“No. I know you still hate me. I guess I’m trying to appeal to your humanity.”

“Yeah, well, right now it’s at the Fields of Asphodel.”

He nodded his head, probably expecting as much. “Can’t blame me for trying.”

“I can blame you for a lot of other things, though. Like all of us being stuck here in the first place.”

“Are you saying I was your downfall?” He finally let go of my arm and shoved his hands in his pockets.

“That’s putting it mildly.” I glared at him as the memories of all the ways he used me flooded my mind. The good thing about my time in Liz’s body was that I could almost forget the events of the past few months. All but Alex. Now everything was back. All those feelings. All that pain.

“Should I be prepared for a dose of poison to keep me under control until you go through with your plan?”

“Not unless you make me resort to that.”

“Then you do trust me.”

“As far as I can throw you.”

He reached for my bicep and gently squeezed it. “Hmm, doesn’t look good.”

He was being that guy again. The almost-human one. “Don’t do that.”

He lowered his hand and shoved it back into his pocket. “Sorry.”

“No, I didn’t mean touching my arm.” I moved away, knowing he’d take that as an invitation to touch me again. That was just the way he was. “Not that I want you doing that again, either. I just meant don’t try to act nice. You only do that when you want something. You play people like that, and I’m not in the mood. I have too much on my mind.”

“Are you telling me you want me to be a jerk to you?”

Ugh! He was so frustrating. “How about we don’t talk? That seems like the best solution.”

He shrugged, and to my surprise he didn’t say another word.

Alex ran up to me when he saw me approaching with Chase in tow. “What’s he doing here?”

“He was my way out of there without looking suspicious.”

Alex glared at him. “You can leave now.”

“No, I can’t. If I go back without Jodi, Hades will come looking for her.”

“He’s right.” I reached for Alex. His touch felt incredible. He pulled me to him, wrapping me tightly in his arms.

“We should do this quickly before anything goes wrong.”

“I don’t trust him,” Alex whispered in my ear. “He might go running back to Hades.”

“He’s scared. He doesn’t want to be here any more than we do.”

“What are you saying?” He let go of me, studying my face for answers. “You’re not thinking of—” He looked past me at Chase. “Please, don’t let him play you like that again.”

“I haven’t made up my mind either way yet. All I’m worried about right now is getting my human soul back in my body before Hades figures out what I’m doing.” I kept my voice low, hoping Chase wouldn’t hear. I turned to face him. “You’ll need to go wait over there.” I pointed off toward Tartarus.

“Why?”

“Do I really need to answer that?” Our lack-of-trust issue was obvious.

“Fine.” He turned and walked off. “Far enough for you?” he yelled back.

“Turn around.”

He rolled his eyes, but he did as I asked.

“Okay, here’s the plan. After I call my soul back to me, we’ll tell Chase that I wanted to see it off before it wandered deep into the Fields. It was a closure thing. He’ll buy that.”

Alex nodded. “Sounds good. But what’s our next move after that?”

“I have no idea.” I sounded like a complete failure as a leader, but I wasn’t going to lie to Alex and pretend I had this great plan to free us all. I had nothing.

I stood in front of my human soul and reached my fingers for the ghostly hands. I willed my blood to mix. I spoke only with my mind. “Come back to me. Find a place beneath the Ophi half of my soul.” I watched the soul shimmer and enter my body. It was like seeing a ghost walk straight through my chest. I felt its presence as it struggled to find a place to settle. My blood pushed it down, burying it deep inside me.

The soul didn’t resist at all. It knew its place inside me, and maybe it was even relieved not to be sent to the Fields, where it would lose itself entirely. Once the process was complete, I no longer felt like two separate people. I was whole again. Even with the human side of me dead, I needed that half of my soul to be fully me.

“Everything okay?” Alex asked.

“Yeah. Good as new.” I threw my arms around him and pressed my lips to his. I could’ve stayed like that forever, but a mist of white soared through the air, landing next to us. The second it took shape, my heart nearly stopped.

“Medusa?”

Chapter 29

It couldn’t be possible. I’d seen Liz’s body fall when my soul released. How had Medusa gotten free? As I stared at her, I wondered if I’d completely lost my mind and was seeing things. After all that had happened, it wouldn’t be so unbelievable.

“Yes, Jodi. It’s me.” Her soul smiled at me, looking motherly as usual. Well, except for the snakes on her head, which were slithering about freely after being trapped in the statue for so long. No matter how much I loved Medusa, those snakes would always freak me out.

“How? My soul released before I could free you. I tried to hold on, but I couldn’t.”

“When your soul released, Liz’s body was still gripping the pliers. The force of her fall snapped the tip of the statue’s finger off. It was a small hole, and it took some time to get my soul out of it. But I’m here now, and I’m ready to move forward with our plan.”

I swallowed hard. Something had actually gone right. It hadn’t just been the pliers I’d heard hit the floor. A small part of Medusa’s finger had come off. And now she was here, which meant we might get out of here.

Alex stared in awe. “Wow, is this how she appeared to you when you connected to the statue?” He quickly covered his eyes. “I’m not going to turn to stone or anything, am I?”

I was the only living Ophi who’d ever seen Medusa. They could feel her power when they touched the statue, but that was the extent of the connection they had to her.

“Yes, and no, you won’t turn to stone.” Even though Medusa never told me, I knew her curse didn’t affect the Ophi. We were immune to it. “She’s beautiful, isn’t she?”

Medusa smiled at us both. “I could see you all along, Alex. You’ve done well, protecting Jodi. I can’t tell you how much I appreciate that.” Her snakes reached out to him, almost lovingly. Almost. They were still snakes, after all.

Alex blushed. “It was my pleasure.”

“Medusa, how are you here? Why didn’t your soul go to the palace to be judged?”

“My blood is in your veins. Part of me truly lies in you. My soul was drawn to you because of it.” I smiled, thankful that I didn’t have to rescue Medusa from Hades. “As much as I’d love to catch up, we must move quickly. It won’t be long before Hades senses the presence of my soul. This much power won’t go unnoticed.”

She was right. We had to move quickly. “How do we do this? How do we get your soul into my body?”

“Much the same as when you reunited your human soul with your Ophi soul.” She could see that just by looking at me. Amazing! “Call me to you, but be prepared.”

She’d warned me that this wouldn’t be pretty for either one of us, but we had to be strong and make it work. “Will you be able to talk through me? I mean, which one of us will be controlling my body? The two-soul thing must be confusing.”

“I will let you control your own body. I’ll only talk through you when necessary, and we will be able to communicate in your mind, just like we did when I was in the statue.” That didn’t seem so bad. “I’ll have to present myself to Hades to let him know I’m here. He won’t make the final deal with you without having proof of my presence in your body.”

That was true. I was planning to put Hades in a corner, tie his hands where the Ophi were concerned. He’d never take my word for Medusa’s presence inside me. “I’m ready when you are.”