Deity (Covenant #3)(56)

“No. Persephone owed me one. We were playing Mario Kart Wii, and I let her win. I cashed in my favor.”

I pulled back, wiping the tears off my face with the back of my hand. “You have the Wii down here?”

“What?” He grinned, and oh gods, I’d thought I’d never see that grin again. “We get bored. Especially Persephone, when she’s down here during these months. Usually Hades doesn’t play, thank the gods. He freaking cheats.”

“Wait. You play Mario Kart with Hades and Persephone?”

“I’m kind of a celebrity down here, because of you. When I first… arrived, I was taken straight to Hades. He wanted to know everything about you. I guess I kind of grew on him.” Caleb shrugged and then he pulled me back in for another one of his mammoth hugs. “Gods Alex, I wanted to see you again. I just didn’t think it would be like this.”

“You’re telling me,” I said dryly. “What… what is it like?”

“It’s not bad, Alex. Not bad at all,” he said softly. “There are things I miss, but it’s like being alive, only not.”

Then it struck me. “Caleb, is… is my mom here?”

“Yes, she is. And she’s really nice.” He paused, pursing his lips. “Really nice considering she hasn’t tried to kill me this time around, you know.”

I felt nauseous, which was strange since I was supposed to be dead. “You’ve talked to her?”

“Yes. Seeing her the first time was really weird, but what she was when she had us isn’t who she is now. She’s your mom, Alex. The mom you remember.”

“You sound like you’ve forgiven her.”

“I have.” He wiped away the fresh tears gathering on my cheeks. “You know, I wouldn’t have in life, not really. But once you finally accept the whole dying thing, it kind of enlightens you a bit. And she was forced into becoming a daimon. They really don’t hold that against you down here.”

“They don’t?” Oh, gods, I was going to start crying again.

“Not at all, Alex.”

Some of the guards were gathering close to us. I focused on Caleb, hoping they weren’t going to pull us apart. “I have to see her! Can you take—?”

“No, Alex. You can’t see her. She doesn’t even know you’re here, and that’s probably for the best right now.”

Disappointment swamped me. “But—”

“Alex, how do you think your mom would feel if she knew you were here? There’s only one reason why you’d be here. It would upset her.”

Dammit, he had a point. But I was here, which meant I was dead. Wouldn’t I be seeing her soon anyway? So that logic failed with me.

“I’ve missed you,” he said again, and it brought me back to him.

I clenched the front of his shirt, and words I wanted to say spilled forth. “Caleb, I’m so, so sorry for everything. What happened in Gatlinburg and… and I didn’t really pay attention to what you were going through afterward. I was so stuck on myself.”

“Alex—”

“No. I am sorry. Then what happened to you. It wasn’t fair. None of it was. And I’m so sorry.”

Caleb lowered his forehead to mine and I swore his eyes glistened. “It wasn’t your fault, Alex. Okay? Never think that.”

“I just miss you so much. I didn’t know what to do after you… left. I hated you for dying.” I choked up. “And I just wanted you back so bad.”

“I know.”

“But I don’t hate you. I love you.”

“I know,” he said again. “But you need to know that none of that was your fault, Alex. This was meant to happen. I understand that now.”

I laughed thickly. “Gods, you sound so wise. What the hell, Caleb?”

“Death made me smart, I guess.” His gaze searched my face. “You don’t look any different. It just seems so… so long since I last saw you.”

“You look better.” I traced my fingers down his face, pressing my lips together. Caleb looked marvelous to me. There wasn’t a hint of all that he’d suffered. He seemed at peace, fulfilled in a way he hadn’t been when he was alive. “I just miss you so much.”

Caleb squeezed me tighter and he laughed. “I know, but we need to stop with this friendship bonding crap, Alex. First we’re tortured by daimons together and now we’ve both been stabbed. That’s taking the ‘we do everything together’ to an all-new high.”


Tears streamed down my face, but I laughed again. He felt so warm and real. Alive. “Gods, I really am dead.”

“Yeah, you sort of are.”

I sniffled. “How can I be sort of dead?”

Caleb pulled back and tipped his chin down. A mischievous smile tugged at his lips. “Well, there’s this really big, blond god raising all kinds of hell with Hades right now. Apparently you’re still in limbo or something. Your soul is still up for grabs.”

My insides knotted, and I blinked. “What?”

He nodded. “You’re not going to be dead for very long.”

I wiped under my eyes. “I’ve been here for hours. I’m so dead.”

“Hours here is only seconds there,” he explained. “When I came up here I was worried it was too late, that Hades had already released you.”