Or worse, forced them to live eternally as slaves.
“This is your last chance, Cerys,” Icelus spat. “Come clean and maintain dignity in your death. Or die in shame and be denied the trip to the afterlife that should be yours, by right.”
Cerys swallowed, eyeing Icelus with hard, pale eyes. She would not say a word.
Tearing from my grip, Percy shoved through the crowd.
My eyes fluttered closed. All around me, I could feel its hum—the song. Some were mere weeks from turning sixty, from being sent to the Morai, where they would either be punished or allowed to die. Many of them were scared, worried they’d end up in a labor camp, or worse, the Duat. A mother clung to her daughter, not actively worried about losing her, but the dread sang in her subconscious.
Her fingers knitted into her daughter’s dress, terrified to let go. In five years, whether by the blade or new life, they would be separated forever.
In perfect harmony, their chorus sang, an overwhelming song of quiet anguish that consumed every soul. Many of them had been to the Morai before and had given up hope they’d be allowed to die.
How could you save people who did not want to be saved? Who, by all rights, should celebrate your aid, but instead cheered for your demise?
Reaching out, I grabbed the threads of their minds, amplifying the song they all shared. From the depths of their subconscious, I yanked free that dread and forced it to loom over them like a shadow. Like a monster from the Empty come to claim their souls.
The shouting ceased at once. In perfect unison, my puppets obeyed my command—they turned, half walking east, the others west. A clear path appeared where clustered bodies had been, leaving nothing between us and the stage but a passage of stone.
Blood streamed from my nose as I looked up and met Icelus’ gaze.
Seth had taken his vengeance against the lord. Now, it was my turn.
41
Aethra
Asenior Hades Knight stepped away from the circle and pressed his spear to my neck. “Stand,” he ordered.
Tightening my arms around Athena, I glared at him defiantly.
“As long as you cooperate,” he said gently. “You will not be harmed.”
Turning back to Athena, I ran a hand down her neck. I wanted to stay with her during her final moments, for as long as I was allowed.
Sighing, the knight lowered his spear and reached for my arm. His gauntlet brushed my skin before he jerked back. Confused, I looked up.
He stared into the distance, glassy-eyed. The man beside him stepped up. “What’s wrong?”
Breaking from his lifeless stance, the senior knight whirled around and shoved his spear through his fellow’s neck. It burst through to the other side, pouring blood across the road.
A tangled weave of vines erupted from the crimsonpool and whipped into a storm of red death. Ducking, I pressed myself against Athena and grabbed my sword hilt.
These were Phaedrus’ vines—they wouldn’t hurt me. Yanking my blade from its scabbard, I shot to my feet.
The bloody vines danced around my feet, effortlessly avoiding me as I rushed at a knight’s back. He whipped around before I reached him and lunged. Taking up the stance Seth had taught me, I blocked his strike.
Vines whirled past me, slamming into the man’s chest. The blood blossomed into a flower, throwing the man back with explosive force.
Flame streaked across the whirling vines, setting them ablaze. Stepping back, I tried to make sense of the chaos.
The traitor knight had drawn two men away from me, and they clashed in a dizzying whirl of steel. Phaedrus’ vines had entangled three men and dragged them south. That left two to my north, one of whom had turned in my direction and charged.
A golden goddess wrapped in flaming wings descended from the sky, boots slamming into the knight’s back, throwing him to the ground. Spinning her scythe, Seraphim dashed toward the remaining man.
Leaving the fight to her, I raced back to Athena’s side and breathed in relief when I saw that life remained in her eyes. She twitched, thrashing her hooves in pain and twisting her head to look at me.
Dropping my sword, I pulled her head into my lap, wincing as I listened to the fighting around me.
