Aster watched Cin sitting at the countertop reading something on her phone for a moment, before she cleared her throat. She had a lot to apologize for, but they were sisters. Maybe not by blood, but that didn’t matter, so they would work through it.

“Hey, S—” Cin caught herself just before using Aster’s nickname.

“Hey.” She shoved her hands into her pockets and then yanked one out to shove a lock of hair behind her ear. “Listen, I don’t know what’s going on with me and my visions, hell, with me in general, but I wanted to apologize for how I treated you. I know we’ve spoken since then and moved on, but I just . . . I wanted to make it clear that I regret what I said. You are my family, always will be.”

“I forgave you as soon as you said it. Don’t worry about it,” Cin said, standing and wrapping her arms around Aster.

“Thanks. I know I was a bitch, and you don’t deserve to be treated like that. We’ve both been through hell the last couple months. I wish things could have been different, but then you wouldn’t have found Thad, and I would never take that away from you.”

“Sweetie, really, it’s okay.”

Aster nodded. “The thing is, I need a favor, and you’re the only person I know who can help me.”

“Okay . . .”

Taking a deep breath, she took the plunge. “I need to go to the Underworld.” Before Cin could protest, Aster told her all about Chloe, Lycus, and Phobetor. “I know it’s crazy, but he’s the one who is causing this, and I just want it to stop.”

Cin let out a slow whistle. “Man, when you ask for a favor, you really go for it, don’t you?”

“I wish I could ask for a different favor, believe me. It’s not like I want to go to the Underworld.” Realizing she might had just insulted her sister, again, she hastily added, “I mean, I’m sure it’s a nice place. I’d just never had it on my bucket list, you know?”

“Oh, I know.”

“So you’ll take me?”

“I really wish you would ask for a different favor, but I will take you. Fair warning, you may have to meet Hades, though. He’s pretty chill, but can be a bit persnickety about who comes and goes from his kingdom.”

“Oh, uh, sure.” The idea of meeting one of the most revered and feared gods in history made her shiver. She hoped that it didn’t come to that, but at the same time, she was sure she’d find it fascinating.

Cin stood, patting her pockets until she found her cell phone. “I’ll need to ask for directions so we don’t get lost. And, most importantly, do not let go of my hand for any reason whatsoever. If you do, the Underworld will literally drain the life right out of you. Clear?”

“Clear.”

She was texting back and forth with someone about directions. For all she knew, it could have been Cin’s birth mother. They had met and spent some time together, but Aster got the sense that they didn’t really get along.

“So your mom and dad never got back together?” Cin asked as she tucked the phone away into a pocket again.

Aster shook her head. “Phobetor wouldn’t allow it. Chloe can’t even bring herself to contact Lycus. It’s so heartbreaking. She’s still marked and has nightmares. Poor woman only sleeps a few hours a night. It just doesn’t seem right, you know?”

“I wouldn’t be able to live like that, that’s for sure. Now, hand, please, and remember what I said.” Cin stuck her hand out and waited until Aster took it.

Her sister’s vice-like grip ensured that even if she relaxed her hand, they wouldn’t lose their connection. She wasn’t about to let go. She’d survived the Order of Talos, and she and Dem had just reconnected. Letting the Underworld suck the life out of her was not on her agenda.

The room shifted, and just like jumping with one of the siren brothers, everything went black for a moment before seeming to come into focus once more, only this time they were somewhere dark and chilly.

Looking around briefly before Cin started tugging on her hand, Aster saw rock everywhere, like they were in a cave, or a tunnel judging by the way Cin was moving. After walking for a while, they ended up in a fancy room.

There was a bar on one side and couches and a TV on the other. Lanterns and lamps lit the space, giving it a warm glow. The big couch in the middle was a deep scarlet color, which brought out the red in the arched brick ceiling. Everything was elegant, functional, and welcoming. If she didn’t have to be connected to Cin the whole time, it would be a nice place to hang out. That wasn’t about to happen, though.

A woman appeared from around the corner. Aster tried to see her, but her sister blocked her view.

“Aunt Megaera, thank you so much for helping!” Cin gave the other woman an awkward one-armed hug.

Megaera had dark hair and perfect skin, the kind Aster only ever saw in commercials for skin care products. She looked like a marble statue that had come to life. The deep-red satin dress she wore highlighted her naturally red lips and gave her a refined air. Aster was willing to bet that she had picked the color of the couch. The woman seemed to have an affinity for red.

“And you must be Aster. I’m Megaera. It’s a pleasure to finally meet you. I feel like I know you already.” She smiled, and it was infectious.

“Nice to meet you too. Are you here to give us directions?”

“I’m going to lead you to the gates. You’ll have to find your way from there, as I would not be welcome. It shouldn’t be difficult, though. Come.” Megaera swirled away, her dress fanning out behind her as she led them out of the cozy area, pausing briefly to pick something up at the opening.

They went back through the tunnel, splitting off and taking a turn Aster didn’t think they’d taken before. After a few minutes of walking, she could see why Megaera had chosen to lead them instead of just giving directions. The tunnels were like rivers coming off an ocean. Each one twisted and turned in ways that were unexpected and had other tributary-like tunnels coming off them. By the time they turned, she knew there was no way she’d be able to get them back to where they had come from.

She could hear noises in the distance, screams and moans, but most of all, she could hear running water. Soon, the tunnel ended and they were in a large open area. The running water she’d been able to hear was a river. It was a massive thing, cutting through their path with a strong current. The bridge they took to cross it made Aster uneasy. It was just wood, and old wood at that. She could hear it creaking under their weight. Once they were on the other side, she let out a breath she hadn’t realized she’d been holding.

“I didn’t expect to see rivers here.”

“The river Styx is a pretty well-known thing. I’m sure you’ve heard of it before.” Cin chuckled.

“That’s Styx?”

“Actually, no. That was Kokytos, the river of tears,” Megaera responded from in front of them.

“Oh, good, nice and happy, then.”

The light in the open area was dimmer than it had been in the tunnel, which Aster thought was odd, but it seemed to be getting darker as they progressed. Passing by a tree wasn’t something she had expected, either, but apparently the Underworld was full of surprises. It wasn’t just one tree, though. It turned out to be a whole wooded area. She’d never heard of the Underworld having a forest, but that wasn’t all that surprising since the only people who generally went to the Underworld were either dead or magical beings.

Megaera stopped a few moments later in front of a doorway. She’d called it a gate before, but Aster didn’t really see anything that looked like a gate in the opening.

“Here is where I leave you. Try to stay on the path. It will lead you back to the Halls of Night, where you will find the Oneiroi.” She started to turn away, but seemed to remember the item in her hand. “This is for you, Aster. Don’t take it off while you are in the Land of Dreams. It is obvious that you don’t belong here, but this will help to disguise that.”

She smiled as the woman wrapped a cloak around her shoulders, fastening it around her neck before drawing the hood up over her hair, tucking every errant strand into the back of the dark material.

“Thank you.”

“Please try and be safe. Don’t anger anyone unnecessarily. You are fragile compared to us.”

Aster received a brief unexpected hug from Megaera before she turned and walked away, back toward the river of tears. Turning, she looked at Cin, who was frowning at the doorway in front of them.

“Everything okay?”

“Yeah, I just haven’t really interacted with a lot of the other residents of the Underworld. Makes me a bit nervous, you know?” She ran her free hand through her hair.

“Understandable, but the sooner we do it, the sooner it’s over.”

They nodded at each other and began to walk forward. Passing through the door was like passing into a different version of reality. The sounds of the river were gone, and all around them were trees and grasses, but not the types of trees she’d just seen. Oh, no, these trees were covered in thick, waxy black leaves, while the tall grasses that lay to each side of the path were a dark red color. It all made Aster uneasy. Even the light had changed. No longer the dim, hard-to-see light, there was now almost a purple haze over everything.

It reminded Aster of when she would be out in the early hours of the morning. There was always a point at which night became slightly lighter but wasn’t quite dawn yet, where the world became almost monotone, objects fading into one another once they were far enough away.

They followed what looked kind of like a path. It was unclear at first since it was just shorter grass, but then streetlights that looked like they belonged in the 1800s began to coalesce from the shadows, lighting their way. A shiver ran down Aster’s spine. Whatever this Land of Dreams was, she didn’t like it.

The path meandered around trees and lakes. Aster was getting seriously tired, and she wasn’t exactly out of shape, which had to mean that they’d been walking farther than she had initially thought, or that being in the Underworld affected her body differently.

“I think that’s it,” Cin said, pointing with her free hand to the structure a little ways in front of them.

“I didn’t even notice it.”

The black and gray structure blended with its surroundings in such a way that it was easily missed, even though it was a sprawling building. As they approached the building, Aster could start to make out different aspects of the architecture. It looked like a cathedral crossed with an old university building. Spires topped every column, effectively hiding the majority of the roof and camouflaging it with the surrounding trees. The giant doors on the front of the building looked like solid marble, the spidery gray veins that were spread over them reminding Aster of her own face.

“How the hell are we supposed to open those?” she whispered to her sister.