Page 21 of Guided by the Stars
“Look, Beautiful, I know you’re here against your will and all that, and I am sorry we’ve separated you from your friend,” I hear Jax whisper to her. “But if you cut him some slack, things might get easier. Sure, he can be a dick, but there’s a reason he’s like that. You may not understand it or believe me, but this wasn’t his idea, nor did he have much of a choice.”
A feminine snort follows his words and I grimace. I wish he wouldn’t do that. She’s not my friend, and I won’t stand around sharing personal woes while we traverse this shitty place.
“That goes both ways, Jay-man. There are reasons I’m this way too, and I bet I’ve had a shittier lot in life than both of you. So, while you might want to spout your bullshit about not having any choices, you’ve gotta realize that’s all it is. Bullshit. There’s always a choice, he just chose the cowardly one.”
Silence follows her words and my skin prickles with the weight of her eyes on me. She thinks her life is shittier than mine? What pathetic problems could a human have, anyway? From what I saw of her and her friend, they were living the dream. I can’t go or do whatever I want when the mood hits. I’ve seen what happens to people who defy my father and have felt the terror he rains down personally. He said it himself, I could go as I was or covered in my own blood. And if a blood-covered warrior with a bad attitude showed up to whisk her away, she’d have been way more fucking terrified.
I breathe through the anger coursing through my veins at her words and slow my pace so they can catch up.
“The stars guide our path,” Jax tells her. “But it’s up to us to find the meaning behind it.”
Before she can respond, I clear my throat as we crest a small hill. Her eyes flick to mine, her brows creased as she tries to understand what she just heard. Sometimes even I don’t get the prophetic bullshit he spews.
“These are the Asphodel Meadows,” I say, raising my outstretched arms. “Where all souls go if their lives were ordinary. If they weren’t particularly good or evil, they get to spend the afterlife doing the same.”
She looks around, the green haze thinner in this area and easier to see through. Her eyes pause on a pale flower up ahead and she walks to it, bending down to examine the petals.
“There are flowers down here?”
“We have many things down here. Though, as you can tell, it’s all a little…colorless,” I say, looking around. Asphodel flowers fill the meadow, their petals a grayish-white that makes them appear more eerie than beautiful.
I kneel beside her and pluck one, reaching out to tuck it behind her ear. The red of her hair is in stark contrast to the ghostly white flower, yet it somehow seems right. In a realm void of life, she’s a beacon.
I stand suddenly, remembering why she’s here. She’s lived and I haven’t. Felt joy and happiness, when all I’ve felt is pain and disappointment, and longing for something more. I need to remind myself that it’s a worthy sacrifice. Maybe not noble, but I don’t care. I’ve played the part for far too long, waiting for the tides to turn in my favor only to realize it’s quicksand, and if I don’t get free, I’ll suffocate.
“Let’s go,” I say, my voice hard. “This isn’t some romantic stroll through the garden. We’ve got a lot of ground to cover.”
With quick steps, I move further down the path, leaving her to catch up. When I glance back, I notice she’s taken the flower from her hair and it lies crumpled in the black grass at her feet. Jax is staring at me with a quizzical look on his face and honestly, I’m confused too. I’m not the type who puts flowers in the hair of women, let alone a captive whose sole purpose is to pay the toll for my freedom.
The meadow is large, packed full with souls drifting without purpose like smoke on the wind. With their memories wiped after drinking at the Lethe, all are clueless as to their lives on Earth. Though some may have known each other before, they’re all strangers here.
“This place is fucked up,” Adriane says beside me. “What are they doing here? It’s like they’re all waiting for someone to bring them home, but no one ever shows.”
The emotions in her voice startle me. The pain spills out with her words, giving them texture, and for the first time, I allow myself to consider that what I see may not be the full story. Was the happy image I saw on Earth all a show, or is this just an attempt to garner pity and release? I ignore the voice inside my head begging for answers and let out a sigh, because she’s right. I explain that every single soul in here led a mediocre life, and in death they receive the same. “If I was in charge, though, things would be different.”
“How?”
“Well, for starters, being average isn’t a bad thing, and this place fails to recognize that. It’s fucking gloomy, boring. The options for souls are too limited. There are areas for the wicked souls, the rapists and murders or those that go against the gods. And we have a place for the most virtuous and heroic souls. Why should the only benefit of living a neutral life be the lack of torture?”
Her eyes search my face, and for a moment I feelsomething. It’s foreign, uncomfortable, and yet I lean closer, as if an invisible tether binds us.
A small smile plays on her lips as she asks, “So what other benefits would you give them for being so ordinary?”
I don’t answer right away, but continue walking. She falls in step beside me and we take in the scene before us. “Things have changed since I was little. More and more souls come here now, which is why it’s so crowded. But if we gave them something to do, it might not be so depressing. A spark of warmth, perhaps, or small pieces of their memories left intact so they remember friends or family. The afterlife doesn’t have to be so lonely, especially for those who clearly made decent enough choices not to be complete dicks.”
“So why not make those changes now? You’re the prince, right? Man up and do something about it.”
A laugh rumbles through my chest as I take in her words. If my status had any real bearing to it the last fucking place I’d be is on a stroll through the Underworld with the human equivalent to a sacrificial lamb.
“Unfortunately, my title is more of a curse than a blessing. Hades rules all, including me, and I learned a long time ago that he’s not one to cross or disobey. If your views differ from his, well, you change them or pay the price.”
“What’s the price?” she asks, watching me as if trying to peel back the layers of skin and bone to see what my soul looks like. But she can’t quite marry the asshole who kidnapped her to this alternative version.
Several answers float through my head, but I give her the only one that matters.
“Blood.”
Nora
