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“There is nothing you can do for him, Soteria. He is lost. But the people need you, now more than ever before. Youmustbecome the Queen of Hell.”
Chapter II
This again? Of alltimes?
“You can’t just replace him with me!” I snapped. “He’s gone and all you’re thinking of is having someone else sit on that?”
I flung an angry arm toward the throne at the back of the room. As if in answer to my emotions, green vines sprouted, smothering the seat.
“The people need a leader, Soteria. This is not the end of the Moon Goddess’s machinations. Of that, I have no doubt. You must step into your power. The shades will be lost without him after so many thousands of years, and he would not want you to abandon them.”
Funny, because it was Cole who had told me he would never ask me to become queen. Never place that burden on me.
But Cole had left me. He had chosen eternal torment in my stead.
“We’ll just have to ask him about it when I get him back.” I wasn’t accepting defeat.
Death is not the end.
Hecate sighed. “I understand this pains you—”
“Pains?” I almost laughed, but there was no humor left in me. “Pain is nothing compared to what I’m feeling right now. Knowing I brought this on him. I’m going to make this right, Hecate.Helpme. You have to know something. A way to get into Tartarus.”
“Getting in isn’t the hard part. It’s tricky; you have to find anentrance that has been hidden by time, and even I do not know their locations. The only other way would be to create your own entrance, and there is only one creature that can create portals to the pits. But getting out is impossible. You must convince the under-realm to let you out.”
“If I made it out, then there must be a way,” I argued.
“This is true.” The words themselves were neutral, but they were laced with disapproval.
“What creature can make those portals? Phaidros?” I guessed.
Hecate nodded. “But listen to me, Avery. Do not seek him out. You are no match for the demon as you are now, and we have no way of finding him. Even if you did and he accepted a bargain, the cost would be far too high.”
There was no price too high. Yet as I recalled the way he’d threatened Daphne—and the fact he was working with Jett—I decided to take that as a last resort. “Fine. I’m not looking to sell my soul, anyway. But you said there are entrances—even if you don’t know where they are exactly, you must havesomeidea.”
“All I know is they sit in the realm of the living. You need to use a portal to go to the realm of the living. Creating one is not possible for me, but when you take the mantle of Hell, your power will be unlocked, and you will be able to traverse between the two realms.”
She wasn’t going to drop it. But if I was going to rescue Cole, I was going to need to get stronger. Even now, my power seemed to increase every day.
Yet I’d been helpless when Phaidros had cornered me.
“Tell me how to become queen, then. I’ll do whatever it takes if it means I can rescue Cole.”
“Soteria? An audience?” a new voice called into the room, interrupting.
I turned. It was Stefan, Cole’s captain of the guard. He looked like he’d aged a decade since I’d last seen him. Not in the ageless ways time just passed by in Hell, but a long, devastating several years. His gray hair was haggard, his normally impeccable posture stooped as he shifted on his feet while he waited to be granted permission to join us.
I looked to Hecate for guidance, but she offered none. I gestured for Stefan to come forward.
“What’s wrong?” I asked, then nearly smacked myself. Everything was wrong. Starting with the fact Stefan was coming to me instead of Cole, who had thousands of years of experience in this mess apparently while I had barely been here a few months.
“The guards are doing the best they can to assess the damage, but the people are panicked. Several were hurt by falling debris. The castle held up better than the rest of the city, but the medical wing took some of the worst damage. Where should we take them?”
I frowned. I hadn’t surveyed any of the damage, but I couldn’t trust some key structures hadn’t been hurt in the earthquake. Things seemed fine for now, and I knew Hecate’s magic could keep us safe, but we shouldn’t be keeping anyone in the castle who couldn’t get out in a hurry. “We can use the market while the guards finish their assessment. Hecate, can you help with repairs?”
Hecate nodded.
“Okay. Then while she works on that, set the patients up and then send someone to take me to them.”
