I’m coming out,” I say, advising him of my movement but not asking him for permission.
He grunt-moans in return.
I step outside the cave, shielding my eyes from what feels like noonday sun but isn’t, and inspect my surroundings. Other than this rocky ledge, it looks like a sheer incline both above and below. There’s no way I could climb down with my injured knee, and Shady must be very strong to have climbed up the cliff face with me over his shoulder.
I step carefully, hugging the wall, as I follow Shady over to the fire, its warmth beckoning me. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to offend you,” I say as I settle myself next to him.
He grunts again. Has he decided to stop speaking to me?
“You must have been a very loyal servant to Kore. You really cared for her, didn’t you?”
He nods. “Loyal, yes. Kore wasss compassion. Kore wasss springtime. Kore wasss sunlight. Kore was love. I am only servant. That is why I not worthy. It hasss chosen you,” he says, patting his collarbone. “You are Kore now. I mussst protect you. I cannot lose Kore again.”
“But I’m not Kore. I’m just a gi
rl who’s trying to get home. I’m trying to save my friend—the boy I love . . .”
“You are not just girl. Only rightful heir can wield herrr Kronolithe. You are Kore.”
“Her Kronolithe?” I ask. “What are you talking about?”
“The pommmmegranate.”
“The pom . . . You mean the necklace?” I pinch the pomegranate pendant between my fingers. Is he saying what I think he’s saying? “This pomegranate necklace is a Kronolithe?”
He nods and turns the roasting spit. I try to ignore the smell of burning reptilian flesh.
“That necklace is pomegranate Hadessss offered Kore,” Shady says. “He fashioned it frrrrom piece of his own Kronolithe. When she accepted it, she traded her mantle as goddess of springtime and became goddess of dead. She cared for them—for us—she became our queen because of her compassion. The dead needed her. Things were better for everyone when she was here . . . Her Kronolithe granted her the powers she needed to fulfill her duties. She could travel the Underrealm with ease, she could talk to the dead, among other things.”
“But how can this necklace be a Kronolithe? Garrick said it belonged to many other queens since Persephone left,” I say. “Don’t you think someone would have noticed if this thing had magical powers?”
“Only a worthy heir can taaaake up the mantle of a Kronolithe.”
“But I’m not related to Persephone. Orpheus, yes; and the Amazons too. But I’m pretty sure I am not a descendant of Persephone.”
“Blllood does not always matter. It’s merely who you are. It chose you—I know you’re worthy because you cannnn understand me.”
I lean backward away from the fire, feeling too hot all of a sudden. “So the necklace is the reason I can talk to you? And I suppose that’s why the Lesser boy could understand me as well . . .”
“Yes,” he says, poking the fire with a stick. “Kore could talk to anyone in the Underrealm. Things were better before ssshe left . . .”
“Does this mean I’m immortal?”
He nods and then also shakes his head. “Don’t know. Still susceptible to injury,” he says, pointing to my bandages. “It may keep you from aging as long as youuu wear it, but it may not protect your life beyond that. I will not risssk letting you get hurt again.”
“So Persephone, if she left this behind, does that mean she’s no longer immortal?” I think of Haden heading into the Skyrealm, looking for Persephone. Was he on some sort of wild goose chase, looking for a woman who died centuries ago?
“She was goddessss in her own right before accepting Hades’s gift. If she took up her old mantle once more when she left, she couuuuld still be alive.” The end of his stick has caught flame. He seems to watch it burn with his invisible eyes. I wonder if he is thinking of Persephone.
“So when you said Charon had one of these, you meant he has his own Kronolithe? One that protects him from water?”
Shady nods. “He is the boatman.”
“And where would I find him?”
“At one of the docks.”
“How many docks are there?”
“Many.”
“Could you be more specific?”
“Why?”
I decide to be straight with him. “You know Hades’s Kronolithe?”
“Eternity Key. Yes, was lost. Hades died and Kore left.”
“Well, guess what, I found it. Only it’s lost again. But I think this Charon guy might know where it is. I need to get it back. My friend, he’s dying, and I’m the only one who can save him. I need to find the Key so I can open Persephone’s Gate and get back to him. He needs me . . .”
“No!” Shady says, pointing that flaming stick in my direction. “You cannot leave again, Kore. The Underrealm needs you. Not your friend.” Shady makes a move like he’s going to grab me and drag me back into the cave.
I pull away from him. “He does need me. I need to save his life. And then we all need him because he’s going to help me destroy the Keres.”
“Keres?” he says, pulling back and shaking his head.
“They’re bad, right? You’re afraid of them, aren’t you?”
“Locked away,” he says, waving his charred stick.
“Not for much longer. They’re going to get out.”
Shady makes a horrible moan and rocks forward.
“My friend and I, we were going to use the Key to destroy them, only we got separated and everything went wrong. But you can help me make it right again. I need to find the Key before Garrick—the new king, the one you saw me running from—or the Court get their hands on it. You can help me. I just need to get back to save my friend first.”
“No. Kore stay!” He grabs my arm and yanks me toward the cave.
“I’m not Kore. As much as you want me to be, I’m not really her . . .” An idea hits me and I don’t know why I didn’t think of it several minutes ago. “But what if you could get her back? What if I could get the real Persephone to return?”
Shady stops in front of the boulder. He seems to stare down at me. “What do you mean?”
“My friend—the one I told you about, the one I need to save—he’s on a mission right now to the Skyrealm. He’s trying to infiltrate a Skyrealm prison—to rescue Persephone.”
“Skylords have Kore?” This idea seems to really piss Shady off. His fingers tremble against my skin. “Is that why she hasn’t returned?”
“Possibly,” I say. “But if you help me find the Key, and my friend is successful in finding Persephone, then you and I can open the gate and let her back in.”
He lets go of my arm. “Bring Kore back?” I can hear the hopefulness behind his moaning voice.
“Yes. You can be the one who brings Kore back . . .”
I trail off because the strangest noise catches my attention. It sounds like someone shouting in the distance—someone shouting my name. I spin around, looking out over the cliff. I don’t see anything. Perhaps it was just the wind?
I start to turn back toward Shady when I hear it again.
“Daphne?” someone shouts. “Daphne? Are you out there?”
Distant though it may be, I know that voice.
Tobin!
I step forward, ready to shout back, but Shady grabs me from behind. His hand clasps over my mouth and my call of “Tobin!” gets silenced by his grasp.
I start to struggle. Tobin is out there! Tobin is alive! He’s looking for me!
Shady holds me tighter and whispers in my ear, “It could beeee a ruse, my queen.”
chapter twenty-three
tobin
Garrick’s guards have dragged me from the wagon once again. I am flanked by four guards. One of them prods me with an electrified staff when I don’t move fast enough—which is hard, considering my feet are laden with heavy chains. I swear at him under my breath but pick up my pace before he hurts me again.
They lead me toward gray, rocky cliffs.
Garrick stands in his chariot, only one shadow casting over me. With what little strength I had left, I had contemplated trying to warn the guards again about Garrick’s Keres alliance this morning, but the evidence was gone when we left the palace. Garrick’s second shadow wasn’t with him. I had thought at first that perhaps he had gotten tired of playing host—or more likely the Keres had gotten tired of its host—but I realize now, in the brighter light of the outdoors, that Garrick’s secret would have been revealed. Everyone would have been able to see his second shadow.
“What are you staring at?” Garrick snarls, lashing at me with his horse whip. I’d thought he’d be more reasonable without the Keres present, but that assumption had also been wrong. “Do it,” he orders.
This is the third time in the last two hours he’s forced me to call for Daphne. I don’t want to do it. I don’t want to help him. I don’t want him to find Daphne. But even more than what I want, I need the pain to stop.
“Daphne,” I shout, hoping she won’t hear me.
“Louder,” Garrick says.
&nb
sp; One of the guards approaches with his crackling staff when I hesitate.
“Daphne!” I shout, raising my volume. “Daphne! Are you out there?”
I stop and listen, hoping a response doesn’t follow. Or maybe I do want a response, because then maybe this will be over. Garrick won’t make me do this anymore. Perhaps he will let me go back to my chair, where I can forget again.
No, I tell myself. That’s not what I want.
“Now deliver the message.”
“Water first,” I say. My lips are cracked and my throat is so parched—I think it may have been days since I’ve had anything to drink. That was one of the ways Garrick tortured me after removing me from the chair. He would offer me a cup filled to the brim with water but when I would try to drink from it, the water would recede from my lips. Garrick had called it the Water of Tantalus or something like that, and found my desperate attempts to drink it particularly amusing. I had never felt so murderous as when hearing him laugh. If only I had any strength left. “Shouting is difficult. I need real water before I can go on.”
Garrick looks as if he’s about to give me a swift slap instead, but then orders one of the guards to bring me a leather water pouch. He lets me drink just enough to wet my throat.
“Now do it,” Garrick says.
“She’s not out there,” I say.
“I told you to deliver the message.” He holds up his hand, showing me the blue lightning that webs between his fingers. Just the sight of it makes the fresh burns in my skin ache anew. I can’t take suffering through another.
I face the cliffs again. “Daphne, if you’re out there,” I shout, “Garrick wants me to tell you that if you don’t bring him the Key by first light tomorrow, he’ll have me killed.”
“Filleted alive, to be more specific,” Garrick shouts. “This isn’t a joke, Daphne. We know you have it. Bring the Key to the Pits by first light, or you’ll never see your best friend again.”