“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 magnif icent 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 f loor. 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 f inally 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. To-tally 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 f ind 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 f ind 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 modi-f ications since then. Close your eyes.” A rush of electrifying power swirled around us, and a roar f illed my ears. Without warning, the ground dropped from under us, and I shrieked.
My heart leaped into my throat, and my eyes f lew 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 magnif icent 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 f irst to welcome you to the Underworld.” I opened my mouth, but before I could say a word, Henry’s enraged cries f illed my ears, and I fell to my knees as the world went black.