The sound of water is everywhere: rising, falling, rushing through rivulets, choking on moss. The work of Demeter has not been kind to the marvelous channels that nurture the gardens of the halls of the [i]Plousios.[/i] Green sprouts defiantly between the tiles, clings to the walls, hangs from the arms of statues. Above, lamps like captured stars hang in inverted pyramids, and all is an endless day.

The triangles and Ceronian gift are both gone. Not thrown away; folded and hidden in her marvelous closet, so neat, so dainty, while Bella hung around outside. She’s back in practical, form-fitting leathers, straps, tool-and-swordbelt, a kerchief for a splash of color. Her hair is pulled back, and it does nothing to hide her face as she looks at and doesn’t really see her surroundings. Clues. She’s supposed to be looking for clues.

“Thanks,” she says, and then coughs, awkwardly. Bella is a towering, brooding silence of contempt. And why wouldn’t she be? After how useless she was, how ridiculous. “Was that— the sort of thing you trained for? Saving me?” Because, right, Bella’s an Assassin, too. All that time just pretending to be a maid.

Could Assassins and Princesses kiss? Not that there would be kisses. But if Beautiful wasn’t in the picture, would that, because Assassins have power, and— no, she’s still hampered by that law inside of her, the one that tells her to panic when Dany’s not around. If anything, the most she could do if things went bad was to put Dany on a leash and. and. mmf. [i]Bad[/i] Dany. No thinkies.

No, keep thinkies. There’s something important. Something that’s not clicking. You almost had it.

“All this time, I thought it was just Mynx looking out after me. Protecting me from the Admiralty. Why would I need more than one bodyguard? But you’re [i]really[/i] strong. How did you have time to train when you also had to hang out with me and clean and—“

There’s the thought. Grab it. Don’t let it go. Let it out as a gasp, instead.

“Oh, [i]Bella.[/i] I wasn’t thinking! If I go across… Iskarot told me that you have to stay with me or it’ll be bad for you.” Worse than bad. Don’t think about Bella tearing at herself. Don’t. “We can fix that. We still have time. There’s people on board who could help take that away, so you don’t have to keep following me. Then you can do what [i]you[/i] want.” [i]Who[/i] you want. The face of Beautiful springs to mind unbidden. “So don’t worry. Okay?”

And you can stay down here in the underworld, with your lover, until Dany finds a way to help everyone up and out of the pit. Until she does what her mother hoped she’d never do.

Because that part of the story is wrong, isn’t it? Nero-Hermes wouldn’t have sent her to the Lethe. She never meant for Redana to be here. It all fits together. Redana was supposed to be the one who stayed behind, if Mommy needed to carry the message herself. And she’s come too far to turn around and go back, especially because what if running away makes Mommy think she’s not and never will be ready to look after all of humanity?

No. This is just the way it has to be. For everyone, for humanity, for the servitors, for Hades, Dany’s going to have to cross the Lethe and take the message to—

To Persephone. Who else could it be for? And then she’ll get her wish, and she’ll break open that door and let everyone out, and she’ll set them all free— Bella and Beautiful, Beljani and Epistia, Vasilia and Dolce, Alexa and Lacedo, and even Nero. Everybody will be free, and they’ll have another chance to fix everything.

And that’s a dream so big that she doesn’t have room to worry about what will happen to her, either during or after the quest.