Last Shadow || Deception Book III

Chapter 24

Clarianna

The Furies set us down at the edge of Asphodel, eyed us with their beady red eyes and a slight snarl, then turned around and flapped back towards Hades' ebony palace. As soon as the flapping of their wings had faded among the restless murmurings of the spirits in the distance, I walked over to the closest poplar tree, its trunk silvery, and sat down in the long, silver grasses.

My thoughts were silent. Empty. I don't think I had processed a single thing during the flight over, and I don't think I was doing any processing any time soon.

I felt the urge to laugh. I was going to die. I didn't know why it'd taken months for it to really hit me, but it hadn't felt real somehow when I'd found out about my prophecy. I mean, it just said a star was going to burn and I had just assumed that it meant die.

But Thanatos had literally shown up in my face, then Hades had basically confirmed it.

I stared at the aimless spirits drifting through the fields, the silence thicker and somehow feeling heavier to me than the boulder Sisyphus had to push. Was this what waited for me in the afterlife? An eternity of silence? It wasn't as if I had anyone waiting for me in Elysium.

The dull scratching of metal sounded from behind me, cutting through the haze in my head, and I turned to see Nico sharpening a knife against a whetstone. He glanced up to see me watching him, then continued in silence until he was satisfied with his blade. "You ready to go?"

I stared at him. "Nico, I'm going to die."

"I told you that two days ago."

"No, I'm going to die."

"I know that, Rianna. I lost it back at camp. Remember that?"

I nodded mutely.

Nico stabbed his knife back into its sheath so aggressively I flinched. "Okay. So let's go to this source of all springs that my father mentioned and get some of our memories back."

I stared at him for a moment that seemed to stretch into forever. "You're coming?"

"If I don't, you might throw yourself into the Lethe." His tone was dry, but I could tell he was worried about what I might do. That made my heart hurt. All of the demigods had faced so much pain because of this war, because of the Titans.

"Also," Nico added, his gaze turning thoughtful, "I might get some leads too."

He paused. "Except we have no idea where and what the hell it is."

"Where the five rivers meet," I said quietly. "Source of all springs. It has to be there."

Nico scrutinised me as if he was making sure my brain had turned back on again, then gave a single nod. "So we just follow the rivers upstream?"

I forced myself to stand. The ground still felt unsteady beneath my feet, but I could feel my blood quickening from the slow, sluggish thrum that had filled my head since we'd left Hades palace. This is not new information, I told myself. You found out you were going to die last Winter Solstice. There's no point breaking down about it. And Elysium wouldn't be so bad, anyways.

I pushed the thoughts about my impending death aside. The war wasn't over yet, and if I was going to die, I wanted to die at least knowing that my friends and family could be safe.

"Yeah," I said, and whistled for Avalanche. "Let's go."

***

We walked silently along the banks of the Styx, the dark waters rushing past with the lost dreams and hopes of those that had left the mortal realm with regrets that would never disappear. Avalanche, who had joined us shortly after Nico and I had departed from Asphodel, had been clinging to me as if she knew what had transpired at Hades palace and refused to stray out of arm's reach. I buried my fingers in her soft fur, trying to seek some solace in her warmth. She'd been with me for as long as I could remember, my one constant companion from when I'd still been on Olympus, through the turmoil of the last few years, for all this time—my heart cracked at the thought of leaving her behind with Blackfire.