“Like a petunia jumped in a bog and died, yep.”
I grimaced, then sat and swigged back the liquid without hesitating.
It did indeed taste utterly foul, and I grimaced as I swallowed it. Immediately, my head began to swim. The room faded out, taking my friends with it, and all I could see was a faint white fog. No floor, ceiling, or walls.
Just…nothing.
It was so disorienting that if I’d been standing, I’d have likely fallen smack on my face.
“Nana?” I called. “Are you here?”
There was no response. Nerves pricked my skin, and I rose unsteadily to my feet.
The strongest wave of vertigo hit me, and I collapsed back into the chair.
“Careful, dear.” Nana’s voice sounded through the fog. “If you leave that chair, you could lose yourself here.”
“Where are we?” I searched the mist for her. “Where are you?”
“I am not sure.” She appeared in front of me, moving slowly through the mist. Her beautiful white silk robes and ivory hair blended well with the fog, but her brilliant blue eyes gleamed brightly, cutting through the haze. “But I felt you arrive.”
I grinned, my heart feeling ten times lighter just from seeing her. “My friend Eve helped me come here. I need to speak with you.”
“Ah, yes. Eve, the fae. Not all is as it seems there.”
“It never is,” I said. As much as I wanted to pry about Eve, it was none of my business. “Are you well?”
“Of course! I was enjoying a nice game of bridge with the Willmots when I was yanked away to see you, but I can’t say that I mind the intrusion, when it’s you.”
“The Willmots?” I vaguely recognized the name.
“Yes. Our neighbors when you were young, once we’d left Cyprus. You remember them. They lived next door.”
“They’re dead, though.”
She laughed. “So am I.”
Fair point. “Well, I hope you’re wiping the floor with them at bridge.”
“Of course I am.” She reached for my hand and gripped it. Warmth and comfort rushed over me, and I squeezed her hand back, looking up into her lovely face to meet her eyes. Fates, I loved talking to her.
She waved a hand, and a chair appeared behind her. Without releasing her grip, she sat. “Now, tell me what is wrong.”
“Chronos has escaped.” I cursed. “No, I let him escape. It’s my fault.”
“Surely you meant well.”
“Of course. But that doesn’t matter now. He’s freezing the entire world.”
Nana nodded. “It was prophesied this might happen. But do not fret—if you can send Chronos back to Tartarus, the humans will forget what they saw. That much, I do know. They certainly won’t chalk it up to magic.”
That was a blessing, at least.
“Was it prophesied that I would stop it?” Please, please, please.
“It is one of the possible futures, yes.”
“But you can’t say for sure.”
“As an oracle, no. As your grandmother, yes. I do think you will stop him.”
Think.
It wasn’t the most certain verb, but I would take it. Any kind of confidence helped right now. “Who bound my magic?”
“Ah.” Her eyes gleamed. “You have discovered that it is bound.”
“I have. Do you know who did it?”
“That is for you to find out.”
“That’s what you said about my parents as well.”
“It is the same.”
Damn it, I needed more. “Don’t you even have one clue for me?”
“Indeed, I do.” She released my hand and reached into a pocket of her robe, drawing out a slender golden chain hung with a blue gem. She pressed it into my hands. “This was your mother’s.”
My mother’s.
My heart clutched at the idea.
I raised the delicate piece of jewelry to my face and inspected it, wondering what my mother had looked like. I’d grown used to the lack of memory. Nana had filled that gap in my life admirably. While I’d missed my parents and longed to know them, it hadn’t been a grievous wound.
Holding this necklace, though…
It was almost like it tore that wound open.
I’d never known her or my father. That lack was apparent now, as was the realization that there was much about myself that I didn’t know.
“You really can’t tell me who bound my magic?” I asked.
“I cannot. But I can tell you how to find that information.”
“Thank fates.”
She smiled. “Always so dramatic.”
“The world is freezing over, Nana. I don’t think I can be too dramatic.”
She grimaced. “Well, when you put it that way… I supposed it is quite dire.”
“An understatement. Now, tell me what I must do.”
“Take that necklace home to Cyprus. Find your last living relatives and show it to them. They will know it’s time and direct you toward the next step of your journey.”
“Aunt Aurelia and Uncle Stavros?” I asked. “It’s finally safe to talk to them?”
“Yes. They will give you guidance.”
“How long will this take?” I asked. “I’m kind of on a deadline.”
“You have time if you move swiftly. Do not worry.”
“It’s all I can do, lately.”
“I suppose you do have quite a bit on your plate.” She reached out and took my hand, closing my fingers over the necklace. “Do not lose this, for it will aid you on your way.”
“I won’t, I promise.” I slipped my hand from her grip and put the necklace on, tucking it under my shirt. “Thank you, Nana. I’ve missed you so much. It’s been so good to see you.”
“It has indeed, my dear.” She reached for my hand again and squeezed it. “But before you go, just one more thing.”
“Yes?”
“Hades, your man? Bring him with you. It is only together that you can defeat Chronos. You are two halves of a whole, stronger together than apart.”
The words made me shiver. Perhaps they were true, but she had no idea what was going on with us right now. “He still wants to take over the Earth, Nana.”
“It’s all he knows.”
“How do I save him?”
“That, you must determine for yourself.”
Before I could ask anything else, she disappeared. For the briefest moment, I was surrounded by nothing but white mist. Then the world shifted, and Eve’s flat reappeared.
I blinked, my head spinning, and caught sight of three faces peering at me. Eve and Mac leaned in far too close, but even Hades watched me intently from the other side of the room.
“Well?” Eve asked. “Did it work?”
Mac’s gaze dropped to my chest. “Looks like it did. She’s got some new sparkles.”
“Ooh!” Eve reached out and pulled the chain gently, dislodging the gem from my shirt. “Did your Nana give you this?”
I nodded. “She did. We need to go to Cyprus.”
“To your home?” Mac asked. “It was lovely there.”
I nodded. “We need to find my aunt and uncle.”