“I’m coming,” said Ava f irmly. “Three’s better than two, and I won’t be any help here anyway. I don’t know anything about tactics or whatever it is they’re going to do.” James sized her up, and she squared her shoulders, as if daring him to refuse her again. “You know that’s not a good idea,” he said. “The whole point of this is to get Persephone to help us, and you being there won’t do a damn thing to convince her.”
Ava snorted, and some of the color returned to her cheeks. “What, and you being there will? You know I’ll follow you even if you tell me not to, so you might as well not waste your breath. Come on, Kate.” She took me by the arm and led me out into the corridor. I didn’t f ight her, too consumed with the newest addition to the ever-growing mountain of problems.
Not only did we have to f ind Persephone, but somehow I had to talk her into risking the rest of her eternal life to help the family she’d abandoned. This wasn’t some walk through Central Park. This was the four of us facing the most powerful being that had ever existed.
And I had absolutely no idea what to say to convince Persephone to join us.
We didn’t bother with goodbyes. The others must have known James and Ava were going with me when they didn’t return to the throne room, and none of them came to f ind us while we packed. James and Ava—and me, once I learned how—could create what we needed, and none of us needed to eat in the Underworld, not in our immortal bodies. James was adamant we bring supplies anyway, including a change of clothes and sneakers I hadn’t had time to break in. James and Ava were used to wandering the world with only the clothes on their back. I’d never hiked farther than a few miles before.
At the last minute, I slipped the f lower Henry had made me, the one with pink quartz petals and pearls, into my pocket. It was all I had of his other than what was in his wardrobe.
Leaving Pogo behind was the hardest part. I cuddled him to my chest and buried my nose in his fur for a few brief moments before we left, and when I set him down on the bed, his liquid eyes nearly broke my heart.
“He’ll be okay,” said Ava, leading me out of the bedroom. “The others will take good care of him, and he’ll be here waiting when we all come back.”
Except I might never come back to the palace again.
Not if I had any chance of setting Henry free. Other than offering Calliope a trade, there was nothing the three of us could do to f ight her that the others hadn’t tried, and I was pretty damn sure she wouldn’t give in out of the goodness of her heart.
I tore my eyes away from Pogo, and he barked as the door clicked shut. Taking a deep breath, I swallowed my tears, refusing to let myself cry. He would be f ine, and Henry would be there to take care of him if I didn’t return. Like Persephone’s garden, at least he would have something to remember me by.
That was such a horrible thought that I immediately pushed it out of my mind. I wasn’t going to die. I didn’t want to, and James and Ava wouldn’t let me anyway. There had to be another way, and we would have time to f igure it out.
I didn’t look back as we started down the path that led away from the palace, between the columns of black rock.
The cavern was huge, and by the time we reached the wall, my leg ached so badly that every step felt like I was walking on knives.
“What now?” I said. There was nowhere to go, and as far as I could tell, there were no hidden caves or tunnels.
“Remember that trip we took down here?” said James, taking my hand. His warm palm dwarfed mine, and I glanced at Ava to see if she’d noticed, but she was busy staring at the cavern wall.
I didn’t have time to worry about the ground dropping out from underneath me again. Without warning, James walked into the rock, pulling me with him. Instinctively I shut my eyes and braced for impact, expecting sharp pain as my forehead hit the jagged edge, but all I felt was a faint breeze in my hair.
“What the—” I opened my eyes, and my mouth fell open. We weren’t in the Underworld anymore. Instead we stood in a lush garden with trees as tall as the bright blue sky, and exotic f lowers surrounded us, turning toward us as we appeared.
“Welcome to the Underworld,” said James. “Or at least the part of it where the souls stay. Come on.” He led me down a dirt path with Ava trailing behind us, strangely quiet for all of the wonder that surrounded us. I stared at the giant f lora as we walked by, unable to hide my awe. It was as if I’d stepped into a fairy tale. Or fell down the rabbit hole.
“What is this place?” I said. “Is the entire Underworld like this?”
“No,” said James. “Look.”
He pointed through the trees at a girl swinging back and forth on a rope made of vines, her long hair swaying with her movements and her skin darkened from the sun. The same sun that had been replaced by crystal in the cavern before.
“Who’s that?” I whispered. “Is that Persephone?” Ava snorted softly, and I gave her a dirty look.
“If only it were that easy,” said James with a hint of amusement in his voice. “Only the six siblings and Henry’s queen can travel like that down here, and since you haven’t learned how yet, we’ve got a hike ahead of us. That girl’s the reason we see all of this. Henry took you down into the Underworld once, right?”
I nodded. He’d done it to comfort me, to show me that my mother would be all right after the cancer won and she died. I hadn’t known at the time that my mother was actually immortal. That would’ve helped a little more.