Thud.

Thud.

Whoomph.

My eyes fly open. I gasp loudly, a body-wracking cough ripping through me as I suck in as much air as my lungs can muster. Water spurts from my lips, scratching my throat as my entire body rejects the seawater flooding my lungs. Three equally worried faces crowd my vision, one in particular breathing almost as heavily as I am.

"Wh—what—" Another violent cough tears through my chest. I have to pause for several seconds to catch my breath again. "What—"

"Hey, hey. Take it easy, Evie." Selene gently brushes away the hair sticking to my face. "Focus on catching your breath."

I push her hand away and attempt to sit up. "What... happened?"

"You almost drowned."

"Wow, really?" I ask sarcastically, before sputtering into a coughing fit. "You... you... don't... say."

"Calm your bikini briefs, smart-ass." Spencer helps me sit up, wheezing a little. He wipes his mouth and breathes in deeply, pushing his hair out of his face. It's only then that I realise he's kneeling next to me, and he's as sopping wet as I am. "I pretty much had to drag you up from the sea floor, Evie. You were literally right in front of us, and then the next thing we knew you were gone! What the hell happened?"

"I don't know. It all happened so fast." I pause for a cough. Spencer rubs my back gently. "I just... I dove underwater, and then something grabbed my ankle and dragged me down. But when I tried to look, there was nothing there. No matter how much I struggled, I couldn't escape. I'd given up when you found me. How long was I under?"

"Almost twenty minutes." Axel replies gravely. My jaw drops. "We were searching for you the whole time, but we had no idea where you'd gone. It was like you were a ghost."

"I was under for twenty minutes? How am I still alive? I should have died."

"Evie, you're not supposed to die." Spencer reminds me. I frown at him in confusion. "Remember that whole immortal goddess thing?"

"Oh." The realisation dawns on me. My eyes widen. "Oh."

"Oh is right." Axel smiles bitterly. He leans forward and holds his hand out. "Here, give me your hand."

"If I'm supposed to be immortal, then why did I almost die?" I ask, clinging to him shakily as he helps me up to my feet. "I mean, if you hadn't found me when you did, I'm pretty sure I would have died."

"We don't know Evie." Selene lets out a long sigh, sharing a look with Axel and Spencer. The two boys nod at her grimly as they sling my arms around their shoulders, supporting me between the two of them. "We don't get it. The only way that we can be killed is by the hand of another god or goddess, but I don't know anyone who would want to hurt you. It doesn't make sense."

"Does that mean what I think it means?" I inhale sharply, my gaze flickering between the three of them. "Did someone try to kill me?"

"I don't know." Spencer says grimly, wrapping his arm around my waist. He checks to make sure I'm stable, before glancing over at Axel and starting forward. "But what I do know is that we need to get you out of here, pronto. You're not as safe as we thought anymore."

— — —

"What do you mean you saw someone?" Spencer frowns, folding his arms across his chest.

It's been almost an hour since the incident on the beach. The others had hurried us back to the hotel and locked me up in the safety of a hotel room, even convincing the concierge to let us switch rooms just to be sure. After helping me into my room and double checking that I was strong enough to be left on my own, they had hurried out to share a hushed conversation in the kitchen, a conversation that was just too quiet for me to hear. After a few minutes of desperate eavesdropping, I grudgingly gave up and had a shower, the warm water both soothing my tense muscles and washing off the shock lingering in my system. I barely managed to get myself dressed before the three of them walked back into my room, demanding that I tell them again what happened and to spare no detail — and it was then that I suddenly remembered what had happened before I blacked out.

I puff out my cheeks, clutching the turquoise pendant tight in my hands. Selene's the only one who notices. "Just before I blacked out, someone appeared right in front of me, almost like they were floating in the water. They looked really blurry around the edges, but I could've sworn that I recognised them."

"Who did it look like?" Spencer asks sharply.

"Well..."I hesitate. "I don't know for sure, but it almost looked like Hades. But that's crazy, right? It couldn't have been him."

"Oh crap." Axel curses loudly as a realisation visibly dawns on him. "Hades. He's going to kill us."

"Why?" I shrug my hoodie on, flicking my still-wet hair over the top. "He won't know what happened."

"Evie, you're his queen. Your souls were forever connected the moment you agreed to become his consort." Selene says quietly. "He'll immediately know the moment you're hurt or in danger, and vice versa."

"Which means he'll be heading this way right now to kick our asses." Spencer deadpans.

Axel curses again, turning to kick the wall. "This is bad."

I frown. "Why is it bad? What's going on, you guys?"

"The fact that you saw someone, whether it be Hades or someone else, pretty much confirms that one of the gods was trying to kill you." Spencer runs his hand through his hair. It sticks up slightly in his hand's wake, courtesy of the saltwater stiffening up his dirty-blonde locks. "Which means that things have hit the fan big time."

Selene lets out a long breath and leans back against the wall. She glances over at her twin. "Ap, do you think this might have something to do with what happened with—"

"Arty." Axel stops her, giving her a pointed look. She matches it with an equally heated stare.

"Well? Do you?"

Axel sighs. He eventually shakes his head. "Yes. I think it does."

"Then that settles it. We have to tell the others." Selene replies curtly, her expression smoothing out into one of such severity that it scares me slightly. I hadn't yet glimpsed her ethereal side, but now that I suddenly was, it only reminded me how powerful she really was.

My gaze flickers between the two of them, but theirs don't budge. "Guys, what's going on?"

"Not now, Evie." Axel says tersely. Outrage floods my limbs.

"Don't you 'not now' me!" I exclaim, jumping to my feet. I plant myself between the two of them and glare at him. "Look Axel, I'm one of you now, which means that I deserve to know what's going on! I almost died because of this, so whether you like it or not I'm a part of it now! I'm pretty sure we're way past the point of 'not now Evie,' and we passed that point when someone tried to drown me in the ocean!"

They both still. Axel's the first one to move. He shoots me a small, wry smile.

"You're scary when you're angry, did you know that?"

"Yes." I snap. "Now tell me what's going on."

"Evie, I don't think—" Selene starts to argue, but when I round on her, her sentence dies down in her throat. She swallows and holds her hands up in the air. "Okay, point taken. We'll tell you."

"Good." I cross my arms tightly across my chest and raise an eyebrow. "Well?"

"A couple of months ago, we came across a dead ghost." Axel tells me.

My eyebrow rises higher. "A dead ghost?"

"Not what you're thinking." Selene says. "What humans think to be 'ghosts' are actually agents of Hades', stationed around the world as his eyes and ears. They're nymphs called the Lethae, and are known to carry around little bottles of water from the river Lethe, so that any human who accidentally saw them would have their memory erased. That's why ghosts have always been so aversive to humans. They don't actually see ghosts, they see the Lethae, but usually forget what exactly they saw because their memories are always scrambled."

"Okay." I reply slowly, my brain digesting the new information. "So you came across a dead Lethae?"

"Yes." Axel nods. "Arty found one in the forest behind your old house in England, around a month after you went down to the Underworld. She immediately told Hades and brought the Lethae back, but by that time rumours had already circulated. All the remaining Lethae in England were suddenly too afraid to be up on the surface, and Hades lost all his spies in England. Soon after that, all the Lethae in Europe disappeared too."

"Do we know who killed them?" I ask, and they shake their heads.

"It was like nothing I'd ever seen." Selene replies, her brow furrowing. "There were no visible marks on the body, nothing to indicate how she had been killed. It was like she had been killed by... well, a ghost."

"Why do you think someone killed her?"

"Your guess is as good as mine." Spencer shrugs. "Personal vendetta, accident, a human could've gotten the drop on her; the possibilities are endless."

"No." Axel shakes his head. "I don't think that's the reason. A human has never been able to take out a Lethae before."

"Someone also hasn't attempted to kill a goddess in a very long time either." Spencer points out. "Yet here we are."

"Nice to know I'm the exception, then." I mutter. "Thanks for that cheery thought, Spencer."

Spencer flashes me a quick grin. "I always said you were special, princess."

I roll my eyes at him. "Why do you think she was killed then, Axel?"

"To bring about the exact repercussions that occurred." Axel replies grimly. "To weaken Hades' intelligence network on the surface."

My heart jumps up into my throat. "What? Why? Who would want to do that?"

Axel shares a look with Selene. "Well..."

A loud rap sounds on the front door, interrupting him. The other three visibly jump, their gazes darting between me and the door. The person knocks again. Nobody makes a move. Selene slowly reaches behind her back, a bow materialising over her shoulder. Slowly, and quietly, Selene nocks an arrow and jerks her head to the door, just as a third, and more impatient, knock sounds. She shares a look with Spencer and Axel, who both nod and settle into defensive stances. Axel rolls his shoulders back and silently counts down to one on his fingers. The moment he closes his fist, they all move in perfect unison: Spencer leaps forward to fling the door open, Selene releases an arrow, and Axel brusquely shoves me behind him.

Time freezes for a moment. Then a hand snatches the arrow out of the air and tosses it to the side. A deep, melodious and achingly familiar tone rumbles through the room.

"Was the arrow really necessary? Had I wanted to harm you, you would be dead by now."

"Hades?" I desperately shove my way past Axel, my heart pounding in my chest. The person standing in the doorway breathes a sigh of barely concealed relief, his stiff shoulders relaxing.

"Evie. You're safe."

Pure , soul-warming joy rages through me like a wildfire. I run to him and throw my arms around him, hugging him as tightly as I possibly can. A stray tear slinks down my cheek.

"I'm sorry, Hades. I'm so, so sorry."

Hades stiffens for a second, before returning the tight embrace tenfold. He holds me close to his chest, pressing a gentle kiss to the top of my head. He speaks so softly that I know his words are only mine to hear.

"I am sorry too. I should not have left like I did, but my mind got the better of me. I know my behaviour hurt you, and I apologise for that. Just know that whatever my actions entail, it never is, nor ever will be, my intention to hurt you. I am just relieved that you are safe."

"I know." I smile into his chest. "I missed you and the weird way you talk."

Hades chuckles. The smile he gives me reverberates right through my body and sets my heart aglow.

When I finally let go and turn back around, the other three are all staring at us, Selene smirking knowingly. I narrow my eyes at her, fighting the urge to stick my tongue out.

Damn that girl. Why does she always have to be right?

"What happened?" Hades asks, his tone suddenly a lot more heated. Spencer flinches and takes an involuntary step back.

"We don't know, Hades." Selene responds calmly. Hades' jaw tightens.

"You were supposed to look after her." He replies tightly, his tone dark and his gaze stormy. My eyes widen. I was starting to see why everyone was so afraid of him when he was angry.

"Hey," I say softly, wrapping my hands around his arm. He doesn't budge. "Hades, it's okay. I'm fine."

"You almost died, Evie." Hades stresses. "You do not understand the severity of that. Deities are not supposed to die."

"Almost being the key word in that sentence, Hades." Axel butts in. He shakes his head when Hades turns to glare at him. "What? You know I'm right! Shouldn't you be more worried about the fact that someone else, a god, tried to kill her? I feel like finding out who that deity was, and protecting Evie from them, takes precedence over the fact that she almost died."

"Why else do you think I am here, Apollo? I am not here to smell the sea air."

"Did he just— was that sarcasm I just heard?" Spencer gapes, pointing at Hades. He turns to gawk at me. "Evie! What did you do? What have you done to the Hades we all know and hate?"

"Spencer." I glare at him. "Stop."

"Oh, come on!" Spencer splutters. "We can't just breeze over the fact that Hades made a sarcastic comment! That's more shocking than the fact you almost died!"

Hades narrows his eyes at Spencer. I can practically feel the energy around him darkening. Spencer baulks, his golden skin paling slightly.

"I was kidding, Big H. It's called a joke. You're supposed to laugh."

Hades ignores him and turns to me. "We must leave. I do not feel comfortable knowing you are up here, unprotected, while someone is attempting to end your life. It is no longer safe up here."

"What, and your solution is to drag her down to the fiery pits of hell again?" Spencer challenges. "We can protect her just fine, Hades."

"Yes, as the events of the last twenty-four hours have clearly proven."

Spencer cocks an eyebrow at him. "What, and you think you'll provide better protection?"

"Spencer!" I hiss, tightening my grip on Hades when he starts forward. "Shut the hell up for once and quit trying to piss Hades off!"

"I'm sorry E, but I just don't think it's the safest plan!" Spencer retorts. "Besides, you still have three weeks left up here; why would you want to go back to him instead? I thought there was a reason you wanted a break from him."

If I hadn't been focusing all my attention on keeping Hades next to me, I probably would have punched him for his complete lack of tact. Instead, I settle for sending him a glare that would have melted lava.

"Yes, and recently that reason has completely dissipated." I reply peevishly. I pretend to ignore the way Hades stills slightly at my words. "To be quite honest Spencer, I've been over this break for a few days now. I just want to go home."

"Seriously?" Spencer's face falls. "Why?"

"That's for Selene and I to know," I flick her a quick smile, and she smiles warmly in return. "And for Hades to find out."

I can feel Hades' questioning gaze burning the side of my head. I glance over at him and mouth "later". He nods understandingly and squeezes my fingers.

"Spencer, as much as I'll miss Evie, Hades is right." Axel speaks up. Spencer turns to him with a sour look on his face. "Don't look at me like that, I'm not murdering your pet snake. Evie will be much safer with Hades, and we all know it."

"You might as well be." Spencer mutters. I raise my eyebrows at him.

"Are you calling me your pet?"

"I agree too." Selene interrupts Spencer just as he opens his mouth, stamping on his foot. "Spencer, nobody can hurt Evie down in the Underworld, remember? We can't travel down there without Olly's help or Hades' knowledge. I hardly believe someone will attempt to kill her with Hades so close by."

"I know that." Spencer replies bitingly. "But how do we really know that someone's trying to kill her?" He flinches under the look we all give him. "What? It's a valid point! It only happened once!"

Spencer's last comment is the straw that finally breaks the camel's back. Hades explodes forward, his expression livid.

"Once is enough, Dionysus! She's supposed to be immortal!"

"Hades!" I leap after him, pulling him back just as Spencer darts out of his reach. I beseech Spencer with my gaze. "Please Spencer, stop. You're purposefully antagonising him."

Spencer steps behind Axel, keeping his gaze fixed on the fuming god in front of him.

"I'm doing nothing of the sort. I'm just trying to look out for you."

"Yes, you are Spencer. And Hades has a point." Selene speaks up. She hastily busies herself with packing my bag so she doesn't have to see the hurt look on Spencer's face. "Even though Evie's body is still weak from the deification process, she still shouldn't have been that vulnerable. I know as well as you do that no-one in this room wants her to be in any danger, including you. I know you want her to be as safe as possible. And right now, the safest place for her is with Hades."

Selene's calmly spoken words seem to placate Hades, because he stills, and stops trying to pull out of my grasp.

"Artemis speaks true. This may have been a one off, but we cannot take any further chances." Hades glances down at me, and his expression softens. "I will not allow anything to happen to her."

Spencer turns to me, his eyes wide with disbelief. "And you're okay with this, Evie? I thought you hated it when people controlled your life, but now that he's controlling where you go, you're silent? You're never silent!"

"I agree with them, Spencer. Hades isn't controlling where I go: I want to leave. My home is wherever he is, Spencer. I'm sorry, but it's true."

Hades doesn't say anything, but the way his fingers curl around mine says it all.

Spencer huffs, crossing his arms tersely over his chest. He shakes his head. "This is a stupid idea. Really, really stupid."

"Why are you so against this, Spencer?" I step towards him. My brow furrows when he avoids my gaze. "What's going on?"

"Nothing." Spencer grunts. He grabs his jacket from the back of the couch and brusquely shoulders past me. "See you in a year, E."

"Spencer, wait!" I spin around, about to chase after him, but he's already gone. Selene touches my shoulder, shaking her head when I glance back at her.

"It's not worth it, Evie. We both know he's already gone. You know what he's like when he's upset."

I sigh, looking sadly out at the hotel hallway. "I know. But I hate to leave like this. He's never left without saying goodbye before."

Selene squeezes my shoulder reassuringly. "We'll keep an eye on him. He'll come around."

"I hope so." I sigh, my shoulders slumping, and rub my face tiredly. After a few beats of silence, I look up at Axel and Selene and smile weakly. "I guess this is goodbye then, huh?"

"I guess it is." Selene smiles and pulls me into a tight hug. She hands me my packed bag. "Stay safe, okay?"