The tray was nearly empty by the time we finished with breakfast. I sat back against the pillows, cradling my coffee against my chest and breathed in the warmth of it before taking a sip. Despite the fact, I woke up with my sword in my hand and the smell of blood still in my nose which had me rolling out of bed to throw up, it had been an otherwise blissful morning. Slipping on one of Cain's shirts and being covered in his smell helped keep my stomach settled, and I wasn't sure I was ever going to take it off now.

"There has to be more to it," Cain said thoughtfully. "Why would the Furies want them dead?"

"Who knows. I just regret not trying to kill them while I had the chance in case it could have done something. Tisiphone looked healed, maybe they are strong enough to do something like that now?" I frowned, not liking that possibility. "I've spent so much time with Ailin, controlling my mind, protecting it. I hate that they got in."

"Could it have been a dream?"

"No. It had that whole, out of body, there but not, feel. I give them ten points for trying to spook me though. The Lord Alpha was a nice touch." I close my eyes, enjoying the coffee. My stomach was full, I actually felt like I had a good sleep, and Cain had managed to remove my hip pain before breakfast too. "I'm going to see the Harpy, and then wake up Kara."

"Not the other way around?" The tray vanished and rolling over, Cain shuffled closer. Lifting his shirt to expose my stomach, two kisses were answered by a suddenly active Blueberry. "Good morning, little one."

"I promised the Harpys she wouldn't be harmed any more, so I want to see what remains of their sister before I give her back. How bad is it going to be?"

Cain didn't answer, burying his face in the bed against my thigh while keeping a hand on Blueberry who may as well be drinking the coffee directly at the rate he was moving around in there.

"Cain?"

"Deimos is good at what he does." Is the muffled response I get before his face looks up at me. "He has already been removing some of what he had planted in her mind. By the time we get there, she might be more lucid."

I sit up. "You left me sleeping? I would have gone too."

"You needed to rest."

"Wait, you left. Was that when they got in? It's why, when I woke up, you weren't in bed. I didn't really think about it before." I wasn't sure if this was something more than a coincidence. I shook my head. "Nevermind. I'm glad he's doing that."

"He thought you would be," Cain sat up. "You think that the Furies waited for you to be alone?"

"I'm not so sure now. Maybe it had been a nightmare. That's why I rarely sleep alone." It wasn't anything new, I'd been that way for years.

"I've come and gone many times, Elle. I don't go far, but some nights, I just can't sleep." He admits.

I do that too. "True. I don't know. Let's just forget about it, and if I suddenly get the urge to get stabby with the Fates, then we'll come back to it."

"Aren't you already like that?" He smirked, yet Cain suddenly looked away, glancing over his shoulder as if he expected someone to be standing there. "Deimos is trying to find us."

"You don't want to let him in?"

"I like no one knowing about this place. It's bad enough that Kara's been here." Cain pouted.

"Then I guess it's time for us to go." Leaning forward I kissed him softly. "I'm keeping your shirt."

"Good, I think it looks better on you anyway." His hand ran up my bare thigh, and as he moved closer with obvious intentions since his mouth followed his hand, I quickly stood up and moved out of reach. "Deimos can wait, come back here."

"No. Let's do this." I'm dressed instantly, and running my hand through my hair, leaving it down and loose. This was as good as it was going to get today, and I took a second to sniff his shirt feeling instantly giddy.

"I'd rather do something else."

So would I. "Then the sooner we get this over with, the sooner you can do whatever you want."

"I can work with that." His eyes darken with a promise I want to see fulfilled.

I hold his gaze for a second too long, not able to make myself look away as he removes the space I tried to keep between us. Licking my lips, his eyes follow every movement before his mouth is on mine. There's no restraint now, no stopping what's about to be started and the slight pressure on my lower lip as he bites it makes me moan. A second later, his hands leave my hair and opening my eyes a look of pure satisfaction is painted on his stupid smug face. Cain steps back, turning around while I'm tempted to dig my nails into his back and beg him to keep going.

What is happening?

"So, let's get this over with." He calls, clothes now covering the skin I want to touch every inch of. "Deimos is waiting."

"You're serious right now?" I hate how breathless and desperate I sound; I cough to try and get my voice back to normal as it's too high.

"Why wouldn't I be?" The challenge is there as Cain comes back to me.

"You did the lip thing and-" Fine. I can play this game. "Nevermind. Let's go."

That surprises him and as I find Deimos walking down the corridor of a medieval movie set, he only frowns as he looks me over. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing." I snap, before taking a deep breath to calm down. It was pointless, as I needed a lot more than a deep breath. "Sorry. I didn't mean that. What is the smell?"

"It's the dungeons?" He says that as if I should know better.

It was as if this was where mould came to die. The air was musty and damp, with the sweeter stench of decay lingering beneath it. My hand was quickly covering my mouth and nose, a familiar burn rising from the base of my throat. The earthier aroma of smoke seemed out of place, and looking around, I wasn't even sure what was coming from. Then was the level of grossness that came from the more acidic burn of urine and who knows what else.

"And?" I managed to ask, failing to stop myself from gagging.

"How did you go?" Cain asks, and I feel him behind me before I can move away. His hand rests on my hip as he stands with me and somehow the bad smells vanish.

"Nice of you to join us." Glaring at anywhere other than him, which only has Deimos frowning.

"I hadn't expected you to leave so suddenly. I needed a second." Not so subtly bumping something hard by my back. "Maybe I should have taken two."

It was mumbled by my ear, but Deimos must have still heard as he coughed awkwardly and went to start talking only I wasn't done yet.

"The Harp-"

"Maybe that will teach you to start what you don't intend to finish."

"Trust me, Elle. I fully intend to finish later."

"I bet." I rolled my eyes.

"Please. Stop." Deimos interrupted, turning away from us we moved down the passage. "She's sleeping. I've done all I can do."

The cell we stop at has a window; a thin strip of blue sky can be seen if you look at the right angle and I don't doubt how her sisters have been able to hear her now. At least some fresh air can come in and huddled up on a small blanket in the corner is the Harpy. As if she senses us there, she twitches in her sleep, her arms rising up over her head so her wings act as a shield.

"This place is horrible." Looking around it was so different to everywhere else I'd seen of the palace. Sure it was a dungeon, but the clear lack of anything gold was a welcome holiday for my eyes.

"It's a dungeon," Deimos pointed out. "I've seen worse."

"I haven't. Even the one we found Alfie in didn't smell like this, and when I was trapped in there, this place makes that one look like a neglected wine cellar." I sighed, resting my hands on my hips as I took in the small space. Letting her out wasn't my first plan of action, but something had to change. "Let's get her something decent to sleep on. Real food too, as judging by this part of the movie I bet she's only getting some kind worm-infested mouldy porridge to eat."

"She's a prisoner."

"Someone put his Captain Obvious Pants on today." Turning away from the Harpy, I realised I don't even know their names. "Do you know her name?"

"Lori, I believe." Deimos answers.

"Great, now she's named them," Cain mumbles, earning a similar disapproving sound from Deimos.

"For the record, I don't like either one of you very much today. Make it happen for Lori. I'm going to go see Kara and then pack a bag, cause we're going on a road trip."

"What?" Cain shakes his head. "That wasn't mentioned this morning."

I don't answer, finding Kara still in bed and climbing in beside her. One eye lazily opens, before her hand falls over it and attempts to bury herself further under the blankets.

"Go. Away." She growls.

"Can't. I gotta do stuff." I sit up, turning her head back to the side so she has to look at me and lay back down beside her. "Oh, I like these pillows."

"You steal my pillows, I'll hang you for treason"

"Aw, I love it when you talk murder in the morning." I bopped her on the nose. "Cain can heal that hangover. I'll even throw one of these in the mix."

The pumpkin frappuccino thing she adores is suddenly in my hand and I have her attention.

"You would think," She loudly lawned and dramatically rolled over onto her back. "After all this time, you'd think you would know I like a dusting of cinnamon on top of the cream."

"I"m going to hold it for ransom until you get up." I smile.

"What's going on that you feel this is all necessary?" Kara sat up, her hand out waiting for her drink which I handed over.

"Remember that time I got really drunk and decided to go and hunt down the witch who cursed Eric?" Kara nodded. "And when I thought we should get matching tattoos?"

"I have the tattoo. You're the one who started making out with the tattoo girl's boyfriend and got us kicked out." She looked at her pinky finger regretfully before smiling. "That was a fun night."

"Yeah, and in my defence, he hit on me. Oh and speaking of fun, how about that time I dragged you into a secret tomb and we met a Genie and a Jinn?"

"How long is this going to go on for?" She sighed, taking a long sip. "Or should I be asking what exactly are you about to drag me into this time?"

"So, funny story. Last night, I went for a walk and-"

"Oh shit. Please tell me you weren't kidnapped again and this is you telling me I have to go and make peace with some other ruler out there? I haven't even made contact with even half of those out there in this realm."

"There's more? I kind of thought it was a north and south thing here?"

"You went for a walk." Kara prompted, not sounding interested at all.

"And two harpy's came."

"Fuck. This is why I told Deimos, I shouldn't drink the fucking mead. Is it safe to look outside?"

"Completely. They want to help us in exchange for their sister who, for the record, is called Lori and I'm sure she has been telling us the truth this whole time because they said-" I started.

"Fuck Elise. Fuck. You've just made a deal with our most recent enemy, haven't you? Artemis will lose her shit completely." Kara took a spoonful of cream into her mouth. "Cinnamon?"

"Sorry." a dusting of brown spice appeared on the rest for her. "Artemis isn't going to be an issue. And not officially. I told them I needed to process things."

Kara paused, turned around more to face me and gave a little sniff. "You've already been to the dungeons. Do we even have a prisoner anymore?"

"Yes. She's just getting a little VIP treatment." I tell her slowly. "And no more interrogations. That's not everything either."

I keep her drink topped up as I tell her about my night, refreshing her on other events that happened as well as my dream vision. She stays quiet, even when I tell her my next stop was going to be the villages the Harpy had mentioned to see what was going on for ourselves. It was all met with a serious look, a few head shakes and a lot of mumbling under her breath that made me question her sanity over my own.

"It's a trap, you know that right?" She finally said.

"Is it though, like if we know about and expect it, is it still a trap?" I wondered.

"Yes! Isn't that how Apollo got himself dead?"

"Touche."

"It's just the four of us, no one can know we've gone." Kara decides. "I mean it, Elise. It's dangerous. We go completely disguised. In and out. If you don't, you can bedshare with Tori if we make it back."

"Lori."

"Whatever."

I flopped back onto her bed, enjoying the softness of the pillow as she got up and disappeared into the bathroom. "This was easier than I expected. Are you still drunk?"

"There's no point fighting who you are, Elise. I know you well enough to know when to resist and when to just go with whatever crazy you're throwing my way. It's hard sometimes, especially now. I trust you. And your stupid gut instincts." She came out of the bathroom completely fresh and ready to go. "Are you wearing Cain's shirt? Have you actually reached that level of disgustingly adorable?"

"It's mostly so I can just smell him. After all that, I didn't even tell you about my other part of the morning where I was trying to be the responsible adult of the relationship because Deimos was waiting." I paused, sensing Cain a second before he and Deimos appeared.

"Deimos is still waiting." Cain pointed out. "What have you been plotting in here?"

"I see why you get annoyed about people not using doors," Kara smirked. "Why do we have to be plotting?"

"She's been gone for too long to just be waking you up."

"What has she told you?" Deimos asked cautiously.

"None of the good part." Kara didn't hide her amusement as she looked between me and Cain. "Is this your first couple fight?"

"We're not fighting, and if we were, I'd win." Now the challenge was official, I wasn't prepared to lose.

"Says the one in my t-shirt." Cain's voice was low, and a little husky which was my first red flag that he wasn't going to play fair. "How is that working out for you, by the way?"

"Fine. I'm glad I didn't get dungeon stink on one of mine."

"Are we going then or do you two need a minute or five?" Kara sighed, heading towards Cain. "Before you answer, please get rid of my headache?"

"Where are we going?" He asked cautiously, putting his hand on her head for barely a second before turning back to me.

"I want to see what the Harpy's were talking about." I start, which makes Deimos slap a hand to his face.

"No," Cain answers immediately.

"I do too." Kara stood by me. "We're going."

"No." He says again.

"But-" I barely get the word out when he stops me.

"No."

"You can't-"

"I can. Did the last little road trip just slip your mind?" He asks.

"This is different," Kara argued. "If they're hunting down Harpys and who knows what else as a way to get my attention, I need to know. Clearly, these regions that have always been forgotten and abandoned to their own laws and ways, can no longer be ignored."

"I will go with Kara." Deimos volunteered.

"We're all going with Kara. In and out, for reals this time. I'm not arguing anymore so just deal with it." I cross my arms over my chest, glaring at the dark and moody twins.

"I could just lock you up with your new bird friend?" It's a light threat, but from the look on his face, it's one he's been considering.

"Are you sure you want to go there? Because trust me when I say if you so much as even try it, your stinky shirt, is the closest anything of yours will be getting to me in the foreseeable future."

Kara tried not to laugh, while Deimos mumbled something under his breath about waiting outside and left the room.

"That round goes to Elise." Kara declared, moving after Deimos. "Now can we go?"

Cain looked at me, as I looked at him. Neither of us moved or said anything, not even as Kara called our names.

"That was a big threat." His hand came up to caress the side of my face and almost instinctively I moved closer towards him. "Too bad we both know you'd never follow through with it."

That only pissed me off, and if he still wanted to play, I was game. Leaning into his touch, his hand slid to the back of my neck; barely a pull was needed as the distance closed between us. I felt his fingers in my hair, tugging my head back as he kissed that sensitive spot on my neck before claiming my mouth again. I ran my hand down his chest lingering on his waistband. I could feel the sense of achievement pouring off him as he thought he was proving a point. Maybe he was, but so was I as I now shoved him back and slipped out of his hold.

"You forget two things," I hold up two fingers, enjoying the fire in his eyes a little too much. "I am stubborn. The second, I like to win. The more you think I can't, the more I know I can."

"This is ridiculous. No one wins here!"

"I do because you started whatever this was and now you can't deal with the consequences. I currently have more hormones than I know what to do with, that all seem stupidly addicted to whatever makes you smell so damn good. All that, is now pent up frustration, that you caused and is being channelled into rage, that you can deal with. This is outbounds." I wave my hands around my personal space. "I win, when you're on your knees telling me you're sorry and that I can follow through with my threats. You win, if you ever get to see what's under this shirt again."

"Elle, you're not making-"

"Okay, that's long enough. We're going. Now!" Kara interrupts and grabs my arm, her room vanishes leaving me staring at Deimos, not Cain at the end of a small pier. "You should have just fucked him. Not in my room, but the tension in there."

She pretended to fan herself off, before laughing and I was about to say something about her and Deimos, but he looked distracted enough as it was while the whistle from an old paddle steamer is heading down the river gets my attention.

"Shut up." I huff, looking around. "Where are we?"

"Our new home." Kara's clothes change as Cain joins us. All of us change, and my outfit is even simpler than what I remember Faline wearing back in the city. "That's our story okay? We're relocating after Dionysus came by."

"Won't they sense we're Powers?" I ask as she hands me a worn, old duffle bag which I throw over one shoulder.

"Unlikely, but we won't take any risks. Deimos is doing something to hide us. He'll give off enough of a stay away vibe that they'll think is just their nerves at seeing strangers. We came by boat. The ones who got off aren't too far up ahead. We can follow them into town, and check it out."

"Stay close." Cain orders and I fall into step beside him as Kara and Deimos take the lead. "Did she make your bag heavy?"

"No." I smiled, catching his eye which did little to improve his mood as he swapped which arm he carried the bag on with a little more ease than before.

"We should go to the pub, they'll have rooms for hire and help our story." He tells the others.

"Good call." Deimos agrees.

We pass one of the smaller groups, their luggage similar to ours only there's more of it which slows them down. Fishermen walk by us with their nets, two men on a small wagon that's loaded with tree logs yell at us to get off the road and finally after what feels like an eternity, we get into the main hub of the town. The streets are busy. It's like stepping back in time; a wild west movie where instead of cowboys and tumbleweeds everywhere, it's more of the fisherman from before. Everyone here looks tired. Even the horses keep their heads down at their posts. The old wooden buildings are white and grey, the ground a mixture of dark pebbles and black sands. Seeing a few odd patches of weeds and grass make the colour look out of place, just like the flowers in a woman's basket not that far ahead of us. Glancing up, even the sky is grey and lifeless.

Cain takes my hand and I squeeze it tightly, not in the mood to play anymore. This place is depressing and the groups of men that loiter outside of the shops and businesses, aren't looking welcoming. It was the gang that were dressed a little too nice for this area that held my attention, the switchblades in their hands that they all seemed happy to twirl around and around, an odd choice of weapon. Catching me staring, the largest one of the group, lifted his lip in a snarl as he lit a cigar. As he blew out a trail of smoke, he also winked and blew me a kiss. I wasn't worried about them, but if anything did happen, we'd have to destroy our cover and I didn't want that to be now.

"It's all about power here. The less you have, the more you hold onto what you do. They won't do anything, Deimos and I are clearly travelling together, and none of these men could take us. If we were alone, then one might get the courage to try. Apart from you and Kara, we aren't travelling with anything much, so we'll be safe." He whispers.

We finally reach the signage for the pub and sure enough, there's a rooms available sign in the window. Deimos holds the door open, and as the noise from inside escapes, the screams behind us stop me. Turning around, the group we'd passed were being attacked by them that had given me the creeps a second ago.

As I go running to help them, Cain's arm shoots out and I'm stopped. "No. We're not here for them. Remember the plan."

"But-"

Their small cart was tipped over, and two bags were grabbed before the men ran. I wasn't sure what was spilled on the road, but a few brave bystanders took a chance to also grab and run.

"This is life out here, Elise." Kara sighed, putting a hand on my arm. "Today isn't the day we change that."

I was guided inside and a sense of deja vu hit as sweet perfume, stale beer and a subtle aroma of something good being cooked hit my senses. It was loud and busy. If you weren't laughing, talking or arguing, apparently you were attempting to make out or more with the women serving. Their clothes were more like scraps of material, their skirts torn and dirty. As one woman passed us, one of her breasts had fallen out of her shirt and I wasn't sure if that had been intentional.

"I feel like I've been here before," I shouted, and after a second to think about it, Cain nodded.

"This place is worse."

"Yay!" I rolled my eyes as Deimos led us up to the bar.

The bartender was an ancient old man with a hunched back and no teeth. It didn't stop him from smiling at Kara, or winking at her before Deimos requested two rooms.

"If she is looking for work, they'd pay her well." He sucked in a wet breath, failing to stop the drool from running out the corner of his mouth as he slapped down two wooden key tags on the bartop.

"She isn't. We're just passing through since a Power destroyed our home." Deimos told him. "I'm not sure this is the right place for us."

"What price would you sell her for? You could start a nice new life for you up in the city." The old man licked his lips.

"I'm not for sale," Kara growled, and Deimos quickly blocked her from the barman.

"Still not the day we change things?" I taunted.

Kara opened her mouth and soon shut it, reaching around Deimos to snatch the keys.

"Fiesty. I like that in my girls. She'll need it if she wants to survive." He called out after her and as we went to follow, I caught him looking at me and Cain. "You girl. I only smell trouble on you. Where did you all say you were from?"

"We didn't," Cain answered, keeping me in front of him as we followed the other two away and up the stairs to the rooms.

"This is pointless, let's just leave." Kara paced by the window, each footstep making the floors creak.

"Go, I think Cain and I should have a drink." Deimos dropped his bag on the bed and looked at Cain. "Did you see them?"

"Yes."

"Who?" I asked.

"There's a group of men in the back corner. Their clothes are too nice for this area, the swords aren't normal either. Behind them was some kind of poster for the God Killer." Cain threw his bag over to Deimos too. "Stay here, let us check it out. We'll send up drinks, and food for you. See if you can get the woman talking."

"Fine." I agreed, going to stand with Kara by the window.

The street was the same as we left it, the other travellers have gone now. We didn't say anything as we just watched, not even once the guys left us. Standing up for this long after that walk had left my hip sore, and taking my chances on the wooden seat beside the table I sat down and rubbed where it hurt.

"How do you even fix this place?" I asked her.

"No idea. It's going to take time. Undoing centuries of crime and poverty can't happen overnight. There isn't a lot down here, the soil isn't as fertile, the mines that were here have been exhausted. How could I send down guards, create some kind of law and order, when crime is all they have to survive?"

"At least you know if the Queen thing doesn't work out, you can come down here and make nice with the locals?" I shrug, right as a steady thumping starts against the wall beside us, the moaning sound we hear was similar to the noise I made after throwing up. "I hear you'd fetch a good price and she sounds like she's having fun?"

"Funny." She rolled her eyes, before going back to looking out the window while I closed my eyes and regretting coming along. The noises stopped, and a second later a door slammed. "That didn't take long."

"Why don't you talk to them, the people who live here and see what they want?" I look over at her and she shrugs.

"I could, but I know they want money and food. That's easy, but not sustainable long term."

"What if they want schools and better boats to fish with? How many fishermen did we see walking towards the water on our way in?"

"That's not why we're here today. I get you were upset by what happened out there, but-"

"Weren't you? This is why we came. To see what is actually happening down here. You can't ignore it anymore." I stopped as someone knocked on our door and Kara went to open it.

The woman that comes in is the one we passed when we arrived, only now both her breasts are covered. She puts down a water jug and a small plate of fruits and bread without a word and even quicker to leave.

"So much for talking to her." I sigh as the door shuts.

"She wouldn't talk anyway." Kara looks at me, then at the door. "I'm just going to have a little look around. One of them will though."

"Careful, you might get an offer you can't refuse."

"I'll take my chances. Stay."

"Wanna tell me to sit first and that I'm a good girl?" I roll my eyes.

"Why? You're already sitting. That's a good girl." She winks, leaving the room.

Yet I sat, and I stayed, swapping my chair for something more comfortable as I looked out the window, like the obedient bitch I am. It was kind of peaceful, apart from the bad porn soundtrack playing in the background. I didn't even care about any of it now as last night caught up to me and as I fought sleep, it was about my third or tenth head drop when Kara came back in.

"Hey, Sleeping Beauty, wipe the drool off your face and come with me," Kara whispered, looking nervous.

"I wasn't asleep." I protested, yet my mouth felt dry despite the drool she mentioned. Wiping my mouth with the back of my hand, I stood up and stretched. "Maybe I was. What's wrong?"

"Nothing. Much." Kara said slowly. "Just, come on. They're waiting for us."

I followed her down the corridor, and at the end was another set of stairs going up to a third level. Cain was downstairs, so I wasn't sure who was waiting for us as we up and through a small door. It had to be some kind of attic space, and the old woman in the middle of the room had a small gathering of children in front of her. No one looked at us apart from her, and she motioned for us to join them.

"What is this?" I whispered to Kara.

"Just, listen."

The old woman put down her glass of water, and the children got excited. A few exciting murmurs came from them, the once still group now wiggling and fidgeting in their seats.

"Now where was I?"

"It was the part where she released the Dark King from Hades kingdom!" A little girl quickly answered.

I looked at Kara but she was just as focused on the story as the kids.

"Ah, of course." She laughed, though it was more like a wheeze than a chuckle. "Knowing the God Killer and our Queen could only be saved by one as powerful as she, but unable reveal herself to the Erinyes, she travelled the Underworld."

"But Hades would trap her there!" The same little girl gasped.

"No, he won't. He isn't that powerful. Is he?" A tiny dark-haired girl beside her looked horrified at the thought.

"He never even knew she was there." All the children seemed to deflate with relief. "The told the Dark King of what he must do, and that when the time is right, she would reveal herself to all and that would be when the final battle takes place."

"But, if she is so powerful, why doesn't she just kill them all?" The boy leapt up, making stabbing movements. "I'd tell them to go away and if they didn't. Die and die and die, those evil creatures!"

"Ssh Macky, you know she doesn't like to be interpreted." Two hands reached up to tug him back down to sit with the group, and the look on his face was of pure confusion as he stared at the girls because that's all they had been doing since I got here.

"Interrupted." Someone behind them corrected.

"Yeah. That too!"

"She isn't ready to face them, not yet." The storyteller smiled down at her audience, her love for them clear as her eyes looked at each one. "With the Dark King returned, the Erinyes fled, for the God Killer had her greatest ally returned to her side and wounded them greatly. It was not a battle they could win."

"What is this? Is it a story about Hecate, no, the Fourth?" I whispered to Kara, not sure what I was actually listening to now.

She shook her head. "No. Doesn't any of that sound just a little bit familiar? It's obviously you, but in these stories, they're calling you the Empress."

"I'm sorry, did you say Empress?" I didn't stay quiet this time, my a little too high-pitched for it be ignored which made a whole lot of little eyes turn our way and a big shush to follow. "Sorry."

"From what I've heard and your reaction this isn't news to you is it?" She frowned, ignoring the second shush to come our way as the old woman kept talking. "I guess you worked out who you are now then?"

"I haven't done anything." Which wasn't a lie. "It was a stupid tarot card. I don't even know what it all means!"

"I guess it's been decided for you then." She turned back to the woman and her stories about my life, our life as the last few weeks were retold like a folktale that had been passed down for generations.

I hated that Kara was right, it had been decided for me and when Cain and Deimos came back to our room sometime later, the poster Deimos put on the table only seemed to verify that. The people here had thrown their support behind a new saviour.

The Empress.

"None of this makes any sense." It was a weak defence, and I had a feeling Kara wasn't buying it. "That Harpy's even said they were being caught to be taken to the Queen. To stay in her favour or whatever."

"Because the Empress told them to." Deimos pointed out.

"Then it can't be me, because I didn't!"

"You don't have to. Not literally." Cain sighed. "Someone has been out here, talking to them about this new, yet old, Power. It was after Dionysus was defeated, or at least that's the best we could get out of them. The Queen acts on your behalf."

Looking at Kara, her cheeks had pinked slightly and she just stared out the window now.

"The Empress was very much the God Killer, but passed on her title once she ah, outgrew it." Deimos explained awkwardly. "One of the men gave us this for a small fee. He was going to give it to his children."

He pulled out a small book, the girl in the drawings clearly me and while I couldn't read the script it was in, the pictures gave enough away. It was worse than when Cain had been King and as Apollo had told me, the myth of the God Killer had taken on a life of her own. Now this new persona I knew nothing about was already doing the same thing.

"We find who started it." I decide.

"Would Portia be capable-" Deimos started.

"No," Cain answered. "I know who did though. Hecate."

"What?" That got Kara's attention. "Why Hecate?"

"Because she was the one who gave the Magician the message to pass onto me." It felt like a confession, and as Kara stormed out of the room, I knew I wasn't the one that could go after her this time. 

Deimos hesitated before I nodded and then he was gone too.

"I hope Hecate knows what she's doing." Cain pulled me onto his lap and I collapsed against him as I was the opposite of what it meant to be this new fictional character as the tears returned yet again.

"Me too."