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Fight for love, with your dying breath.
It’s the only thing that will set you free.
Love will find a way... or it will die trying.
I don’t know who it is whispering these things to me now, why they echo deep in my core -- but they do.
I will listen.
“It is I, Tennyson, Daughter of Hades,” I say, standing tall. The words sound regal and bigger than life… but all I can do is hope they work. “Charon, I’d like to make a deal.”
“A deal, you say?” His voice curls around the branches of the overhanging tree, his words greedy and ravenous.
“Yes,” I say, stepping out of the boat. Hawthorne is close behind me, urging me to wait, to stay in the boat, but I can’t waste any time, not when I have so little of it left.
The men follow me, not wanting me to speak to this dangerous man alone. He is known for making promises to people and then crossing them later.
But there won’t be any later for me. It is now or never.
“I need to exchange myself for another,” I say, making an effort to keep my voice steady, even though inside I am quaking. I know it’s the right thing to do, but that doesn’t make it easier.
“You?” Charon asks, walking toward me. The toll booth is on an old dock. Everything here is old, and he eyes me curiously, each step causing the dock to sway.
“Yes, me. I need to give my life for this man.” I reach for Eric who looks at me with bewilderment.
“You can’t, Tennyson,” he says, shaking his head.
“I must. Harlow needs you.” I blink back tears, biting down on my lip. “You’re going to be a father. And apparently, there are a whole bunch of shitty dads in the world. Don’t be one of them.”
“But Tennyson... the Underworld is permanent--”
I cut him off. “You saw what I saw in that vision. I have to do this.”
Charon hisses at me. “Why should I do this for you?”
“Because my father is Hades and he is looking for me.”
Charon glowers at me. “You expect me to trust you?”
“I don’t care if you trust me,” I say boldly. “I just have to go, and he must return to the surface.”
“You’re just a strange girl,” he says with distaste in his mouth.
“But don’t you get a bonus for each soul you deliver to Hades?” I ask.
“How do you know this?” he asks.
I smirk, having lived in Styx for so many years, I know a thing or two. Maybe not about the River of Sorrow, but I do know what this ferryman does: swindle, coerce, look for ways to get a better cut.
“It matters not how I know, just that I know. Do this, and my father will repay you twenty-fold.”
“And if you’re lying?”
I exhale slowly, not knowing what to say. But before I have to think of something, South steps forward.
“No, don’t take her deal. Take me instead,” South says.
“And me,” Lennox adds.
“Me too,” Hawthorne finishes.
“Hardly collateral, the lot of you are almost faded.” Then Charon narrows his eyes. “You three,” he says, pointing to my men. “Are fated for the Elysian Fields. No eternal damnation for you, so perhaps there is some fun I can have with your poor souls.”
“Then let us go to the Underworld instead,” Lennox says. “Anything to ensure Tennyson makes it out of there in one piece.”
Charon smiles. “Isn’t that heroic. But no, I don’t want you. I want the girl. Of course, I might always change my mind.”
“You can’t all do this for me,” Eric says, shaking his head, overwhelmed with our offer.
“You must,” I say. “You saw Harlow, she needs you.”
“But you need one another, too,” Eric says looking at us all.
“Don’t worry about us,” I say, trying to remain strong. “Charon, take Eric to the surface and let me go below.”
Charon nods solemnly. Then he takes out a knife and asks for our palms. We offer them to him and he slices our skin, taking droplets of our blood and storing it in separate vials.
“So, I can find your souls, am I to require them.” He glares. “Just hope you don’t fade before I can enjoy you.”
“What do you plan on doing to them?” I ask, fear winding its way up my heart.
“Oh, nearly faded souls are my favorite. They get desperate,” Charon says. “And desperate people always make the most interesting choices.”
My hand aches from the cut, but it matters not.
“Just take him,” I say. “Don’t play games with me.”
Charon nods. “The next ferry to the Underworld leaves at dusk. Be here then. A horn will sound, and you must return to the dock, understood? If you go back on your word--”
I cut him off. “I know. Then we will all pay the price.” Already my skin crawls with terror over the idea of what he might do to the men I love. I have to get to the underworld and find Hades before it’s too late.
