Page 27 of Love and Death (Tempting the Fates #4)

Shifting to my feet, I hesitantly release my hold on the coat. Thankfully, Eros remains floating where he is, and I am able to fully straighten as I try to assess our current situation.

I can’t just leave him floating in the middle of the room alone. I do not know how long the obols will protect us, let alone what will happen here once I leave. At the very least, I must get him as close to the door as I can and onto dry ground.

Frowning, I move to walk around him, only to teeter and tumble to my knees. The water too unstable beneath my feet to do anything but stand.

I’m going to have to crawl if I want to make it any distance … which means I’m going to have to find a way to drag Eros behind me. If only I had a rope, or—

My dress, there should be plenty of fabric once it’s unpinned, and removing it would certainly make crawling such a distance far easier. I’ll have nothing but the corset and short, translucent chemise underneath to cover me, but I am alone.

And, with Eros trapped in his own mind, no one need ever know.

I make quick work of Florence’s pins, only dropping a few to their watery grave, and carefully push them into my corset. Taking the lengths of silk, I wrap them around Eros’ chest and shoulders to form a sort of harness, which I then tie the ends of around my hips.

Satisfied with my work, I begin to crawl in the direction of the door, only to have the silk around my hips slip its knots before Eros can be moved an inch. I try again, this time pushing several pins through the knots.

I struggle but somehow only manage to pull the god a fraction of an inch forward before the silk unfastens itself again, and several more pins are lost beneath the surface.

I let out a frustrated sigh as I pause to think for a moment, before trying once again.

Taking the silk firmly in hand, I wrap it as tight as I can, this time around my waist. Knotting the fabric several times, I pin the knots and as much of the silk as I can to the corset itself.

Bracing myself, I set out again. My muscles burn, struggling against the pale god’s weight.

“Come on,” I breathe, the makeshift harness straining between us, “don’t you dare break on me now. ”

A cold sweat breaks out across my body as I throw all that I am into the task before me. The world around me tunnels until all that is left is fog, sweat, and utter desperation.

And then, I feel Eros’ body shift.

I choke on a sob, but I don’t allow myself a moment’s hesitation as I use the momentum to continue my crawl forward, inch by precious inch.

The fog grows thick, pressing in from all sides, making it hard to breathe and altogether impossible to see what lies ahead. I can only hope that we’re still moving toward the doors, let alone that there’ll be solid ground once we get there.

The water ripples with every moment, each tiny wave working against me as I pull. It’s maddening and painful as the fabric digs the corset and pins into my skin, but I refuse to give up.

Pressing forward, I can’t help but wonder why the moor began sinking in the first place. I want to believe that Persephone had nothing to do with this, but part of me fears that this may have been her plan all along. To lure me here with my father, and then drown us together once I was alone.

But then again, I don’t think Cerberus would have left me with her if he thought she was a threat to me. Especially after what Florence told me about what the fate mark must mean for him.

Either way, there is bound to be trouble ahead.

The watery expanse seems to stretch on forever, and it isn’t until the entirety of my being is trembling and ready to give out that I see it .

Just barely visible through the thinning fog … the bank.

Solid ground.

Earth and stone and grass.

I could cry.

I cannot yet make out the doors to Persephone’s chambers beyond, but this discovery is more than enough for a new wave of hope and adrenaline to begin coursing through my veins.

With all the willpower that I have left in me, I claw my way forward toward safety.

Toward rest.

By the time I touch solid ground, I’m shaking, soaked in fog and sweat, and half-mad with exhaustion, but I’ve done it.

Almost .

I turn to tug Eros up onto the earth, only to slip on the edge of the bank. I land hard on my side, the jolt dislodging one of the coins tucked into the top of my corset.

“No!”

I reach for it, but it’s already too late. The light glints, catching on the edge of my mother’s name, as it slips out of reach and into the depths. I can do nothing but watch as the golden coin, my mother’s coin, is swept out of sight by some unseen current.

Crestfallen over the loss, I sit back on my heels to secure the three remaining coins deeper within the corset garment before turning my attention back to Eros. Bit by bit, breath catching in my throat, I drag him out of the water until he’s safely settled on dry ground .

He’s still cold to the touch. Still entirely unaware of the danger we’re in, but at least he’s not lost to Persephone’s deadly moor.

I collapse beside him, my chest heaving as I allow myself just a few minutes of respite. I breathe deeply, sprawled across the grass, unwilling to move a muscle, but I do not close my eyes.

It would be too easy to rest. Too easy to fall asleep, and that is one comfort I cannot afford to give myself right now. However much it may be needed.

Sitting up, I finally turn toward the doors, and my stomach drops.

They’re hanging off their hinges, broken inward, and with all the signs of a struggle torn into the earth just inside the threshold.