Dax lets go of my shoulders. He has the audacity to look upset. Joe wouldn't have been attacked if Dax had been there. I wouldn't have had to expose my powers in front of Daphne.

I take a swing at him. It's an impulsive move, and I think I've caught him off guard for once, but he grabs my fist midair. He uses it to force me into one of the armchairs. "Sit down. Shut up. And tell me what exactly the Tartarus happened!"

Dax doesn't raise his voice often, but when he does, it has the same effect as a punch to the jaw.

Reason returns to me, and I realize there's no one to blame for what happened tonight. Not Dax, not Daphne, not Joe, and not even myself.

I had made the prideful mistake of thinking I had any control over any of this. What had happened had happened. No matter how I disliked it, it was what fate had wanted.

"What I don't get is why would fate choose me for this quest, and then rip away my chances for success right when everything was starting to come together?"

"Maybe you're supposed to go down a different path," Dax says. "Maybe because you're supposed to make your own fate."

I glare at him. "That's blasphemy."

"Maybe. Maybe not. Does anyone really know?"

"You're addled."

"You still haven't told me what happened."

I'm quiet for a moment. "She kissed me."

"Nice," Dax says. "How is that a bad thing?"

"It's what happened afterward. . . ." I launch into the story of Joe being attacked by the Keres and how I killed it.

"You killed it?" he asks, interrupting me. "You killed a Keres? Are you sure?"

"It exploded into a thousand little pieces. I'm pretty sure it's dead."

"How?"

"I don't really know. It's like it had a reaction to Daphne's voice or something. It became solid just long enough for me to blast it."

"That's intense."

"Tell me about it. I don't know what I would have done otherwise."

"You still haven't gotten to the part where Daphne kisses you," Dax says. "Get to the goods." As amazing as Daphne's kiss had been, I can barely muster the words to tell Dax the rest of the story.

He lets out a low whistle when I get to part when Daphne saw my scars and ran away.

"I can see how that would complicate things. She probably thinks you're a total nut job."

"A what?" I shake my head, getting it. "Never mind."

"So what are you going to do now?"

"What can I do?" Fate had brought this down on my head. Perhaps as punishment for my acts of disobedience? My hubris? "She's never going to talk to me again." Dax starts to say something but a dinging chime rings through the house. I stand up, searching for the origin of the noise.

"It's the doorbell," he says.

"Ignore it," I say.

"I bet Garrick forgot his keys."

"Let him sit in the cold for a bit." I don't want Garrick to be a part of this conversation. He'd probably go squealing it all to Simon.

Dax sighs and heads for the front door. I sit back in the armchair and bury my head in my hands. I'd been a fool for ever thinking I could pull this off.

"Seems I was wrong," Dax says, coming back into the family room. "And so were you. You have a visitor, Haden."

I tug at my hair and look up at Dax . . . and find Daphne standing right next to him.

She crosses her long, tanned arms in front of her chest. "I want answers," she says. "And I'm not leaving until I get the truth."

Daphne has planted herself beside one of the armchairs and shows no signs of leaving anytime soon. I pull Dax aside.

"What am I supposed to tell her?"

"Try the truth."

"I'm not suppose to do that until the Eve of the Return."

"I'd say your ox is in the mire."

"I have no idea what that means."

"It means that based on the dire circ.u.mstances, an exception is in order."

"As in, I'm harpied if I do, and harpied if I don't?"

"Exactly. Always best to go for the truth in these situations." I drag my hand through my hair and turn toward Daphne. She looks at me expectantly-but not in a good way.

I huff out a big sigh. "So . . . this is going to sound a bit addled. . . . But . . . you see . . ." I look at Dax, hoping he can help me find the right words. He just shrugs. d.a.m.ned useful guide he turned out to be.

"Here's the thing. I'm not from around here, and I'm not from the East Coast, either. I'm from somewhere much farther away than that. I'm from . . ."

"The underworld," Daphne says, finishing my admission for me. "Ummm . . . what? How did you know?"

"It was kind of a stab in the dark, but thanks for confirming it." She crosses her arms. "Still not sure I believe it, though."

Dax makes a gurgling noise like he's either choking or laughing. "I told you I liked this girl." Daphne looks at him, her eyes narrowed. "Do I know you?"

"This is Dax. He's my cousin, sort of," I say. "But you've probably seen him around school. He's a guidance counselor. Mr. Drool."

"Hey," he says. "That's Mr. Drol. Though I do see my mistake in name choice now."

"No," Daphne says, shaking her head. "I haven't seen you at school. Have we met elsewhere?" He shrugs.

"He's supposed to be my guide. But you're not helping all that much at the moment," I add pointedly to him.

"Guide? As in, you've been here before?"

"Yes," Dax says.

"Six years ago?" Her voice has an accusatory edge to it, and I realize the direction she's headed with in this line of questioning. Tobin's sister. That's not a road neither I nor Dax wants to go down at the moment. Not if I want a chance at salvaging this situation.

I clear my throat, stopping Dax from responding. "We were talking about the underworld. . . ."

"Oh yes," Daphne says. "So are you a G.o.d or something?"

I almost laugh. "No."

"You're not Hades, then?"

"No."

"Who is Hades, then?" Her eyes flick to Dax. He shakes his head. "Does he exist?"

"He did."

"Did?"

"He's dead."

"G.o.ds can die?"

"If you take away their totem, yes. But we're getting off topic."

"Who are you, then?"

"I am Lord Haden, son of King Ren-the current ruler of the underworld. Champion chosen to fulfill a sacred quest."

Daphne steeples her fingers. "And let me guess. That quest is to bring me back to the underworld so I can be your queen or something?"

Her expression is cool and calm, and I wonder if she's really as nonplussed about all these reality-rocking revelations as she seems. For the first time since she walked away from me this evening, I wonder if I still have a chance of pulling this quest off. Of convincing her to come with me. Maybe this is the way the Fates wanted it to be. I am not to be a failure, after all.

Hope rises in my chest. I can practically taste the nectar I will be served upon my victorious return. I can see the expression on my father's face when he will be obliged to offer me the seat at his right hand instead of Rowan. All I have to do is make Daphne understand.

"Yes, in a way. I was chosen by the Oracle. I've been sent here to convince you to return with me.

You are my Boon."

Daphne scowls. "Your Boon? Like your prize?" A shakiness creaks into her voice and I realize too late that she's not as cool with all of this as she's been pretending to be. "That's disgusting. That's beyond wrong."

"You're not just a prize," I say, lifting my hands. "You're not just any Boon. You're the Cypher."

"What the h.e.l.l is that supposed to mean?"

"I don't exactly know. We have a theory." I glance at Dax, but he doesn't jump in to help me. "I'm supposed to take you to the Underrealm so you can help the Court of Heirs find the Key of Hades. It's kind of vitally important."

"Take me?" Her voice wars between sounding angry and afraid. Anger wins out. "You think you can cut my name into your arm and act like I belong to you? You think you can just take me?"

"No," I say, trying to step closer to her. She moves away, putting the armchair between us. "I made that mistake once-when I tried to grab you in the grove-but I won't make it again. Coming with me has to be your decision. I need your consent. You have to say yes." Daphne stands up straighter, pulling herself to her full height. I wonder if anyone has ever told her she looks like an Amazon warrior when she's angry.

"Then, no," she says.

"Pardon?"

"You're some fancy-pants prince. Go tell your king daddy or this Oracle or whoever that I sayno.

Tell them to choose somebody else."

"I can't, Daphne. I can't just choose somebody else. Number one, because n.o.body would listen to me.

I'm not exactly the Court's favorite person. And secondly, because you were chosen by the Oracle.

You were chosen by fate. You're the Cypher. This whole thing is a whole lot bigger than you and me." I can feel it in my soul how important this all is. "You can't just say no. This is your destiny."

"It has to be my choice but I can't say no? That's some pretty messed-up logic, you know."

"This has nothing to do with logic. It's about destiny. Our destiny."

"Shove your destiny. I don't believe in destiny or G.o.ds or oracles-even if they are real. What I believe in is myself. In my choices and my plans. I've got my plan for how my life is going to turn out, and it certainly doesn't involve consenting to being dragged down to some mythological world of the dead. So my answer still stands. No."

"What if the fate of your world depended on it?" Because if Garrick is right and the walls of the Pithos are falling, and bringing Daphne to the Underrealm is the only way to stop it, the fates of both her world and mine are hanging in the balance.

She grips the edge of the armchair so hard, it looks like she might pierce through the fabric with her fingers. "Then I'd say, find another way."

"There is no other way. This is what the Oracle decreed, so it's what must be done."

"Actually," Dax says from the couch. The expression on his face makes it seem as though he's been enjoying a really good show. "There might be another way."

"What?" Daphne and I say in unison.

"Well, not another way, per se. But perhaps a way to find out some more information on all of this.

See if there is another option even available."

"What is it?" Daphne asks.

"What if you could talk to an Oracle again?" Dax says to me.

"She resides in Elysium. That would be impossible."

"There's more than one Oracle, Haden. You know that. Even one or two in this realm."