Talisa opened her mouth to ask what the nymph meant by magick, then Ana held both hands in front of Talisa and muttered words in an ancient language. Seconds later, Talisa realized the cloak had disappeared. She looked down only to realize she had disappeared, too. Her legs, her arms, her whole body. Every part of her was invisible.
“How did you—?”
“Absolute silence. If you make a single sound, my focus will break, and you’ll give us away. And if that happens, we’ll both be thrown in the dungeon.”
Ana pushed Talisa toward the door.
Heart thundering, Talisa carefully moved down the narrow staircase and into the castle corridors. With Ana at her back, forcing her forward, she had nowhere else to go. But that didn’t stop her from scanning each nook and doorway and behind every column in the quiet castle for Zagreus. It didn’t stop her from searching for some sign that screamed she shouldn’t leave. That she needed to stay.
Stay? That’s insanity at this point. He’s the Prince of Darkness. Hades’s fucking son. The villain of every story…
She swallowed hard as they reached the empty grand hall, dimly lit by a dying fire in the great stone hearth.
Of course Zagreus was a villain. She’d heard the stories, had read the history books. He was always the villain. Except…
He hadn’t been acting like a villain. Not once since she’d met him. Yes, he’d abducted her. Yes, he’d locked her in a tower. But he hadn’t hurt her. He hadn’t demanded anything from her. He hadn’t even touched her.
In fact, the more she thought of it… Even back in that club, when he’d blasted Max with that stream of energy, he hadn’t been the first to attack. He’d only hit Max after Max had drawn his blade and charged.
A new thought whipped through her mind. One that made her chest grow so tight, she gasped.
He hadn’t known who Max was in that moment. He’d been protecting himself in that club. He’d been protecting her.
Ana pushed her into another corridor off the grand hall and down a new narrow staircase, this one also dimly lit.
Head spinning, Talisa moved as if on autopilot, her hands against the walls on both sides for stability, her mind trying to make sense of the memories and thoughts bombarding her from every side.
She wasn’t ready to start thinking of Zagreus in any way as heroic, but… Something didn’t add up here. Something about her being with him in this time and place didn’t make sense.
They reached the lowest level of the castle. The ground was dirt. The walls some kind of ancient stone. The scents of earth and mold were strong down here, and darkness pressed in from every side. A shiver raced down Talisa’s spine. She brushed a hand against her arm on instinct just as Ana lit a torch at her back.
The flame flared to life, spreading a warm glow over the corridor, giving Talisa her first look at her surroundings.
Her stomach pitched. Doors made of rusted bars fronted each cell. There wasn’t enough light to see inside the cells, but no sound echoed through the space.
Stories Talisa had heard about Zagreus’s lair in the Yucatan filled her mind. He’d had cells there, too, but these seemed empty. And this dungeon was old. Older than just a few years, which was when Nysa had said he’d arrived in Ehrendia.
Ana pushed her down the dungeon corridor. Thankful she wasn’t being shoved into any of those cells, Talisa let her. The passageway turned to the right, then Ana stopped near a heavy steel door, one that was aged and dirty and blended into the stones. One that looked nothing like any other doors in the castle.
“What is this?” Talisa asked.
“What you said you wanted.”
Ana drew a key from her pocket and slid it into the rusted lock. Metal scraped, then the lock clicked. The nymph pushed the heavy contraption open, revealing a dark, silent tunnel, this one made not of stacked stone but of rough, carved rock.
“Come.” Ana dropped the key back into her pocket, stepped into the tunnel, and motioned for Talisa to follow. “Don’t dawdle now. We’re almost there.”
Talisa’s heart pounded hard as she looked into the tunnel after Ana. She wasn’t sure what she wanted. Everything in her head was jumbled. The only thing she knew for certain was that something about this felt off. Ana had made it more than clear she didn’t like Talisa. The nymph volunteering to help her now could very well be a trap.
Dammit, if Zagreus hadn’t taken her dagger, she cou—
Ana reached back, grasped Talisa’s cloak, and yanked.
The nymph was stronger than she looked, and she jerked Talisa off her feet, forcing her to stumble forward into the tunnel.
The heavy door clanked shut at her back. Talisa managed to throw out a hand against the rough rock wall so she didn’t fall. Shuffling her feet in the stupid sandals, she found her footing on the uneven stones.
Ana released her. Holding up her free hand in front of Talisa’s face, she muttered some kind of spell that made Talisa’s body reappear again.
“Now, keep up. We don’t have much time.” The nymph turned and headed down the tunnel, taking the light with her as she rounded a corner.
Darkness descended, and Talisa’s senses went on high alert. One quick check of the door at her back told her it was locked. She didn’t particularly want to follow Ana at this point, but she didn’t want to get trapped in these tunnels without light. It was cold down here, colder than in that dungeon, and if she got lost in this maze of rock and darkness, freedom wouldn’t be her only concern. Dying of hypothermia would quickly shoot to the top of that list.
“Come on!” Ana called from somewhere ahead.
Talisa felt her way along the uneven rock walls, using them as a guide as she followed Ana’s voice. At the corner, she spotted the nymph’s torchlight, relieved she hadn’t left her.
The passageway was narrow, only wide enough for one person at a time. In several places, Talisa had to duck to keep from smacking her head on the rocks above. They seemed to be going down, but Talisa couldn’t be sure, and every time Ana rounded a corner, the walls grew dark and hard to see once again, disorienting Talisa even more.
Her heart raced. The scents of mildew and dirt were even stronger here. Talisa wanted to ask how much farther but kept quiet, just in case anyone else was in these tunnels. Then she heard the sound. Faint at first but growing stronger with every step.
Rushing water. Like from a waterfall.
Ana had rounded another corner ahead, taking the torchlight with her. Feeling her way along the stone walls, Talisa hustled to catch up. But when fresh air rushed over her cheeks and she spotted the white light ahead, she knew her senses hadn’t been playing tricks on her.
The tunnel opened to a wide, rocky ledge, and directly ahead, cascading water fell from above, illuminated by moonlight somewhere beyond.
Water droplets sprayed into Talisa’s face. She blinked and stared at the water, realizing they were behind the waterfall she’d seen with Zagreus when he’d first brought her to Ehrendia.
“There’s no time to sightsee,” Ana shouted to be heard over the roar of the falls. “We’re almost to the border. Keep up.”
Talisa spotted Ana to her left, still holding the burning torch, standing on a narrow rock path that ran behind the waterfall and down along the cliff face.
“Quickly.” Ana motioned her to follow then rushed down the path.