So much time. Why hadn’t I been with Reese forever? I want to be with him now. Haven’t I always? Nothing will ever keep me from him. No one. Nothing.
What kept me from him in the past? Who could possibly do that?
And then my brain pushes through the instincts of my body, and it comes to me. I remember Shayne. He’s there in my mind. Unable to reach me here in Reese’s domain. It’s Shayne I want to be with and not Reese.
“No.”
Reese doesn’t stop. He kisses my stomach, sending shivers everywhere.
“Stop now!” Firmer this time. “I don’t want this.”
Reese lifts his head, his fingers and hands still moving. “Yes, you do.”
And in his eyes, I see I do. But Shayne’s in my mind, and I know Reese’s love is nothing but a horrible deception.
“I want you to stop now.”
Reese shakes his head. “I’ll never stop. You are everything to me.” His hands are moving fast now, trying to pull off my shorts, trying to lift my shirt. They’re everywhere, but instead of making me feel good, they are like monsters. Monsters that need to be destroyed.
I’m fighting against him, twisting like a viper, but his body is so strong, I may as well be doing nothing, and I realize he’s not going to stop. Not now. Not ever. I need to stop him, or I’ll forever be sorry. His head is down, kissing, trying to draw me back to him, and when he looks up and his eyes meet mine, I remember I am a goddess. I know what I need to do. I don’t need to wait for Shayne.
I look at him hard then, and drawing upon the powers of Hell which I know are mine, I ignite him into a mass of flames on top of me.
Chapter 45
Descent
Reese leaps off me, covered in fire. His face is burning. His hair is burning. The harsh odor of his burning flesh hits me, and I suck it in, happy to be free of his drugging aroma. I only watch him for a second; he’s moving backward, knocking into a chair, falling to the ground. And then I start running. But when I come in from the balcony, I realize there are no doors and no windows and nowhere to go. The door I came through has vanished into the stone wall. I bolt through the doors back out onto the balcony, and leap over the side. Escaping the boundaries of Reese’s world. I fall.
I hit the hard-packed sand, but I keep falling, moving through the ground and the river of sentient silver. It embraces me on my way to the safety of the Underworld.
Shayne is there waiting for me, and I rush into his arms, and I don’t need to say anything. He holds me until I’m not shaking anymore, and then we turn to the boat, and Charon helps us onboard.
“Reese said you and Chloe—” I begin. I try to find the words, but I don’t want to voice them.
Shayne pulls me close on the boat. “Reese is a liar.”
I turn so I’m facing him, looking into his dark eyes, and I watch the red flashes. “But Chloe—” The god-awful image of Chloe telling me she’d been sleeping with Shayne won’t go away. I know it’s not true, but I have to ask.
Shayne shifts around and puts a hand on either of my shoulders. His warmth seeps into me and gives me a feeling of security so strong nothing could tear it away. “Reese lied. He got Chloe under his control.”
“Just like he did with me.”
Shayne nods.
How had I ever been so naive? “I didn’t believe him. I mean once I got away from him, I knew it couldn’t be true.”
“It will never be true,” Shayne says. “I would never be with anyone but you.”
His eyes are so sincere. They’d always been that way, even back when I was Persephone. His lips part, and he leans until his mouth is so close to my ear, I’m sure he’s going to kiss it. I hold still and wait for the kiss, but it doesn’t come.
“Please don’t ever leave me again.”
I feel the words on his breath as he says them. And they are better than any kiss ever could have been. They erase any and every doubt I ever had. And then he does kiss my ear until I’m sure I won’t be able to stand another second without him. But we’re still on the boat with Charon moving across the River Acheron. So I force myself to finally pull back and settle into the crook of his arm.
The water stretches calm before us, and every so often, a monster nips into the air, causing ripples at the surface.
“What was Chloe’s sorrow?” Reese had deceived her and drugged her just as he’d done with me. One day, Reese will get his punishment. He will make a perfect addition to Tartarus.
Shayne is holding both my hands, but releases them. I wonder if he’s going to tell me not to listen to the sorrow. But this is Chloe we’re talking about, and I want to know.
“You can find it,” he says. “You don’t need me to show you.”
He’s right. The Underworld is my domain. I don’t need Shayne for this. I turn my head to the right until I’m looking out across the water. And I send my heart out searching. Looking for a piece of Chloe.
The water of Acheron is as still as the ice of Cocytus, but I remain focused. The river will listen to me. It has in the past. It will in the future. And so I wait. Something touches the surface from below, and concentric circles grow from the spot. A bubble rises, pushing its way up until it sits on the water, and then it skims along the surface as it makes its way toward me. It grows as it gets closer as if it’s a thing alive. And when it reaches the side of the boat, I open my mind and listen.
There it is. So simple. So selfless. Her final sorrow had been about me. By keeping her alive in the first place, I’d been responsible for her demise on Earth, and here, her last thoughts were concern over my well- being.
There is no better friend than Chloe.
Cerberus greets us on the other shore, and I open my arms to him, letting him knock me to the ground. His three heads fight over who gets to lick me until Shayne finally pulls him away. We say our goodbyes to Charon, and then Cerberus leads us down a tunnel to the safety of Shayne’s home.
I’m with Shayne then, and it’s wonderful and perfect. Exactly how it is supposed to be. His touches wake me up in places I never knew were asleep, and his kisses bring back memories I’m only too happy to relive. As we’re together, I know I’m never leaving again.
I lean back in his arms on the sofa, and look around the room. He’s put living plants everywhere. If I never see cut flowers again, I’ll live a happy life. Reese and his lies can burn forever.
“I’m never going to leave, you know.” The thought of leaving the sanctuary of the Underworld threatens to form a ball of fear in my stomach. I push images of Reese and my mom from my mind.
Shayne kisses my neck and wraps his arms tighter around my stomach. “Never?”
I shake my head and turn to him, pulling back so I can see his wonderful face. I trust him implicitly. “Nope. Never.”
Shayne raises an eyebrow. “What about in the spring?”
I shake my head.
“Or the summer?”
“Nope.” And I’m not kidding.
“But Earth needs you. It could take years for things to return to normal.”
It feels like spring to finally be home. “As far as I’m concerned, my mom and dad can figure out the weather for a while. Maybe the assembly of gods can help.” Because I’m not going to anytime soon.
Shayne gets up and brings us food and drinks. He lifts a bottle of wine and starts to fill the red crystal glasses. “You know that’s going to bring up some issues.”
