Page 13 of Dead End (Crossroads Queen #9)

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

I stared at the two figures in shock. I didn’t want to get ahead of myself. It would be too devastating to hope, only to face disappointment. After everything I’d lost recently, I didn’t have the emotional capacity to handle that outcome.

Then I remembered the remainder of Dream Aite’s sentence: Maybe that’s why you’re seeing Tartarus, a taste of what’s to come for all your bad deeds… Like they could really trap the goddess of the underworld in her own prison.

Was that what had happened? Had my subconscious known all along and guided me here to find them?

The sound of my heartbeat thundered in my ears as I fled the cave in search of help. How had they managed to fit through that narrow gap? Did anyone know they were here?

Tartarus had originally served as a prison for the gods who’d been ousted from Olympus. Instead of returning to The Corporation’s prison or risking obliteration, had my parents staged a car accident and opted to imprison themselves beyond the company’s reach?

I’d bet the Castle and all its contents this was the reason The Corporation refused to share my file with me. They had evidence that suggested my parents hadn’t been obliterated, and they didn’t want me to know. But what about Annie, the Fate who’d said she cut their threads?

I shook off the questions. Right now, my only concern was getting them out of Tartarus. As the current ruler, Hestia was the only one with that official power.

I found my aunt in the snug, curled up with a home interiors magazine. She glanced up at the sound of my pounding footsteps and blinked the drowsiness from her eyes. “Melinoe, is that you?”

“Yes,” I said, catching my breath. “My parents… I found them.”

Her eyebrows drew together. “What do you mean you found them?”

“They’re here.” I inhaled sharply. “In Tartarus. I need help getting them out.”

The goddess set aside her magazine. “I don’t understand.”

“I don’t either but trust me. It’s them. I need to get them out. Now.” I bit off the last word. My muscles were drawn so taut, I was fairly certain my aunt could snap me in half if she felt so inclined.

Hestia hurried to her feet. “Lead the way.”

“We’re going to need equipment. And more muscle than the two of us.”

“You really haven’t recovered all your memories, have you?”

I looked at her blankly. “What do you mean?”

She waved a hand. “We need none of those things. Carry on.”

As fatigued as I was, I retraced my original steps. My thighs were on fire by the time we reached the back gate. I noticed Hestia hesitate.

“It’s fine,” I said. “Remember nothing inside can hurt you.”

“That isn’t my concern. ”

It was then that I realized—she didn’t fear what might happen to her in Tartarus. She feared bearing witness to what was happening to those already inside. Then she would no longer be able to plead ignorance.

I urged her forward. “Let’s go.”

The screams of despair pierced the air as we entered. Hestia kept her gaze focused exclusively on the path ahead.

“This way,” I said, guiding her away from the more active area to the black hill from my dream. I pointed to the jagged crack that separated me from my parents. “They’re inside this cave.”

Hestia examined the crack in the hill. “You’re certain?”

“Yes, I can squeeze in, but I can’t get two bodies out. I’m not sure how they got through.”

My aunt straightened. “I control this realm, which means everyone and everything in it. Tartarus answers to me.” Without touching the hill, she made a pulling gesture with her hands. The crack widened, leaving a hole large enough to drive my pickup truck through, which was a good thing because my father was very tall.

I rushed through the gap and dropped to my knees beside my parents. “Mom. Dad. I’m here. I brought help.”

Hestia clapped a hand over her mouth. “Merciful Zeus.”

I craned my neck to look at her. “It’s them, isn’t it? I’m not wrong.”

“I can’t tell by the state they’re in, but I do sense their presence.”

“I don’t know how we’ll carry them all the way to the palace,” I said.

“My dear, what did I tell you? I control everyone and everything in this realm. Move aside.”

I rose to my feet. She clasped my parents’ hands together and held my father’s other hand. “Take your mother’s hand, then take mine. ”

Together, we formed a disfigured circle. I felt a whoosh; my eyes closed, my body lightened, and I found myself in a room I hadn’t seen before. It was the underworld equivalent of a spa treatment center, complete with the calming sound of a waterfall in the background.

My parents were now on separate beds, side by side.

“Do you have a healer on staff?” I asked.

“This is the underworld, my darling. Why would we need a healer?”

“There must be someone here who can help.”

“I have an idea. Wait here.”

I stood and concentrated on the soothing sound of the waterfall. To come this far and not be able to save them…

I banished the thought. Now was the time for hope, not despair. I pulled a chair between their beds and sat. I held my mother’s hand first. Questions burned my tongue.

Had The Corporation trapped them there? It seemed unlikely. No one in Paradise had the authority to control Tartarus, and most of the deities there would have qualms about entering in the first place, concerned they’d be unable to leave.

Now that I thought about it, it was strange that The Corporation had yet to contact me here, especially given their stated desire to put me on the throne as their puppet. There was a chance the message I sent had gone astray. If that was the case, then Fairhaven was still in danger if they sent gods to hunt me down.

I set the thoughts aside for later and focused on my parents. They were really and truly alive. Well, sort of.

Hestia returned to the room with someone in tow. He was about my height with a full head of hair and a beard that would’ve put Santa Clause to shame. He wore a loud Hawaiian-print shirt, swim trunks, and flip flops.

“Melinoe, this is Asclepius,” Hestia said. “I don’t think the two of you ever met. He’s been dwelling in Elysium for as long as I can remember.”

Asclepius shook my hand. “A pleasure.”

I ran through my mental catalogue of Greek deities, courtesy of Pops.

Hestia placed a hand on his shoulder. “Asclepius…”

“Heals the sick and raises the dead,” I interrupted. “You’re perfect.”

“Save your praise until I’ve actually done some good here.” The god turned to his patients. “It’s been quite a long time since I’ve had to do any work. I’m bound to be rusty.”

“Nonsense,” Hestia said. “You’re the ideal god for this.”

Asclepius motioned to me. “Would you mind?”

I carried the chair out of the way and gave him room to examine them. Hestia gripped my hand as we watched and waited. I found it hard to breathe. Still, I was grateful he let us stay.

Once he finished his exams, he crossed the room to address us. “I can confirm that they are, indeed, Hades and Persephone.”

Hestia released a relieved cry.

“How have they survived this long in their mortal forms?” I asked. “They should’ve died without access to food or water.”

“They did, at least the threads of the humans have been cut by the Fates. What you see now are merely the remnants of their shells fueled solely by the gods’ remaining essences. In fact, I can see evidence of their original forms trying to break through.”

My head jerked up. “What?”

He nodded. “I can see traces of Hades.” He glanced over his shoulder. “Now that they’re out of Tartarus, I’d say give them time to recuperate. A couple glasses of nectar will accelerate their transformation. ”

Hestia snapped to attention. “I’ll have Phoebe bring them at once.” She bustled into the hall to tell the attendant.

“Did they feel any pain?” I asked.

“You can ask them yourself in a few hours, but my guess is no. They were in a form of stasis.” His eyes met mine. “What do you think they were doing in that cave?”

“You can ask them yourself in a few hours,” I shot back.

Chuckling, he dragged a hand through his impressive head of hair. “I’d love to, but I was in the middle of a heated game of pickleball with Ariadne when Hestia summoned me. I have a winning streak I’d prefer not to break.” He shook my hand again. “I’ll be back to check on them tomorrow. I predict they’ll have progressed by leaps and bounds by then. Tartarus will have drained them of much of their energy, but now that they’ve left it, they should mend faster.”

I hoped he was right.

I only left their side to eat and bathe. I even slept on the floor between them with blankets and a pillow delivered by Phoebe. Attendants washed and dried my parents, leaving them nude beneath the sheets. They were less concerned with preserving their dignity and more concerned with the ongoing transformation process. This version of my father was more muscular and his skin a few shades darker than the man I’d seen in countless photographs. The new version of my mother was taller with paler hair.

I administered their nectar through a feeding tube, as recommended by Asclepius, until they were finally able to drink on their own. As predicted, they were fully awake the next day. My father was the first to speak. He broke down in tears at the sight of me seated on the edge of his bed. His sobs seemed to rouse my mother. I found myself smothered by hugs, kisses, and a generous number of tears, some of which were my own.

“I can’t believe this,” my mother said, for what seemed like the fiftieth time in an hour. “I thought for certain no one would ever find us.”

“Was that the plan?” I asked.

They exchanged looks. “We did choose to hide there,” my father admitted. “We thought it was the ideal spot to remain undetected. A place that would protect us from discovery by other gods.”

“How did you ever expect to leave?”

“We knew that one day you would find us,” my mother said. “And you did.”

“Purely by luck,” I said. “Seems like a dangerous strategy.”

My father caught my eye. “You don’t remember?”

“Remember what? I’ve regained a lot of my memories, but not all of them.”

“You had a bit of a rebellious streak when you were younger,” my father began. “You knew Tartarus was forbidden, which obviously made it more attractive to you. One day you snuck inside.”

My mother pressed her palms to her cheeks, remembering. “We searched everywhere for you. It was Cerberus who led us to Tartarus. It never occurred to us that you would actually enter on your own.”

“We found you in the same cave where you found us,” my father continued. “You’d been chased by one of the tormented souls and managed to find safety there.”

My chest constricted. All these years, they’d been waiting for me to rescue them, and I had no idea. “I believed you were dead. Everyone did. Pops. Grandma.” My throat grew thick to continue.

“We couldn’t risk telling anyone our plan, not even Cerberus,” my mother said. “When The Corporation made it clear they were coming to obliterate us, we decided to return to Tartarus and hide.”

“You had to know that your mortal sides wouldn’t last. ”

“They knew,” my mother said gently. “They were willing to do whatever was necessary to keep you safe and, for that, we are eternally grateful.”

They. Dana and James. My human parents.

“We couldn’t have done it without them,” my father added.

I hated to ask my next question, but I had to know. “Did they suffer?”

My mother’s eyes softened. “No, sweetheart. We made it easy for them.”

“We hoped once you were old enough, your memories as Melinoe would guide you here,” my father continued.

“I don’t know if it’s because I’m a goddess reborn, but I’ve had some brain blocks when it comes to those memories.”

My father squinted at me. “How old are you now? In human years?”

“Thirty-six.”

A small gasp escaped my mother. “That’s older than I was … than Dana was when you were born.”

I wrung my hands in my lap. “I don’t understand why you got tangled up with The Corporation in the first place. If you only needed a break from the underworld, how did you end up as avatars?”

Another look passed between my parents. “Hestia didn’t tell you?” my father asked.

I tried not to let my exasperation show. My parents were frail and probably not able to think clearly. “Tell me what?”

“The reason we left.”

“She mentioned that you wanted a break from the underworld and left of your own accord, which is why nobody knew what happened between you and The Corporation.”

“A break,” my father murmured. “Indeed.”

Their reactions confused me. “Why did you leave?”

Both parents were silent. “You know what?” my father finally said. “Best not to dwell on a past that can’t be changed. The reasons don’t matter. What matters now is that we’re together again in the present.” He reached for my hand and gave it a gentle squeeze, which was all he could manage.

I dropped that particular question. My parents had endured enough trauma. Whatever had upset them in the past, I agreed it was best to leave it there.

My mother’s fingers stroked my cheek. “I worried I’d never see you again.”

“Can I tell you what I know about your involvement with The Corporation, or what I think I know, and you can confirm or deny?”

My mother nodded. “I think I have the energy for that.”

“I was told you were both avatars who escaped The Corporation when you realized you were pregnant. You fled to my grandparents, explained the situation, gave birth to me while there, and then were obliterated by an assassin from The Corporation.” I paused. “Except clearly that part didn’t happen.”

“We knew we had to sacrifice a relationship with you in order to keep you safe,” my mother said. “If we had maintained any connection to you whatsoever, they would’ve found you.”

“And that’s why you asked the Rozhanitsy to put the mark on my forehead to hide me.”

“Yes. They are outside our pantheon, so they could act in ways that the Moirai could not.” My mother frowned at my unblemished skin. “I don’t see it there now. It was…”

“A rose, I know. It was there. They did their job, Mom. I promise.”

My response resulted in a fresh flow of tears.

My chest ached. “Please don’t cry, Mom. You’re already dehydrated. ”

A tiny burst of laughter erupted from her. “Then I’ll simply drink them. Fetch me a cup.”

I didn’t want to leave my parents’ side, especially in their current state. This reunion was a longstanding dream, one that, in the past, had been constantly crushed beneath the black boots of a million nightmares.

“When did your grandparents die?” my mother asked.

The framing of her question took me aback, until I remembered they’d been Dana’s parents, not Persephone’s. “My grandmother died first. Pops made it until I was fourteen.”

“Fourteen?” My mother’s voice was pure anguish. “Who raised you after that?”

“I was in foster care until I turned eighteen.”

She gripped my hand in hers. “We are so sorry, my sweet. We never intended that for you.”

“You did the best you could with the information you had. Pops trained me. Everything he taught me… It made a difference.”

“I have so many questions,” my father said.

“So do I. How did you sneak into the underworld without anyone knowing? I had to take the river passages to get here.”

My father’s smile managed to straddle the line between smug and sweet. “I’m Hades, my treasure. This is my domain. If I can’t sneak my way in through a secret entrance in a Sicilian cave, then I don’t deserve to wear the crown.”

“Well, currently you don’t.”

“Fair point.” His chuckle was achingly familiar. How had I ever forgotten that sound?

“We’ll have some decisions to make once you’ve recovered,” I said. “Hestia has been ruling in your places, but she doesn’t want to do it anymore.”

“Is that the reason you came here?” my father asked. “To take the throne? ”

“Only because circumstances forced me into it.” I’d explain the situation with The Corporation later, once my parents had time to collect themselves.

“We could rule together,” my father said. “The three of us. Of course, you’d have to be in charge while your mother and I regain our strength. It will be a long time before we’ll have regained our full powers and the underworld needs to be in firm, capable hands.”

Oh, gods. Less than a week with my parents and I was already going to disappoint them. Making up for lost time, I supposed.

“I don’t want to rule,” I said. “I’m only here out of necessity.”

My father sat up straighter. “I don’t understand. You’re Melinoe. Our only heir. Ruling is in your blood.”

“Hades…” A warning tone from my mother. “You’re still too weak to get yourself worked up.”

“I haven’t been here long. Hestia instituted a transition period while I learn the ropes.”

“Learn the ropes?” my mother repeated. “You’ve been training for this since you were a child. What’s left to know?”

“She doesn’t remember, Persephone,” my father reminded her. “A blessing and a curse.”

“If I weren’t trying to keep my loved ones safe, I wouldn’t be here at all right now. I would’ve told Hestia to find another god to take over.”

“The cycle repeats,” my mother said, with a sad shake of her head. “We left you to protect you. You left your loved ones to protect them. When does it end?”

And all because of The Corporation.

“Why don’t you want to stay in the underworld?” my father asked. “It’s your home.”

“No, my home is in Fairhaven, Pennsylvania. I have my own house and everything.” I’d broach the subject of my demon prince inamorato later, lest I give my father a heart attack.

My parents exchanged smiles. “She owns her own home, Hades.”

“I heard. How’s your mortgage? What kind of rate did you get?”

My mother smacked his arm. “Not now.”

“I paid cash,” I explained. “There wasn’t a lot of interest in the house. It’s kind of a fixer upper.”

My father grew quiet, which my mother immediately noticed. “What are you thinking, Hades?”

“I suppose we could try to rule and release Hestia from any obligations, but our authority might be challenged while we’re in our weakened conditions,” my father said.

“I can rule,” I said. “It’s not like I can go anywhere.”

My mother observed me carefully. “It’s them, isn’t it? They found you.”

“You should rest,” I said. “I’ll be back to check on you tomorrow.”

“Good idea,” my father said. “You need to take care of yourself, my treasure. Eat and sleep as you normally would. We didn’t survive only to watch you fade to nothing.”

I kissed them each on the cheek and departed the room. Phoebe had a hot meal waiting for me in the dining hall. I ate slowly, my mind spinning with questions for my parents and answers for theirs. There would be plenty of time to get through them. In fact, we had all the time in the world.

“Would you like dessert, Your Ladyship?” Phoebe asked.

“No, thank you.” I longed for sleep more than sugar, which might have been a first.

“I wish the Arae were here to see this day,” Phoebe commented as she cleared my plate.

“Why are the Arae not here anymore?” From what I recalled, they were spirits of curses that dwelled in the underworld. Their purpose was to curse the living who were guilty of the death of another.

Phoebe nearly dropped the plate. “Oh, don’t mind me, Your Ladyship. Hestia always says I prattle too much.” She darted from the dining hall.

My limbs felt heavy as I walked to my chambers. I changed into the silk pajamas and heaved myself into bed, still thinking far more than I would like. I’d have to ask Hestia what happened to the Arae. Why would they no longer dwell here?

I fell asleep the moment my head touched the pillow. Small wonder I dreamed of the Arae. I slouched against the wall in the throne room. My parents sat upon their thrones in their full godly forms. One of the Arae stood before them to face judgment. According to the statement read by my father, she’d abused her power and cursed a soul in Asphodel Meadows who’d merely insulted her.

“Melinoe.” My father beckoned me forward. “Sometimes a ruler is required to do what he would rather not. Exacting judgment comes with the crown.”

“What will happen to her?” I asked. My voice sounded strange to my ears.

“She will be sent to Tartarus to live out her eternal punishment,” my father replied.

Little did we know that one of her sisters had been lurking outside the throne room during the proceedings. Upon hearing the judgment, she rushed into the room in a violent outburst and dragged me away. With her final breath, she cursed me. Then the unthinkable happened.

I died.

My heart stuttered to a stop. This was neither a dream nor a nightmare.

This was a memory.

Melinoe, the goddess of ghosts and nightmares, died. The surprise attack was the reason Hestia now had guards in the throne room. The reason the Arae had been banished from the underworld.

It was also the reason my parents left the underworld. Not because they needed a break or a vacation. Because they’d been ravaged by grief and guilt.

I bolted upright in bed, my palms slick with sweat. I struggled to breathe as more of the puzzle pieces clicked into place. As the spirit dragged me from the room, my father called upon his brother to send a lightning bolt to help me.

But Zeus didn’t answer.

My father eventually caught up with the spirit and cut her down before she could escape, but not before she exacted punishment of her own.

I no longer needed to ask my parents the hard questions. It was easy enough to fill in the blanks on my own. They blamed themselves for what happened to me. Somehow, they crossed paths with The Corporation; perhaps in their search for Zeus, they ended up in Paradise, and the company did what it does best—preyed on the weak. They probably promised my parents a clean slate, a chance to start over without the pain and suffering that accompanied loss.

The deities were downloaded into Dana Frost and James Clay, who met and fell in love. Then my mother became pregnant.

With me.

That’s how I was reborn. Melinoe ended up in Elysium and chose palingenesis over staying put. I wasn’t a typical case of reincarnation because I wasn’t a typical death. I shouldn’t have died at all. It was still a fluke, a miracle, a one in a trillion outcome that I ended up with the same parents, but fate had a twisted sense of humor.

And then, after all that my parents had endured, they were forced into a situation where they had to be separated from me again as humans in order to save me from The Corporation. Another tragedy.

They could’ve opted to be selfish, to keep with them the child they’d already lost once and hope the three of us were never found. Hades and Persephone—James and Dana—were better than that. Loved greater than that.

I’d spent so much of my life concerned about my ‘true identity.’ Goddess of ghosts and nightmares. Inflictor of madness, but understanding who both sets of parents are at their very core... I never had any cause for concern. Nightmares weren’t necessarily weapons; they were only bad at a superficial level. When considered fully, I understood they served a useful purpose. Nightmares protect us by preparing us for danger and focus on issues that require our attention. They help us process and manage difficult emotions. I didn’t exist to hurt but to heal.

And that’s who I was at my core.

Not someone who inflicted pain, but someone who helped others manage theirs, and in turn, I’d been helped, too. Gun and Cam. West. The ghosts. Phaedra. Otto. Dantalion. Even Josie.

Kane. Always Kane.

We helped each other.

My body felt full of helium, like I might float away on a cloud of joyful discovery.

I had to see my parents. To tell them I remembered.

And that I forgave them.

Despite my eagerness, I decided to wait until morning to see my parents. My attempt to rest, however, seemed futile after my discovery. I tossed and turned, grateful to have remembered, yet sad for all that we’d lost.

Eventually my thoughts turned to The Corporation, as they often did. My parents had been smart to hide in Tartarus. If they’d simply gone to the underworld to live openly as avatars, The Corporation could’ve easily shown up and overpowered them, not to mention their authority would’ve been questioned by some of their subjects.

The more I thought about it, the stranger it seemed that The Corporation hadn’t bothered to contact me here. They were relentless, as Kami pointed out. At the very least, it made sense for them to send an envoy like they had so many times before. Naomi. Aite. Mathis. Posy. Yet no one came.

They’d made it clear they wanted me in the underworld to rule as their puppet. What could have bumped me out of their top spot?

I was fully awake now. I yanked open my mental drawers and rifled through the contents. The answer had to be there.

The new avatar program that involved supernaturals. Puppet governments. I was only one piece of a much larger puzzle. Maybe they’d decided to focus on another one for now.

Worry gnawed at me. I was missing something; I could feel it in my bones. It made no sense that they would be so intensely focused on me, only to stop their pursuit the moment I did what they actually wanted and left town for the underworld.

The gears of my mind ground to a halt.

My head began to pound with the same intensity as my heart. The Corporation was no longer interested in me as a specimen because they’d developed an alternative idea that didn’t require my DNA. That idea, however, still required something from me. What would they do with an army of supernaturals injected with the power of the gods?

Power. They were always in search of a way to expand their influence.

Which meant they needed a clear path to invade all the other realms. And now, by manipulating me into leaving Fairhaven, they had one. A multirealm crossroads, the only one of its kind, and without a liminal deity to protect it.

I tore off the silk pajamas and changed into the first outfit I found in the wardrobe. There was no time to spare. I sprinted through the palace until I reached the recovery room that housed my parents. I hated to leave them so soon, but after all they’d sacrificed, I knew they, of all gods, would understand.

“I remember everything,” I told them. “The Arae. My death. I know why you left.” I moved closer to their beds. “It wasn’t your fault. You couldn’t have known what would happen.”

My father clutched his chest. “You have no idea what it means to hear you say that.”

I bent down and kissed his forehead. “I’ve forgiven you. Now you need to forgive yourself.” I hurried over to my mother and kissed her, too. “You’re going to have to sweet-talk Hestia for me.”

My father peered at me with interest. “Why? Where are you going?”

“To save the worlds.”

My mother clutched my arm. “Don’t go back there, Melinoe. If The Corporation captures you… I can’t bear to lose you again.”

“If I don’t go back now, this will never end. Someone has to break the cycle. If that someone is me, then so be it.”

“If you wait until we’re stronger…” my father began.

“I appreciate the offer, but there’s no time. I think I know what their plan is, and if I’m right, I’ve already lost precious ground.” I hugged my mother tightly. “I love you. I’m so glad you’re here.”

“I love you, too, daughter.”

Nana Pratt’s words floated to the surface. You have every right to be yourself, no more and no less. Of course it would help if you figure out exactly who that is first.

Daughter. Inamorata. Friend. Goddess. I was all of those things, yes, but no single one of them defined me. Strip one away and I was still myself.

I felt a quiet strength building inside me as I fled the palace. I finally knew exactly who I was and what I had to do.