Page 16 of Can you take it?

I was still stuck on Anna calling Kaohs “Dad.” “You’re Adrianna’s father? But I thought Zef⁠—”

“Zef is nothing but a snake and a liar and not the fun kind. He deserves to rot in the tiers for what he did,” Anna snapped. “That overheated carcass stole Cede from me,” Kaohs bellowed. “Took her right out from under my nose. Do you know the gall it takes to steal from me?”

I stood between Eletha and Anna, silently watching the god’s temper cool.

“The Fates used to send Zef here for negotiations on their behalf. Most gods cannot simply step away from their duties to make menial decisions, so they send their apprentice or right-hand man.”

“Are you capable of leaving Tartarus? Who is your right- hand man?” I asked, feeling the pit in my stomach sink.

Kaohs smiled. “Thankfully there is an exception for dead gods who can only travel amongst the departed, such as Aether and me. They typically come to us, which as you’ll soon hear, isn’t always better. As for my successor, you are standing right next to her.”

My eyes snapped to Eletha, immediately catching the way she proudly perked up and smiled back at me. Poor Walter, I thought. Infatuated with the woman that will one day be the queen of the damned.

She took a half step closer to me and leaned in so close I predator on her skin. My fox instincts flared, and I found myself frozen. Eletha’s powers tickled my skin like sharp fingernails. She was a goddess—literally. It suited her, being queen of the dead.

“Not me,” she whispered with a slow smile. “Huh?” I murmured.

“Me.”

Eletha stepped away and Anna stepped into view, hands raised to her face level, wiggling her fingers around her grinning cheeks.

My mouth dropped and my stomach bottomed out. “What?” I gasped, taking a step back as I covered the pendant with my hand, shielding it from what I’d just heard. Neither of the women tried to hide their laughter as I stepped closer to Kaohs. “No, Adrianna can’t be your successor⁠—”

“Anna,” Kaohs corrected. “And do tell me: Why not?” His dark eyes creased at the corner, obviously loving whatever he was seeing in my bewilderment.

“Yes, I’d like to hear too,” the heathen herself said. “But…you’re Artemi. Wildly powerful and…good. All Artemi are good and gentle and wholesome, that’s literally why they all automatically go to the Elysian Fields when they die if they haven’t yet ascended. An Artemi can’t rule the pits of death and horror!” I could feel how red my face was turning. I looked to Walter for help, but he looked just as shocked as I was.

“And why can’t an Artemi rule Tartarus?” Eletha snapped. My mind was reeling. “None of this makes any sense!” My fingers tugged at stray clumps of hair as if I’d find the answers hidden between the follicles. “You will be free from here. You can finally go to Zef and Moirai and ascend. You will be free from this place. We are tied and…and I can’t be tied to the step daughter of the Underworld!”

Adri—Anna’s eyes visibly brightened to a whole new shade of electric blue as she moved toward me. The small lights hanging in the room flickered, leaving only her blue eyes aglow in the moments of complete darkness. A rumble grew slowly louder somewhere in the distance.

“Anna,” Eletha warned in a calming tone.

I looked to the lights as they continued to flicker. Just like back home, they were fireflies.

“I have been in Tartarus since I was six years old. Kaohs took me in as if I were his own flesh and blood. Eletha has spent more time as my sister than Calypso,” she gritted out through clenched teeth. The fabric on the walls rippled with the breeze of power that filled the space. Everything in the room began to rattle as if it were unable to contain her power.

I heard a harsh, high-frequency zap and the lights went out on one of the lamps. The fireflies fell to the floor, dead.

Oh.

My.

Suns.

She killed the insects. Artemi didn’t kill. Artemi loved nature and animals—they had an animal bond for suns’ sake! Artemi were too powerful to be bad. They were gentle, with kind hearts of gold.

“All right, darling,” Kaohs said, attempting to rein his daughter in.

My back hit a wall, but Anna continued to glide toward me, illuminated eyes focused on me like daggers. Horrifying wasn’t a strong enough word, but my words had disappeared along with my bravery. Even in this state, she was somehow more captivating than anything had a right to be. The furniture rattled as objects fell to the ground and broke.

“You think I long for the pendant that holds the last of my powers so I can return to Zef and the golden kiss of ascension, but you couldn’t possibly be more wrong.” Her face and the room were only illuminated now by a single soft light. “Zef is a liar and a thief whom I want nothing to do with. The second I get the rest of my powers, I will be strong enough to take control of Tartarus and that is exactly what will happen, right, Father?” Her eyes skewered me to the wall.

“Yes, and I will finally get to retire,” he answered.

The corner of her lip lifted. The lights brightened and steadied but the rumble from outside grew closer. She lifted her dainty hand up to the pendant. Icy wind rumbled through the room, flinging my hair about until it whipped into my eyes. Her own eyes rounded to an awe-filled expression as her fingertips touched the white-gold vine of the pendant. It began to emanate a pale pink that matched the glow of her eyes as it hung from my neck. I wanted to stop her from taking it, I needed to stop her, but I couldn’t. All my limbs hung lifeless as

I watched her fingers touch it.