Persephone chose an entry point, unraveling the thread a little before crouching and slipping between a set of serrated vines. Within the first pocket, she was able to stand fully, but as she moved into the next, she had to stay low, highly aware of the threat of the thorns, which raised the hair on her arms and the back of her neck.
When she heard a sharp inhale, she swung too quickly, narrowly missing a jab to the side of her head. Through the muted light, she could see Ariadne pressing a hand to her upper arm.
“Are you okay?” Persephone whispered.
“Yeah,” Ariadne said. “Gods, it really does sting.”
Persephone frowned and looked ahead, trying to gauge how much farther they had to go, but she could not tell. The vines were thick and the light too dim.
“What comes next?” she asked.
She hadn’t started moving again. She did not trust herself to navigate the thorns and talk at the same time.
“It depends on how we leave these thorns,” Ariadne said.
Persephone said nothing for a moment as she gingerly stepped over another branch while ducking to miss another and unwound her thread.
“How did you become familiar with the labyrinth?” she asked when she could breathe again, resting in a thorn-free pocket.
“The first time Theseus introduced me, it was because he sent in a man who I had wanted to arrest for a long time. I think he thought I’d be grateful to him for dealing out the justice I had sought, but instead, I was horrified.”
They were quiet after that, concentrating on making progress through the bramble path. One small mercy was that Persephone’s bones were no longer shaking with cold. Now she was sweating and her back ached. She was tired of bending, tired of moving at this pace, which only made her muscles burn.
She thought that perhaps the worst thing about this was that it seemed endless.
Galanthis meowed, and when Persephone looked up, she could see the cat’s eyes gleaming. She took that as a sign they were close to the end.
She tried not to rush. She’d made it this far without a scratch and did not want to fuck up now. Carefully, she turned her head to look at Ariadne, who had slowed considerably.
Persephone’s heart dropped into her stomach.
“Are you okay?”
“Yeah,” Ariadne said, though Persephone could tell something was wrong. She sounded weak and breathless.
“Just a little farther, Ari,” she said, trying to be encouraging, but then a strange sound echoed within the narrow passage, vibrating the air.
It made Persephone’s blood run cold.
“What was that?” she whispered, peering into the darkness.
Galanthis hissed.
The growl came again, deep and closer this time. It was followed by a succession of squeals and the pounding of hooves, and then there was the distinct sound of splintering wood.
All Persephone could see was a flash of white in the distance—perhaps teeth?
“Oh, fuck,” Ariadne said. “It’s a boar. Run!”
But running was impossible trapped within the vines. All Persephone could do was move faster and keep a hold on the thread.
At first, she tried to continue carefully, but the closer the boar drew, the less she cared about the poisonous thorns. She would take a scratch over being mauled to death by a boar, but as the thorns scraped along her arms and dug into her back, she realized how unprepared she’d been for the pain. It was sharp and biting. It made her mouth water and her stomach sour.
She wanted to vomit, but she forced the nausea down and kept going, her hands shaking as she unraveled the thread, her heart racing as the boar’s cries grew louder, nearly unbearable in their terrible pitch as the creature effortlessly tore through the thicket she and Ariadne had spent so long navigating.
She cried out as she slid beneath a branch, a thorn cutting along her back, but she did not care because as she stumbled, she found that she was free—surrounded only by cold air and darkness.
“I’m out, Ari!” she cried. “I’m out—”
She turned to find Ariadne still struggling as the boar drew closer. Persephone could see it better now—a huge creature with shaggy hair and large tusks that it used to tear at the thorns.
“Go!” Ariadne yelled.
But Persephone couldn’t leave her. She looked down at Galanthis, who meowed, and set the spool of thread at her feet.
“Watch this,” she said and drew the knife Ian had forged and entered the tangle again.
“What are you doing?” Ariadne demanded. “I said go!”
“Just keep moving!” Persephone commanded. diving beneath and climbing over barbed branches as fast she could. All the while, Ariadne continued toward freedom.
As Persephone neared the boar, its hot breath washed over her like a furnace, smelling of rot and decay, roiling her stomach. Its large tusks tore through the wall of thorns with a strength that made them seem like glass.
She steeled herself as the swipe of its tusk came within a few inches of her and swung forward with all her might, shoving her blade into the tender flesh of the creature’s nose. The boar roared and swung its head, scooping Persephone up with its tusks and tossing her through the air.
She screamed, feeling branches break across her back as she soared through the air, landing on the solid ground with the blood-soaked blade still clutched in her hand. Pain lashed through her, stealing her breath, but she knew there was no time to linger. She sat up, her head spinning.
“Persephone!” Ariadne cried, racing toward her.
Behind her, the boar roared, breaking free of the final layer of thorns.
Persephone rose, unsteady on her feet, still aching from the impact of her fall.
“Run!” Ariadne yelled.
They raced along the dim corridor with the boar on their heels. Ariadne yanked her arm, pulling her through a break in the stone wall. Persephone hoped the sudden move would put distance between them and the boar, but then there was a terrible explosion, and rocks rained down on them as the creature crashed through the labyrinth wall.
They covered their heads and continued to run, their path now scattered with debris. Persephone’s foot caught on a stone.
“Persephone!” Ariadne screamed her name as she hit the ground.
The impact was jarring, the pain almost unbearable. As much as Persephone wanted to scramble to her feet, she didn’t think she could manage it.
Clutching her knife, she rolled onto her back as something large and black leaped over her and crashed into the boar.
A mix of deep growls and roars erupted, booming in Persephone’s ears. For a moment, she couldn’t take her eyes off the large creature engaged in battle with the boar.
“Persephone, let’s go!” Ariadne said, pulling her to her feet, but as they started to race away, the boar’s deep growls turned into something that sounded like a high-pitched oink, and then it was suddenly silent.
Persephone slowed, and so did Ariadne as they looked back only to find Galanthis sitting in front of the still form of the boar, licking her paw. After a moment, she looked up, her green eyes like pale lights in the distance.
“Meow,” she said as if greeting them.
Then she rose and disappeared into the darkness.
Persephone took a step forward, calling after the cat…or creature…whatever it was. “Galanthis!”
But she soon returned with Persephone’s spool clutched between her teeth, thread unwinding as she walked.
“In case there are mice, huh?” Ariadne asked.
Persephone exchanged a look with the mortal and shrugged. Then her eyes fell to Ariadne’s arms, which were covered in bleeding gashes. Dark spots stained her shirt too.
“Are you all right?” Persephone asked, frowning.
Ariadne nodded, but there was a distant look in her eyes before they rolled into the back of her head. She swayed, and Persephone lunged to catch her. She managed to lower her to the ground before she started to feel wrong too.
Fuck.
“Ari?” Persephone said her name, though her tongue felt swollen in her mouth. It was like all the moisture in her body had been used up.
“Don’t let it keep you,” Ariadne said, her voice sounding far away.
“What do you mean?” Persephone asked, confused, but there was no answer.
Her head spun, and before long, she found she was lying on the ground amid the broken stones and sandy earth.
Something furry touched her leg, followed by a muted meow.
Persephone opened her bleary eyes to see a flash of bright green.
“Galanthis,” she said, her voice a low slur before everything went dark.
CHAPTER XV
PERSEPHONE
“Lady Persephone.”
She woke to the call of her name, but it was a distant echo, and she did not want to open her eyes.
“Lady Persephone?” the voice said again, closer now but muted.
She frowned, her brows lowered.
Just go away, she thought.
She wanted to linger in the shadows for as long as possible. It was safe here.
“Lady Persephone!”
Suddenly, it was like she had been pulled from the River Styx, surfacing from darkness. She took a deep breath as she opened her eyes and found that she was seated behind her desk in her office at Alexandria Tower. Her hands were on her keyboard, her head turned to the door, looking at a man with delicate features and a swath of brown curls. He had a youthful appearance and dreamy eyes, and she had no idea who he was.
“Late night celebrating?” he asked with a raised brow.
Celebrating?
Persephone hesitated and then frowned.
“Can I…help you?”
“Just making sure you prepare for your meeting tomorrow,” he said, stepping fully into her office now.
He was dressed in a fitted button-down shirt and tight slacks, complete with a bow tie. She found herself wondering what Hermes would think of his outfit.
“Meeting?” she asked, confused.
She didn’t know anything about a meeting.
The man lowered his chin, staring pointedly at her. “You have an interview with the News. They’re doing a whole spread on how you overtook Epik Communications.”
“Excuse me?”
Those were familiar things—the News was one of the largest national news outlets, while Epik Communications was a media conglomerate owned by Kal Stavros, a man desperate to gain a foothold in the world of the Divine. Except he’d gone about it the wrong way, and Hades had punished him severely, but that had not changed Kal’s control over the media.
The man sighed. “Don’t tell me you forgot.”
“No one told me!” Persephone said, defensive.
She tried to think back on the last few days but recalled nothing.
“Excuse you! I sent you questions three weeks ago!”
He came around her desk and took control of her mouse, clicking around until he brought up an email that included a document detailing the structure of the interview and a list of questions. It was signed with the name Amphion. Beneath that was his title: Assistant to Lady Persephone, CEO of Key Media Company.
Key Media Company?Persephone whispered.
“See,” he said smugly.
Persephone stared at the email for a moment and then looked up at the man she now suspected was Amphion.
“Could you…give me a minute?” she asked, suddenly unable to really focus. She couldn’t remember anything that had happened before she’d become aware of being in her office, but it seemed like a whole host of events had come to pass, and none of it felt exactly right.
Amphion frowned. “Are you sure you’re all right?”
“I’m fine. I just need a moment.”
“Okay,” he said, though he did not sound convinced. “Let me know if I can help.” He crossed the room toward the door.
“Amphion,” Persephone said. He paused to face her. “Where is Ivy?”
“Are you serious?” he asked.
“Amphion,” she said, frustrated.
“She’s at Halcyon,” he said. “She’s been at Halcyon since you hired her as the office manager.”
“Right,” she said, pressing her fingers to her temple. “Thanks.”
Once she was alone, she turned to her computer and searched her name. One of the top headlines read:
CEO of Key Media Company Celebrates Successful Grand Opening.