ENTRAPPED ₂

73

MADELEINE DID NOT KNOW MANY THINGS ABOUT TARTARUS.

Perhaps that was a bit naive of her, considering that she had almost been sucked into the pit at age fifteen. It was best, as Annabeth said, to know your enemies better than they knew you―but Tartarus was no simple monster. Tartarus was not even Luke Castellan, though thinking of him left a bad taste in Madeleine's mouth. He had been the reason she had nearly gone the first time―the indirect reason, but still.

This time, she had gone willingly. If Luke was alive in any measure, he would be fucking laughing.

When Madeleine had been fifteen, just hours after getting out of the Lotus Hotel and Casino for the first time in years, she had nearly been dragged to Tartarus. She remembered dangling from the very edge, scrabbling at the rocky ground. She remembered sobbing as Grover, Percy, and Annabeth had pulled her to safety. She remembered those stupid wings on her shoes fluttering.

Madeleine had been through a lot of terrible things in her demigod career. That moment always resurfaced in her brain as one of the worst―because she had been so young, because she hadn't counted on any of them to save her, because she was going to die without even knowing who she was. It had been an awful experience all around, and Madeleine thought that was why maybe she never wanted to hear anything else about the pit.

She felt very foolish now, as she fell.

They seemed to be in an infinite circle of time, like they might be falling forever as an eternal punishment. Madeleine imagined Sisyphus and his boulder, and she thought about Nico's father.

"Which would you choose?" Hades would ask her with his cold, brittle smile. "The fall or the shove?"

Oh, Madeleine was so fucked.

She was holding onto Ethan with one hand and Percy with the other. It was pitch black, but the wind whistled in Madeleine's ears. She could feel the wings on her shoes fluttering, but they seemed to be confused and without purpose. Madeleine wondered if they were meant to do something once they had actually gotten her down to Tartarus. She should probably kick them off, but, oh, she didn't have the heart to.

The air grew hotter and damper, as if they were plummeting into the throat of a massive dragon. Madeleine wondered if this was how Silena had felt as she died, drakon acid simmering all along her skin, sealing her in her armor. That had been a miserable way to die. She had gotten the worst of it.

Madeleine was going to hell for ever saying a bad word about Silena Beauregard. Madeleine was going to hell for a lot of things.

Madeleine didn't know if there was a bottom, but if there was, the four of them would likely be smashed flat. Madeleine didn't know if her shoes would be any use; but in any case, it didn't really matter. She couldn't carry more than one of them―and she would be lucky, at this momentum. There was no way Madeleine was going to pick and choose which one she couldn't live without. She was tired of that game.

Ethan twisted in the air and pulled her close against his chest. Suddenly, they were all hugging―Madeleine could feel Annabeth's frizzy hair tickling her neck, could hear Percy's shaky breathing.

They were going to die. They were going to die together, at least.

They fell, and they fell, and they fell. It was a very hard fall. Madeleine wasn't sure it would ever stop. She could imagine Hades laughing. She wondered what he would do if he saw Nico's pale face, the shattered glass in his eyes.

She felt Ethan press her lips against his ear. He was holding her very tightly, and Madeleine put her hand against his chest. His heart was beating a mile a minute. He was so scared of heights.