Chapter 29

Eurydice expected to feel a deep sense of anguish and anxiety douse her system, but instead, she only felt a stoic sense of calm. That journey haunted her nightmares until the day she swore herself off those horrors and drank deeply from the river of Lethe. But this was not that memory, and she was not that woman who”d suffered at the hands of Orpheus”s ego.

Eurydice took a long, steadying breath and looked around the room. Makaria, Persephone, and Hades were all staring back at her with either warm or neutral expressions. She was suddenly overwhelmed with the realization that she had found the favor of the gods all on her own. While Orpheus had only ever had the favor of Apollo, she had stumbled into the support of three of the Underworld”s most infamous keepers.

”Well,” Eurydice smiled with a calm shrug, ”what are we waiting for, I guess?”

Hades nodded in agreement and held his hand out towards the open door, retreating towards the dais. Persephone clapped her hands with glee and took Eurydice”s arm while Makaria flanked her other side, both goddesses escorting her towards the door. As they were about to cross the threshold, Hades cleared his throat, effectively stopping them.

”Eurydice?” Hades settled back down on his throne. ”I do hope that you shall never return to this realm, as much as your presence has blessed it. Go well. Have faith.”

Tears sprang to Eurydice”s eyes as she grappled with the weight of such good wishes from an immortal as powerful as Hades. What he said was true; if she made it out of the Underworld this time, as long as there were no ”incidents” like the snake on her wedding day, Eurydice”s immortality in the world above would be returned to her. It was an insurmountable offer that Hades had extended to her.

”Thank you for your stewardship, Lord Hades.” Eurydice gave him a formal curtesy, feeling in the moment like it was the most appropriate form of gratitude she could offer him. Persephone started giggling, urging them along down the hallway.

”He”s such a sap.” She winked. ”As long as you can appeal to his side of fair judgement, you can get just about anything past him.”

”Is that so?” Makaria piped up, her grey eyes sparkling behind her white hair. ”I”ll have to file that away for the future.”

”To be fair,” Persephone smirked, ”I don”t know if it will work as well for you or Thanatos since you aren”t sharing his bed.”

Eurydice blushed at the insinuation, and all three of them laughed harder, making quick work to catch up to where Thanatos and Hermes were escorting Pan to the gates.

The closer she got, the more Eurydice had to fight the temptation to kick up her heels and start running. What a world of a difference it made to be tackling the challenges of the Underworld with someone that she trusted. If this entire situation had proven anything to her, it had shone a bright light on how little she had truly loved or trusted Orpheus to begin with.

As they rounded the corner and the massive gates of hell came into view, Eurydice caught sight of Pan ahead of them. He was flanked on either side by Hermes and Thanatos, very much mimicking the position that Eurydice found herself in now. Persephone saw her face light up and released Eurydice, nodding in the direction of Pan.

”Go on, young nymph.” Persephone winked, and Eurydice froze for a brief second, her heart jumping up into her throat. Then, she was off. She started running, feeling as free as she had felt in eons. There was nothing chaining her to any one place or person anymore; only her choices dictated who she was or what she wanted to do.

And she wanted to run to Pan as fast as her legs could carry her.

”Pan!” Eurydice cried out, her voice echoing off the boundless hills around them. ”Pan!” Eurydice started giggling like a child, her feet barely touching the ground as she moved as fast as she could. The wind whipped through her hair, and flowers sprung up in the footprints she left in the soft dirt. Pan halted and turned around, his face wet with tears that he had been freely shedding in Eurydice”s absence. When he looked at her, Eurydice could practically feel the warmth of the sun and smell the sweet air perfumed with blossoms as he smiled. Pan dropped to one knee and held out his arms for her, just in time for Eurydice to crash into him at full speed.

They were delirious with laughter, Pan easily accepting the weight of impact and rolling them into the grass. Somewhere above them, Eurydice could hear the small chorus of gods now cheering at their reunion. She tuned it out, settling on top of Pan and cupping his face with her hands.

”My love,” Eurydice gasped, trying to catch her breath. ”We”ve done it. We”ve done it. Hades said...”

”What did he say?” Pan sat up straight, and Eurydice shifted in his lap. He searched her face for any indication of what Hades had decreed.

”He said that you are to be offered the same chance as Orpheus,” Eurydice breathed. Her smile was so wide, she thought her face might split in two. ”If I can follow you out of the gates of hell, and as long as you don”t look back... I can come back to the mortal world with you.”

Pan”s face morphed from sorrow to glee and back again. A myriad of emotions ran across his face until he shook his head, almost as if he was trying to clear the excess of feeling from his thoughts.

”Are you serious?” Pan looked from Eurydice to the two goddesses she came with. ”That is what he said?”

”Every word.” Persephone held up her hand as if she was taking a solemn vow.

”I can attest to it.” Makaria smiled, finding her way over to her consort. Thanatos kissed her hair and smiled widely back at Pan and Eurydice on the ground.

”About damn time!” Hermes crowed with delight. The wings on his sandals fluttered to life, and he clapped his hands in glee. ”I knew that old tyrant had a soft spot for love stories.”

”Don”t we all?” Persephone looked pointedly at Hermes, who blushed, and Eurydice assumed there was a story there. Pan looked at Eurydice, gently running his thumb over her cheek.

”Are you sure?” His voice was quiet, meant only for her as he ignored the chorus of gods around them. ”I don”t want to have to put you through that again if you...”

”No, no,” Eurydice shook her head and cut him off. ”I want this. I want the chance to do this with you. I”m not scared of it.” Eurydice started to cry. ”You”ve already followed me to hell and back. The least I can do is make the journey with you one time.”

Pan responded by kissing Eurydice, pulling her as tightly to him as possible. He ignored completely that they were being watched; all of his love and undying affection for her poured out into the embrace. That was something about Pan that Eurydice never knew how much she”d appreciate; he put everything in action. While Orpheus had been entirely comprised of words and sonnets, Pan was nothing but action. If he meant something, he proved it to Eurydice without a second thought. It never left her guessing or worrying about his intentions, and that relief alone made Eurydice feel light enough to float.

”Then let”s go.” Pan grinned, pulling away from Eurydice and leaving her with swollen lips.

Pan helped Eurydice stand to her feet as they were surrounded by the bevy of gods, all of them piling on good wishes and luck.

”You”ll do fine!”

”Don”t worry about it for a moment. You”ve already done it once before!”

”If you fuck it up, I”ll disown you.” Hermes added with a smirk, which Pan didn”t seem to take to heart, and Eurydice assumed that was a glimpse into how Hermes preferred to parent. Persephone hugged them both tightly, patting Pan on the head affectionately. Persephone shared a special kinship with Eurydice and Pan, all of them having some sort of sacred connection to the nature they were born from.

”I”m glad it worked out, old friend.” Persephone winked at Pan and looked at Eurydice. ”You are a perfect fit for each other.”

”It hasn”t worked out just yet,” Pan quipped, eyeing the long, cracked path that disappeared into the wall of stone past the gates. The gates themselves were intimidating enough, carved from wrought iron and obsidian stone, with the faces of some of the Underworld”s more infamous inhabitants, including the titans. Cerberus”s post just beyond the gates was empty, which meant he was likely off at home, scamming the staff for extra food. This entrance was not used for mortal souls who were arriving to the Underworld. That was handled by Charon, and this entrance was infinitely more intimidating. Eurydice was already catching whiffs of the sour scent of sulfur.

”It”ll be fine.” Persephone was elated as if she was already planning the wedding.

”Are you ready?” Pan helped Eurydice to her feet, and they both turned to look at the winding path ahead of them. Eurydice was looking at it with fresh eyes, every part of her feeling the need to run towards it and not look back—as long as Pan didn”t either.

”As ready as I”ll ever be.” Eurydice”s expression was tender. Pan grabbed hold of her hand and squeezed it, saying their final farewells to the gods. They were inundated with another round of well wishes, and Pan set off walking. He would be allowed to hold her hand until the path started to ascend, and he took advantage of every minute.

Eurydice didn”t dare to look back herself at the fading landscape of the Underworld. She had discovered parts of herself in her journey through the land of the dead that she didn”t know existed; she”d lost part of herself, too, that she wouldn”t miss. Eurydice truly had died to find herself, and while she wasn”t full of optimism in this moment, she was full of peace. After a lifetime and a stint of being dead, of optimism and false promises, peace was the most valuable thing in the universe to Eurydice.

The landscape around them slowly started to die; the grass withered, and the intense smell of sulfur got thicker. The shadow of the gates ebbed away until it disappeared into the darkness that was slowly consuming everything around them. The soft earthen path decayed into a cracked road of sharp stones. Eurydice sucked in a sharp breath and forced herself to exhale slowly as the memory of those jagged rocks across her skin came tumbling back. The road to the mortal world continued through a small crevice in the stone wall in front of them. As soon as Pan stepped into it, there would be no speaking to him, and he couldn”t turn around until they both reached the sunlight. Pan gave Eurydice”s hand another tight squeeze, without turning around, as she fell into place behind him.

”Any last minute doubts?” he asked softly, and Eurydice”s heart swelled. Pan was constantly checking in with her, making sure that this was something she was willing to go through again. Even as he spoke, his eyesight stayed dead ahead.

”Not a single one,” Eurydice whispered back. Pan nodded his head and stepped forward, stepping out of his sandals as he did so.

”Step into those,” he commanded gently. A fresh round of tears started to gather in Eurydice’s eyes. Pan noticed her determination to always be barefoot and knew she”d woken up that morning, and like every other morning, she refused to put on sandals. ”And follow me.”

Eurydice did as he instructed, carefully slipping on the much larger leather sandals Pan left for her. He dropped her hand and walked forward with his head held high. Eurydice took a deep breath, steadied her nerves, and ducked inside the tight crevice and followed Pan.

The darkness enveloped her entirely, and Eurydice found herself waiting yet again for the chaos to descend. She was prepared for the panic to grip her heart now that she was actually consumed in the recesses of the deep, but it never came. The rocks didn”t hurt her feet and maybe it was in her imagination, but the air was sweeter too. The sulfur didn”t sting her nostrils or make her eyes water. Even the ground felt smoother as she made her way triumphantly forward.

Time started to lose all of its meaning, but Eurydice was prepared for that side effect of the path to hell. She simply surrendered to it instead of fighting it, focusing entirely on her memories of Pan and the concrete knowledge that he was walking in front of her. In the darkness, a soft, gentle sound started to separate itself from the silence. It was melodic, haunting, and Eurydice was captivated by it; it moved her forward, refreshing her hopes. Eurydice didn”t know how long the music continued until she recognized the voice—Pan was singing to her.

With a melody more beautiful than anything she”d heard from Orpheus himself, more melodic than a single note from Apollo”s lyre. Pan sung to her, helping Eurydice weave her way through the path and the dark caverns of the roadway. She couldn”t help it; her heart swelled, and she started to smile. She knew that he wouldn”t be able to hear her if she responded, but he sang; he sang nonetheless, and Eurydice knew he was doing it to remind her that he was there. Eurydice”s smile grew even wider, and she laughed, the joyful, happy sound almost completely at odds with her surroundings. But then the atmosphere got a little lighter.

The dark, pitch-black world she was walking in began to turn blue, then grey. Eurydice didn”t put a single boundary around the hope exploding in her chest. She had done this before, but it was going to end a second time.

Soon, before she could even realize it, Eurydice was blinded by a bright light that filled the entire cavern. The rock pathway opened up into a massive cave with a mouth that would hold half a battalion. Eurydice started runnin,g and she ran until her entire body was bathed in sunlight. The stones beneath her turned into grass—warm, soft grass that had been touched by the sun!

Eurydice looked up and as her eyes adjusted to the light... There was Pan. He was still walking, refusing to look back, until he crossed the mouth of the cave, and he was completely clear of its confines.

Eurydice”s breath caught in her throat as she picked up her pace.

Not now, not now. I have to get there too...She prayed that he wouldn”t slip up on the instructions. But Pan was steadfast. He didn”t even look like he was breathing.

Eurydice let out a joyful shout as soon as she crossed the threshold, practically jumping onto Pan’s back.

They went tumbling into the flower beds surrounding the cave entrance, laughing like children. Eurydice was so full of joy, she thought that her chest might explode. Pan rolled them over until he was on top of her, cradling her face gently and looking her over for any injuries.

“Wild one, are you all right?” Pan inquired, pressing a series of kisses to her face. Eurydice flopped back in the grass and grinned, closing her eyes as she let the warmth from the sun and Pan”s love flood her senses.

”Oh, Pan...” Eurydice smiled. ”I”m better than I have ever been.”