I had calmed down after a while, but I still didn't speak to Daedalus. Charlie made awkward small talk before giving up and going silent. The only time he spoke was when to tell me he was getting tired. He didn't tell me, but I knew he wasn't feeling well. Damasen had taught me a lot about curing poisons, but I didn't have any supplies. We were out of herbs, there was no water, and I didn't even know how to make a cure if I had the supplies.

"We are getting close," Daedalus insisted. I almost wanted to stop and get some rest, just to spite him. But I couldn't risk him being right. I didn't know when another opportunity would come along. I would have had Charlie get on my back, but now I had three large slash marks from the Aeternae that hadn't had time to heal that prevented me from doing so.

I noticed Charlie's eyes drooping and made conversation, forcing him to stay awake. He needed a break. Will would have known what to do. I had never missed Will and Damasen so much. I was staring ahead at the monsters, watching them fight and argue. It wasn't very entertaining.

"Hey! It's the lava lake!" Charlie grabbed my arm and pointed towards the river. I smiled and made a stop at its banks.

'It's the River Phaethon," I corrected. I never thought I'd be happy to see that damned river. Charlie and I hadn't had a sip of its fiery waves in I didn't even know how long. We both scooped the burning river into our mouths, gagging as we did.

"Charlie, unwrap your shoulder," I insisted. He groaned, knowing what I had in mind. I dipped my fingers into the fire and brought my hand up, rubbing the river gently over his wound. Charlie bit his lip to keep from crying out. I finished quickly, then helped him wrap it back up.

"You're up," I said dryly, moving back to make room for Daedalus. He shook his head, insisting that he'd had roasted empousa earlier. I cringed at the thought. Empousa were too human. I wouldn't be able to eat anything that resembled a person so closely. According to the look on Charlie's face, he agreed.

It's either eat or die down here.

We continued on our way, not feeling the least bit better after stopping at the river. Like usual, I felt worse. We weren't walking for long when Daedalus stopped us. Ahead, a group of monsters was clustered around a wall. Suddenly they all stepped forward and disappeared into a hidden entrance in the rock.

"What the Harry Potter shit is going on here?" Charlie muttered. I raised an eyebrow at him, to which he responded, "Platform 9 ¾. Duh."

"The Labyrinth," Daedalus whispered. Charlie made a strange squeaking sound that I couldn't help but find at least a bit cute.

"We're here." The sheer depression in Daedalus's voice almost made me regret yelling at him earlier.

Once the group of monsters we'd been following disappeared into the rock, we approached. Charlie took out his sword and kept watch while I watched Daedalus open the labyrinth. He pressed his hand to the wall and a light blue triangle appeared. The light was bright enough to make me look away.

You haven't seen the sun in over six months.

"Incoming!" Charlie warned. Approaching quickly was a group of Hellhounds. The hounds made me homesick and miss our own friendly hound, Mrs. O 'Leary. I wonder if Daedalus felt the same way.

"Hurry!" Charlie chided. Daedalus muttered angrily and kept working. I didn't see why it was taking so long. I raised my sword but before I could swing, somebody grabbed the back of my shirt and pulled me away.

It wasn't a long fall, but the landing is what concerned me. As soon as I hit the ground my head smashed into what felt like a concrete floor. I heard something snap and Charlie yell out in pain, then I blacked out.

I was in Tartarus again. I skipped across the familiar landscape, my body floating as if without gravity. Up ahead I saw a small figure, whirling a blade much too big for her.

"Adora!" This was not a place she belonged. Adora was the opposite of Tartarus, she belonged here less than anybody else. I tried to reach her, screaming when I saw what she was fighting. The arai fought back, lashing at her with their long sharp claws. My baby sister screamed in pain, but she kept fighting. With each swing of the sword in her hands, the sword I now recognized as my own, she took on another curse. They were my curses, not hers. I tried to fight back, to shield her, anything. By nothing happened. It was as if I were a projection.

Then, as Adora lay dead in a pool of her own blood, her mouth opened and she spoke, her dead eyes staring right past me. "You should have saved me, Jason. You let me die, how could you? How could you leave me?" Her voice was eerily monotone. "Why did you lie to me, Jason? Why did you lie?"

She never called me Jason, not even when she was mad. "Adora, I'm sorry! I'm coming home, I swear! I'll never let this happen!" I pleaded with her, begging her not to die.

"It's too late Jason," she said chillingly. "I'm already dead."

My head was throbbing when I woke. I heard steady groaning from behind me and whipped around when I heard Charlie yelp in pain.

"What happened?" I asked, ignoring the tears leaving muddy tracks on my cheeks. Charlie sat up against a wall while Daedalus inspected his leg.

"You're awake," Charlie said in relief. I crawled towards him, wincing. He took my head in his hands and turned it so he could see the bump from where I had hit the ground. The light was dim, but it was better than before. Charlie's skin was ashy and his eyes were hollow. He looked almost like a corpse.

"You're head doesn't look so good." He didn't mention my misty eyes, but Daedalus looked at me strangely.

"Back 'atcha. What happened?" I repeated.

"Daedalus opened the Labyrinth, which turns out was a big unexpected drop. I broke something-"

"Your ankle," Daedalus interrupted.

"Yes, my ankle. I broke my ankle when we fell and you hit your head and passed out. Daedalus just set my leg, he says the break isn't too bad but I really shouldn't walk on it." He seemed strangely cheerful. As I stared questioningly at him, a smile grew on his face. It was contagious. I didn't even know why I was smiling.

"We're out," he said. "We escaped Tartarus." His smiled broke into a grin. Realization struck me and I looked around in wonder. We were in a cold cobblestone hallway, which looked welcoming compared to where we had spent the past six of seven months. I kissed him on the temple, then on the lips. We'd really done it.

Or so you think.