Chapter 44

Selene awoke, lying on her side. Something wet and squishy was pressed to her face, and her head was throbbing. Every muscle quivered with fatigue. When she breathed in, the air filling her lungs was humid and warm. It smelled of dirt, grass, and trees. Vaguely, her mind registered she was above ground.

There was pressure on her shoulder like someone was shaking her. The motion made her head hurt even more, and she tried to pull away. She cracked open her eyes and saw a dark figure crouched over her.

"Sam?" she croaked.

"Selene, what's happened to you?" a voice replied. "Did you hit your head? Should I call 911?"

The voice was familiar, but she couldn't place it—like a forgotten word hovering on the tip of her tongue. She rolled to her back and saw a woman's face loom over her. She had crystal blue eyes, a messy bob haircut, and was dressed in black. It took Selene a moment to realize it was her sister. What was she doing in Aurelia?

"Where's Sam? I have to help him, Cass." Selene tried to sit up, but Cass pushed her shoulders back.

"Oh no, you need to stay put. I think you have a concussion."

"He's hurt," Selene tried to explain to her sister while squirming out of her grip. "He could die. We have to find him."

"Who's Sam?" The worried look on Cass's face deepened. "Just rest for a sec."

The image of Sam alone in the cave, bloodied and beaten, came to Selene's mind. How would she find him again in that maze of cave tunnels? Fear for him made tears fill her eyes.

"Let me up! We have to get to him! I can't just leave him there," Selene pleaded. She tried to push Cass's hands away and noticed how she was clutching something in her hand. A shiny white stone, wrapped in odd-colored wire and hung from a leather cord, filled her palm.

A memory tugged at her mind, reminding her that stone was important and needed to be protected. She shoved it into her pocket, then sat up. Something was buzzing through the air, miles above her head. Was that a Harpy? Maybe it was Brunie, coming to help her or even Pydiana swooping overhead. Selene looked up at the figure in the sky. Then she realized it wasn't a Harpy at all.

It was an airplane.

She went dizzy for a moment, and then looked from side to side. The trees surrounding them were smaller, nothing like the grand forestry of Aurelia. A robin perched on a nearby rock took flight when a squirrel startled it away. Selene looked at her sister, down at the puddle she was sitting in, then up at the sky.

"Where am I?"

"You don't remember?" Cass asked. "We're in Rugby."

It was as if a boulder of ice dropped into her stomach. All at once the events of the past 24 hours came to her in rush, like images of a movie on fast forward. The Underworld, Zaybris, Lilith/Lamia, the stone. How her thoughts had gone to Rugby and Cass just before the stone began to buzz…

"The stone took me home," Selene whispered.

"No, honey, you"re not home. We're in Rugby, remember?" Cass said. "We hiked down here to watch the sunrise."

Selene blinked, realizing Cass was wearing the same striped leggings and black Lycra jacket she had last seen her in. Her camera was on the ground nearby. "What day is it?" Selene asked.

"Sunday."

"When did we drive here? Is it the same day?"

"Same as what? We got here yesterday. What happened to you?" Cass said. She gestured at the trail down to the water. "I was only gone a few minutes. Did you slip on these rocks or something?"

"I… I don't know."

"Where's your stuff? And what happened to your shoes?"

Selene extended one leg to see that she was barefoot. The soles of her feet were caked with dust from her time with Sam in the cave. The sulfuric scent of the Underworld clung to her T-shirt, and now she was covered in mud from Rugby, Tennessee. She rose to her knees.

"Hey, I said don't move—" Cass said.

"I'm fine," Selene lied. "I just need to get my bearings."

"Drink some water," Cass said. Selene's hands shook as she took the bottle. After a long drink, Cass reached out to tuck a lock of her older sister's hair behind one ear. It was a gesture that Selene had done to Cass countless times when she was younger, especially when she was upset. Tenderness made the tears that had gathered in Selene's eyes for Sam spill freely down her cheeks now. All the worry, confusion, fear, and pain she had just been through came to the surface in a torrent of emotion.

I'm really home.

She pulled Cass into a tight hug and began sobbing into her shoulder.

But what about Sam?

"Now you're really scaring me. What's going on?" Cass said.

"It's… it's good to see you," Selene mumbled.

They continued to hold each other until Cass said, "Tell me everything you remember."

Selene sniffed and looked into her sister's worried face. Her first instinct was to tell Cass the truth about everything, but even her through her haziness, she knew how outrageous it would sound. The idea of explaining what had just happened to her made Selene start to doubt her own perception of reality. Demons, Harpies, vampires, cat people, other dimensions—how could it all be real? Was it just an elaborate dream?

"I must have slipped over in the mud," Selene said slowly, before taking another drink from the water bottle. "Can we go home?"

Cass nodded. "Yes, but we're finding you a doctor first."

After they both changed clothes and collected their things from the guest house, Cass drove Selene to an urgent care clinic about 30 miles away from Rugby. Selene had resisted going at first but realized she needed to know if something was wrong with her.

Selene made Cass stay in the waiting room then told the doctor her symptoms were memory loss and confusion. He asked if she'd been through any stressful events lately, like a job loss or break up, which made her burst into tears.With a knowing nod, the doctor reassured her there were other fish in the sea and encouraged her to try online dating. He performed all the necessary tests, then revealed she was suffering from dehydration, but otherwise in perfect health. He speculated that a reaction to her new allergy medication might have caused her disorientation, but there were no indicators of head trauma. She was relieved, but also troubled to not have a reasonable explanation of her experience.

Cass drove home while Selene dozed. Once they arrived at Selene's apartment, Cass took her luggage and helped her upstairs. It was unnerving to see the apartment just as she had left it. From the pile of mail on the coffee table to the dirty cereal bowl she'd left in the sink, nothing had changed. While Cass went to find her fresh pajamas and start the shower, Selene stood in the living room, trying to absorb all that had happened.

In the distance, she could see the Nashville skyline through her balcony door. She opened the glass slider, noticing how different the air was here—thicker, dirtier. She could smell the exhaust from the cars passing below and smoke from her neighbor's barbecue grill. Her hands tightened on the balcony rail.

What now?

Swallowing thickly, she wondered if Sam was still alive. How much time had passed? When Zaybris took her from the cave, she was sure Sam was close to death. It was a miracle that King Asmodeus had said he wasn't dead, but what if that had changed? Had Sam passed on to the Underworld? Or was he still lying in the dark cave—injured, alone, and sick with worry about her? Impulsively, she reached for the stone in her pocket, ready to try transporting herself back to him. But before she could visualize his face or wonder if the stone still worked, she paused.

Do I want to go back?

Snatches of the fight they had before Zaybris arrived ran through her mind.

Queen Thema's note.

Sam's lies.

The word bait.

Sam telling her only she could calm his violence. How he needed her to do so.

Anger simmered along with deep hurt. She had felt so stupid when she found the note, so betrayed. Especially since up until that point, she had thought she loved Sam. She was even thinking about staying with him in Aurelia before she learned everything about their relationship was built on a lie.

Cass called out to say the shower was hot, and Selene turned numbly. She should be elated right now, especially since she successfully avoided being turned into a living blood bank. This was what she had wanted—a way home, a reunion with her family, a return to normal life. Aurelian Selene was gone, long live Ordinary Selene.

Maybe it really was all a dream.