Page 2 of Queen to the Sunless Court (Brides of Myth #2)

A Beast

Calliste

A magnificent forest shivered and shimmered around her. Each tree cradled a shining orb in its crown, like a star that had fallen from the sky to be caught in their branches.

I know this place… It’s the Everlasting Enclave. But why am I here, alone?

She glanced at her faded-gold tunic, then at her pendant—translucent like a crystal, without a hint of green.

What does that mean?

She paused, trying to recall why she was in the Everlasting Enclave—until memories flooded back.

Tempest: a crazed, hostile deity inhabiting the body of a Condemned, imprisoning Hypnos and trapping her in the Underworld to finish her off, her claws sinking in…

Calliste lifted the neckline of her tunic, staring at the vertical gash across her breastbone.

Her skin was slashed, but there was no blood.

It looked unnatural, making her flesh crawl as she remembered that Tempest had torn her open to rip out her heart.

Now the chill seemed to spread through her chest like frost.

She shuddered and let the tunic drop against her skin again, noticing an eerie, tense silence thickening between the silvery trees crowding the vastness of the Enclave.

Why am I alone here?

“Am I dead?” she asked aloud, her voice like gossamer in the absolute hush.

As if in response, a path lit up to her right, light spilling like a shining stream and marking a way between the ever-shifting, burgeoning trees—somewhere.

Perhaps to the place where I should be.

She turned to follow it, still aware of the heavy, sharp stillness, like a blade hanging over the Enclave—as if a predator crouched somewhere in its endless shadows. Then she froze at the sound of thundering growls, deep and ominous, coming from the throat of a beast—or beasts—nearby.

Goosebumps erupted all over her body.

The growls ripped the silence again, slicing through the air like a serrated blade, echoing from behind the trees.

Her heartbeat raged out of control as she sought the source, only to freeze at the creature that emerged from the patch of shadows nearby.

She had only a moment to take in the sight before all six of its scarlet eyes locked onto her, staring from the three massive heads of a black hound larger than a horse, his serpent-like tail whipping against his sides.

She knew who it was in a blink: Cerberus, the hellhound guardian of the gates to the Underworld, who only allowed the dead to enter. If he’s here, searching for me… does that mean I’m alive? Or perhaps not yet dead.

Cerberus locked his fiery gaze on her, still as a statue for a moment, then bristling.

But I will be dead if he catches me. He’s not here for cuddles. Don’t stare. Run.

She spun around, her eyes scanning for the luminous trail, then raced along it.

Cerberus’ bark behind her was like an avalanche crashing overhead. She ran as fast as she could in the deafening noise, her feet light, as if her body defied its weight in the Underworld. She concentrated on the path of light, hoping it would lead her to safety.

Despite his size, he was a swift creature, leaving her no chance to escape. The pounding of clawed paws behind her was getting closer. When he barked again, the booming noise sent her tumbling onto the glowing path of silvery sand. Her head rang as she sat up, gasping for air.

Cerberus stalked closer, his growls deep and ominous.

Calliste pushed herself up, scanning the beast, her heart sinking at the sheer size of him this close. “I know it’s your duty,” she said weakly. “But I’m not an intruder. I… I’m not even sure why I’m here.”

Cerberus bared his teeth, saliva dripping onto the ground. Where the drops landed, plants sprang up, rapidly unfurling into dark-blue flowers.

Aconite. Calliste immediately recognized the poisonous plant, every part of it equally toxic.

It’s enough for him to scratch me, and I’ll soon be dead.

She swallowed, her stomach churning as Cerberus edged closer, sniffing the air, oddly reluctant to attack her, as if he couldn’t quite make sense of what she was—and then his heads snapped upwards as he focused on something high above the treetops.

A breath later, a shadowy figure swooped down from above, landing between Calliste and Cerberus and planting his massive, muscular form firmly in the hellhound’s path. His black wings unfurled to their full span, the light of the Everlasting Enclave bringing out their dark-blue sheen.

Never in her life had she felt so relieved to see Death.

“No,” Thanatos said, his nocturnal voice bristling with darkness.

Cerberus’ answering growls were like boulders shattering, making her shrink away.

“I said: no .” The god of death stretched out his hands and widened his stance. Cold, sparkling air swirled around him, lifting his long, raven hair. “It’s confusing, I know, but Hades has allowed her to be here. You must not harm her. ”

The hound’s left head snorted, as if in disdain, while the right one sniffed the ground. The middle one gave a petulant bark.

“Yes, I understand. It’s troubling you.”

All three of Cerberus’ snouts let out long, thorny growls.

“Yes. I know. No living mortals in the Underworld. But Hades made an exception for her.”

Though he and Thanatos seemed evenly matched as opponents, Calliste wondered if the god of death would be victorious if Cerberus chose to attack her.

The hound snorted once more, then turned around and stomped away.

She sagged with relief.

Thanatos turned to her. Now he seemed like a figure carved from moonstone and onyx, icy and forbidding with his black wings tucked behind him and his breastplate gleaming over a black tunic.

“I’m glad you made it in time,” she said, rising.

“So am I, Calliste. But you’re not safe yet.”

“No?”

“We need to reach your tree in the Enclave. Now. I don’t know which one it is—only you can find the way.”

She glanced over her shoulder, noticing the fading path of light which had led her as she tried to escape Cerberus. “There.” She rose.

“Go as fast as you can,” he said. “The closer we are to your tree, the better the chances they’ll save your body in the mortal world—”

Her heart faltered, the premonition quickening her step. “What do you mean?”

Thanatos matched her pace in long strides.

“Whoever nearly killed you inflicted a serious wound on your body. You’re not dead, but you’re very, very close.

Only the dead can enter the Underworld, and this is why Cerberus tracked you down, but even he was confused by your state—otherwise he would have attacked you earlier. ”

“And what is my state?”

“A peculiar one. You’re hovering on the edge, Calliste, and you need to reach your tree here to help those trying to save your body in the mortal realm. It will buy them time.”

“Them?”

“Panakeios and his disciples.”

Her steps faltered. “Panakeios?”

“He seems to be doing his best, so let’s help him,” Thanatos replied.

“That’s why it feels like I’m freezing inside.

” She fixed her gaze on the path of light to distract herself from the frost spreading in her chest. The light would sometimes fade, taking an unnerving moment to reappear.

After what felt like an eternity of wandering, she finally stopped, blinking at the path as the light faded away for good.

Iciness spiked inside her. She waited, her teeth chattering from the cold, but the light didn’t return. “Gods, Thanatos, I can’t see it,” she finally stammered. “It’s gone. What does it mean?”

He didn’t reply.

When she shot him a look, his perfectly-cut profile tilted upward. He seemed awed. “So this is your tree. I didn’t know what to expect… but it makes sense.”

She looked up.

It was majestic. Its slender branches looked as if they were painted with smooth, decisive lines of ink, covered in thousands of opalescent white blossoms and wrapped in a crystalline aura that enveloped it from root to top.

A turquoise orb of light shone in its crown, the glow making the petals shimmer.

Death stepped back. “Best if I stay away.” His chuckle was soft and unexpected. “Sit between the roots. Try to imagine healing yourself.”

She glanced down at her translucent pendant. “I have no energy left, Thanatos.”

“I can see that. But you’re here. This tree connects through the planes with your body in the mortal realm… just give it your best. There’s nothing else you can do—it’s all in Panakeios’ hands now.”

She approached her tree and knelt at its roots. For a moment, she stared up, admiring the ocean-blue light that held her entire life.

Then she touched the root.

And it felt like coming home.