kindness.
And in the end, Ash had betrayed her...
###
Styxxstruggled to breathe as he became aware of the fact that he wasn’t Acheron.
I amStyxx .Greek prince. Heir to...
No, he wasn’t the rightful heir to anything. Acheron had been. He and his father had stolen that from
Acheron.
They had taken everything from him.
Everything.
For the first time in eleven thousand years,Styxx understood that reality. In spite of what his father had
convinced him, they had greatly wronged Acheron.
The Greek goddessMnimi had been right. The world as PrinceStyxx had seen it had been whitewashed
by lies and by hatred.
The world of Acheron had been entirely different. It had been steeped in loneliness and pain, and
decorated with terror. It was a world he’d never dreamed existed. Sheltered and protected all his life,
Styxx had never known a single insult.Never known hunger or suffering.
But Acheron had...
His body shook uncontrollably asStyxx looked around the dark, cold room. He had seen such a place in
Acheron’s memories.
A place they had gleefully left Acheron to face alone. Only this place was cleaner.Less frightening.
And he was a lot older than Acheron had been.
Styxx covered his eyes and wept as the agony of that tore through him anew. He felt Acheron’s emotions.
His hopelessness.His despair.
He heard Acheron’s screams for death.His silent pleas for mercy—silent because to voice them only
made his situation worse.
They echoed and taunted him from the past.
How many times hadStyxx hurt him? Guilt gnawed at him, making him sick from it.
“I’ll take them away from you.”
Styxxflinched at the voice that sounded identical to his own, except for the soft lilting quality that marked
Acheron’s from the years he had spent in Atlantis.
YearsStyxx wished to the gods that he could go back and change.Poor Acheron. No one deserved what
had been handed to him.
“ No,”Styxx said quietly, his voice shaking as he gathered himself together. “I don’t want you to.”
He glanced up to see the surprise on Acheron’s face.
It was something Acheron hid quickly behind a mask of stoicism. “There’s no reason for you to know all
that about me. My memories have never served anyone well.”
That wasn’t true andStyxx knew it. “If you take them from me, I will hate you again.”
“I don’t mind.”
No doubt. Acheron was used to being hated.
Styxxmet that eerie swirling gaze of his levelly. “I do.”
Ash couldn’t breathe from the raw emotions he felt as he watchedStyxx push himself to his feet.
They were so muchalike physically and yet polar extremes when it came to their past and their present.
All they really had in common was that they were both longed-for heirs.Styxx was to inherit his father’s
Greek kingdom while Acheron had been conceived by anAtlantean goddess to destroy the world.
It was a destiny neither of them had ever fulfilled.
To protect him from the wrath of theAtlantean gods who wanted him dead, Ash’s true mother had forced
him into the womb ofStyxx’s mother and then tied their life forces together to protect Ash. Ash had been
born human against his will...and against the will of his human surrogate family, who had somehow sensed
he wasn’t really one of them.
And they had hated him for it.
“How long have I been here?” Styxx asked, looking around his dark prison.
“Three years.”
Styxxlaughed bitterly. “It seemed like forever.”
It probably had. Ash didn’t envyStyxx having to suffer the memories of Ash’s human past. Then again, he
envied himself even less for having lived them.
He cleared his throat. “I can return you to the Vanishing Isle again, or you can stay here in the
Underworld. I can’t take you into the Elysian Fields, but there are other areas here that are almost as
peaceful.”
“What did you have to bargain with Artemis and Hades for that?”
Ash looked away, not wanting to think about it. “It doesn’t
And in the end, Ash had betrayed her...
###
Styxxstruggled to breathe as he became aware of the fact that he wasn’t Acheron.
I amStyxx .Greek prince. Heir to...
No, he wasn’t the rightful heir to anything. Acheron had been. He and his father had stolen that from
Acheron.
They had taken everything from him.
Everything.
For the first time in eleven thousand years,Styxx understood that reality. In spite of what his father had
convinced him, they had greatly wronged Acheron.
The Greek goddessMnimi had been right. The world as PrinceStyxx had seen it had been whitewashed
by lies and by hatred.
The world of Acheron had been entirely different. It had been steeped in loneliness and pain, and
decorated with terror. It was a world he’d never dreamed existed. Sheltered and protected all his life,
Styxx had never known a single insult.Never known hunger or suffering.
But Acheron had...
His body shook uncontrollably asStyxx looked around the dark, cold room. He had seen such a place in
Acheron’s memories.
A place they had gleefully left Acheron to face alone. Only this place was cleaner.Less frightening.
And he was a lot older than Acheron had been.
Styxx covered his eyes and wept as the agony of that tore through him anew. He felt Acheron’s emotions.
His hopelessness.His despair.
He heard Acheron’s screams for death.His silent pleas for mercy—silent because to voice them only
made his situation worse.
They echoed and taunted him from the past.
How many times hadStyxx hurt him? Guilt gnawed at him, making him sick from it.
“I’ll take them away from you.”
Styxxflinched at the voice that sounded identical to his own, except for the soft lilting quality that marked
Acheron’s from the years he had spent in Atlantis.
YearsStyxx wished to the gods that he could go back and change.Poor Acheron. No one deserved what
had been handed to him.
“ No,”Styxx said quietly, his voice shaking as he gathered himself together. “I don’t want you to.”
He glanced up to see the surprise on Acheron’s face.
It was something Acheron hid quickly behind a mask of stoicism. “There’s no reason for you to know all
that about me. My memories have never served anyone well.”
That wasn’t true andStyxx knew it. “If you take them from me, I will hate you again.”
“I don’t mind.”
No doubt. Acheron was used to being hated.
Styxxmet that eerie swirling gaze of his levelly. “I do.”
Ash couldn’t breathe from the raw emotions he felt as he watchedStyxx push himself to his feet.
They were so muchalike physically and yet polar extremes when it came to their past and their present.
All they really had in common was that they were both longed-for heirs.Styxx was to inherit his father’s
Greek kingdom while Acheron had been conceived by anAtlantean goddess to destroy the world.
It was a destiny neither of them had ever fulfilled.
To protect him from the wrath of theAtlantean gods who wanted him dead, Ash’s true mother had forced
him into the womb ofStyxx’s mother and then tied their life forces together to protect Ash. Ash had been
born human against his will...and against the will of his human surrogate family, who had somehow sensed
he wasn’t really one of them.
And they had hated him for it.
“How long have I been here?” Styxx asked, looking around his dark prison.
“Three years.”
Styxxlaughed bitterly. “It seemed like forever.”
It probably had. Ash didn’t envyStyxx having to suffer the memories of Ash’s human past. Then again, he
envied himself even less for having lived them.
He cleared his throat. “I can return you to the Vanishing Isle again, or you can stay here in the
Underworld. I can’t take you into the Elysian Fields, but there are other areas here that are almost as
peaceful.”
“What did you have to bargain with Artemis and Hades for that?”
Ash looked away, not wanting to think about it. “It doesn’t
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