“Daughter. It is time for you to use your training. I’ve found what your mother hid from me, and it’s time I get it back,” he said, casually inspecting the iron around my wrists.
I wasn’t sure what he was talking about. This was never a conversation I’d had with him before. What had my mother hidden from him? He’d never mentioned it previously, which likely meant that he’d been quietly using the Sluagh to search for it since my birth.
“What has she hidden from you, Your Highness?” I asked.
Instead of answering, he backhanded me hard across the face. I gritted my teeth as my cheek split with the full effect of the rings he kept on his hand for such purposes. I wouldn’t cry out. That was the sick satisfaction he wanted. “I didn’t tell you that you could speak, daughter. You will listen, and then you will be tasked with retrieval. That is all. Do you hear me?” he demanded.
I nodded, gritting my teeth so I wouldn’t talk back. He would never have whatever it was he was searching for. I wouldn’t, no, couldn’t allow it. As Cernunnos began his rant, sounding more unhinged than ever, I knew in my bones that he must never have thisobject in his possession. It was a weapon, forged in the fires of Olympus by my mother, Skuld, the Stag, and some of the goddesses of the Greek pantheon. This sword was designed to help the women of our court hold power in case someone like my father had gained access to the courts. The sword held unimaginable power, for whomever wielded it, could take the power of the being they’d slain with it.
My father planned to murder me by this sword. If he had my powers, he would be unstoppable. I couldn’t let that happen, but I couldn’t refuse this quest either. It would give me reprieve from this gods forsaken place. Anywhere was better than here.
It took me years to find Tartarus. My travels were mostly alone, though the Sluagh would often check in on my progress. I’d first had to find a portal. That portal wasn’t easy to find, since it was inside the Dark Wood, but under the Spring’s territory. I’d met the Stag, who helped me find my strength, and had met with Baba Yaga, who was sitting with a friend when I happened upon her hut. Her friend, Atropos, was waiting for me. I told them both of my mission, and they’d both held grim expressions. I was sure they could see the same upon my own face.
When I told Atropos of my goal to get to Tartarus, she’d reluctantly agreed to helping me find the correct portal to get closer. I traveled through the Demon Realm to get there, a place the Sluagh couldn’t breach. I met many different beings during my stent through Hell to get to Tartarus, and it only strengthened my resolve that I would have to outwit my father. I longed for the days when Iwouldn’t be under his purview anymore. He was the only family I had left, and after making my way through Hell, I realized that had to mean something. Many demons were proud of their heritage, and their worldviews closely resembled my father’s. I didn’t want to be alone in the world. I had already been alone for so long.
It had probably been close to a century since I’d been home. Time moved differently between Hell, Underhill, and the other many realms I’d yet to visit. I missed Sabine desperately, but that was all. She was the only being in my life who had understood me. I hadn’t ever kept a secret from her. However, my travels through the Demon Realm were eye-opening, and I now had many new stories to tell her. I’d finally had my taste of freedom, but knew that was quickly ending. I’d reached Tartarus.
After fighting my way through harpies, through mazes, and finding that theLus Mórsurrounded several areas, I’d had my work cut out for me. I was exhausted down to my marrow.
My mother had played a part in Tartarus’s creation, but I wasn’t sure to what extent. I was taking a small break in the largest hall I’d ever been in, admiring the architecture my mother had likely had a hand in creating, and wondering what my life would have been like had she been around to raise me. Ivory pillars reached thousands of feet in the air, the ceiling was coffered in gold, which reflected the lights of the torches scattered throughout the vast room. It was so large that I couldn’t see an end in sight. The floor was dusty, but appeared to be made of broken marble pieces that once were likely polished to brilliance. I was admiring the Byzantine-like architecture when I heard a deep, rumbling chuckle. One that shook the ground I was walking on, and with a trembling breath, I stopped as I’d reached my destination.
“Cronus, it’s an honor to finally meet you.” I bowed low, touching my nose to the stones below me.
“I knew this day would come eventually, young one,” he said. Hisvoice was like the plates beneath my feet. It was a deep rumble, and his voice alone struck fear in me.
“You know what I’m here for, then?” I asked.
“Yes. It has been foretold,” he answered matter-of-factly.
“How do I acquire this sword?” I still faced down, not daring to move from my prone position until I was granted clemency.
“Stand, child. You must simply answer a riddle. I have two items in my possession. This riddle will give you what you seek, but since your father knows of its existence, that means the other item in my possession is also no longer safe. Your mother, long ago, told me that you would be able to keep it safe. Your father must never know of its existence. Can you keep a secret, Adaela ÒDubhlaoich?” he demanded.
Could I? I’d certainly kept a lot from my father. The only person I’d never kept secrets from was Sabine. But did she really have to know? She wouldn’t know that I’d had two items. “Yes,” I said. Succinct. I could do this.
Cronus began his riddle after a brief pause:
“The day chases night,
As the stream chases the bank.
Love for a cousin
Breeds competition for rank
Love and hate collide
Breaking all the rules
A different chase
Relents to the fools
Who are they?”
I thought about this for a moment, remembering texts about Greek Mythology in the library. A poet named Parthenius had retold this story, but I wasn’t quite interested in it at the time. I wassearching for ways to end my father’s reign. It couldn’t be Cronus’s sons, since they weren’t cousins, but maybe their children? I only had one guess, so I had to get this right.
The answer finally came to me. “Apollo, Eros, and Daphne,” I practically shouted, excited that I figured it out.
