I cried for a long time, Tolliver watching from a few feet away.
Once I quieted, he asked, “What happened?”
“Why didn’t you bring him back?” I croaked, throat hoarse.
Tolliver shook his head. “He came down, saw you on the table.” His voice was quiet. “He made me send him in to get you. When he…” Tolliver looked over to where Dante’s body lay and swallowed. “I cut off your dose.”
He pushed himself to his knees and crawled over to me, taking one of my hands. I was too numb to pull away from him.
“What happened, Elle?”
“We should get Poppy,” I said, sniffing. “She could do a spell.”
Tolliver gave me a worried look. “No spell can bring someone back to life.”
The next few days were a blur. There was a funeral, which I don’t think I helped much with. CJ and Poppy both went into the Afterlife looking for Dante but decided he had passed on quickly when they couldn’t find him. It’s unusual but not unheard of.
What I do remember is replaying the moment over and over and over, and I knew—Iknew—my brother’s soul wasn’t gone. Some instinct inside me told me that I could fix it. It had been a stupid mistake. It had happened in a moment. I could just go back, erase it.
The others didn’t agree. They spent the next week trying to talk me down and get me to eat. And then maybe CJ is right and I did some yelling. They all left.
And I wasrelievedbecause I couldn’t stand their practicality. Dante wasn’t gone for good. They just couldn’t see it. Right now, they would only get in the way. Once I had a plan, I would bring everyone back together.
And that’s what I did. Over the next year, I spent every wakingmoment learning new skills and gathering intel and collecting assets until everything was ready. And then I reassembled the crew, just as I planned.
I just never planned on telling them the truth.
The others are quiet after I finish telling them exactly what happened to Dante. Their faces are blank, but I can feel the anger coming off them in waves.
I’m surprised when Tolliver is the first to speak, voice low and…angry.
“You didn’t think I needed to know how Juliet interacts with hellhounds?”
I roll my lips between my teeth. Honestly, no. I didn’t even consider it.
CJ makes a slow fist and brings it down on the table, knocking some glasses and a bag of chips to the floor. “Thisis what I’m talking about. You didn’t tell us the truth about Dante. You didn’t tell us the truth about the job. You’ve been stringing us along telling us we could get him back—”
“Okay, but that part is true!” I insist. “Wecanget Dante back. I went into the Afterlife, and I baited a hellhound into reaping an actual Dead person, and I saw what happened to their soul. It…it transformed into this, like, little ball of light, and it wentintothe scythe. It’s like the hellhound was taking it somewhere.”
“Oh, Elysia.” Poppy gives me a pitying look. “Youjust established that hellhounds react differently to people on Juliet than they do Dead people.”
“That doesn’t mean…” I huff in annoyance. For once I can’t figure out what to say. “I have afeelingabout this. IknowDante’s not gone. He’s trapped and he needs us to free him.”
CJ raises an eyebrow. “Let me guess. His soul is in Tartarus.”
I don’t answer, but I guess that’s answer enough.
“Jesus, Elle,” they mutter.
“Hellhounds took Dante’s soul,” I say. “Hellhounds guard Tartarus. You can’t tell me this isn’t a good theory.”
“Theory,” they stress.
“Waring and the other syndicate leaders confirmed it! That was part of the deal. They would get him out of Tartarus if I got the book for them.” I get to my feet and start pacing. “And so what if it’s a theory? That’s what you said about the grimoire and the resurrection spell, but I was right! And anyway, it shouldn’t matter because we should be exploring every wild, inconceivabletheoryif it means there’s even a chance of bringing Dante back.”
“You’re obsessed,” CJ snaps.
“Or maybe I’m the only one who actually cared about Dante! Since the rest of you are so ready to leave him in hell!”
