Cronus’s chuckle rumbled the earth below my feet again, and I braced myself so I wouldn’t fall, finally looking up at the God for the first time. He was massive. I’d never, in all my years, seen anyone his size. He was at least one thousand feet tall. I barely came up to his big toe. I was glad I hadn’t had the opportunity to see him before I figured out the riddle. I almost shit myself at how large he was.
“Good, little one. I can sense your immense power. I know you’re not done growing yet. Your mother told me you’d be a challenge for Cernnunos,” he said.
“I hope so,” I replied, not knowing what to say. I hadn’t known my mother had been fighting against my father until I was tasked with this quest.
Two items appeared in front of me as Cronus bent his knees to get closer to me. He was still several hundred feet tall, so it did little for me, but gently, he laid down the sword, as big as the tip of his fingernail, and an item much smaller, a jar of some sort.
“This is Pandora’s Box. I’m assuming you’ve heard of it, no?” he asked.
I picked up the jar to examine it, noticing the shadow of a snake come creeping through the top of the lid. I sucked in a breath, almost dropping the jar. The earth shuddered underneath me again as Cronus laughed.
“Careful, little one. That jar holds the end of the world as we know it. Keep it safe,” he said.
“Why are you entrusting me with this?” I asked.
“Because you are the prophesied one.” And with that, Cronus stood, turned, and left through the enormous room that reminded meof Saint Paul’s Cathedral if it were built for the giants of old. I watched as Cronus made his exit, entombed in Tartarus forever more.
Underhill
Present
Iwoke up with a gasp, sweating through my clothes from the dream I’d just had. I hadn’t thought about that day in many years. I groaned as Yaga cackled in the other room while banging a wooden spoon against one of her cast iron pots. I was unsure how she could touch iron, but I could tell by the sound that was what she was using.
Vada put her arms around me, still fast asleep. She snuggled me tighter, and I was tempted to just lay here with her for the remainder of the day. I couldn’t wait until we had more time to spend together where we were not fighting for our lives and the lives of the others around us. This was our first night getting to be wrapped up in each other’s arms when I actually remembered the evening, and I was ashamed that it was the first time I ever allowed myself to feel everything I’d kept so close to my chest.
Rolling over, I wrapped a leg around her waist and kissed her collarbone, up her neck and to her ear. “Time to wake up, sleepyhead,” I said, watching her face as she peacefully slept through Yaga’s racket outside the door.
She groaned and snuggled in closer. I smiled to myself. I ran my hands up her sides, finding a ticklish spot on most people, and I began tickling her. She woke up squirming and gasping for breath. I laughed.
“Hi, baby. Did you sleep well?” I asked her.
She wrapped me tightly in her embrace, kissing my forehead, then down to my nose. I wasn’t sure what it was about the intimacy between us, but her sweet gestures made me swoon. This calm energy between us, with the electric sexual chemistry, and her endless patience with me made me trust her more each day. If we would have met any earlier, we wouldn’t be the people we were today. I still wasn’t sure she was my fated, but I did love what was building between us.
I didn’t get to see the relationship my parents would have had, but knowing my father, it was likely toxic as fuck. The abuse at my father’s hands knew no bounds, not even to his own child or his fated mate. From what I heard from the maids who raised me, my mother was quiet, reserved, and kind to all the staff and the lowliest of creatures in Underhill, even if they weren’t under my father’s purview. Because of how the maids talked about my mother, I always wanted to be just like her.
My brows furrowed. I was so consumed with the past, I hadn’t noticed Vada’s intense gaze on me. “What’s going on in brilliant that head of yours so early in the morning?”
“Just thinking about my mother and the past is all,” I said quietly. The door rattled with Yaga’s banging. I tried to hide a smile as Yaga began cursing. “We’re coming, we’re coming.”
I stumbled out of the guest room. I wondered what was in that tea that Yaga gave us last night. Trying to find a mirror, I stopped in the small bathroom to figure out the mess that was my unruly hair. I found both women in the kitchen, each with a cup of coffee and a bowl of porridge. They were chatting as if they’d known each other for a long time, and I realized they probably had. I sat down next to Vada, where food and coffee had already been put out, and nodded toward Yaga.
“Are you two ready?” Baba Yaga asked.
“As ready as I think we’re going to be for coming to a war expecting a bar fight,” I replied, taking a sip of coffee. “Do you have any weapons, or know where we might be able to procure some? I don’t know why this one—” I pointed my head in Vada’s direction “—decided that jumping through an unknown portal while unarmed was the best decision, but now we’re stuck with what we have.”
Baba Yaga became intensely serious, knocking away the façade of the old crone. “Adaela, you must remember that being here grants you certain privileges—ones that you likely no longer want, but you have them regardless. You are the heir to the throne, even if you abdicated your position. You’re the strongest Fae to have been born in many generations, and you know conception is difficult for Fae. Why would you bring a weapon to a war when youarethe weapon?”
“I’ve changed, Yaga. I would rather have weapons than to use my magic,” I replied.
“Again, you’re thinking with yourCatervae Paxbrain, and not with your heiress brain. The world is different here, which means you must be different to be respected. Show no mercy, my girl. You’re going to have to become what they fear to instill what you love.” Yaga was firm, but delivered her words with as much kindness as a woman like her could muster.
I remembered back to when we first decided totake over St. Louis, and what it took for us to secede from the States. I remembered that violence was necessary the first few months, before the Gods and Goddesses were able to put an end to it. It was apparent that the people of St. Louis were aligned with the beings coming through the portals, and that no amount of bloodshed would change that. St. Louis had been tired of being treated as a science experiment. They were tired of being treated as if their lives didn’t matter. We offered them hope, but the only way to get through it was to, well, get through it.
My posture shifted from at ease to on guard with that revelation. It was amazing what the lure of safety could do for people. When they were fed, housed, and had their basic needs met, there was room for change. The people of the Autumn Court had never had the opportunity to experience that, so it was time to start thinking about seeing if thePaxexperiment that occurred in St. Louis could also happen here in Underhill.
We spent the next hour or so going over battle plans, then making sure we had the information we needed. I knew the palace like the back of my hand. Yaga let us know of any differences with the army such as guard shift changes, where they practiced, and who protected the king. I made a mental note of each location and the time. I didn’t think there was any more planning we could do on such short notice. It was Vada and me against a tyrannical king again, and with only the two of us, I was nervous.
I stood up, taking Vada’s hand to stand with me. “Baba Yaga, as always, your wisdom is exactly what we needed. Can you have Galdrane ready to go by the time we leave? We’re going to need to figure out a way out of here first. We’ll get you to St. Louis with the remainder of the Fates, too.”
