Again with that useless advice. We waited longer, and I was really growing nervous, when Cronus blinked in front of us and I opened my mouth to tell him how relieved I was.
Then he blipped back out.
I turned on Hyperion, alarmed, but he looked unfazed. “Time bending. It’s fine.”
After more agonizing minutes of standing there, both Cronus and Rhea appeared before us, Rhea’s face pulled taut in pain. “That hurt,” she growled.
Cronus looked like he didn’t care. He went straight for me, holding me as he had done pretty much from the first moment we’d found each other down here.
He rested a hand on my belly. “You okay?”
I nodded. “Hungry, well overdue for a manicure, but okay.”
I planned to keep talking about food until I was sitting in front of a twelve stack of IHOP pancakes. I’d heard that if you put your wants out into the universe and committed to it, eventually your wish would come true.
“Let’s get you home, then,” Cronus said with a lopsided grin.
We traversed level six easily. Cronus was getting faster at manipulating the portals and bringing Rhea through, although it seemed to cause her pain, which I secretly liked on a small level. Cronus seemed to know where each portal was better than Hyperion, and we found them in record time. Only a few hours had passed by the time we were in level two, but I had hit a wall.
“I need a break,” I wheezed.
To be honest, Cronus had carried me the last three levels, but just being without food was exhausting. He set me down and snapped off a water tree branch, bringing the straw-like root to my lips. After gulping it greedily, I moaned. “I need an extra-large cheese pizza with breadsticks and a cinnamon roll.”
Cronus frowned. “I’m sorry, love. We’ll get you food soon.”
Rhea growled. “She’s fine. She’s carrying a Titan and could go months without eating. Especially down here. The underworld isn’t like Earth.”
#DontTestMeBitch
If I had to resort to cannibalism, I knew who would be the first to go.
#SpoilerAlertItsRhea
My gaze flicked up to her. “Do you want to be resurrected?”
She blanched. “Touché. Carry on.”
I sighed. “Let’s just get this over with. One more level.”
Cronus nodded. “Atta girl. You can do it.” As he reached to hook his arms under my legs, a familiar popping noise sounded behind my head.
Cronus let me go and we both spun. I had to tilt my head awkwardly because I was sitting, but when my eyes fell upon the god before me, I let a string of curse words fly.
Zeus.
And he definitely wasn’t dead.
Chapter 6
“There is no way in Hades I’m allowing you to be resurrected,” Zeus roared, white light trickling off his fingers like he was calling power to them. My eyes nearly bugged out of my head when I noticed the necklace of the sins at his neck. Motherfucker did not waste a second in using evil to increase his power.
Not to mention … he was covered in blood and it didn’t look like his.
Thanatos…
For some reason I just knew that was the only way he’d be allowed down here.If he hurt Than…
Cronus turned to me with almost lazy indifference. The Titan was clearly not afraid of this crazy-ass god. But I was. “Go with Hyperion,” he said, “and get back up to Earth. Find my body and resurrect me. I’ll deal with Zeus and get to level one. Don’t worry.”
