My unease grew with every passing moment. I was waiting for it to happen, and when it finally did, Seth swore loudly.
A loud pop thundered through the air, following by a whoosh as the ground trembled under the hooves of our horses. The sky lit up, bleeding red and orange as a ball of flames shot up, spreading first into fiery wings, and then the jaws of the dragon opened, emitting the horrifying scream that stuck with us. The fiery dragon swooped back down, its tail flaming as the ground shook once more.
“Holy shit,” Seth said, eyes wide. “What in the hell was that?”
“Tartarus’ welcoming party,” Hades replied. “Get used to it. I have a feeling you’ll see it up close and personal more than once.”
Seth snorted, as if the very real possibility of him ending up in Tartarus wasn’t a big deal, but my stomach roiled at the thought. I looked at him as we rode on, remembering quite clearly where the Solaris’ First was currently located.
Did Seth deserve eternal damnation for his actions?
He glanced over at me, his expression unreadable. Our gazes locked. His perfectly pieced face was emotionless, but something churned in his eyes. Seth?
There was no answer. Instead, those amber eyes, so much like my own, flicked back to Aiden. “Hey, Saint Delphi.”
Oh, Lord.
Aiden stiffened behind me. “Yes?”
Seth guided his horse beside us, and I wondered where both of them had mastered horseback riding. “If you find yourself needing some extra space on that horse, I have more than enough room on mine.” Seth’s tight smile grew as I stared at him. “We could…share.”
Heat roared off of Aiden. He hadn’t missed the innuendo. “Not going to happen.”
One shoulder rose in response. “It was just an offer.”
“Can you not talk?” Aiden retorted.
“Hey, all I’m saying is, for a while there, we really did share—”
“Seth!” I hissed, my cheeks burning.
“What?” he replied innocently, and if I wasn’t so afraid of being stomped to death, I would’ve jumped off this horse and beaten him senseless.
Our little quarrel hadn’t drawn the attention of Hades or his guards, and I sure hoped it stayed that way. Besides being annoying, this was as embarrassing as the time I nearly broke someone’s neck doing a take-down incorrectly in class. Mainly because I had messed up then, and I also had messed up when it came to Seth and Aiden.
Aiden’s voice was deceptively calm when he spoke. “You never had her, Seth. We weren’t sharing anything.”
“Hmm. That’s not how it seemed to me. You know, there’s a reason why I call her Angel.”
“Oh, for the love of the gods,” I muttered, glaring at Seth. I was damn sure he’d been calling me that long before any parts of our bodies had touched. “Knock it off. Both of you.”
Seth winked.
He finally quieted down, but Aiden was stewing. I could feel the tension in him as we rode on, but there was nothing I could do, because I had a feeling anything I said to calm him down would only instigate the butthead beside us. Besides, my mind went elsewhere.
A huge part of me had hoped to see Caleb, but as we galloped past the Plain of Judgment, heading straight for the eerie red glow of Tartarus, I knew I wouldn’t get to see him this time. As if sensing my thoughts, Aiden dipped his head and kissed my cheek. Squeezing my eyes shut, I allowed myself to fully relax into him since it didn’t appear like the mammoth beast underneath us was about to eat us.
Tracking time in the Underworld was difficult. What felt like an hour here could be only a half-second above ground, and it seemed like we’d been on the damn horses for longer than an hour. But the scent of sulfur grew, and the sky darkened into an ominous mixture of orange and deep blue, like the sky before a violent storm at dusk.
As we traveled on, the grass was replaced by a fine trail of fire that smoldered along the ground, following the road to Tartarus. The group of people traveling along the road was heavily guarded, and I wondered if that was why Hades’ guards had appeared.
Those on this road wore ragged, torn clothing. Their chins were tipped down, and their progress was slow as they shuffled along, chained at the ankles and wrists.
The dragon made another appearance, and this time I could feel the heat of the morphing fire.
A heaviness permeated the air as we passed under a crudely-built stone archway, and I shuddered. Bare trees stood, their branches thin like bones, stretching toward the sky. Up ahead, a rocky hill rose sharply, and beyond the crest, the glow of orange was stronger. Aiden’s arm tightened around me as the horses slowed, whinnying softly. The atmosphere shifted dramatically, and it was more than the fact that night had descended like a heavy, suffocating blanket. The only light was from the thin rows of fire and the glowing torches posted every so many feet. A sour tang of bitterness coated the inside of my mouth, and a fierce bite of hatred choked my heart.
Seth was staring at something to our left, and my gaze followed his. The river Styx had reappeared, its murky waters flowing swiftly, but it wasn’t the river he was staring at.
Dozens of women in bloodied white gowns were near the bank of the river. Some were bending, reaching into the dark waters. Others carried jars away. The jars were leaking. By the time they were a few feet from the road, the jars were empty.
The women silently turned back to the river.
“Who are they?” I whispered.
“They are the daughters of Danaus,” Aiden said. His hand rested over my stomach, and his thumb moved in absent, smoothing circles.
“They murdered their husbands on their wedding nights, at their father’s request. This is their punishment.”