—What is this god like?— Thronos asked her on their unending trek along a beach.

Lanthe supposed the Vrekener was getting over his telepathy hang-up. —Nereus is a party-hearty trickster, like a cross between Pan and Loki. He’s notorious for his games and manipulations.—

—What happens if we’re “entertainment”?—

—Probably something that’ll make you want to take a boiling shower and scrub your skin with steel wool. Let’s just put it this way: I don’t think I’ll be able to twerk my way out of this.—

—Don’t know what twerk means, Melanthe.—

Sigh. —I’ve heard that Sargasoe is a hidden realm on the human plane.— Like Skye Hall. —The goal should be to get Nereus to transport us from here.—

Without sacrificing too much of themselves . . .

—Do you think you can ensorcel him?—

—If he can shield the Sthenos from my power, there’s not a chance. And he’d likely kill me for trying.—

Thronos fell silent, seeming lost in his own thoughts.

Though Lanthe’s skin was gradually healing during their long walk, she was drained from keeping up with the fast Sthenos. Their lower halves were fat snake coils, kind of like Cerunnos, except Sthenos gorgons were all females. Plus they had hypnotically wavering snakes for hair. Oh, and brass hands and claws.

Whenever Lanthe tripped in the shifting sands, her Stheno personal guard would heft her up, those claws digging into her arm.

After the belly of the beast, this was nothing. Right?

Wrong.

A blast of ocean wind buffeted her. When Lanthe tottered and got clawed yet again, she snapped, “Watch the claws, bitch!”

—Melanthe?— She could all but see Thronos raising his eyebrows. Just because he was cool and collected didn’t mean she had to be. He’d had his tantrum—his mantrum—on the Order’s island, and it was now her turn.

—I have no more f**ks to give. Okay, Vrekener?— She’d hit her limit. She was sick of portaling, sick of getting captured, sick of being food or potential food.

—We’re going to escape once more. Worry not.—

—Why are you so calm?—

He was quiet for long moments. —It’s my nature. What you saw those first nights and days was not . . . me.—

She’d figured calm was his default setting. So to all his other attractive attributes, she could add not psycho.

Finally, their entourage slowed, entering some kind of echoing space. A sea cave?

They descended for what must be miles. When pressure made her ears pop repeatedly, she realized they were deep beneath the ocean. No flying for Thronos, even if he got free.

She felt sympathy for him. His fear of depths was like her fear of heights. She couldn’t imagine how difficult this must be for him.

Probably as difficult as she would find the Skye. Still, she asked: —You okay with this?—

—It’s temporary.—

In other words, he wasn’t, but he would handle it.

In Pandemonia, she’d told him about crazy stuff going down with Sorceri kids, and he’d confidently said, “We can handle it.”

We.

She and Thronos did work well together.

Gods, she did not need to conclude that the Vrekener would be a good father. Her biological clock cried, The best. None better!

Suddenly Lanthe heard gears whirring, cogs clicking, as if a gate was opening. They entered a warm, damp area, and the gears whirred once more. Behind them, a seal closed with a hiss. The scent of brine pervaded everything.

Off went the blindfolds. Thronos swung his head around to face her, as if he’d been hungry for a single look.

—I’m okay. Still standing.—

When he gave a grim nod of encouragement, she dragged her gaze from him to survey Sargasoe, the legendary lair of Nereus.

This hall had been carved from rock with glittering coral-pink and blue striations. A sheen of water poured down all the walls, but it seemed to be by design.

The area was lit with . . . sconces—basically raised glass bowls where luminescent jellyfish shuttled in circles. Rippling reflections abounded, as they did underwater, making the walls seem to sway.

“Forward,” the leader commanded, the Sthenos slithering behind them.

As Lanthe and Thronos trudged deeper, huge sections of the stone floor would shift and retract, revealing the sea. The construction of this place was spectacular.

Mirrors abounded. Shadows and light danced for dominance. Glowing eyes peeked out from darkened passageways.

This totally looked like the lair of a capricious deity notorious for his games.

She also sensed a permanent portal down here. How to get Nereus to let them use it?

Their group eventually entered what must be an underwater gallery of sorts. There were enormous rounded windows at intervals, the way paintings might line a museum wall.

When Lanthe passed the first, her eyes went wide. Ships were piled up, as if in a junkyard. She turned to Thronos. —Are you seeing this?—

—It makes sense that a sea god’s home would have a vortex.— A mystical magnet. —We’re in an abyss; everything sinks to this level.—

At the next window, she squinted out into the dark, seeing gems the size of footballs scattered all over the sand. Schools of mercreature sentries glided by. They were humanoids to a degree, but instead of legs, the mermaids sported fishtails, the mermen collections of tentacles.

The next window revealed a submarine with Russian lettering on its hull, and what looked like part of an aircraft carrier. This was too wild!