Page 50 of A Single Thread Of Hope

Letting his head slump back, Milo stared at the moon. “I don’t trust anything anymore.”

And that was the problem. Neither did I.

Chapter 27

CYDON

Charon was looking between me and Wren knowingly, like just his gaze could make me spill my guts about what was going on. Granted, it probably could, if I’d had any fucking idea myself. Finally, he huffed and turned toward Wren. “So you’re Cydon’s little bird.”

She gave him a weak smile. Her death was catching up with her. “So he tells me.”

“The mother of the Kuningilin.”

She nodded. “Though the title is new.”

Charon laughed, using his barge pole to move through the water, souls swirling around it like they could climb it to get on board. “Do you know why, in some parts of Europe, they call wrens kinglets?” He looked between us, but I actually had no idea either.

“I’m sure you’re about to enlighten us, old man.”

He snorted. “Who are you calling old? I’m not too old to throw you in the Acheron for a turn around the sun.” His words were softened by the laughter in his voice. We were friends, and I was pretty sure that if I fell in, he would pull me out. Like… seventy percent sure.

Rolling his eyes at me, he turned back to Wren. “As I was saying, there is an old fable—I couldn’t tell you where it started—about a flight of birds electing a king. They couldn’t decide if it should be the wisest, the strongest, the biggest, or the most fearsome. In the end, they decided that the bird that could fly the highest would become king.

“So birds of every kind raced into the sky, and one by one, they all dropped out, until it was just the eagle flying high above the clouds. When he began to tire and could no longer fly higher, a little wren, which had been tucked inside the feathers on his back, burst out and flew even further up than the eagle could manage. Thus becoming king.”

Wren tilted her head at him. “Am I the eagle in this story? Or the bird who cheated his way into becoming king?”

Charon shrugged. “You’re you. But I don’t think he cheated. He was always going to be at a disadvantage; all the smaller birds were. The bigger, stronger birds underestimated them, and in the end, the underdog won with cleverness. That is something to be applauded, in my opinion. Sometimes you can’t bulldoze your way out of a problem.” He looked over at me, giving me a heavy look. “Sometimes you have to think your way around it. Especially problems where the odds are not in your favor.”

We were silent, and I watched the bank on the other side of the River Styx get closer and closer. I wasn’t surprised to see Cerberus on the shore. It was his post, after all. But beside him was someone whowasa surprise, and I stood a little closer to Wren.

The barge bumped up to the bank, and I picked her up, jumping off the ferry and onto the riverbank. I wasn’t risking her accidentally tumbling off the boat into the river. Charon helped Fea off the barge too, and if anyone was surprised to see a random person there with us, it didn’t show on their faces.

Wren looked up at the hellhound with wide, scared eyes. I guess he was pretty fearsome; he was the size of a house, with three snapping heads and paws that could crush a small car into a pancake. There was a reason he protected the gates of the Underworld, and it wasn’t because he was soft and cuddly.

“Holy shit,” Wren breathed, her arms around my neck tightening. “He’s not going to eat us, right? I know I’m already dead, but I’m not really down with being chewed up and shit out by a monster-sized dog.”

I snorted a laugh. At least she still had her sense of humor. “Nah, he’s fine. Basically a glorified Pomeranian.” I slipped her to her feet. “Wren, meet Cerberus, the fearsome protector of the entry to the Underworld. Never defeated, except by one ditzy girl with a honey cake.” I raised an eyebrow at Cerberus. “Twice.”

As I knew he would, Cerberus quickly changed from his hound form back to his human form. “Hey, Sephy said Ihadto let her pass. What was the harm in eating a honey cake for the effort? You know how hard it is to get a good honey cake in the Underworld?” Bounding over, he wrapped me up in a hug. If it had just been me here, I would have shifted into my dog form and we’d have run and played for a while, but I didn’t want to freak Wren out any further. Down here, my dog form was easily as big as Cerberus, but without the extra heads.

“It’s so good to see you, Cy. You don’t visit enough.”

I slapped him on the back. “I’ve been busy. I’m a dad now.”

Wren let out a choked noise at the mention of the boys, and I slapped my own head. How insensitive could I be?

Looking over at Wren, Cerberus dipped his chin. “Mother of Fate. It’s nice to meet you. Clee and Sephy have nothing but wonderful things to say about you.”

“Not Hades?” she asked lightly, and Cerberus laughed.

“Hades doesn’t have anything nice to say about anyone, except Sephy. Don’t take it personally. I’ve been his companionsince nearly the dawn of the Underworld, and I’m pretty sure he barely tolerates me.”

Charon laughed, and so did I. It wasn’t true; anyone who’d seen them all together knew that the love between the guys and Persephone was something they would write sonnets about. Epic poems would be penned about their love. But they were very private, and other than Hades, Persephone’s relationship with the guys was kept pretty under wraps.

“How’s your mom?” I asked, and I watched Wren put the pieces together.

Cerberus was one of the great monsters of the Greek myths, and his parents were… “Holy shit, your mother is Ekhidna. I’m so sorry.” Wren looked pale, but Cerberus just waved a hand.

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