Sitting down was a mistake, mostly because I wasn't sure I wanted or could even get back up. The cave wasn't exactly the safest place to stop thanks to the constant movements from the team of giants stomping around. It was like never-ending earthquakes in this realm, but we were hidden from view and I needed a break. My hips ached as much as my thighs, and every joint in my legs felt like they were about ninety years old.

Cain passed me a bottle of water, and I wasn't sure if I wanted to drown myself in it or drink it, so I splashed it on my face before gulping it down. Turns out, hot as hell, was actually a thing.

"I should have let Gaia kill me. At least I'd left behind a pretty corpse." I groaned, leaning against the rocks behind me as more sand fell from the roof. "Now they're going to think I'm just another of the creatures down here."

Because I was so damp with sweat, and now the water, I had become a magnet for dirt. My hair was tossed in some kind of messy bun on top of my head, and I had on the bare minimum of clothing I could manage. Despite wearing black workout clothes, I could see the powdery brown marks from the sand and the lighter smears of dust from the limestone we'd just passed.

"You're still pretty to me." Cain winked, sitting beside me as he touched my leg. "Where does it hurt the most?"

"My hips." He did what he could to ease my aches, but a year in a hot tub sounded like a much better alternative. "Thank you."

"We don't have too far to go now and what are you doing?" He went to take my new book and frowned as he saw the cover. "Mythology for Dummies."

"I need a quick catch-up on what we're walking into. You literally admitted back there, you know very little other than what you already told me. Maybe some of this Greek stuff could be useful." I shrug. "Couldn't hurt right?"

"I guess not, but that's the text you choose?"

"That's all I could think of. Got a better idea?" Cain closed his eyes and held out his hands but when nothing happened after a minute or so, I went back to reading and left him wondering why he couldn't summon anything. "Good luck with that."

Since I drank so much water, I felt even more bloated and also nauseous. The carrots and dip I decided to snack on had no flavour and didn't stay fresh for very long. This was hell, luxuries like crispy vegetables weren't a thing here apparently - something Cain decides to tell me after I give up on it.

"Okay, so, Tartarus is this big scary monster right and he is like brother-husband to Gaia as they all were formed from the same source. So what, she just left him here with the kids to do whatever she does? No wonder they only have one eye." I keep reading. "Oh, they're not their kids. They're the assholes kids." I paused my reading. "Maybe we can use that?"

"Uranus banished them here, and they're not related. Wherever or whatever they were before taking these forms were separate entities."

"That's what they want you to think because, ew incest."

"You know you can't believe everything you read." He reminded me.

"True. Apollo is meant to be of the arts or some crap and he has no theatrical or musical talent to save his life." I close my book.

"Anyway, so Tartarus and Asshole both have had a fling with Gaia at some point. What if we use that, try and like, make a deal with Tartarus to let us out." I suggest.

"Playing Dr. Phil to a bunch of firsts, the ultimate primordial beings, isn't a plan."

"Kinda is, especially if they're as petty as the book says and also, look at our crew. They are the biggest, most egotistical, drama and power-filled diva's around. Where do you think that all came from?" I went back to my book. "The Titans, your elders, were banished here. Cronus was here. Zeus just summoned him up like he was at a Mcdonald's ordering some fries when I first crossed realms. I really want fries."

Cain has a large red cup appear, full of hot, fresh, and covered with the right amount of salt. "Zeus must have had something in place with Tartarus."

"So there's a chance he might make a deal with us, right?" I mumble, almost crying again at how perfect these chips were. "Want any?"

"No."

Cain stood up, looking thoughtful as he began to pace around. It didn't last, instead inching closer to the entrance. Holding his hand out to me like a stop sign, I froze. Cain reappeared at my side, and seconds later we were a lot closer to the castle, tucked against the cliffside on a very narrow ledge. Stones tumbled by us as the earth trembled, and closing my eyes, I prayed to any force, god or universe to let it walk on by.

It did.

"The Warlocks are here," Cain whispered a second later. "I sensed them by the cave, so we need to make a move here fast."

"What?" I gasped, making the mistake of moving so that my foot slipped off the edge.

Whether it was the scare of nearly falling or the memories of that night coming back, I felt cold yet numb, letting Cain hold me now as if I had fallen and he was the only thing saving me from hitting the ground, hard. Short, sharp breaths were all I could manage, and closing my eyes again I only saw his face.

Soulless eyes.

Toothless grin.

My blood on his claws, as he licked it from each one.

I open my eyes but it's still dark, I'm trapped within black wings and scream as he rips my shirt apart and cuts deeper.

"I want to know what's inside." The croaky evil of his voice surrounds me, yet there is no pain, no light, no anything.

"Elle, Elle. Open your eyes, my love, and come back to me. Elise!" Cain orders. "Look at me."

I open my eyes.

I think we're in the remains of the village, hidden beneath half of a tent that's still standing. I scramble back, away from Cain and feel the crunch of a bone beneath my hand. Looking down, the corpse of one of the demons I'd killed earlier cracks into pieces and shatters into ash. I throw up the water and the fries, pieces of carrot and whatever else my body can get out.

"They're here?" I finally ask, taking the water offered as Cain rubs my back.

My clothes are new again, clean. All of me is as if nothing else about today had happened yet.

I knew it had. Cain couldn't take all of it away that easily.

"They won't be as powerful as they had been, and I'm not about to risk you again." He promises.

"I'm sorry." I can't stop my hands from shaking, even as I hug my stomach and curl into myself. "Gaia was right. I'm not what Hecate made me believe I am. I thought, I thought I'd faced my demons. I fought them, so many times, more than I ever actually did. You know, like my head is so fucked up, but I thought, I put it all in boxes. I deal with what I can and Richard, he tells me I'm brave and strong and I am doing great, and all healing takes time, but it's a lie. I'm a lie. I can't do this, Cain."

Cain doesn't say anything and I don't blame him. What is there to say?

We sit there for what feels like an eternity, surrounded by death and rotten flowers. The constant tremors don't even bother us how they did before and I can't help but wonder if this is how it all ends. Blueberry never stood a chance. Cain deserved better, and I - well I should have accepted Gaias offer.

"There is nothing for you to fear down here, Elise. Anything down here is what we've faced before and won against." Cain finally speaks, coming to sit in front of me after checking outside one more time. "You have gone through so much, more than anyone should ever and you are still here."

"You've been through more, and I only survived most of it because of you."

He shook his head. "My experiences have extended across lifetimes, good and bad. You've barely lived at all and endured so much. You have not survived because of me."

"Tell that to our Warlock friend." I shuddered, trying to force his memory away, back into the corner of my mind all my demons lived in since I gained some kind of control over them.

"You were doing fine without me, Elle. He got one, lucky shot against a mortal that never should have been able to even start a fight with him in the first place. And you are not that girl anymore, you are not just a Hunter. You are a goddess who has barely begun to step into her full potential."

"I don't feel like it right now."

"I know, but it won't last. Feel this, and then let it go. Together, we will get through this. We will get out of this place, and Tartarus will tell new tales of us so that when our enemies find themselves trapped down here we will still haunt them. They will fear us unlike no other and pray that we never return." He smiled, kissing the top of my hand before wiping away the last of my tears.

"Together." I agree because without him I would fall apart. "Good pep-talk."

Apparently, we were so badass together, that as a loud thud sounded beside us, we both jumped; sword raised and powers ready yet all that was there was the throne. My body instantly reacts to its call, and stepping towards it Cain pulls me back.

"What's the deal with the chair?" Cain frowned.

"It's mine." I shrugged him away and went to it. "You know how I told you I got sacrificed as a vessel for Hecate to return by those dark faes and whatever. This was created for her. I'd claimed it as the God Killer, after facing Eris in the Underworld and returning to the land of the living. Gaia sat on it when she took me into her tent."

He picked up a feather that fell from the mantle, inspecting it closely before putting it back among the bones it had come from.

"Oh, I remember the outfit that goes with it, very well." He smirked as he looked at me now. "The headdress part. Very similar to this wasn't it?"

I rolled my eyes. "Is it stalking me now? Can chairs do that?"

"I'd be more curious as to how or why it is here in the first place if it even is, just a chair."

"Gaia turned it white in her tent. It was part of her whole, good aesthetic she had going on in there." I thought about the black animals, the blood I'd imagined on the ground. I'd felt like a prisoner, and I'd been right.

"And yet it's black again."

"Is it a magical chair that could get us out of here?" I wonder.

"Or cursed and it was put down here out of the way." I looked at Cain, then at the chair. "Elise, don't -"

I sat down.

"Sit on it." He sighed, and I slowly relaxed as nothing happened. Just as Gaia had stroked the furs, so did I as a deep feeling of familiarity came over me. "Or touch it."

"Maybe we're both cursed things." Or maybe I found myself in these situations because I always had to feel the wet paint on the wall when the signs tell me not to. "And this is where we belong?"

The space around us began to change. Ash, blood and goop from the dead rose up like a horror version of the Matrix and in a blur of smoke and death, the tent rebuilt itself, new snake-like creatures replaced the old and the black rabbits began to reappear from the dirt and through the doorway of the tent. That wasn't all that changed either; I was back to being barefoot and in a dress, only this gown was more Empress of Hell than flower child of Gaia. Cain was breathtakingly handsome in his own new outfit, which I was certain Hades would be jealous of, not that this was a place that Hades would ever come, yet we'd just made it home.

Little girl playing dress-ups.

"Do you feel better now?" Cain asked, kissing the top of my hand. "You look more yourself."

I looked around at the monsters that had answered the call, not hiding them as Gaia had. Cain was right, we'd get out of here and leave behind new fairytales that had no happy ending. In these stories, we would be the villains and Tartarus was about to meet his match.

"Go," I whispered and they ran.

I felt Cain beside me in every way possible. It was more than our thighs touching, or our fingers entwined. Our breath filled the space in front of us in a lingering mist as the heat I'd been suffering through and hating since we arrived broke. Hell was freezing over because I wanted it to. I felt Cains back against mine despite the furs, bone and wood. His power was like a shadow, surrounding my own as we claimed our space. The giants gathered outside and discussed. As the first fell, the others ran. This was not their fight and they were not prepared to lose another.

Demons chased them anyway, leaving wounds on their legs; snapping at ankles as the mountains moved, breaking down and rising up with the stampede sending the realm into pure chaos. It was nothing compared to when the Warlocks were brought to us, each rancid and decaying breath they still took was an insult to the ones that they killed that night and before it. There had been so much pain and misery, that they caused either directly or by playing others like puppets like Selene, Dracula, The Lord Alpha even V. They still lived down here, content enough with a dream of vengeance. I could see it in their eyes as they saw us, thinking they'd freed themselves as my creatures released their hold.

Cain was right, their power wasn't what it had been though if I could go back to the night, was even as bad as the old mortal me imagined? Thinking about how Cain fought them, he'd ended up quick enough - but not as soon as he could have.

They were the reason Reece died.

I saw the little one with the black wings that were broken, bald in patches and oozing green sickness in others. Like before, he stood back from his companions. He would bide his time, and let the rest fight his battles. This one used his height to his advantage, letting your enemies think you were weaker, the one not to worry about. It worked. The bulk of the power in the group came from him, even now.

He was the reason I did die.

The two large men with bald heads and the women who had controlled the dead shared a cautious look, while he seemed to take in the situation a lot quicker than them. Unexpectedly he moved to the front of the group, fell to his knees and asked for mercy. The trio behind him laughed until I felt Cain's power rise, and they were all forced to their knees.

"Sire, forgive us." He mumbled.

"Forgiveness is earned. Will you pay the price?" I ask.

He slowly stands, looking at me curiously and the lack of fear is disappointing.

"I remember you. Hunter. Hunter. Hunter. There was no magic before. Yet you were different." He licked his lips. "The Oracle protected you. The Banished saved you. I can still feel your blood on my tongue. You tasted like a mortal. What do you taste like now?"

Their attack was over before it had even begun.

I wasn't who I used to be; neither was Cain and here, they only had what power we gifted them with. We made sure it hurt. Whatever memories they had would be forgotten and this, this would be all they knew and for the one who hurt me the most, I walked towards him with only dark intentions. My power possessed him and running my fingertip down the side of his face a demon boldly stepped closer to run its tongue down the mark. Wherever its tongue touched, blistered appeared almost instantly.

It looked painful.

"Turns out, I am super powerful." I bent down so we were eye to eye, fear finally taking root in the pit of his stomach. I could feel his emotions as my powers played with his inside, bouncing his reactions back to me as if it was a good dog playing fetch. "If I look inside you, what will I find? What about your heart? What is in there?"

I squeezed the organ, his mouth falling open in pain or shock, I didn't know or care.

"Who. Are. You?" He wheezed, blood pooling at the edges of his mouth.

"The one who survived." The demons swarmed them, their screams joining in the chorus that forever rang out across the lands. "Do as you wish, take them away."

One by one we sought out those down here that had done us wrong, removing any hope or plans of revenge until we finally caught the attention of the one we wanted. The demons were practically frothing with excitement as the red mist appeared, his presence, unlike anything I'd experienced before - except, I had. The face in the sky that had vanished as the realm collapsed felt similar to this and as Tartarus himself appeared, I met his gaze and dared him to challenge us.

He was the devil; red-skinned, black-horned, evil and fury existing as one. He was bigger than Cain, than Paytah, than any man or creature like him and holding his head high, the weight of his acceptance was instant. His power was a force in itself, and the last time I'd faced something like this, Hades had been with us too. All of our powers had combined, and I'd taken control of theirs as if it had been my own. Just thinking about Hades made me dig my feet into the dirt and grip Cain's hand ever tighter in anticipation of what was to come.

We burn brighter as one.

Right now, we were all we had. I wasn't sure it would be enough.

"You made it cold." He growled.

"I don't like the heat," I answered, my voice shaking as I refused to give him so much as a second of relief. "Considering Gaia abandoned us here, we took it upon ourselves to make it a little more comfortable. Maybe next time send a fruit basket instead of a mob of giant cyclops."

Tartarus smirked, or possibly attempted to smile. It was hard to tell with the snarl he kept in place to make us see his shark-inspired set of teeth.

"I know all about you, Empress. Mistakes happen, I'm sure you will agree." He sniffed the air, and the look that followed made it hard to swallow as fear gripped my stomach. "Gaia gifting you to me was a big one. She is losing her touch."

"She is not a gift for you." Cain stood squaring off against Tartartarus who then gave him a similar once over.

"What a fool she is indeed. The Emporer, I assume." Tartarus laughed and the sound was as enjoyable as nails on a chalkboard. "She has gone so she really mustn't have known. Dumb witch."

"Known what?" I stood beside Cain, hugging his arm as the shift in the air was subtle, but there.

Tartarus was not our enemy at least not how we expected; what a fucking bonus that was and as we all drew back our powers. I felt the sigh of relief that echoed through the whole realm. Cain shifted his position just so, keeping me slightly behind him as he glanced my way.

"Wait," He asked, looking between us this time as Cain tensed. "She doesn't know either, does she?"

"We request our freedom. Our fight is not with you, Tartarus." Cain spoke before I could ask anything else and the beast looked as though he was actually thinking it over.

"Denied." His decision was quickly made and firm. "If they're all playing games, Gaia just gave me a reason to want to play too."

"What if we gave you a better offer?" I blurted, making Cain slap a hand over his forehead. "Why lower yourself to their level with these, pathetic games? Gaia is losing her touch. You said so yourself."

"I'm listening."

I thought about Hades and the Underworld. There was a balance, a soul for a soul kind of deal so if he was gifted two Powers, what if we gave him a replacement?

"We are at war with the Erinyes and close to defeating them. We will gift them to you, declare it a victory in your honour." I am impressed with what I came up with.

"The Erinyes." He nods. "I am familiar with the name, I remember their tales. Though why then, would Gaia bring you two here if their defeat is near?"

We weren't that close. Minor detail. 

"Great question. Send us home, I'll find her and ask. Do you want a postcard, or can I text you the answer? You seem like an email kinda guy, let me guess. Reddevilsixtynine at hotmail dot com?"

"You're fucking insane," Cain muttered under his breath.

"It's been suggested." I elbow him in the ribs, hard. "It's a great deal, a more than fair trade. I assure you it will be in your best interests to accept it."

"And if I don't?"

"I'm sure you'll get used to the cold."

Tartarus snorts, angrily or with amusement I'm not entirely sure as he just looks between the pair of us. I sit back down, mostly because my legs are aching, while Cain stands beside me. Almost instantly I start feeling more secure about my threat while the Mr Devil himself eyes the chair, sniffing again before inching closer.

"That was your doing?"

"Excuse me?" I'm not sure what he was talking about now.

"The chair. I see your connection, and for it to even exist, someone had to waste a lot of blood with its creation. Magic not seen in a millennium surrounds it, while any attempt at destroying it has failed. It's not made to ever release, only to take." He gave a little shrug. "We assumed it had been intended to use against Hecate at some point. That is her symbol, yet these runes are ancient and binding. Curses. You appear immune, it's only natural to think you are its master."

"Told you not to touch it." Cain sighed.

"Wait. We? Is there a Mrs Tartarus around here?" I wonder, mostly because she might be easier to convince to get us home or Cain's Doctor Phil suggestion would do wonders if he's moved on from Gaia.

Cain looks like he's about to give up.

"Hades. He was the one who sent it to me. Now you're here, I can see the connection very clearly. You kill well, Empress. It likes you for that reason."

"What?" I was up and moving towards him instantly. Any fear about the leader of this realm was gone as I felt Cain at my back. "I didn't make it, or trap any souls?"

His skin was hot, yet smooth - almost how Alfie felt as Tartarus grabbed my arm and pulled me closer. Eyes that swirled with the galaxy within them stared into mine and just before I felt myself fall, Cain pulled me back.

"Gaia is losing her touch." Was all he said, opting to scoop up a rabbit. He hardly chewed as he tore into it and I fought the urge to throw up but I wasn't okay with that being the end of the conversation. "I get plenty of visitors, but you two. I'm not sure how this is going to end."

"No, I- what? " I stopped and took a breath. "I didn't make the chair. Hades brought it here?"

"It came from your realm, little human. This chair collects the souls of the ones you kill. I don't know who or what you did for it to be given its fill but you did well choosing strong targets." He praised, turning his attention to Cain now. "Speaking of Hades, who is he to you?"

"I consider him a brother," Cain answered.

"The Valkyrie, and the rest," I whispered, my stomach dropping as I thought about that beach cove where I'd met Odin.

I'd lost myself to my new powers the first time then, and in the process trapped Odins' former army into a chair. Richard was going to need therapy when this comes up in a session, but how did Hades know what it did to bring it here? Because back then he was still trying to work out whether he was going to kill me or help me, and he had been there when I killed Ivy. He'd tried to stop me.

Create life.

Destroy life.

"Then perhaps I will get more frequent visits." That made Tartarus laugh again.

Ivy. That ambitious, brainwashed dark fae had brought Eris's Prophet alter-egos bullshit, hook line and sinker. I'd fought her that night, and if not for Hades, who knows how it could have ended. Chaos. Mythology for Dummies said that all of these super firsts had come from it.

Eris had been known as the Goddess of Chaos.

She had used them all in an attempt to release Hecate from the Underworld. What would she have gained from this had she succeeded?

I look back at it now with new eyes and feel it calling to me to come back. Curses.Promises. It only wanted to be fed. The taste of life it was already full of wouldn't be enough. Hades did the right thing bringing it here, maybe Gaia did too with us. We were befriending the creator and ruler of actual Hell, and worse than that, could we win if we decided to claim this world as our own?

Lost in thought, I missed what Cain said to make Tartarus laugh again. I stared at the pair of them, not hearing what they said as I just stood there. Cain noticed first, a hand on my arm with my name on his tongue yet I pushed them both away as I spun around to the throne and hated every inch of it now.

I wanted it gone.

I wanted it destroyed.

And so, it was.

Cain shielded me as the wood cracked and splintered; fragments of bone, feathers and jewels exploding around the room, tearing into the fabric of the tent. The monsters that remained screamed in surprise and pain as they didn't move quickly enough and once everything settled I looked at Tartarus who ironically enough managed to look as confused as Cain did.

"The Erinyes in exchange for a way home," I demand.

"No."

"Then name your price before I run out of patience."

Tartarus picked out something that had been embedded in his arm, tossing it on the floor in front of us as he looked at Cain with caution and then met my gaze with something else. He wasn't scared, or as wary as I sensed he was with Cain. With me, he was curious. I'd heard their speech a thousand times, it was always the same.

"You, Empress. You are trouble." He decided. "Just what has Gaia unleashed this time?"

"You do not want to find out," Cain answered; dark and moody back in full force.

Scratching behind one of his horns, Tartarus seemed to agree. "I want Ouranos."

I slapped Cain's chest, earning a grunt and a look that was explicitly screaming at me not to say exactly what I was thinking. The  Doctor Phil approach would have clearly worked a treat, though what outcome could we expect from three of these primordial beings in he said, she said, cheating or whatever scandal?

Destruction of the entire universe?

Creation of a new one?

"That is a big ask." I sensed the weight of the demand as Cain did, his doubt clear as his hand tightened around mine.

"It's my price for your freedom." Tartarus decided, a portal appearing beside him blocked by a large set of bronzed gates. "Take it or leave it. You seem to be making yourself quite at home here as it is, just know others have tried to claim my realm and while none have been as interesting as you two, know that none have ever succeeded."

"And if we can't pay?" I'm not sure I want to know but ask anyway.

Matt's painting lingers in the back of my mind; I didn't make it past the Furies. How in the literal hell did we get Uranus too?

"He'll do," He pointed at Blueberry. "I will claim your firstborn, and upon your death, I have the perfect spot waiting for each of you. I'm sure in time you'll get used to the heat and the rest of what it means to truly be banished here."

Tartarus snapped his shark teeth at me before winking as he began to walk out. "You have until dawn to decide."

And then he was gone.