“Alexis?” Helen whispered.
Jumping, I screamed.
Helen was kneeling on the stairway in a sparkly nightgown, holding a bedazzled Spartan gun.
“Do you need help? I woke up when you left and was worried. I saw you …” She looked from Ceres to me, mouth opening in shock.
I tried to tell her to go back to sleep, but all that came out was a pained sound.
“Let me help,” Helen said.
I pressed blood-streaked fingers to my mouth.
“Uh,” I whispered hoarsely. “I n-need t-to—” I took a deep inhale and tried again. “I need to remove the cuffs … and dispose of a body. I’ve done something—big. Bigger than this.” I gestured at Ceres. “If you don’t want to know, I totally unders—”
“Tell me. I want to help. You saved me from Theros … I’m forever in your debt.” Helen pulled up her nightgown, revealing matching pink shorts. She tucked her gun in her waistband.
A few minutes later, Helen finished picking the locks on the manacles.
Ceres’s body crumpled to the floor.
“Now what?” Helen asked.
“Now I’ll dispose of the body and get Medusa,” I whispered. “We have to make it look like we broke her out of the dungeon.”
Helen nodded. “I’ll get a wig and dirt to conceal Medusa’s face.”
“Will that be enough?” Copper flooded my mouth as I bit down on my cheek. “She’s so much shorter and her eyes are a different color. The men will notice that—”
“Mennevernotice.” Helen smiled sadly. “Trust me.”
We hugged each other.
Reluctantly, I stepped back and hauled up Ceres.
“Domus.”
Just like that, I was back in the House of Hades palace at Crete.
Medusa was sitting next to Persephone in front of the fireplace. Classical music was playing. They dropped their books and jumped to their feet.
My arms gave out—Ceres dropped to the floor with a thud.
Medusa’s eyebrows rose.
“I n-need to get rid of a body,” I said, feeling faint.
Persephone walked toward me.
I flinched.
“I’ll handle it, daughter,” she said gently, her amber eyes bright with power. “Don’t worry. You came to the right place.”
A long heartbeat passed.
Persephone opened her arms.
I collapsed against her, tears streaking down my face, as she rubbed my back soothingly.
