All I know is the world is dark, wet, oppressive. I sink, bubbles fizzling as I dip lower. Someone pulls me from the water, and my body rolls, heavy. The shadowed figure leans over my chest. They sigh with relief— I must be breathing.

It doesn't feel like I'm breathing.

The figure moves, their face coming into focus. Athena, Goddess of Wisdom, sees that my eyes are open. She wipes my hair from my face, then slips her arms underneath me.

She lifts me, and I feel empty. Perhaps that's why I'm so light. Perhaps that's why she carries me as though I'm like glass, as though I'll break.

I'm already breaking.

I whisper, and Athena dips her head closer to hear my words. She murmurs something soothing when she doesn't think I'm making any sense.

She's the wise one, so I'm probably not.

My limbs shake. I'm cold, I realise, bone cold— and my vision dips in an out. There's an unbearable ache in my belly, a gut-wrenching sadness that is making me shiver uncontrollably.

'It's alright, anassa,' Athena says, and the world sways as she moves. Above us, the sky has turned the colour of amber and purple, and the wind in the grasses around us breathes its despair. Something crunches underfoot.

I buck, trying to protect myself. The crunch makes the noise of the Undead as they approached us, the crunch triggering my memory to keep running. Athena's arms steady me, and her hands only hold me tighter.

'Hush, anassa, do not be alarmed,' she says. 'We are in the Elysian Fields now; we are safe. We made it out.'

My cheeks grow damp once more, and my whispering begins anew. I stare feverishly at the sky, remembering the last time I saw the stars of the Elysian Fields was with Hades. Now, they seem dimmer, more distant, and the blood of the sky reminds me of loss instead of hope.

After a while, the sound of voices greets us— an approach from the distance, a roaring tumbling in my ears. I panic once more, fighting for freedom, but Athena is strong. Her arms clamp me to her, whilst she soothes me in her quiet manner.

'Athena! Great gods, what has happened?'

I turn my head to see a man with golden hair, and a beautiful white horse, both wearing impeccable uniforms. The man swings down from the beast, rushing towards us with a group of soldiers. I scream, pushing out, and Athena struggles to hold me this time.

'What is wrong with her?' the man cries. 'What has happened?'

Athena calms me, as though I am a baby in her arms and not an adult. When I stop panicking, I realise that I know the blond-haired man, and his soldiers behind him. Chronus. My husband's brother, and ruler of Elysium, the kingdom beyond the waterfall.

True death. Elysium no longer holds those boundaries for me.

I am one of the gods now. Like my husband. No— fiancé?

We never finished the ceremony. Half-husband.

Half-lost.

'It is as we feared. Hecate has invaded,' Athena says. I slump against her, shivering once more. 'The Underworld has been overrun.'

Chronus takes a sharp intake of breath. 'And my brother?'

Athena holds me tighter. 'Captured,' she says. 'He managed to get Nerissa to safety, and requested I protect her.'

'And this woman...' Chronus stands over me. 'My brother's wife?'

'Yes,' Athena replies. 'How did you know?'

Chronus takes my hand, and his warmth seeps through me. I hadn't realised how cold I was until his heat reminds me. He runs his hand over the ring on my finger, the silver vines and daffodil of the Underworld.

'My brother sent me a message,' he says. 'He told me he had met someone. Then, I met her in person, here in Elysium. Hadrian warned me not to go lightly on her.'

I bristle, even barely conscious. 'That son of a...' I trail off, exhausted.

Chronus laughs. 'Hadrian was confident you would pass any test I gave you,' he says. 'And he was right. And not so long later, he tells me he's getting married.'

Athena interrupts him sharply. 'But you were not at the wedding.'

Chronus lets go of my hand. 'He told me he was getting married, but he might likely be attacked. He told me to guard my borders, and if needs be, protect his wife.'

I struggle this time trying to sit up. My voice croaks as I hiss angrily. 'You could have sent help! You could have saved him!'

Athena's soothing touch calms me once more. 'Anassa, his troops cannot cross back into the Underworld. They have passed on, and guard Elysium, but cannot return back through the waterfall.'

My chest aches once more. I clutch it, doubling over, breathing sharply. 'What is wrong with me? It hurts— it hurts...'

Black spots threaten my vision, and I hear Athena's voice in my ears, louder than the blood thudding there.

'You are bonded to Hadrian, by magic and by soul,' she says. I can hear her in several directions, as though her voice is a vivid kaleidoscope, and I can't focus it. Blinking doesn't clear my vision. I lean backwards, heavy.

'By magic and by soul...' I repeat, in a whisper. I'm hot. I think I'm sweating.

'...it is just the effect of your forced separation,' Athena is saying. I clamour at her, feeling her skin's coolness.

'Liar,' I say, hardly knowing what I am saying at all.

'She's delirious,' Chronus's voice says. He's above me. He's far away. I can't tell.

The pain comes once more.

'This isn't just separation,' I heave, my vision blackening. I'm spitting with rage, and exhausted at the same time. And within me, there's a deep, deep sorrow that I can't place.

But I know who can.

'This is Hadrian's pain,' I retch. 'He's in so much pain. She's torturing him! It's so painful I can feel it!'

And I think I do scream at that moment.

But at the same time, I pass out, gratefully.

The next time I wake, the pain has subsided. The fatigue remains, as well as the shivering, and the feeling of being stretched and stretched. I'm being carried up a set of long steps, and the stones are old and rugged. There must be a thousand steps, or more. And my gaze follows them, right up to the top, where they lead to a kingdom.

When I first see Olympus, I don't register what I'm seeing. It's so surreal, I feel as though I must be underwater, and I'm seeing a castle made of spiralling towers, white gold marble and lofty mountains. I see a dragon, made of air and smoking clouds and green hills, claws of magic and mystery. But my power within me— the power given to me by Hadrian— recognises this place, as if it echoes out to one another, as if to say, 'Welcome back, friend.'

Olympus, home of the Gods.

The sun cracks above it, as if life itself begins above that castle of might and design.

When I first see Olympus, I think I'm still dreaming.

The rocking of Athena carrying me up those hundreds of steps lulls me back into sleep.

I awake next to a cool compress being sponged against my face. I blink, alert for the first time since falling from the cliff. And then, the words I'd been repeating over and over to Athena become clear.

'Hadrian. Nate. Mercer. Char. Sybella...'

My hands fly to my face, and I bolt upwards. Sheets fall from me, pillows cascading away. I stifle a scream. 'Hadrian! Nate!'

I shake my head in horror. Beside me, Athena sits cross legged, and her face is filled with calm concern. She takes my wrists, pulls my hands from my face.

'N-Nate!' I gasp, and I feel tears welling up. 'How could I— I just— I left them behind! Hadrian, Nate and Mercer!'

I want Athena to tell me otherwise. I want her to hug me and say that they escaped. But I know that's a lie; the last I saw Nate was— was—

I can't remember.

'How could I forget my brother?' I whisper, trembling. 'I don't remember the last time I saw my brother...and oh gods, Hadrian. Mercer. I ran away. I ran.'

I peer up at the woman that carried me out of the Underworld, and beyond. The room I'm in is plain, with white flowing drapes and wide windows. Beyond, I can see those hills I had thought were part of my dream. Hills that spread so far that they change shades of green, paling with distance, and clouds trimming the tops short.

Athena carried me here. To Olympus.

'I ran,' I repeat.

Athena takes the compress from my lap, wrings it out with careful measure. There's a bucket by the bed, and other things— a hairbrush, a change of robes, the necromancer's book. She sees my gaze, running over the book, and places it on my lap.

'This book is extremely attached to you,' she smiles. 'It washed up next to you. And it's been following you around since.'

I give a reluctant smile, before staring back down at my bed. My sheets are a shiny, gentle material— like water, flowing and smooth under my hand, and the pale blue of a teardrop.

'You didn't run,' Athena repeats. She moves with the precision of a doctor at my bedside, and with the muted quiet of talking to a hysterical patient. She reapplies the compress to my forehead, wiping away another layer of sweat.

'I didn't?' I jerk away from her touch. 'Then what happened— I fought back? Not fighting is running away.'

She clasps her hands together, and sighs. 'You ran so that you can fight.'

'That makes no sense,' I fire back, glaring. I'm thankful she carried me here like a small puppy, but I shouldn't be here. I should have stayed.

'It makes perfect sense,' she replies, with such slow patience that I want to scream. 'It was a planned escape, anassa. Hadrian orchestrated it.'

I double-take. 'What?'

Athena reaches into her pocket. Inside her fingers is a white, sealed envelope with a neat scrawl across the front.

Nerissa.

I know the handwriting as if it were written by my own hand. My soul recognises it.

I bite my lip. 'He wrote me a letter?'

'He pre-empted a disaster like this occurring,' Athena says, and she bows her head. 'Hadrian and I are akin to cousins, our powers closely similar. We have always been solid allies. He reached out to me, to explain that he feared something bad would occur at his wedding.'

'And then...?' I whisper.

'He asked me to protect his wife at all costs,' Athena said. 'Including temporarily erasing your memory of Nathaniel, the brother who you would have fought to the end for.'

My fists clench on reflex. I go to stand, but she holds up her palm in earnest.

'Hear me out,' she says politely. I lower myself back down.

'Nathaniel cannot leave the Underworld,' Athena says. 'To do so would be for him to pass on into Elysium. I couldn't get him to escape, so Hadrian requested I hide him. I therefore used a costly spell to divert people's attention, including yours. Hecate won't register him as someone important to you. He'll be as safe as he can be.'

'That wasn't...' that wasn't your decision to make. But I can't argue the soundness of the plan. I would never have followed it, if they hadn't made me forget Nate in my escape.

'And Hadrian has worried for a while that Hecate might launch an attack. In that event, he wanted to get you out. So, he arranged for my help. I was to transport you out of that place, via any means possible, and bring you to Olympus. He wanted me to instruct you, and train you in his place. You have the necromancy book. We have the best instructors here, to help you learn what other magic you have.'

I shake my head, staring at those soft blankets. I bite my lip, frustrated. 'That wasn't his decision to make! I don't need saving!'

Athena presses the letter into my hands, a faint smile upon her lips. 'Open it. I think you'll find that Hadrian did all this for you. Not because he wanted to save you, but because he knew you were the only one that could save him.'

Dear Nerissa

If you're reading this, then I'll say the cliché thing and assume that I'm not with you. One of my worse case scenarios has occurred, and we're separated. You're also probably seething and angry at me for planning this behind your back. But I know you'd never agree to it otherwise. You're the type of person that would rather sacrifice yourself for others. This time, however, it had to be you that escaped. Because you're far stronger than I am.

Let me be blunt: if we are overrun, my last resort is to get you out. You have incredible power; both mine and that of Spring. You're a double-edged sword. You're my double-edged sword. I'm the weak one, the predictable one. I'm the perfect decoy for Hecate. She wants my body, but she can't take more than that. She won't realise for a while that she can't marry me and take my power, because I've already given you it all.

That's right. I've loaned you all of it— that was the next part of my plan. Maybe I'm stupid to leave myself utterly indefensible in the midst of an enemy siege, but I know you'll use it far better than I can. My plan is last-minute, shabby and quite frankly, a huge imposition upon you: to give you the opportunity to escape, grow more powerful, and then take on Hecate.

My biggest regret and the hardest part of my plan was my decision to cast the spell on you. Temporarily, Athena told me, you would forget your brother and Mercer, two people I know you'd go to any lengths to protect. But you see, neither Nate nor Mercer can save us all. I'm sorry. Please, forgive me. I will watch over Nate, and make sure no harm comes to him. That can be my task.

My other regret is that I'm guessing we never completed our wedding ceremony. I was truly looking forward to it. Regardless, I hope you won't mind: I still call you my wife.

Now, my wife, I am running out of time to write much more. I have given you a horrific task as a wedding gift— but I have faith in you. When you are ready, I (your damsel in distress) will be waiting. To be honest, I'm terrified of this happening to me. But when I think of you, I'm filled with bravery. And I know you're coming back for me.

Finally, lastly and utterly— I love you.

H

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Hello, your sleepy author here. Thanks for waiting on this chapter, but I'm glad I waited for the brainwave to hit. Someone noticed the last chapter that Ness forgot about Nate. I hope this explains it...

Today I rewatched a movie I like, called Your Name. If you like anime and haven't seen it, GO WATCH IT! It's very good. I love some of the surreal scenes. 

What are you all watching/reading? Any recommendations?? 

Larissa

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