“Give it a minute,” Megan said as I gripped my chair. “Most of them stop before they do a lot of damage.”
Doing my best to ignore the earthquake, I asked, “So you think Adira is trying to bait me out to the lake to kill me?”
“It’s hard to say. Like you said, there’s still a chance she’s not working with him and is just being her usual pain-in-the-ass self. But there’s also still a chance that she’s trying to bait you into the open so either she or Thanatos can do something.”
“It would make more sense for Thanatos to try something,” I said. “I mean, if Adira wanted to kill me, she would have when she was standing in front of me earlier, right?”
“It’s hard to say,” Megan said. “Adira knows breaking any laws would provoke my fury. She keeps her hands clean that way. So I’m with you and am betting it’s going to be Thanatos.”
A heaviness settled inside of me, and I glanced at Zotera. What would happen to her if something happened to me?
“You’re safe, Mother,” she said. “I won’t allow anyone to hurt you.”
“But what about you?” I asked. “When we were in Hell, you weren’t sure that Megan would be able to face Thanatos without getting hurt. I don’t want either you or Megan getting hurt trying to protect me.”
Zotera’s smile was blinding in its brilliance.
“Thank you for caring for me so deeply, Mother. Megan and I might be hurt, but death cannot touch us, Ashlyn. We will be fine.”
“Hold on. Are you saying I can’t die?” Megan said.
“There are always three furies,” Zotera said. “By Hades' will and Zeus’ promise, it cannot be undone by any god or goddess.”
Megan grinned. “Well, that just makes this even better. You’ll do it, right?” she asked, looking at me.
I understood what Megan was asking me to do. There was a small chance I was being sent to the lake simply as a distraction for the mermaids. But there was an even larger chance Adira was sending me out there so Thanatos could kill me.
And Megan wanted me to be bait so she could face them.
What were my options, really? I didn’t want either of them hurt; yet, I knew I couldn’t hide forever. The idea of spending the rest of my days shut away in this house appealed to me as much as having all my memories stripped from my head.
Adira had taught me repeatedly that freedom always came at a cost. I simply needed to decide what I was willing to pay for it.
“I’ve lived so much of my life in fear. The idea of living long-term with even more fear—” I shook my head. “It’s not a life at that point anymore. So, I agree. I’ll go and see who shows up.”
“I don’t understand,” Zotera said. “Who are you agreeing to meet?”
I looked at Zotera, who had been standing beside my chair.
“I’m agreeing to go to the lake to try to bait Thanatos out into the open.”
Zotera’s soft brown gaze hardened as she glanced at Megan.
“Before you get upset, listen,” Megan said. “We both want to protect Ashlyn, and this is our chance. If Ashlyn goes to the lake and either Thanatos or Adira shows up, we’ll have an opportunity to end the threat to Ashlyn permanently. And if no one shows up, Ashlyn still gets some time out of this house to enjoy some fresh air and the snow.”
Zotera looked at me again.
“And if something happens, then we’ll know for sure that we can’t trust Adira,” I said.
“Father would not want you to risk yourself,” Zotera said.
“Just being alive every day is a risk, Zotera. Accidents happen all the time. I could cut myself using a knife in the kitchen or get in a car accident on the way to the store. Locking myself away in this house might decrease the risk, but it would also be giving up on my hope for any measure of freedom to live my life the way I choose. Please don’t ask me to do that.”
Zotera sighed and nodded.
“Thank you. But if Thanatos shows up and it’s more than either of you can handle, I want your word, Megan, that you’ll do your fury thing and get out of there.”
“If it looks like anyone is going to die, I promise I’ll get us all out of there,” Megan said.
