by Helen Scott
She smiled as the woman wrapped a cloak around her shoulders, fastening it around her neck before drawing the hood up over her hair, tucking every errant strand into the back of the dark material.
“Thank you.”
“Please try and be safe. Don’t anger anyone unnecessarily. You are fragile compared to us.”
Aster received a brief unexpected hug from Megaera before she turned and walked away, back toward the river of tears. Turning, she looked at Cin, who was frowning at the doorway in front of them.
“Everything okay?”
“Yeah, I just haven’t really interacted with a lot of the other residents of the Underworld. Makes me a bit nervous, you know?” She ran her free hand through her hair.
“Understandable, but the sooner we do it, the sooner it’s over.”
They nodded at each other and began to walk forward. Passing through the door was like passing into a different version of reality. The sounds of the river were gone, and all around them were trees and grasses, but not the types of trees she’d just seen. Oh, no, these trees were covered in thick, waxy black leaves, while the tall grasses that lay to each side of the path were a dark red color. It all made Aster uneasy. Even the light had changed. No longer the dim, hard-to-see light, there was now almost a purple haze over everything.
It reminded Aster of when she would be out in the early hours of the morning. There was always a point at which night became slightly lighter but wasn’t quite dawn yet, where the world became almost monotone, objects fading into one another once they were far enough away.
They followed what looked kind of like a path. It was unclear at first since it was just shorter grass, but then streetlights that looked like they belonged in the 1800s began to coalesce from the shadows, lighting their way. A shiver ran down Aster’s spine. Whatever this Land of Dreams was, she didn’t like it.
The path meandered around trees and lakes. Aster was getting seriously tired, and she wasn’t exactly out of shape, which had to mean that they’d been walking farther than she had initially thought, or that being in the Underworld affected her body differently.
“I think that’s it,” Cin said, pointing with her free hand to the structure a little ways in front of them.
“I didn’t even notice it.”
The black and gray structure blended with its surroundings in such a way that it was easily missed, even though it was a sprawling building. As they approached the building, Aster could start to make out different aspects of the architecture. It looked like a cathedral crossed with an old university building. Spires topped every column, effectively hiding the majority of the roof and camouflaging it with the surrounding trees. The giant doors on the front of the building looked like solid marble, the spidery gray veins that were spread over them reminding Aster of her own face.
“How the hell are we supposed to open those?” she whispered to her sister.
Chapter 15
Once they stepped close enough, the doors swung silently open, like they were entering a grocery store instead of the Halls of Night. After they stepped inside, the doors swung shut behind them again with only the slightest murmur of sound.
As her eyes adjusted to the difference in the light, she could see chandeliers hanging from the ceiling every ten feet or so, not to mention the sconces that hung on the walls at regular intervals as well. One wall was mostly windows, with the exception of hallways or other rooms that branched off without seeming to go anywhere unless they went underground, and the other wall was made up of mirrors.
It was only as she focused on the end of the room that she could see a cluster of people staring at them. They sat in front of a waterfall that seemed to flow over the middle of a staircase that split around it before connecting to the floor they were standing on.
One of the group got up and began making his or her way toward them, and with a tug from Cin, she guessed that they were going to meet them halfway.
“You shouldn’t be here,” the man called while still a little too far away for her to make him out clearly.
Cin ignored the comment and kept walking toward him. As soon as he was close enough, Aster’s heart stopped.
It was her father.
She must have alerted Cin to her panic somehow, because she began to look for the threat.
“Didn’t you hear me, fury? You shouldn’t be here, and neither should she, whoever she is.”
Aster had been looking at the floor, trying to regain composure before facing the last person she’d expected to see.
When she looked up, Lycus’ face froze.
He was dressed in surprisingly modern clothes—black jeans, black T-shirt, and a black leather jacket. He almost had a bit of a James Dean vibe going on. When combined with his dark wavy hair, it made his skin seem altogether too pale.
“Chloe?” His voice was a reverent whisper as his impossibly blue eyes went wide and the black slashes of eyebrows rose toward thick hair of the same color.
“Not quite. I’m Aster.” She wasn’t sure if he would put two and two together, or if she would have to spell it out for him, but she decided to give him a chance.
“Aster,” he breathed, taking her in. “Would you mind taking your hood down?”
She obliged, slowly lowering the hood, allowing her hair to fluff out of the constraints without displacing the hair that covered her bad eye. She’d checked it before leaving, and slipping into the memory of Dem and Isa had only made the markings worse. Much more of that and she would be covered, just like her mother.
“You have her hair.” His hand came up as though he were going to touch it to see if it felt the same as Chloe’s as well, but he dropped it before it connected.
“I do.”
“You’re her daughter?”
Aster nodded, hoping the penny would drop soon. Lycus’ eyes burned into her own as though he could discern the truth simply by looking at her. It was only now that he was staring at her that she noticed the slight dusting of pale freckles over his nose. They were eerily similar to the ones she had, except they were only noticeable when she caught the sun.
“Are you my daughter?”
“Yes.” She said the words quietly, but they were enough of a bombshell that he took a step back.
“She never said.”
“Chloe had her reasons.”
His eyebrow quirked up at the use of her mother’s name. He’d obviously expected Aster to call Chloe mom or mother, but that just felt wrong to her. At least, right now.
“Why are you here? Why did you choose to tell me of your existence now? Not that I’m complaining.”
“For the record, I only just found out you existed,” Aster said before glancing at Cin. She wasn’t sure how to go about this. When she received a slight nod from her sister, she pushed the hair away from her face, exposing the nonfunctional eye and the markings that surrounded it.
“What the . . . ?”
“It seems your father has taken an interest in me.”
“Come, let’s go somewhere private. Put your hood back up.”
As quickly as she could, she shoved her golden hair under the dark hood so it didn’t stand out like a beacon, showing everyone where they were. Wrangling her hair and the hood was a challenge one handed, so Cin helped, tucking the strands that were insisting on sticking out back where they couldn’t be seen.
Lycus took off at a fast pace down one of the side hallways, making more than a few turns, before they arrived in what looked like someone’s house.
“Come in, please, have a seat,” he said, waving them toward the couches as he shut the door behind them. “Now, let’s start over. I’m Lycus, which you already know, and you’re Aster, but who might you be, fury?”
“I’m Cin.” Aster looked around the room. It was much cozier than anything else in the Land of Dreams or what she’d seen of the Halls of Night. The decor reminded her of the memory she had seen of Chloe and Lycus together.
The room they had been in at the ti
me was similar to this one—all richly colored fabrics, with cushions strewn about all over the place. There had been small touches of Chloe throughout the other room, though, so it must have been a space they shared. Here, there were no such decorations. No bright flowers nor handwoven tapestries. Her mother’s light was missing from his room, and though it was cozy, it left it feeling empty in a way.
As they sat, Lycus’ eye caught on their clasped hands.
“Are you lovers or is she mortal?” he asked Cin as he gestured to Aster.
“Mortal.”
“How? Given your heritage, you shouldn’t be.”
“You’re asking the wrong person. Maybe it has something to do with your dad messing with Chloe so much.” Aster was still feeling snotty about that.
“Why do you call her Chloe?”
“Because I only just met her.”
“She gave you up?”
Aster nodded.
Outrage tinged his voice. “But she always wanted to be a mother. Why would she pass up the opportunity?” He paced up and down the room, the rugs under his feet softening the sound of his boots.
“Because she wanted me to have the best life possible, and she wasn’t able to provide that thanks to your dad.”
He sat on the chair to the side of Aster, bracing his elbows on his knees and steepling his fingers. “Can you tell me what’s going on from the beginning?”
Aster gave him a brief rundown of the situation, with Cin adding in some colorful details here and there. By the time they were done, all he said was, “I see.” She knew it was a lot to take in, but she’d been expecting a bit more of a reaction than that.
“So do you think you can talk to your dad about fixing my eye?”
“What? Oh, uh, I can try. I’m sure Chloe explained to you that he’s not exactly reasonable.”
“But you’ll try?” The conversation had quickly gone downhill, and she felt like she was pulling teeth instead of trying to get her biological father to help her.
“Sorry, it’s just a lot to take in. Of course I’ll speak with him, but if he feels you are a threat for some reason, then I won’t be able to make him stop.”
“I’m sorry to dump this on you, and I wouldn’t if I had any other choice, believe me, but I don’t. My visions are erratic. Forward, backward, it doesn’t seem to matter, but every time, the markings get worse. Plus, if I keep having those dreams, he might even succeed in rendering me blind.”
“They are the same markings Chloe had,” Lycus said as he looked at her face, examining it. “It’s definitely my father’s handiwork. I’m not sure how I can help, but I will do what I can.” He paused for a moment. “Is Chloe well?”
Aster had purposefully left the part about her markings and nightmares out of the story, glossing over the facts so she wouldn’t have to tell him, but now he’d asked the damn question. She sat frozen, unsure what to say.
“She’s still marked; apparently they cover most of her body. Nightmares plague her. She only sleeps a few hours a night and barely has any social interaction because gods are stuck-up assholes sometimes. Does that answer your question?” Cin’s voice was sure and steady as she spoke, no judgment, but no forgiveness, either.
“Damn it! Has he been tormenting her this whole time?”
“I’m not sure, but she believes the marks are permanent, so she’s basically withdrawn from society.” Aster took a breath and debated momentarily whether she should confide the next part. All she knew was that if she was in Lycus’ position, she’d want to know. “She misses you. Her feelings for you haven’t changed, but it would cause her too much pain to reach out to you whether for your friendship or to help with the antics of your father. I just thought you should know.”
His eyes filled as she spoke. After taking a breath to get himself under control, he said, “You know, I think about her every hour of every day. I would give anything to be with her again.”
“I figured.” She sighed. That vision had told her everything she needed to know about how deeply they loved each other. “Can’t we convince your dad to help somehow?”
“He will only help if it’s in his best interest.”
“Let us talk to our friends and see if we can come up with a plan. Is there a way for us to contact you?” Cin’s voice of reason cut through the emotion, allowing them both to take a much-needed breath.
Something clanged outside. A grating metal-on-metal sound followed, making Aster’s skin break out in goosebumps.
“Here,” he said, scribbling on some paper and shoving it into Cin’s hand, a frantic look on his face. “Now, you should go, quickly.”
“What’s wrong?”
“My father is home. He will have no patience for you, fury, and will most likely kill Aster on sight.”
“Is there a back way out?”
“No. This place is meant to be a fortress. One way in and one way out.”
“Damn,” Cin swore. “Can you lead us back to the main chamber and then cause a distraction?”
He nodded. “Just don’t hang around once I start going off.”
“We’ll be out as soon as possible.”
“Sorry if this is a dumb question, but can’t you just jump out?” Aster asked. She knew there was probably a reason behind their line of thought, but she didn’t want to risk life and limb if she didn’t have to.
“No jumping to other locations in the Underworld. You can jump in or jump out from the area you are associated with, but once you’re in, you have to walk to other areas. That is, unless you’re one of the big kahunas like Hades or Hecate.”
“I can only jump into and out of the fury clubhouse. Lycus can only jump into and out of Dream Land.”
“You guys have magic. Why do you have such dumb rules?”
“Go ask Hades.” Lycus shrugged. “Now, come on. The sooner you get out of here, the sooner you’re safe.”
He led them through the corridors at a breakneck pace. Aster was running almost full out just to keep up with their long strides. When they got to the main hall, Aster was beginning to breathe heavily, relieved that they’d stopped.
Lycus turned to Aster. “I’m glad I got the chance to meet you, and thank you for telling me about Chloe. I’ll see you again. I promise.”
With that, he took off down the corridor at a run, disappearing before she even had a chance to process what he’d said. A few moments later, he came barreling through a different door that was on the opposite side of the room and closer to the large table they were all sitting around. She could only see a sliver of the table and the doorway he’d just come through. Cin had a better perspective, but was pushing Aster behind her, keeping her out of sight, ever the protective older sister.
When they heard Lycus start yelling about his talents being wasted and how he didn’t belong in this dump of a so-called fortress, they began to edge to the door. They were halfway there when Aster heard the voice from her nightmares. She paused and glanced behind her, her eyes glued to what could only be Phobetor.
Lycus and his dad were yelling at each other, but all Aster could focus on was the ghostly white skin the god of nightmares had. Plus, there was a lot of it on display since he was shirtless. She supposed she should be thankful that he was wearing some kind of wide leather pants, although they looked like a skirt when he stood still. They hung low on his hips, chains wrapping around his waist before snaking up to bands that encompassed his upper arms.
When her eyes, or eye, finally focused on his face, she gasped. The man had honest-to-goodness horns coming out of his head. His hair was long and whiter than his skin, but the horns that poked out of his head curved over, almost making it look like he was wearing a crown. The tips were covered in metal, and there was a metal band around each one about halfway up. The weirdest thing was the veil of chains that hung from his horns over his eyes, hiding from view what she was sure were yellow irises.
Cin tugged on her hand, and Aster kept inching forward with her sister, but she also
kept glancing back over her shoulder at the man, or creature, who had been tormenting her. When they reached the door, she looked over once more. Lycus glanced at her, and Phobetor’s head whipped around in their direction.
A bellow of rage rang through the hall.
“Run!” Aster screamed at her sister before they took off full tilt toward the furies’ home.
Chapter 16
Dem paced in his living room. He’d already been for a swim and gone for a run, but being away from Aster, especially considering where she was going, was making him antsy. He pulled out his phone, texting his brother, hoping like hell Thad had time for a sparring match or something. Anything to take his mind off Aster being in the Underworld would be fantastic.
“Everything okay?” Thad’s voice asked from behind him.
“Yeah. No. Aster’s in the Underworld with your mate.”
“What?” Thad’s voice became low and quiet. It was one of his surest warning signs that he was about to be super pissed.
Dem quickly recapped the major bullet points of the situation, and Thad calmed down.
“How long have they been gone?”
“I don’t know, too long. Long enough for me to swim for an hour in the endless pool and go for a ten-mile run.”
“Okay, I’m sure they’ll be back soon,” he said just as much to himself as to Dem. Great, now they were both twitchy. “So you want to spar?”
“Hell yeah.”
They jumped down to the training room. Leonard called to them from the cage, but Dem didn’t want to hear what he had to say. “Shut up, or so help me I will come over there and gag you. Now is not the time to piss me off.”
They both strapped on some protective gloves and started circling each other. He could feel the slight sneer he wore during a fight take up residence on his face. His brother may have been shorter and leaner than he was, but that also meant he was faster and a smaller target. It was precisely what made them a good match for sparring.