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“Yeah.” He moved slow, but soon the warmth of his big body was against my side, like he needed to keep touching me in order to believe I was real. Instinctively I took hold of his hand and laced my fingers between his, giving him a firm squeeze.
We’d come this far, there was no way I’d leave him behind now.
“So sweet,” one of the voices mocked.
“But don’t look.”
“Yes, don’t look.”
“Whatever you do you mustn’t look.”
A chill ran through me that had nothing to do with the cold.
“What the fuck does that mean?” Leo asked. “It’s not like we can see anything anyway.”
“Pick a leader.” Their voices were so bloody cheerful it added an extra level of insult to their mockery. “One must lead, one must follow.”
“Pick. Pick.”
“What are they talking about?” he asked.
A response formed in my mind, but it took a long time for the words to come out. “Orpheus and Eurydice.”
“Huh?”
I squeezed his hand harder, debating with myself what the best way to do this was. The story of Orpheus escaping from the underworld was so oft told and so ancient I had no idea if it was true or a myth. But in the story he had been tasked with leading his beloved from the underworld with the one stipulation that he not look back at her.
Then I remembered the way Hades had told us only one person had escaped the underworld before us, and I knew the story must be true.
Don’t look.
Pick a leader.
One of us was going to need to take the first step. And no matter what happened, we couldn’t look back. I trusted myself to go first and not be tempted, but at the same time I had no idea what the Keres or anything else lurking in the blackness might try to do to trick us. What if it worked? What if I looked?
Then Leo would be doomed to an eternity here.
“You go first,” I told him.
It was the only way to guarantee he got out alive. If he looked back, then I’d be stuck, but at least if the Orpheus legend was true, he’d still be allowed to leave without me.
“Go first where?”
“Start walking, and whatever you do, whatever you hear, don’t look back.”
Leo went quiet, and I felt certain he must be able to hear the hammering beat of my heart. “Tallulah, that’s nuts, you should go first. I’m wearing the bracelet. You should be the one out first.”
“No. It’s fine. Just don’t. Look. Back.”
“I—”
“Leo, please.”
He was quiet for what felt like a full minute before he finally said, “Okay.” He pulled his hand free from mine and let out a low, shaky sigh. “I hate this.”
“I don’t think we’re supposed to like it. Now start walking.”
His clothing rustled, which was the only way I knew he was moving. I waited to the count of five, then started to follow.
