Chapter Thirty-Four

We dress slowly, appreciatively eyeing each other. Nick ravenous stare has me believing he'd gladly fuck me again, and while I'm not entirely opposed to the idea, I'm sure it's only a matter of time before Circe or Cronus come searching.

Sure enough, once we both emerge from the grotto, Cronus shoots Nick a withering glare. In return, Nick flaunts a smug smile. While I don't care for Nick taunting the Titan, I've known Cronus for five minutes. He's definitely taking the whole ‘dad' thing a bit too far, in my opinion.

"So," I attempt to break yet another awkward silence, "thank you, Cronus, for your um, hospitality, but it's time for Nick and I to leave."

Cronus remains silent, a vicious glare still directed at Nick. Circe surveys the situation with keen interest.

"Right." I grab Nick's hand. "We'll just be going then."

"Not so fast, daughter." Cronus cuts his glare from Nick to me. "You cannot return the same way you arrived." Cronus must understand my expression of confusion, because he explains, "Nyx never had any intention of letting you leave, and now, you have no bargaining chip to sway her."

A look of concern passes between Nick and I before Cronus continues. "I will grant you safe passage from this place with Circe, should you agree to one request of mine."

Nick is the one to answer, his voice edged in suspicion. "And what would that be?"

"Just because you are the other half of her soul does not mean you can speak for my daughter."

I sigh. "What is your request, Cronus?"

The Titan's entire face softens. "That you visit me, once a year."

Well, that doesn't sound like a terrible request. I'm sure as long as I can figure out how to actually get here, I-

"No." Nick's stern and curt reply cuts through my thoughts, adding to the already mounting tension between the two powerhouses. Just as I think I'm going to have to break up another squabble, Circe thankfully intervenes.

"I can provide her safe passage to and from the Cave of Nyx." She nods at Cronus and I. "You have my word."

Nick starts toward the witch. "Aunt Circe-"

She floats her palm up, and he freezes in place from the simple gesture. "If you would like to leave this Cave with your head still attached, I suggest you refrain from speaking further."

Nic sets his jaw, his answering glower scorching enough to start a fire on its own.

"It is your decision, daughter." Cronus looks at me, hopeful. "Do you acquiesce to this request?"

"Do I really have a choice?" I mutter under my breath, earning a warning glance from Circe. I cast Cronus a placating look, and choose my next words carefully, well aware they have a weighted meaning when it comes to striking Bargains. "I will come to you once a year, on a date and time of my choosing, provided Circe can safely see me here and back to my home, wherever it may be at that time. I will stay no longer than one hour as it is measured by my mortal time frame. "

Cronus huffs a bit, like he's disappointed he wasn't able to dupe me.

"Well?"

"You have a deal, daughter," the Titan says gruffly.

I'd really like for him to stop calling me daughter.

I smile awkwardly, because there's no way in all of Hades' realm that I'm going to give this large mass of brooding muscle a hug, biological father or not.

"Let's go, Rhi," Nick says with a possessive lilt.

"He is not welcome here when you visit, daughter," Cronus fires back.

"As if I-" Nick starts, but I cut him off with glare.

" Enough." My voice drips with vitriol, and thankfully, both men finally shut the fuck up.

"If we're done here, I'd like to return home," Circe quips.

I nod, tugging Nick towards his Aunt.

"One more thing, daughter." Cronus's warning tone stops me in my tracks, and I turn to face him. "Be vigilant upon your return. Trust no one. They're coming for you."

My jaw drops hearing the same words Kassi spoke. I'd nearly forgotten about that part of her warning. Yet the Titan vanishes before I can probe further on his statement, leaving my skin crawling with those parting words.

Nick and I follow Circe through a hidden tunnel in the back of the Cave, its opening glamoured to look like an impenetrable stalagmite protruding from the floor. The witch holds her hand aloft, a soft glowing emanating from her palm to illuminate our path through the darkness.

"Who do you think Cronus is referring to?" I ask aloud.

Circe doesn't respond, but Nick mulls it over before answering. "I'm not sure. The logical solution would be to ask Leviathan, but there is no way for me to reach him until…"

Nick's trails, the remainder of his sentence a sledgehammer to my heart.

Until he dies.

"Perhaps the witches of Ravenhollow?" he amends quickly. "Though I can't for the life of me fathom what they would want."

Circe snickers and shakes her head.

"Who are the witches of Ravenhollow?" I ask. We continue winding down the dark tunnel, our surroundings unchanging .

"Ravenhollow is a university in upstate New York. On paper, it's similar to Alystair in prestige and exclusivity, but also like Alystair, its students are of a different caliber."

"Let me guess," I interrupt. "They're witches."

Nick smiles. "‘Witches' is putting it lightly. They're extremely dangerous, not to mention entitled, and look down their noses on anyone who isn't like them. They even have a hierarchy amongst themselves. Those accepted into Covens, and those that aren't. The witch families function similar to the mafia. They have no qualms about who they need to lie to, cheat, or steal from in order to gain power and hold on to it."

"Sounds very Machiavellian."

"Indeed, it is."

"But you don't think it's them, Circe?"

"No," she replies without turning around. "Absolutely not."

A blinding light has me throwing my arm in front of my face, and I blink furiously as the gates of Alystair appear before my eyes.

"And this is where I leave you," Circe says. "It's been…enlightening, but I do have my own soulmate to return to you, so, farewell." She turns and flips her hand in the air in a dismissive wave, putting further distance between herself and the school .

"Circe, wait." I jog up to her. She turns to me with an expectant look.

"Thank you," I breathe out, hoping she understands those two words encompass more than just what she did for Nick and I in the Cave.

The sorceress nods her head. "I meant what I said in the Cave of Nyx. I'd love to tell you about your mother, so please come to Strega when you can."

"I will."

With that, Circe takes off again, disappearing just before rounding the corner.

Maybe that's where Nick gets it from. He stands looking after me, still clad in the all black getup Hades gifted us to venture into Tartaros. The thin material outlines his firm chest, tapering down to his slim waist, hugging the sculpted abdomen I know is underneath the fabric.

Gods, I will never tire of looking at this man.

"So," I start as I settle by his side, "Aunt Circe?"

He winces, releasing a sigh. "I was waiting for you to bring that up. Circe is not my aunt by blood. Her and my mother are old friends, and she was there when I was born. She offered to train me when I came into my powers, knowing only someone like herself could help me harness them and control the monster inside me." He pauses as the gates swing open of their own accord, and we head towards campus. "She didn't want anyone to know we knew each other, because she told me the people she loved had been taken from her in the past, and she didn't want that to happen again."

Sorrow clenches my heart. The people she loved…Lyncus. My mother. I really need to visit Circe sooner rather than later.

"I just don't understand why you thought she'd hurt me."

"I had no idea about her history with Scylla, other than what we were taught from our myths. Discovering what she did for you, and her relationship with your mom came as a shock to me, too."

We clear the campus grounds, Northgate looming before us in all its gothic, magnificent glory. Only a few students pepper the benches scattered throughout the campus lawn, and judging by the way the sun dips low behind Westbourne, I'm guessing it's just about evening.

Which means we've been gone nearly an entire day. The girls must be losing their shit. I pat the sides of my pocketless legs.

"Where are our phones?"

Nick shrugs. "Likely still at Hades' penthouse."

I groan.

"I'll see if someone can deliver them," he says, and I breathe a sigh of relief he hadn't suggested he go back there himself to retrieve them. We already both walked away tethered to the King and Queen of the Underworld. Who knows what else Hades would ask of Nick simply for the return of a cellular device.

Nick walks me to my dorm room, ignoring the incredulous glances of passersby. Truthfully, who can blame them? The last time anyone saw the two of us together, we were attacking each other, and I almost killed him.

He pauses as we reach my door. "Talk to the girls, Rhi. Let them know you and I are fine, and what we discovered." He presses a quick kiss to my lips before he leaves.

"What are you going to do?" I call after him.

He turns and continues walking backwards effortlessly, hands still in his pockets. "Figure out how to get our phones back." He grins before facing forward and disappearing into the stairwell.

I open the door to the room, fully expected to be bombarded by the girls, or, at the very least, Zo. Instead, I'm greeted with an empty space, and my eyes zero in a familiar device lying flat on my desk.

One I thought I'd never see again.

My cell phone shimmers in the last of the sun's dying rays, and I pick up to discover a text message from none other than the Queen of the Underworld herself.

Persephone

We figured you would need this back. I took the liberty of storing your number in my phone. Isn't that what friends do, after all?

A smile pulls at my mouth, ready to send her a response when the glaring red notification symbol turns my attention elsewhere.

So many messages from the girls. Missed phone calls. Voicemails. I scroll through my missed calls, guilt swimming through me as I note missed call after missed call from each of my friends. But then there's a name that catches me off guard, and I switch back to my text messages. More from the girls, asking after my whereabouts and my safety. My gaze finally lands on one that is separate from the others.

Jesse

Rhi, I know you don't want to talk to me, but I need you. Something's happened. Please call me.

I check the time. That was from early this morning.

The lock on the door beeps, signaling someone entering, and sure enough, Zo walks in, and her dark eyes widen in relief when she sees me.

"Rhi!" She throws herself onto me.

I collapse onto my bed beneath Zo's affectionate tackle. "Hi, Zo."

"You're alive! What happened? Is Nick okay? We were all worried sick! Why didn't you text any of us?" The questions roll into one another, as Zo barely takes a breath in between firing them off.

"I'm fine." I gently push her off me. "Nick is fine. As for what happened…gang meeting?" I do not want to iterate this three more times.

Zo nods. "Gang meeting!" And then she gets to work on texting the other girls, who show up within minutes and hug me as fiercely as Zo did.

I spare no details, filling them in on everything from Hades' not-so-subtle suggestion of a foursome to finding out my parentage. I leave out Nick's relationship with Circe, his words resonating that she kept him a secret so nothing else she loved could be taken from her. Besides, that's his story to tell. I, however, have one more piece of information to share, but I want my friends to get over the shock that Cronus, King of the Titans, is my father and my mother was the one and only Scylla .

"So, you're like, really fucking powerful." Zo regards me with newly sparked interest.

I shrug. "Maybe? I'm still not completely sure what I can do. I didn't want to spend any more time in the Cave of Nyx than necessary, so I guess I'll find out more when I visit him next month."

B shakes her head in disbelief. "This is all so wild."

"At least you were able to fulfill your end of the Bargain," Astrid pipes in. "Now they will leave you alone, and you and Nick can run off into the sunset."

I force a smile, and Scarlett's intense stare tells me she sees right through it.

"Speaking of Nick and I," I begin, "there's something else I need to tell you."

Astrid, Scar and B lean forward slightly, sitting across from me on Zo's bed. Zo, who is standing, swivels her gaze to me.

"Nick and I we're…" I blow out a breath. "Soulmates."

Four jaws drop in unison. Scar is the first to recover, her hazel eyes glassy. "I knew it."

Astrid shocks me by smiling. "That's amazing. I'm so happy for the both of you."

"Yeah," B agrees. "Finding your soulmate is so rare."

"How did you find out?" Zo asks.

I explain what happened when my Thread was finally revealed, how it melded effortlessly with Nick's.

"That's so fucking incredible," Zo says. "It must have been amazing to see."

I nod. "It was."

After I shower and change, we end up ordering our favorite food, pizza, and spend the rest of the early evening laughing and talking about mundane topics, fitting for nineteen-year-old girls rather than our usual talk of prophecies and bloodshed.

It isn't until my phone rings again with a familiar name on the caller ID that I'm wrenched from my peaceful evening.

"I have to take this." I stand and leave the room before the girls can question me and answer the phone as I continue to put distance between myself and my room.

"Rhi, please don't hang up," Jesse's voice implores, his tone borderline desperate.

"I wasn't going to hang up. What's wrong?"

"Something's happened, and I really need to speak with you. I need to see you. Please."

Something's happened. My gut twists painfully. He'd sent that in the text message, but before I could reach out, Zo came back, and I completely forgot about him. I may not want him romantically, but that doesn't erase years of friendship, and I've treated him horribly.

Jesse has already lost his father. What if…

"Are your mom and Lucas ok?"

"Yes. They're fine. I just really need to see you. Can you meet me at Kruptos?"

A sharp inhale of my breath must alert him to the fact I'm about to protest, but he nearly wrenches my heart from my chest with a despondent " please," in a shaky voice that I've never heard leave his mouth.

I chew on my bottom lip, Jesse's heavy, unsteady breathing filtering in from the other end of the phone, before I finally make a decision. "Ok. I'm on my way."