The Underworld Crown (Series)

Chapter 11

Strangely enough, I didn't feel guilty about punching Persephone.

She'd left me alone in the forest to continue my training on controlling plants, while she darted off to assist in the preparations for the banquet. I spent about one more hour by myself, working on opening and closing a group of Moon Flowers, before my stomach reminded me of my hunger and the fact that I also had to get ready for the banquet.

Erica almost had a heart attack when she saw me arrive in my quarters, bare-footed and covered in dirt and sweat. She mumbled something under her breath and ushered me into a cold bath, which she'd told me would had been warm if I'd arrived on time. Trying not to stress Erica out any further than necessary, I scrubbed at my body and hair as quickly as I could. When I was done, Erica helped dress me in a full length, sleeveless black dress with silver accents and jewellery. She curled my red hair and let it fall in waves down my back, saying I needed to let its colour be on full display tonight. It was easy to forget that, besides myself and Persephone, everyone else in the Underworld had black hair.

The bracelet gifted to me by Himeros glinted against the candlelight. I debated leaving it in my room, but then decided that leaving it would be exactly what Himeros predicted me to do. Unless, of course, he realised I would be smart enough to realise that leaving it in my room would be predictable and so he predicted I would wear it. I sighed, trying to alleviate the tension in my shoulders. The tournament was off to a great start. Before I could overthink it further, I slipped the white gold band around my wrist and left the room. The door clicked shut softly behind me.

"I should have handed you into Hades when I had the chance," a voice called. "Maybe I would have received the deluxe suit Cleo has."

I spun on my heels. Artemis walked towards me, amusement shining clear in her eyes, which were framed by heavy eyeliner. That makeup would have made me look like a raccoon, but somehow, she managed to pull it off. She ran a hand through her tight, high ponytail and pushed it behind her shoulders, covering the backless part of her dress.

"You're my neighbour?" I guessed.

She nodded.

"Well, if your room is anything like mine, I think we're privileged enough," I teased, then frowned. "But I wasn't aware that Cleo had been given a larger suite."

But it was so like Hades to want to throw his gratefulness to Cleo in my face.

Artemis caught up to me, surprising me by interlacing her arm through mine as we walked towards the Dining Hall. Her long, sharp nails grazed my skin, but I was too caught off guard to remove my arm from hers. She led us towards the Hall, somehow already knowing of its location despite it taking me days to remember.

"I wasn't aware that you were a Princess," Artemis retorted.

"Neither was I."

She snickered. "One day after we met, my mother was driven insane looking for you. She didn't want the Crown Guard finding out she'd utterly failed her one task of keeping you in the castle. It was somewhat amusing to me and my siblings. Your escape provided enough content to fuel our dreams for weeks."

"I'm glad my struggles have provided such entertainment for you," I said drily. Artemis didn't pick up on my sarcasm.

"I'm definitely glad I introduced you to Alek. I didn't actually expect you both to run away from Sloth City in search of the gate, but that was the nail in the coffin for Aergia."

Ignoring the reference to Alek, I glanced at her warily. "You've mentioned, um, disliking your mother a lot."

She tossed her hair back. "Yeah. I like to keep my feelings vocal."