“Good.” It would buy us time. Unlike him, I did know where it was.
“Do not think that you can find the crown quicker than he,” Lachesis said. “His power allows him to find you, and if you approach it before you are strong enough to defeat him, he will stop you and kill you both, taking the crown for himself.”
I nodded, and she continued speaking. “Once Seraphia has broken the bonds on her magic and you have joined, you must embrace your full power to defeat your enemy. It is the only way for you to save yourself and Seraphia.”
“Is she in great danger?” I asked.
“Greater than you know.” Her eyes turned dark. “The curse that once threatened to drag you to Tartarus was passed on to her. She saved you from it, but inadvertently took it upon herself.”
Icy fear lanced my heart, chilling my bones until I thought they might snap. “What?”
“She has begun to fade like you once did. If you do not save her, she will be dragged to Tartarus for an eternity of torture.”
A distant roaring sounded in my head, rage and terror twined into one. My voice was low with horror as I asked, “How do I save her?”
“By becoming the god you were meant to be. Whether or not she survives depends upon you. Prove your commitment to her.”
The heavy weight of responsibility settled on my shoulders.
Lachesis’s voice lowered, vibrating with even more power. “You must succeed, Hades, or all is lost.”
I drew a deep breath. Must succeed. I was still meant to spread eternal darkness to the Earth. The circumstances might have changed, but my end goal was the same. Only now, the stakes were so much higher.
“One last thing,” Lachesis said. “All is not as it seems.”
“What does that mean?”
She smiled mysteriously and vanished.
Damned fate.
I strode up the stairs, determined to see Seraphia.
She saved me.
I’d felt it when her magic had taken the curse from me, but I hadn’t realized she’d taken it unto herself. Horror echoed through me; terror swift on its heels.
I couldn’t lose her. And not to something like this. I knew how bad it was in Tartarus. She couldn’t go there in my stead.
I had to save her.
Did she know about the curse yet? If she didn’t, should I tell her?
No.
The fear would weigh heavily on her. I would save her, and she might never need to know that she was cursed.
We needed to set out at once to determine who had bound her magic. She had the control now. I was sure of it. She would survive if we unbound her magic. We just needed to find a way. When I had the crown, I would have the power to save her.
I took the stairs two at a time as I ascended to the castle above. At the main level, I nearly ran into Lucifer.
The pale angel stepped back, hands raised. “Whoa. Where’s the fire?”
“Fire?”
He grinned, cocky as ever. “Apologies. I forgot your language skills are still in the Stone Age.”
I ignored the jibe. “Where is Seraphia?” Lucifer had been keeping track of her for me, watching over her to make sure she was safe.
“That’s why I was coming to find you.”
Fear chilled my spine. “What happened to her?”
“Nothing. Not yet. But something is happening to the Earth. Chronos is spreading his power. He’s freezing cities all over the world.”
“Freezing?”
Lucifer nodded. “From what I can tell, the people he’s stricken are not dead. Not yet. But they may very well die.”
I cursed, low under my breath. “But Seraphia is safe?”
“For now. I believe she will seek you out.”
“Good. I need to find her.”
Lucifer stepped to the side, clearing the way. I strode past him, heading toward the front of the castle. The guards stepped back as I pushed through the main doors, taking the stairs two at a time. I called upon Horse, and the stallion appeared. Quickly, I mounted, then galloped through town. Though the townspeople exited their houses to watch me, I did not don my crown. This once, they’d be fine without it.
As I approached the library, I couldn't help but breathe deeply of the faintly green scent that permeated the air near the enormous, ornate building. Seraphia’s plants had grown larger in her absence, the vines twisting around the base of the library, crawling up some of the steps. The night wolves slept among them, curled within their embrace as if they missed her.
I couldn’t help but feel a certain kinship with them, though it was an odd sensation. I shoved it aside and dismounted.
Before I could ascend the steps to the library, the air sparked with magic.
I stiffened.
Again?
Two figures appeared in front of me. Though they were vaguely transparent, their identity was unmistakable. Magic rolled out from them, so powerful that even I could feel it. The feel of crashing waves and the sound of thunder.
Poseidon and Zeus, one dressed in ancient armor, the other in a ridiculous gray business suit.
“You cannot be serious,” I said. “Appearing in the middle of my realm?”
Zeus held up a hand. “Just appearing. We are not actually here.”
“We wouldn’t dare, dear brother.” Poseidon’s armor glinted. At least he wore the garb of a god, unlike Zeus.
“What brings you here? Be quick. I am busy.”
“Going to save the Earth, are you?” Poseidon asked.
“Of course he isn’t,” Zeus said. “He simply wants to enforce his own dark rule there.”
I nodded toward Zeus. “One of you is not a simpleton, at least.”
“While we would fight you to the death to keep you from ruling the Earth, we will help you defeat Chronos. He must be returned to Tartarus.”
“I agree with you on that point,” I said. “But why are you helping me? Surely you could endeavor on your own?”
“We are brothers,” Poseidon said.
“We are not. You were born, I was created. We share nothing but status and a placement in myth.”
“True enough. Yet we are still here,” Poseidon said.
Zeus grinned cockily. “To help our adopted brother.”
“To further your own goals.” Which comforted me, in fact. The idea that they might be here out of some fraternal bond made my skin itch. “Fortunately, I do not need your help.”
Lachesis had made it clear that it was up to Seraphia and me, not my miserable fellow gods. I strode past them.
Zeus and Poseidon turned to watch me as I passed.
“You may find that you do need our help,” Zeus said.
“All you need to do is call.” I could hear the grin in Poseidon’s voice.
“Over my dead body.”
“Don’t tease me,” Poseidon said. “The idea is just too exciting to bear.”
I ignored them and took the stairs two at a time. When their magic departed my realm, I felt it, but I didn’t bother to look back. Instead, I hurried toward the portal and stepped inside.
Seraphia
I sprinted through Guild City, Eve at my side. The right side of the street was slowly freezing over, the blue ice creeping over the fronts of the buildings and crystallizing on the windows. The left side was still normal, but it wouldn’t be for long. By the end of the day, the ice would reach the other side. In a matter of days, Guild City would be entirely frozen, but it would be uninhabitable long before that.