That’s how I know I must still be dreaming, so I float off back into the darkness, whispering his name as both a wish and a curse.
And the darkness whispers back, “I’m here.”
Chapter 26
I wake up to the scent of something sharp and earthy nearby. When I pry my eyes open I find Max sitting in the chair next to my bed stirring something in a small bowl. I open my mouth to ask him what he’s doing but all that comes out is a hoarse croak.
“Ana, you’re awake! You scared the life out of me. Again.” Max hands me a cup of the sharp smelling brew and I take a sip, wincing at the flavor but instantly feeling a little more awake and aware.
“You live in a house of the Underworld,” I tease. “One would think your tolerance for scary things would be a little higher.” I mean it as a joke, but Max shakes his head, eyes serious.
“Even among those who run the Underworld, the kind of power you unleashed in that room was terrifying.” Max lowers his voice as though there are people listening in. “I thought you were going to burn a hole straight through the earth and open a second entrance to the Underworld.”
I groan as I stretch my arms and legs. Everything feels stiff, as though I’ve run the outlier hills of Olympus seven times over.
“I’m sorry I scared you,” I say and reach out to clasp Max’s hand. “I shouldn’t have asked you to help me. It figures I wouldn’t be able to control this new power either. Turns out I’m a danger to everyone and everything.”
“Don’t say that. It’s not your fault.”
“That doesn’t make it okay though. I need to start training by myself, or better yet, maybe I’ll take a page out of Theo’s book and opt for starting a life in the mortal realm. If I can’t control the powers, maybe I deserve to lose them.”
“Who?”
“Theo? Blond hair, nice smile? Was here until about a week ago when the descendants who lost the first trial...were…” I trail off as Max’s expression takes on a cloudy kind of confusion.
You’re not supposed to remember him.
Right. So how do I? Why have the memories come back to me?
“You know what, never mind. He’s just someone I knew before.”
“And he lives in the mortal realm? Why would anyone choose to live in the mortal world?” He shivers like the very idea makes his skin crawl. “Don’t ever talk like that, Ana. You’re going to win this competition.”
I smile weakly at him. “Thanks, Max,” I say, trying to sound as confident as he looks and doing a crappy job of it.
If I can’t even handle controlling the life force of a simple plant, how will I ever be in a position to best Haven Knightfall? Or worse, a titan?
The sun moves in a path across the room, calling my attention to the fact that the room is considerably brighter than I’ve come to expect from rooms in Hades House. I look around. “Where are we?”
“The infirmary. It’s at the top of the house so that it gets sunlight, which the healer, Elena, insisted on when she took the job.”
I collapse back against the pillow, enjoying the sunlight on my skin. And then I remember seeing Hades in my room right before the darkness swept in. I lurch upright again. “Hades stopped me. Oh gods. Was he mad? I’m shocked he didn’t toss me out right then and there. Why would the God of the Underworld come to stop me? He could have sent Nereus or Monstrat or—”
“He didn’t seem mad,” Max cuts in. “If anything, he seemed...well...” Max looks away as he searches for the right word. “Intrigued maybe?”
“Really?” I wouldn’t have expected that. “What about Nereus?”
Max rolls his eyes. “As insufferable as ever. He suggested you be disqualified.”
“And Hades told him no?”
“No, actually, it was Haven who spoke up for you.”
My heart beat ticks up. “He did?”
“He pointed out to Nereus that a display of power like that is unprecedented and that if you were to be disqualified for it, it would show the others that the Knightfalls were given preferential treatment and if Haven were to win, his positioning within Hades’s inner circle would forever be undermined.”
“That’s...actually smart.”
Max leans back into his chair and spreads out his long, thin legs. “I don’t like to admit this, but Haven is really smart. He was top of his class before he was chosen for the descendant trial. He didn’t get here on his name alone.”
In my semi-conscious haze, I could have sworn I heard Haven by my bedside. “Did Haven...come here?”
Max nods. “He was here for hours.”
“Haven Knightfall. Was sitting here. With me. For...hours?”
Max makes a disbelieving face. “I know. I was just as astounded as you are. But he was dead set on staying. I stayed in the room too for a while...just to make sure he wasn’t here to try to sabotage you while you were down and out. But he just sat there, staring at you. It was kind of sweet. And weird. But sweet.”
“He’s literally the last person I thought would be here.”
Just when I think I understand Haven, he does something unexpected. I don’t like that I’m suddenly questioning my opinion of him.
I groan and slump back onto the pillows.
A large glass door swings open to my right and a short, plump woman bustles in dressed in a simple white robe. Her dark hair is wound tight into a bun making her high cheekbones look sharper than they ought to.
She checks my forehead and throat with both hands that are dry as cracked earth.
“I’m happy to see you’re awake. So far nothing has given me cause for concern. Looks like it was just an unexpected influx of power is all. And truth be told, you probably need some sunlight. It’s jarring for the constitution to go from the light of Hestia’s House to the darkness of Hades.” She continues to poke and prod me to check for what, I’m not sure.
What I wouldn’t give for Sura in this moment.
“You should get out of Hades’s House and soak in some of that beautiful Olympian sky,” she finishes.
That sounds like the best idea I’ve heard yet. “Am I allowed to go to Hestia House?”
“For a visit? I don’t see why not. I think it’s exactly what you need.”
I glance at Max. “Would you want to come with me?”
“I would” —Max’s expression is instantly apologetic— “but my to-do list is long today. You should go though. Take the chance to get out.”
“It would be really nice to go home for a bit.” And while that’s absolutely true, there is somewhere else I want to go. An itch I need to scratch.
Elena heads off and Max walks with me as far as the main staircase.
“Good so far?” he asks and gives me a once over.
I stretch out my hands. “Yeah. I feel really great, actually. Better than I’ve felt in...well, a long time.”
He gives me a quick nod. “Have fun on your walk. I’ll see you later?”
“Of course.”
Back in my room, I find the charred hole in my floor has already been repaired and there’s a new door hanging on my wardrobe. The narcissus has even been replaced in the windowsill. It’s as if it never happened.