Cerberus looked out at Styx. Not one soul swam against the current. He watched the waves all the same while the mortal and his companions slept.
The Beginning of the End
Cyane awoke,completely aware of where she was, what had happened, and this time, there were no nightmares to frighten her awake.
Something soft and cushy enveloped her. She realized that she wasn’t lounging in a chair anymore, but was in a bed again, with blankets and soft pillows cushioning her body. She sat up with a yawn.
She was still in the same barren room with the singular chair across from her. Hades’s castle rose up like a stunning monument to fill her eyes, as sharp and foreboding as ever.
“You’re finally awake.”
Her belly flipped.
Cerberus leaned against the wall, gazing out over the landscape.
“Creeper,” she muttered under her breath.
He shrugged.
How could I have fallen asleep?Sudden anger and concern filled her. When did he get here? How long has he been in the room with me?
He’d moved her to a bed.
His bed.
It had to be. There hadn’t been a bed before and now there was. She wanted to question where it’d come from, but she was pretty sure she already knew.
She frowned, fisted her hands, and checked her body.Fine. I’m fine.She’d never woken up in a strange man’s bed before.
Cyane began to crawl out from under the covers when something moved under her hand. A big black dog slept next to her, curled into a ball. There was another sprawled out at her feet, and a third on the other side of her, all partially burrowed in the many blankets.
She spent the next few minutes extricating herself from the god-like man’s bed without disturbing his potentially soul-eating, murderous hellhounds.
When she was free, she peeked up to discover Cerberus watching her.
“How long have I been asleep?” she asked.
His eyes ran up and down her body. Cyane crossed her arms.
“A while,” he said. “Time is different here compared to what you know. The darkness makes things slower, quieter.”
“Am I allowed to leave now?”
Cerberus pushed himself off the wall. “No.”
Cyane’s breath hitched. Hope fled. “What? Why?”
“Hades has shut the way until after the festivities.”
It took a moment for his words to sink in. Somehow, deep down, she knew she was fucked, but she’d refused to acknowledge it. If she just kept her focus on her task, and on her quest to reach the destination in the note, she’d make it. She had to. Her determination had never failed her before.
But what if this time determination wasn’t enough?
She slumped back down on the edge of the bed and palmed her face. “You lied to me.”
“That’s the second time I’ve been called a liar in a very short time.”
Heavy steps made her drop her hands. The Greek warrior, helmet and all, towered over her.
