Into the Dark: The Shadow Prince Part 45

"He said that if he is unable to convince the Court that I will bring Daphne back, then they will revolt.

That they'll tear through what remains of the locks on Pandora's Pithos to get out into the mortal world. That they'll come after the Kronolithe themselves and reignite the war with the Skylords." I can see that the full meaning of this has not reached everyone. "Between the Keres that would be let loose on the earth when the Pits open, the hungry shades and the tormented souls of Tartarus that will eventually wander out the gaping hole between the realms, and the Underlords surfacing so they can reignite the war between the G.o.ds-basically, all h.e.l.l is literally going to be set loose on the world.

We're talking end-of-theworld, apocalypse-level violence and destruction."

"Do you think he was telling the truth?" Dax asks, his eyes as wide as I've ever seen them.

"I don't know. I thought at the time he was making it all up so I would give him Daphne-but I can't shake the feeling now that he might have been telling the truth. He seemed too desperate. I've never seen him like that before."

"If you'd believed him," Daphne says from the table, looking up at me, "would you have made the vow to give me to him?"

I think about it for a moment-the thought of Daphne in my father's control. The thought of his sacrificing her so he can become a G.o.d, no matter how altruistic his motives supposedly are. The idea of losing her . . .

"No," I say. "There has to be another way to stop this." Two days ago, I would have never believed that I would say something like that.

I kick at a warped floorboard on the deck. "Guess I can kiss that wreath of glory good-bye, huh?

n.o.body is going to be showering me with honor anytime soon." I had meant that statement to be a lighthearted comment. To ease the tension everyone is feeling, but it came out more sullen and forlorn than I'd expected.

"You are honorable to me, Prince Haden." Dax puts his hand on my shoulder and stares into my eyes with a fierce determination. He looks like a warrior about to take up the charge. "I will follow you wherever you lead."

I am surprised at the sting of tears at the backs of my eyes.

"So what do we do now?" Garrick asks. "You kind of screwed us all over."

"I think . . . I think the only thing is to go after the Kronolithe myself. If I can find it before the Underlords break out, then maybe I can stop all this before it even starts. Make some sort of bargain that doesn't involve Daphne giving up her heart and soul."

"Where do we start looking?" Dax asks.

"There is no we in all of this. This is my responsibility. You all will stay here, where it is safe, while I search for the Kronolithe."

"Like h.e.l.l there isn't a we in this!" Daphne interjects before I can say anything else. She stands and moves until she's just a few feet from me. She has the same determination in her eyes as Dax.

"There's at least a you and me. This is my fight, too."

"Saving the Underrealm isn't your fight."

"Honestly, I couldn't really give a c.r.a.p about the Underrealm. But I do care about stopping the mortal realm from getting destroyed by the spillover. I'd kind of like there to be a world for me to actually tour when I grow up. Not to mention my friends and family's safety."

"I can't let you be a part of this, Daphne. It means going back out into that." I gesture at the barrage of lightning on the horizon. "It means facing whatever other dangers that are coming for us. My choices put us on this path, not yours. You should stay here, where you'll be safe."

"You seriously think you can stop me from coming?" Her hands are on her hips and her hair blows about her face in the evening breeze. She looks as powerful and unrelenting as the lightning storm.

"Two hours ago, h.e.l.l, even ten minutes ago, I was determined to stay here and hide from my destiny, but now you're telling me there's a freaking apocalypse on our hands because of me, and you think I'm going to sit back and let you try to stop it on your own? You heard the Oracle as well as I did.

Our destinies are irrevocably intertwined. Even if you find it, you can't get the Kronolithe without me, so suck it up."

"I thought you didn't believe in all this destiny c.r.a.p."

"I thought you didn't believe in having a choice in any of this." She stares back at me, her jaw set. My heart aches at the sight. She has just witnessed the brutal deaths of Simon and Sarah, had been nearly killed herself by a three-headed beast, had lightning hurled at her for close to one hundred sixty miles, and has been told she's public enemy number one for the G.o.ds, and yet she's willing to run into battle with me.

"And I think I might have an idea of where it is anyway," she says.

"You do?" Dax asks.

"Where?" I say, unable to hide my skepticism-and hope.

"Back where we came from. We need to go back to Olympus Hills."

"Seriously?" says Lexie. "You think some ancient G.o.d's Key is just lying around in some random, master-planned community in California?"

"First of all, I don't think anyone here still believes Olympus Hills is some random, master-planned community anymore. Secondly, Orpheus supposedly used Persephone's Gate to escape the underworld, which means he came out in the grove, doesn't it? Before Olympus Hills even existed.

The gate has always opened there, right? He couldn't have gotten far with the Keres on his tail. Not while carrying his baby and the Kronolithe. I'd bet anything that he hid it somewhere in or near where Olympus Hills stands now."

"That actually makes a lot of sense," Dax says. "The Oracle implied that no one but Daphne would be able to retrieve it. Maybe it's hidden somewhere only she can see." I consider Dax and Daphne's hypothesis. It seems unlikely that the Kronolithe is under our noses this whole time, but then again, one of the things I had learned in my training is that the best hiding place is often in plain sight. Either way, it is the best lead we have. "Fine. Daphne and I will return to Olympus Hills to seek the Kronolithe. Dax, you watch over everyone here until we return."

"That could take months!" Lexie says.

"Like Tartarus I'm going to let you two go off alone," Dax snarls. "We are in this together. I told you I will follow you anywhere, and I meant it."

"I'm coming, too," Tobin says, standing. "My sister is still out there and she and my mom are involved in all of this. If I'm going to find Abbie, my best chance is to stick with you guys." He looks at me and shrugs. "Besides, I kind of think you're not such an a.s.s hat after all. I mean, after what you did for Daphne, you might make a halfway decent human being someday. Count me in."

"Me, too," Lexie says. We all turn and stare at her in surprise. "What?" she says, like she has no idea why we're so incredulous. "If something is going down in Olympus Hills, you'd better believe I'm going to be a part of it. And there's no way I waiting here."

"I want to help, too," Joe says. "I got Daphne into this situation, and I want to help get her out of it." He looks at her for her approval.

She nods ever so slightly.

Garrick clears his throat. Everyone looks to him, waiting to see what he has to say. "I think you are all a bunch of lunatics," he says. "But I also don't like the idea of sitting around in the middle of the desert, letting you guys have all the fun. . . . Count me in-as long as somebody lets me drive on the way home."

I laugh uneasily. The sound ripples through the group.

"We should leave under the cover of night," I say. "Midnight. Skylords don't see as well at night, and the roads will be emptier."

They all nod like they're taking an order from their captain.

"It's settled, then," Daphne says. "We'll follow you into the dark." After a few minutes, the others scatter. Garrick takes the rest of his dinner out into the yard, and Dax and Tobin wash the dishes so Daphne's mother won't find our mess when she gets home. Joe fills a couple of water bottles while Daphne and Lexie gather road-trip snacks from the cupboards. Brim picks at the dinner I've left abandoned on the railing.

I stand on the deck, watching the storm that awaits us. Hoping for a break that doesn't come.

I don't hear Daphne approach. I don't know she's there until she slips her hand into mine. I wrap my fingers around hers.

I don't know what the future holds. I don't know how or if we'll get through this. But for the first time in my life, my destiny is in my own hands.

end.