Page 75 of A Touch of Chaos

She turned toward the cat.

Galanthis, she thought, remembering her name as she took one determined step after another toward her. The feline rose onto her feet and turned to lead her away, and as a cold darkness descended around her, Persephone could still feel the burning eyes of Hades behind her.

She hoped she hadn’t made a mistake.

CHAPTER XVI

PERSEPHONE

Persephone opened her eyes to find Galanthis sitting on her chest, staring down at her.

When the cat saw she was awake, she leapt to the ground.

Persephone lay there for a moment, feeling as though she’d surfaced from some kind of nightmare, except she could still remember everything. The agony had been waking to discover she was still trapped in the labyrinth and nowhere close to Hades or the life it had shown her.

Her face felt sticky with tears, and there was a bitter taste at the back of her throat. When she sat up, her head spun, and she closed her eyes against the nausea roiling in her stomach, remnants of poison from the thorns.

When it had passed, she rose to her feet, picking up her blade, which she found on the ground beside her. Scanning her surroundings, she discovered Ariadne lying on her side. She was awake, and Galanthis sat nearby.Somehow, the feline—or whatever it was—had pulled them from the labyrinth’s snare.

Persephone crossed to Ariadne.

“We have to go,” she said and took her hands, helping her up.

Ariadne did not argue, and in what muted light they had, Persephone could tell she had also been crying. Her face glistened, wet from her tears. While she wondered what Ariadne had seen, she did not ask. It was going to be hard enough to get through the labyrinth without thinking about what they’d experienced in the time they’d been out—harder still not to go back and find that place again.

If anything would take them down within these dark corridors, it would be that—the claws of a perfect world calling them home.

Persephone looked down one dark passage and then the other, uncertain of which direction they had come or which direction they should go.

She looked at Galanthis, who was licking her paw. It was as if she suddenly remembered she was a cat and not some other creature that could take down a boar and lead them from other realities.

Persephone picked up the spool of thread. “Which way to my husband?” she asked.

Galanthis finished cleaning her paw before she met Persephone’s gaze. Soundless, she rose to all fours and started down the corridor. Persephone exchanged a look with Ariadne before they followed along, quiet. Though Persephone had no ability to read minds, she had a feeling they were both dwelling on the same thing—their deepest desires.

She wondered if she could retrace her steps and stumble back into that world.

Suddenly, she felt a sharp pain on her arm. She hissed and looked to her right. Ariadne had pinched her.

“I know what you are thinking,” she said. “But you cannot go back.”

Persephone ground her teeth. She was frustrated, both by the fact that Ariadne had known exactly what she wanted and because she felt weak.

“The danger wasn’t the dream,” said Ariadne. “It’s the aftermath.”

Persephone knew what she meant. It was the yearning. It would have them both wandering the labyrinth forever in search of their greatest desire, never to find it again.

They continued on, following Galanthis down dark passage after dark passage, each turn making Persephone dizzy and disoriented.

“Tell me a truth,” Ariadne said, her voice cutting through the dark like a whip.

“What do you want to know?” Persephone asked. She couldn’t really think; her mind was brimming with memories from her perfect world.

“Anything,” said Ariadne. “What was your first memory?”

The question caught Persephone by surprise, and she had to think for a moment before answering. “My first memory is of me crying,” she said. “I’d reached for a rose because I thought it was beautiful, not aware that the stem was full of thorns.”

She’d always remembered the feel of it puncturing her skin, a sharp sting she’d felt over her whole body.

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