AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“We don’t know the monster is still there,” I pointed out. “No one has seen it, and there’s been someone stationed to watch duty all the time.”
“It could turn invisible for all we know,” Dare countered, snuggling in a little closer to my side. “We don’t exactly know the parameters of what we’re working with here.”
The thought had never occurred to me, but of course, he was right. We had no idea what the pit monster could do—if it could camouflage itself, or shrink down to the size of a fly, or shapeshift. Wasn’t shape-shifting a common ability among the gods? I distinctly recalled stories of Zeus disguising himself in various animal forms.
“That being said,” Dare continued with a resigned sigh. “Asking Sophia for answers is a good idea since she’snowdecided not to talk to us anymore. Plus, we’re running out of food. I don’t suppose you would be content to stay here under a ten-person guard while I go out and see what I can… find?”
That pause was definitely code for ‘steal’.
“Absolutely not, I’m coming with you. We need my blood for the temple.”
Milos stood up from her spot on the floor where she’d curled up for the night, guarding our bed, and made a show of stretching and yawning loudly. She stuck close to my side, no matter how much Foster tried to convince her to get attached to him instead. I couldn’t say I minded it, but I worried about what would happen to Milos when we inevitably had to leave here. Whether she’dwantto leave the only home she’d ever known, what would happen to her if the pit was a one-way journey for me, and if it wasn’t, could we properly care for her?
We couldn’t even care for ourselves right now.
Dare groaned, clearly hating every second of this. “Come on then, let’s get ready. Milos, we’re going on an adventure.”
“Thank you. You’re arguing less than I thought you would.”
Dare shot me a wry smile, all deliciously rumpled from sleep. I wished we could stay in this quiet, peaceful bubble, just a little longer. “Just know that I’m arguing on the inside. I’m lost, and I don’t know what the right course of action is, so my brain defaults to ‘wrap Grace in cotton wool and keep her safe that way’. I know that’s not realistic, or even what you want.”
I nodded, giving his arm a grateful squeeze. To be an agathos or a daimon was to be ruled by instincts, often ones we didn’t want. It meant a lot that Dare was even trying to fight them.
The others were lounging around the living room when we got down there—half of them awake, half asleep. If I ignored absolutely all of the circumstances, there was a nice, sort of slumber-party feel to us all being here together. We’d stayed up late the past couple of nights talking—they talked, mostly Vasileios, while Dare and I listened—and we were always lining up to take turns bathing or using the rudimentary plumbing system we’d gotten going. The darkness may have lifted, but it looked as though the sudden disappearance of utilities was permanent.
One day, when I wasn’t grieving so many other more painful losses, I’d mourn running water.
I looked around the room, memorizing the faces of the strange crew of people we’d assembled here, knowing I’d miss each one of them. They weren’t all here, of course. Many had stayed behind at the villa, holding that as a base for us to return to if we needed it. I hoped they were happy and comfortable, or as much as they could be given the circumstances.
There was a sharp tightening in my throat as I looked around the room. Yet another set of goodbyes I’d have to make, another group of people to miss, but knowing them had been worth it.
“Stop that,” Estrella said flatly, making me startle. She was draped lazily over Foster’s lap in one corner of the couch, totally comfortable in a teeny tank top and panties in front of everyone. I wished I had just a little of her self-confidence.
“Stop what?”
“That face. You are doing the self-sacrificing face.”
I did my best to school my features into something less… self-sacrificing. Whatever that looked like.
“You’re going to the pit?” Foster guessed, resting his chin on Estrella’s shoulder.
“We’re going to find food,” Dare corrected. “And answers.”
“And going to the pit,” Vasileios said around a yawn, tangled in so many naked limbs that didn’t belong to him that I could barely see him underneath. He’d solemnly sworn to me yesterday that he dedicated every one of his sexual liaisons to Dionysus in the hopes the gods were being strengthened by it, which was very thoughtful and productive of him.
“I need to go look, at least,” I agreed, already shoving my feet into the boots Eirene had given me, a pang of grief hitting me square in the chest as I did. Dare made a grumbling sound of disagreement, even as he laced his own shoes and roughly yanked on his dirt-covered coat. “The pit is what we’ve been waiting for. Thepath.”
“Is it, though?” Foster asked hesitantly. “I just feel like if Gaia had wanted you to get to Tartarus safely, she could have made you a nice spiral staircase out of dirt, carved into the earth. Perhaps the pit is just a test. Perhaps she wants you to beg for some kind of shortcut or a ride down to the bottom or something so you don’t, you know…”
“Crack like an egg all over the bowels of hell,” Estrella deadpanned.
“Aren’t you two cute, finishing each other’s sentences?” Dare snarked, shooting her a filthy look as he wrapped an arm around my shoulders and led me toward the front door. “There’s no risk of that happening. Grace isn’t going to dive head first into the pit.”
“Wait, we’re coming with you,” Estrella replied, jumping up and snagging her clothes. Foster stood, grabbing his stuff at the same time while Vasileios began wriggling his way out of the human puppy pile he was in. “You might need backup.”
Well, that was a nice gesture, even if Estrella’s words had given me visions of my head cracking like an eggshell while my brain leaked all over a dark rocky floor like a pink yolk.
As if I wasn’t struggling enough to sleep already, now I had that nightmare in my repertoire. And no dream guardian to save me from it, as he’d saved me my entire life.
