Prologue

Hades stood on the precipice of a terrible yawning distance, a vast cavern that dwarfed his divine frame. Perched on a rock teetering at the edge of the abyss, one misstep and both he and the rock would cascade into the blackness. 

But Hades rarely mis-stepped.

Hades’s eyes glowed as he surveyed the Underworld. The whites of his immortal eyes were the only light in the immense cavern. The hushed whisper of an empty wind slid from a tangle of passageways that led off into every conceivable direction. A sense of loss permeated the air.

“It’s more terrible than I imagined.” 

Zeus emerged from a tunnel, clasping his thunderbolt. The weapon illuminated the great open space of the Underworld, but Hades saw nothing more in the newfound light. 

The rugged walls shone, dripping with what felt like tears from uncountable ages. Pillars stretched from the floor to the ceiling, unevenly spaced, crooked as an old man’s spine. Jagged cones of rock rose out of the ground, as if reaching for salvation, but finding only bitter hopelessness. A dull black river snaked along the bottom of the ravine, unevenly slicing the massive space in two: the Styx. 

“The stench is awful.”

Hades felt a stabbing pain in his chest. The pain wrenched his heart, making it hard to breathe. How could Persephone be in such a place? 

“What now?” Zeus kicked away a rodent the size of his muscled forearm. The creature tumbled to its demise far below.

Hades’s eyes narrowed. 

“Now we find her. And take her back.”