Lisa hugged Seolhyun so hard she thought her lungs would deflate. It was a good hug, reminding her of the ones Chanmi used to give her.

“The whole evil twin God thing is so messed up. I’m sorry, but I’m glad they’re out,” Lisa said, and then in a lower, hoarser voice, she added, “Thank you.”

Seolhyun knew why she was thanking her; for the deal. She squeezed Lisa back and then leaned away. She kept her voice low. “So what are you going to do?”

“After this craziness with Ares?” When Seolhyun nodded, a far-off look crept into Lisa’s pretty eyes. She dropped her arms, shaking her head. “You know, I don’t know. I never thought about it, but now I do have something to think about, and it’s…”

“Amazing,” Jisoo said, dropping a quick kiss on Seolhyun’s cheek. “I think I’m going to enroll in college.”

Both Lisa and Seolhyun stared at her.

“What?” A flush spread across her cheeks. “I actually like school.”

“Freak,” Seolhyun muttered.

Uh oh, Hades was growing impatient.

Seolhyun said goodbye, giving her uncle a stiff and somewhat awkward hug. Tension and excitement filled in the room. The agreement made with Apollo, who was actually going to remain here instead of popping back to Olympus, was obviously a big deal, but what the three of them were about to embark on could quickly become dangerous.

Perses could kill them all and make a run for it.

Continuing that line of thought wasn’t what Seolhyun wanted to be focus on as she made her way over to where Hades stood between Hyejeong and Jimin. Her eyes bounced between the two. Then again, she wasn’t so sure that Perses was going to be the problem.

Hyejeong and Jimin were sizing each other up like they were ready for a caged death match.

Sidling up to Hyejeong, she elbowed her in the side.

Hyejeong glanced down at her, eyes the color of the ocean during a storm. “I’m proud of you.”

Oh, the swelling in her chest could’ve lifted her right up to the ceiling.

Seolhyun smiled up at her, smiled so widely her cheeks ached.

“I would’ve used that favor more intelligently, love.” Hades smirked. “There was so much you could’ve asked for.”

“Thanks for your kindness,” she muttered.

“You’re welcome,” he replied. “Is everyone ready for our little field trip?”

With Apollo’s seal of approval, Jimin was given her toys back, and all of them were decked out in their Ephensy daggers and Glocks. There was something in the amber gaze that unsettled Seolhyun.

Hyejeong reached down, threading her fingers through hers. “We’re ready.”

Without any warning, the floor dropped out from under them.

“Holy Demon babies!” Seolhyun gasped, stumbling back as the world righted itself once more. “Good Gods…”

Hyejeong patted her hands over her chest as if checking to make sure she was all there and one piece. Jimin looked a little out of it. None of them had been prepared for that method of traveling.

Hades watched them. Amusement bled into the air around him. “It’s easier that way, don’t you think?”

Seolhyun smoothed her hand over her hair, relieved to find it still attached to her head. When the floor had moved under them, it had felt like they’d fallen a million feet. “Did you just… teleport us?”

“Something like that.” Hades turned, putting his hands on his hips. Tipping his head back, he let out a loud, ear-piercing whistle, causing Seolhyun to jump.

“So this is the Underworld?” Jimin turned, taking in her surroundings.

Forcing herself to get over the fact that she wasn’t exactly sure how Hades had managed to teleport them, and the whole science behind that concept, she looked around. Seolhyun recognized where they were.

“Thank the Gods it’s not the Vale of Mourning, huh?” Hyejeong said.

Seolhyun nodded. That depressing stretch of the Underworld was not a place she wanted to visit again. They were just outside the Vale, several feet from the congested road that led to the Plain of Judgment.

Jimin watched the recently departed making slow progress with a troubled look. A lot of the deceased were Linuses, their black uniforms in various stages of distress.

The sound of pounding hooves drew Seolhyun’s attention from the First, and she turned. “Holy Gods…”

She jerked back, bouncing off of Hyejeong’s chest. An arm circled her waist, steadying her. Good Gods in Olympia, the horses were the size of elephants. Four of them. Their coats were as dark and shiny as midnight oil, their manes glossy and groomed. They looked like extremely large horses with the exception of the all-white pupils behind their black-leather eye shields.

“I don’t remember them being this big.”

“Me, neither.”

Jimin neared one, head tilted to the side. The horse whinnied. “They’re like the Jeeps of the horse world.”

Seolhyun almost laughed, but then she noticed the saddles on each of them. She glanced at Hades as he ran a large hand down one of the horses’ manes. “These are bigger than what you saw last time. They are from my personal stable.” He grabbed the saddle and swung himself up with astonishing ease. “It is not a quick journey to Tartarus. We will ride them there.”

Glancing at one of the horses near her, Seolhyun hesitated. “Why didn’t you just pop us into Tartarus?”

“Tartarus is an ever-changing landscape, adapting to its… newest arrivals.” Hades shrugged. “I would hate to pop my newest acquisition into a lake of fire.”

Seolhyun’s eyes narrowed.

Hades smirked at her as he wrapped a hand around the reins. “We don’t have all day. There’s a mean game of Mario Kart waiting for me when I get back.”

“Okay. Now you play Mario Kart with Chanmi instead of making lattes?”

The God laughed darkly. “Yes. And always win.”

Resisting the urge to run up to Hades and knock him out of the saddle, Seolhyun wheeled around. Jimin had already found her horse and was in the saddle, looking very proud of herself. Then Hyejeong was on hers, swinging a leg over the horse, which left Seolhyun staring at the last one, the one that reminded her of a T-Rex.

It sniffed at her.

“You might want to get used to these magnificent creatures.” Hades’ smile was cold and pleased as he looked at Hyejeong.

An ache hit Seolhyun in her chest at the reminder of Hyejeong’s deal. She turned, ready to lay into her for agreeing, but drew up short. She was face-to-face with a massive horse head.

Walking up, she awkwardly patted its nose. “Nice horsey.”

Its lip curled up, revealing oddly sharp teeth. Did horses have sharp teeth? Or just Underworld horses? Seolhyun’s gaze traveled over the massive chest and leather saddle. How in the hell was she supposed to get on this thing? The stirrup was so far off the ground she was going to need a stepladder to access it.

“You put your foot in the stirrup,” Jimin said, tipping her chin down.

“I know,” Seolhyun snapped. But she didn’t move any closer. The horse turned its elegant head back away from her and snorted. “I’ve never ridden a horse before.”

Hades sighed.

Heat crept into Seolhyun’s cheeks. Honestly, she was sort of afraid of horses. Normal ones could break your bones. These? These could eat you.

Hyejeong guided her horse toward where Seolhyun stood, smiling slightly as she looked down. “Come on.”

Seolhyun stared at her.

The slight smile spread. “There’s room for both of us up here. Ride with me.”

“I really don’t care if you ride alone or with Lovergirl here, but can we move this along?” Hades tightened his hand on the reins, turning the horses. “I am not known for my patience.”

Seolhyun shot him a scathing look, which was ignored. Crossing the distance between Hyejeong and her, she reached up, putting her hand in hers. With astonishing ease, Hyejeong hauled her up into the saddle in front of her. After a few seconds of awkward fumbling, Seolhyun was seated on the horse, clenching the edge of the saddle.

Well aware that both Hades and Jimin were staring at them, Seolhyun remained stiff as Hyejeong s an arm around her waist and tugged her back between her thighs. Her heat immediately seeped into Seolhyun’s tense muscles.

“How cute.” Hades whistled.

Well…

They started off then, dashing along the crowded road. It took a little while to get used to the jarring motion of the horse and even longer to get familiar with the stagnant, sweet-scented air blowing in Seolhyun’s face. About a half an hour in, four guards suddenly flanked them, their faces pale and somber.

Seolhyun tried desperately not to picture Hyejeong becoming one of Hades’ henchmen, but she couldn’t help but wonder why Hades had even asked for Hyejeong. It wasn’t like there was any shortage of people who had some kind of forfeit to pay, and wasn’t that what these guards were doing? Working off their sins in the afterlife? Or was it something else?

The barren landscape turned lush as they neared the crossroads. The bare, brown ground gave way to thick, bright-green grass. The congestion of those recently deceased grew as the tips of Hades’ stone palace finally came into view.

And so did Tartarus.

The eerie red glow off in the distance was hard to ignore. So was the very faint, almost untraceable scent of sulfur. Seolhyun couldn’t believe they were actually going there willingly.

Her unease grew with every passing moment. She was waiting for it to happen, and when it finally did, Jimin swore loudly.

A loud pop thundered through the air, following by a whoosh as the ground trembled under the hooves of their horses. The sky lit up, bleeding red and orange as a ball of flames shot up, spreading first into fiery wings, and then the jaws of the dragon opened, emitting the horrifying scream that stuck with them. The fiery dragon swooped back down, its tail flaming as the ground shook once more.

“Holy ,” Jimin said, eyes wide. “What in the hell was that?”

“Tartarus’ welcoming party,” Hades replied. “Get used to it. I have a feeling you’ll see it up close and personal more than once.”

Jimin snorted, as if the very real possibility of her ending up in Tartarus wasn’t a big deal, but Seolhyun’s stomach roiled at the thought. She looked at her as they rode on, remembering quite clearly where the Solaris’ First was currently located.

Did Jimin deserve eternal damnation for her actions?

She glanced over at Seolhyun, expression unreadable. Their gazes locked. Her perfectly pieced face was emotionless, but something churned in the eyes.

“Jimin?”

There was no answer. Instead, those eyes, so much like Seolhyun’s own, flicked back to Hyejeong. “Hey, Jae.”

Oh, Lord.

Hyejeong stiffened behind Seolhyun. “Did you call me, James?”

Jimin guided her horse beside them, and Seolhyun wondered where both of them had mastered horseback riding. “If you find yourself needing some extra space on that horse, I have more than enough room on mine.” Jimin’s tight smile grew as Seolhyun stared at her. “We could… share.”

Heat roared off of Hyejeong. “Not going to happen.”

One shoulder rose in response. “It was just an offer.”

“Can you not talk?” Hyejeong retorted.

“Hey, all I’m saying is, for a while there, we really did share–”

“Jimin!” Seolhyun hissed, her cheeks burning.

“What?” she replied innocently, and if Seolhyun wasn’t so afraid of being stomped to death, she would’ve jumped off this horse and strangled her.

Hyejeong’s voice was deceptively calm when she spoke. “You never had her. We weren’t sharing anything.”

“Hmm. That’s not how it seemed to me. You know, there’s a reason why I call her Cuddle Buddy.”

“Oh, for the love of the Gods,” Seolhyun muttered, glaring at Jimin. “Knock it off. Both of you.”

Jimin winked.

Tracking time in the Underworld was difficult. What felt like an hour here could be only a half-second above ground, and it seemed like they’d been on the damn horses for longer than an hour. But the scent of sulfur grew, and the sky darkened into an ominous mixture of orange and deep blue, like the sky before a violent storm at dusk.

As they traveled on, the grass was replaced by a fine trail of fire that smoldered along the ground, following the road to Tartarus. The group of people traveling along the road was heavily guarded, and Seolhyun wondered if that was why Hades’ guards had appeared.

Those on this road wore ragged, torn clothing. Their chins were tipped down, and their progress was slow as they shuffled along, chained at the ankles and wrists. The dragon made another appearance, and this time Seolhyun could feel the heat of the morphing fire.

A heaviness permeated the air as they passed under a crudely-built stone archway, and she shuddered. Bare trees stood, their branches thin like bones, stretching toward the sky. Up ahead, a rocky hill rose sharply, and beyond the crest, the glow of orange was stronger. Hyejeong’s arm tightened around her as the horses slowed, whinnying softly. The atmosphere shifted dramatically, and it was more than the fact that night had descended like a heavy, suffocating blanket. The only light was from the thin rows of fire and the glowing torches posted every so many feet.

Jimin was staring at something to their left, and Seolhyun’s gaze followed hers. The Ephti River had reappeared, its murky waters flowing swiftly, but it wasn’t the river she was staring at.

Dozens of women in bloodied white gowns were near the bank of the river. Some were bending, reaching into the dark waters. Others carried jars away. The jars were leaking. By the time they were a few feet from the road, the jars were empty.

The women silently turned back to the river.

“Who are they?” Seolhyun whispered.

“They are the daughters of Danaus,” Hyejeong said. “They murdered their husbands on their wedding nights, at their father’s request. This is their punishment.”

Seolhyun wanted to look away from them, because she couldn’t comprehend an eternity of fruitless labor, but she couldn’t tear her gaze away as their horse rode on. She craned her neck, watching the women turn back to the river, slowly, sadly, their jars empty. Their appearance was significant.

They had entered Tartarus.

Well, Tartarus wasn’t very scenic.

Imagine the worst section of any town, and then imagine that neighborhood on fire and throw in some random torture scenes. That was Tartarus.

Fire was everywhere. Bushes on fire. Trees burning. The River at some point had turned into a river of flames as it slithered between stone buildings. Some were standing and, of course, on fire. Others were halfway destroyed, large sections crumbling to the ground.

It was like the apocalypse happened and then stayed around.

The stench of sulfur and blood was almost unbearable, but the heat… oh, dear Gods, Seolhyun was seconds away from pulling her shirt off as sweat beaded on her.

“This would make a lovely vacation spot,” Jimin muttered.

Seolhyun started to respond, but her eyes latched onto a flaming… a flaming wheel? “What the hell?”

Hades glanced over his shoulder at her, those freaky eyes doing the static thing. “That’s Ixion.”

As they grew closer to the tragedy, Seolhyun could see that there was a man in the center of the large wheel. “Oh, my Gods.” She clamped a hand over .

“Don’t make a pass at Hera,” Hades remarked, moving along. “Zeus doesn’t take kindly to another man making a move on his wife.”

That was absolutely ridiculous if you took into consideration the fact Zeus couldn’t keep it in his pants.

Hyejeong murmured in Seolhyun’s ear, “I thought Ixion was located in the lowest part of Tartarus?”

Seolhyun made a face. Only Hyejeong would know who Ixion was. She had to have been such a goody two-shoes in school, the kind of kid who’d raised her hand with the answer to every question. Dork. She loved her so much.

“We took a shortcut, so we’re several levels down.” Hades stopped his horse and swung down. They’d hit a dead end consisting of dark, slick-looking boulders. “There is another portion of Tartarus that isn’t spoken of in myths.”

Jimin dismounted with the grace of flexibility. “And that’s where we’re heading?”

“Yes. We’re going into the Tombs of Tartarus.”

“The Tombs of Tartarus?” Hyejeong repeated, sliding her arm off Seolhyun’s waist.

Ha! Something she didn’t know! Seolhyun cast her baby a look over her shoulder and then slid off the horse. She stumbled a step when her feet landed. The ground was oddly… soft?

Hades snorted. “It amazes me that you’re an Elpis with all your agility.”

Seolhyun’s mouth opened to fire back, but she squinted. Something was up with the ground. She took a step and her feet sank about an inch in. Aware that Hyejeong had landed behind her, she bent down and ran her hand over the pale pink ground. It felt like…

She jerked her hand back and looked up, horrified. “The ground feels like skin!”

A slow smile crept onto Hades’ face. “Zeus got bored with the whole rock and eagle bit.”

Rock and eagle…? Then it hit her. “Icarus?”

“Prometheus,” Hades remarked, “and you’re standing on him.”

Seolhyun’s stomach turned. “Oh Gods, I think I’m going to vomit.”

“Perfect,” the God said.

Jimin’s brows rose, but she remained quiet. Seolhyun forced herself to walk forward, desperately ignoring her gag reflex with each cushiony step. Behind them, several guards dismounted as Hades strolled toward his right. He stopped in front of a smoothed section of the rock and placed his palm to it.

Beside her, Hyejeong tilted her head to the side. The wall before them trembled quietly, and then the slab of stone glided open, beckoning them into the darkness.

One of the guards stepped forward, a torch in hand. He handed it to the God and then moved back, hands on his big daggers.

“We keep the Titans in the tombs,” Hades explained as he stepped forward. “They’re separated from the rest and have to be handled delicately. Their damnation comes in the form of eternal sleep.”

Cool air washed over Seolhyun’s sticky skin as she followed Jimin and Hades, and even though it was freaky to be walking into tombs, she welcomed the colder temps. Her eyes adjusted quickly. The stone walls were covered in glyphs, much like the ones that appeared on Jimin’s and her skin.

“Sleep doesn’t sound like damnation,” she said.

“We couldn’t handle them if they all were awake.” Hades continued down the narrow hall. “Their powers are weakened in the Underworld, but if all of them were up and moving about, it would be a problem.”

“So it works the same way as it does for the Olympians?” Hyejeong asked, staying close behind Seolhyun. “They feed off each other’s power.”

“Yes.” Hades came to a split in the hall and hung a left. The temp dropped another couple of degrees as they headed down roughly carved steps. “Once Perses gets topside, he’s going to get some of his power back. He won’t be at a full charge, but he’ll be as powerful as any lesser God.”

‘Any lesser God’ meant Perses was going to be powerful. Maybe not at the same level as Hades or Ares, but he wasn’t going to be any weakling.

“How many of the Titans do you have down here?”

“All of the ones who want to cause problems.” Hades disappeared into another corridor, and Seolhyun sighed, hurrying to catch up to him. “Very few are in Elysium. Cronus and his cronies are all here.”

Cronus was the father of Zeus, Hades, and who knew how many other Gods. A shudder s down Seolhyun’s spine. Hades kept his own father imprisoned in a hell-tomb. The hallway was a tight fit. Luckily, they weren’t in it for very long. They entered another chamber, but this one was different.

They were in the tombs.

Twelve tombs, to be exact. Seolhyun thought it was odd; the number. Twelve Olympians. Twelve entombed Titans. They were in some kind of capsule-like containers, embedded deep into the stone wall. A thick layer of reddish ice covered them, revealing only a humanoid shape beyond the barrier. But from the looks of it, Titans were tall.

Like gargantuan-size.

“Do you know that I’m actually older than Zeus?” Hades asked as he placed the torch into a sconce in the wall. “As are Poseidon, Demeter, Hera, and so on? But because Cronus was a , and our momma only saved Zeus, the world thinks he was the first to be born.”

“Didn’t Cronus eat you guys?” Jimin asked.

Seolhyun made a face.

Hades laughed. “The whole ‘swallowing us’ crap was symbolic for hiding us. He held us in captivity until Zeus set us free.” He walked along the iced-over tombs, and his eyes narrowed as he stopped in front of the tomb in the center. “Screw you, Dad.”

Seolhyun past a look at Hyejeong, who slowly shook her head, and knew she’s thinking the same thing she was. The corner of her lips tipped up, and Seolhyun flushed.

“Seriously? Could you guys go longer than five minutes without making googly faces at one another?” Jimin walked between them, scowling. “It’s distracting.”

Hades stopped, turning to them. “May I continue?”

Seolhyun giggled.

He let out a heavy sigh. “There was a time when Perses wasn’t so bad, and maybe the years have changed him, but I’m not holding my breath.” He turned to Seolhyun. “Are you sure you want to do this, love?”

Seolhyun’s gaze crawled to the tomb in front of him, and her pulse picked up. “Like I’ve said, we really don’t have any other choices.”

Hades stared at her for a long moment and then turned back to the tomb. “You don’t.” He placed his hand on the center of the tomb.

Seolhyun wanted to step back, but she forced herself to stand where she was. She was pretty sure running through the tombs would only end up with her being lost, and then Hades would make fun of her for the rest of her life.

The ice shuddered, and a spider web of cracks formed underneath Hades’ palm, rapidly spreading across the front of the tomb. Jimin and Hyejeong circled Seolhyun, a