For the first time in a long while, I legitimately couldn’t see a way out. Not unless Lux decided to get involved, or Erebus finally chose to step up.
Is that a little piggy I see, flying in the sky? No… thought not. I dragged my weary self over to the far wall and sank down, since there were no beds or benches or anything remotely close to comfortable in this cell. Which I guessed was the point of prison, right? It wasn’t supposed to be cushy. But even Purgatory seemed five-star, compared to this stark emptiness.
“This isn’t good, is it?” Ryann walked over and sat beside me. I gave her a wary look, which made her smile sadly. “Relax, it’s me. Actually me.”
“You sure?” I leaned close, until we were almost forehead to forehead. A near-literal tête-à-tête.
She looked directly in my eyes. “I’m sure.”
“How come the Wicked Witch of the West let you out?” I whispered, pulling back slightly. Erebus was on the other side of the room looking preoccupied with his own thoughts, so I wasn’t too worried about him listening in. The others had dispersed in pairs around the vast cell. Huntress and Nash sat together in one corner and Melody and Luke in another. Everyone probably needed a moment to get their crap together, after what we’d just been through.
“She’s dealing with some things, so she’s taking a minute to think.” Ryann tilted her head back to stare at the cavernous ceiling, where evil-looking statues peered down at us from the rafters—sea monsters whose faces had worn down over the years, leaving messed-up blobs twice as frightening as they’d probably been originally.
“How’s it going in there?” I tried not to look at her neck, arched up like that. Not a good idea, when I needed all my attention to come up with some kind of next move. Not a move on Ryann! On getting us out of here… obviously.
“There’s a lot of rage. More than even she knows what to do with, I think.” Ryann rubbed the back of her neck. “I don’t have much control when she’s got the wheel, so to speak, but I picked up on one thing.”
“What’s that?” I forced myself to look at something else, and my eyes settled on a glowing rune on the opposite wall. If I tried to slam some Chaos into it, would it turn me into a thousand scarabs, Mummy-style? Or maybe just slam me back with some super-painful hex—the kind Erebus had a penchant for.
“Whatever is going on in Atlantis, Lux can’t reveal herself.” Ryann sighed and lowered her head, giving me some room to breathe. I should’ve been crapping my pants, yet my brain seemed fixated on nicer things. Like Ryann’s neck. All of her, in fact. Maybe the Atlantean atmosphere was getting to me, giving me a dose of nitrogen narcosis.
“How do you know?” I pressed. She had the insider intel, after all.
She puffed a breath. “It’s hard to explain. I keep getting these… visions—glimpses into some of Lux’s memories. But they don’t last long, and I don’t always have audio. So they’re not concrete enough to answer any of the million questions I have about this place.”
I rubbed my tired eyes. “Memories of what, exactly?”
“From what I can tell, they’re memories of Atlantis.”
I paused mid-rub. “Come again?”
“Yeah, I was as confused as you.” Ryann hugged her knees to her chest. “All I can say for certain is, Lux has been here before. She stood in some courtyard with Erebus, and they were having a huge argument about something. She was in a throne room, too, but then she… disappeared. I’m not sure why.”
“An argument?” An idea burst into my mind. “Was it about Kaya?” I glanced at the princess, who was still hovering around outside the cell, pacing the corridor beyond. A safe distance for us to speak privately, but a tangible presence. For all her warbling about us not escaping and her needing time to think, she didn’t seem to be in a rush to vamoose.
Ryann shrugged. “That’d be the most obvious reason. I’m guessing these memories are from the last time Erebus was in this city trying to pursue Kaya.”
“Fifty years ago, right? That’s what Kaya said.” I observed the princess closely. How old did that make Kaya? She’d told Melody she was offered suitors every fifty years as though it’d happened more than once, which suggested she had racked up some serious mileage. But she didn’t look a day over twenty-five. My mind struggled to comprehend it.
Ryann nodded. “Right. So Erebus must’ve been at the last suitor convention. And Lux found out, clearly. But… it’s strange. I don’t know if Lux had all the details back then.”
“Details about what?”
“That Erebus was actually in love with Kaya and wanted to marry her. I get the feeling that Lux didn’t think it was that serious. He might be bluffing, of course, but Lux’s response to what he’s been saying suggests he’s not.” Ryann popped her knuckles, looking worried. “Lux feels as baffled as the rest of us.”
Only one way to find out…
“Erebus?” I called, prompting Ryann to grasp my arm in horror.
“What are you doing?” she hissed.
“Going straight to the source.” I flashed her an encouraging grin as Erebus deigned to look at me.
“Yes?” he asked.
“You might want to come a little closer,” I urged. “It’s a sensitive subject.”
He rolled his eyes, but to my pleasant surprise, actually strolled over. “What is it, Finch?”
“Question. You know how you came here fifty years ago—was that for the same reason you’re here now? To marry Kaya?” Realization stabbed me in the skull. It was time for the suitor convention again. No wonder he’d been in such a rush to get here. If he’d missed this window, he’d have had to wait another fifty years, not knowing if Kaya had married in the meantime.
Erebus smirked. “Never you mind.”
“Did Lux know what you were doing?” I decided to go big or go home.
His expression darkened. “Now that is definitely none of your business.”
“But that’s why you’re here again, right? To be part of the suitor offering for Her Royal Snootiness?” I hadn’t actually expected him to answer my question about Lux, but his expression had given away more than any reply could’ve. He didn’t want to be reminded of the wife he already had, not with the side-chick still nearby.
“Speak of her like that again, and you will cease to be valuable,” he warned. “Actually, perhaps you should stop talking altogether. I am in no mood to answer your questions. This is between Kaya and me, and no one else.”
I dared one last jab. “Not even your wife?”
“Do not test me, Finch.” He narrowed his eyes at me, and I lifted my hands in mock surrender.
“Okay, okay, no need to get your panties in a bunch. I just want to get some kind of grasp on why we’re here, that’s all. You know, since you told us zip.” I felt Ryann’s grip on my arm loosen. I didn’t know if that meant Lux had taken the reins again, or if Ryann was satisfied that I was done asking stupid things.
“You know all you need to know.” Erebus strode off without another word, returning to his spot by the grate to mope some more.