I was desperate and that was what separated me from the immortals back in Olympus.
“Trust me, I want nothing to do with this world once this is over. I am finished with you people. I can’t end this fast enough.”
“You people,” Isadora mimicked in a nasally voice. “What you don’t understand, Queen of the Nesoi, is that youarethis people that you disdain so completely. You are one of us. You will always be one of us. You can’t turn your back on your origins any more than you can deny you’re a Siren or that your mother is who she is. There are some things in this life you’re tethered to whether you want to be or not.”
My tongue tasted bitter in my mouth. I wanted to spit back a cutting retort, but I was suddenly exhausted. She was right and that bothered me more than anything. But I ran once before and I wasn’t afraid to do it again.
Maybe I wouldn’t run in the literal sense of the word. I wouldn’t turn my back on Ryder again and I wouldn’t abandon my life completely. But I could run from this mountain. I could run from the Pantheon and every single thing it represented.
I could run for the rest of my life if it meant I never had to breathe the same air as these monsters made from legend and nightmares.
I lifted my chin with confidence I didn’t feel, “Do we have a deal?”
The three Fates looked at each other and conferred without uttering a word. I wondered if they could speak in each other’s heads or if they had been doing this long enough that they didn’t need words.
Enid spoke with chilling authority, “We have a deal.”
A shiver skittered down my spine and I had the distinct impression that even though it sounded like I got my way, I had lost.
“Can I see my mother?” I couldn’t guess what prompted me to ask that stupid question. I hadn’t thought of her often over the last year, but when I had, it had never been because I missed her. Yet suddenly, I needed to know if she was okay… or at least if she was still breathing.
They shared another look and it was Isadora who spoke this time. “You may have five minutes with her.”
Veda jumped to her feet with an expression that screamed psychotic-sociopath. She moved to the back of the cave where an arched tunnel appeared suddenly. The dark corridor began as a small dot at first, but as Veda walked closer it expanded into a full-sized doorway.
I wondered how many other secret passages there were in this cavern. How many other victims did the Fates have locked away?
Ryder stood with me and we followed Veda toward the blackness. Instinct flared through my gut that this could be a trap, so I reached back for Ryder’s hand and clutched it tightly. For whatever reason, the Fates were not a fan of Ryder, which only made me love him more.
“We should make him stay with us,” Enid murmured behind our backs. “I’m positive he would be fun to play with.”
Ryder didn’t respond or react. He didn’t even draw nearer to me. I had stopped breathing because I was so terrified they would follow through with that thinly veiled threat, but he couldn’t have been more nonchalant.
“You’ve seen the future,” he murmured casually. “How does that work out for you?”
Enid didn’t reply and I was too nervous to turn around, but I felt the impact Ryder’s words had on them. They were afraid of him in some way I didn’t or couldn’t understand.
Since I couldn’t ask him about it right then and there, I followed Veda into the dank, dark hallway. My feet tripped clumsily over the uneven ground, but I managed not to slam into any walls or Veda’s back.
We didn’t walk far before rooms started to appear on either side of the corridor. They were cut into the rock with grates for doors. The metal glinted with a bluish silver, glowing in the heavy darkness. They cast ominous shadows on the occupants of the cells, who all curled back into the farthest recesses of their small rooms when they saw Veda approaching.
She waved her hand at one of the rooms and turned on her heel to grin at us. The blue light hid most of her face, but her white teeth glinted behind a malicious smile. “Your mother,” she laughed lightly.
I didn’t respond to her. I didn’t have anything to say. I regretted following her down here. Now that I was here and faced with the awkward prospect of talking to my mom after so much time, I just wanted to leave.
I had a lot to ask her, but I figured both of us would be better if I waited until we were through this mess. In fact, if it weren’t for the need to kill Nix as quickly as possible, I probably would have done that.
“Mom?” I asked the black room. I couldn’t see anything in this cell. The other prisoners had worn white robes that glowed beneath the strange light. Even when they tried to hide, their clothes reflected the light from their cell doors and gave away their position. “Mom,” I tried again. “I’m here.”
“Ivy?” a weak voice rasped from beneath a shabby cot and thin mattress. “What are you doing here?”
Frail fingers wrapped around the splintered wood of the pathetic bed. Ava pulled herself from beneath with a concerted effort. Her rasping, panting breath seemed to shout in the small room as it took everything out of her to unwedge herself from beneath the low bed.
I couldn’t help but gasp when she finally pulled herself free. Her thin frame had been emaciated with starvation. Her bones protruded from every angle and curve of her dangerously tiny body. Her red hair was a mass of tangled, greasy knots. Pieces stuck to her forehead and dripped in front of her eyes, but she made no move to smooth it back or push it behind her ears. Her once startling green eyes were dulled and lifeless, not just because of the lack of light, but because something had shattered inside of her, something had extinguished whatever fight she’d maintained over her life.
She looked sick.
She looked tragic.
