I'm not afraid of death.

Well, not anymore. I used to say that I wasn't afraid, that I could stare death in the face and refuse to blink. But that wasn't true. In reality, death terrified me. To just... stop breathing, stop living, stop existing, and not know what happened to you after you crossed into the great beyond, was terrifying. And for so long, that fear was all I knew. In less than ten years, I thought that I had lost my whole family, and on that fateful night, I thought I was going to lose my best friend as well. On that night, it felt like I had lost total control of my life; like my whole world had come crashing down around me, and I didn't think anything could resurrect that. So I panicked. I made a deal with the literal devil. Because I thought, how could things get any worse? At least if I made the deal, I would be able to take back some control over death, take back control over at least one outcome of my life before it bottomed out again.

Or at least, that's what I thought. But that's naivety for you. Little did I know that I was going to take back control of my life, but in a totally different way. When I made that deal, I looked past my fear. I pushed past it, stared death straight in the eye and said "I'll do it". I'm still not 100% sure whether that was blind stupidity or whether a part of my brain knew it was the best thing to do, but I did it.

And it was the best decision I could have ever made.

"Are you certain you want to do this?"

I startle, my attention swallowed up by the twinkling sunset dancing over the lake's surface. I turn to see Hades standing behind me, watching me with worry in his gaze. I smile at him and squeeze his hand reassuringly.

"I'll be fine. I've fought Titans, babe; I'm sure I can handle this."

"I would hardly argue that you fought a Titan, Evie. You had a strongly worded argument with one." Hades replies bemusedly, tucking a stray curl of hair behind my ear. "Besides which, this is a different kind of fight."

"You need to stop fretting, Hades. You make it sound like I'm going into battle, not having a conversation with someone." I tease. He doesn't say anything, his eyebrows knitting together as he looks down. I sigh, linking my hands around his neck and giving him a pointed look. "Stop worrying. I will be fine. It's just a conversation. And hey, if it all goes to hell, you can swoop in and be the big, heroic knight in the flowing black trench coat, okay?"

Hades lets out a long breath, hanging his head in defeat. "Very well. But we cannot be gone for long. We should not leave the Underworld without its rulers for a prolonged period of time."

"Yes Hades, I am highly aware of that." I smile, softly stroking his cheek with my thumb. "But he deserves my time; he hasn't had it in a long time. I'm sorry, but this has to take as long as it takes. Now, where is he?"

Stepping back, Hades folds his arms across his chest and leans back against a tree. He watches the hustle and bustle of the people in the park for a moment, before finally nodding to a spot right next to the lake. "He's over there."

I frown, following his gaze. "By the lake?"

"By the lake."

"Right." I shake my head slightly, biting back a smile. Of course he is. "Okay. I'll be back soon, I promise."

"Alright. I will be here."

Leaning up on my toes, I kiss him and give him a pointed look. "Promise me you won't worry?"

"I will try." He replies begrudgingly. "But you tell me if anything goes awry."

I roll my eyes, shooting him a lopsided grin. "He's my best friend, Hades. If anything goes wrong, I'm going to kick his ass more than you ever will."

Hades grunts, looking far from convinced, but doesn't say anything further. I plant another quick kiss on his lips before heading over to the all-too-familiar lake; the lake behind my old university, where Spencer and I used to go to escape the harder parts of life. My eyes wander over the familiar landscape as I shoulder past yammering university students, forcing an apologetic smile onto my face whenever a dirty look is thrown my way. I would be lying if I said I didn't feel like a total alien being back here; back where it all started. It was over a year ago now that I'd been here, worrying about my future and stressing about passing my exams. That all felt silly now, like those worries belonged to a completely different person. But I wasn't that person anymore. Agonising over a simple grade, over whether I had memorised enough of Herodotus' The Histories for the latest quiz, felt ridiculous; pathetic, even. Not when I'd become an afterlife-determining goddess, or knocked down the sky-high walls of an infuriatingly reserved and heartbreakingly damaged god, or helped stop a megalomaniac from literally destroying the world. Not when I'd finally found my own place in the world, right next to Hades' side.

Had someone told me that all of that would happen when a strange man in a black trench coat approached me, on the dark night where my best friend died, I probably would have laughed right in their face. Never in my wildest dreams did I ever expect any of this to ever happen; and I had some pretty wild dreams.

I pad across the crunching gravel and, as quietly as I can, bend down to pick up a stone. Twisting my wrist, I flick the stone out of my fingers and into the lake, sending circular ripples across the surface of the lake. A droplet of water splashes the motionless figure perched on the edge of the lake, but the figure doesn't flinch. I sigh imperceptibly and slowly lower myself to a seat next to them. The figure doesn't move, keeping their gaze fixed on the ripples oscillating from the place the stone dropped into the lake. Drawing my knees up to my chest, I rest my chin on my knees and look out across the lake. The sun continues to sink closer to the horizon, reflecting golden-pink shards across the wavering blue mirror and casting a glow across the figure's chiselled features.

After a few more beats of unnatural stillness, I pick up another stone and finally breach the silence.

"You know, for a god who is known for his love of partying, you're setting a pretty depressing standard for yourself."

The figure inhales sharply, turning to stare at me. "Evie?"

"Hey, Spencer. Long time no insult." I smile. He leans over, wrapping me up in a hug so tight that it just about knocks me clean over. For a moment, I'm taken aback by his sudden show of affection, but quickly return the hug with just as much vigour. An entire minute passes, and Spencer still doesn't let up; but when I try to pull away, his grip only tightens. It takes me a moment to realise that he's mumbling something incessantly into my shoulder, over and over again.

"I'm sorry, Evie. I'm so, so sorry. I'm sorry. I—"

"Spencer! Spencer, stop." I laugh a little, holding him out at arm's length. He doesn't meet my gaze, and I frown. "What's going on? This isn't like you. Why are you sorry?"

"Because I'm an asshole, Evie. A gigantic, selfish asshole." He says quietly, still avoiding my gaze. "I wasn't there for you when you needed it, and... Well, ever since the whole Poseidon debacle, all I've been able to think about is how we left it, and how much of an asshole I was to you. And then you almost died trying to save the world, and I was just... hanging there, like the useless asshole I am."

"You say asshole one more time and the word's going to tattoo itself to your forehead." I say wryly. The corners of his mouth twitch. "But seriously. You don't need to apologise, and you shouldn't beat yourself up. You were just upset. I know you were only trying to look out for me."

He snorts, picking up a stone and turning it around in his fingers. "Pretty lousy way of looking out for you."

"Well, I never said it was the best way to show you cared." I shrug. Spencer snorts again. I smile slightly, and I tilt my head to the side. "Why were you? So upset?"

Spencer lets out a long sigh, puffing out his cheeks. He tosses the stone into the lake. "Because I'm selfish, Evie. I'm a selfish person. For the last ten years, I've been your person, the one person in the world who could make you laugh when everything else made you cry. But then you met Hades, and that all changed. And I couldn't stand the thought that there was someone else in the world who could make you that happy."

I freeze, and slowly turn to stare at him. "Spencer, you're not saying that you..."

"What? Oh god, no. Evie, I love you, but you're the closest thing I have to a sister. I'll never think of you in that way." Spencer screws his face up, sticking his tongue out in disgust. I breathe a sigh of relief. He picks another stone up. "No, it's just... being who I am, what I represent, I've always struggled to let my guard down. Too many times that's resulted in people using me, for my powers, or for my abilities, or even just for a 'good time'. And if it didn't end in that, it ended with me outliving the people I cared about. But then..." He pauses, and a small smile darts across his face. "But then we were tasked with looking after you, for Hades and his stupid prophecy, and you treated me like any other person. And that was like a breath of fresh air. So..." He blows out his cheeks, and throws his hands up in the air. "I couldn't help myself. A small, selfish part of me started to hope. Started to hope that I'd found someone who didn't care who I was or what I could do; someone who knew me for me. And even after you made that deal with Hades, and the prophecy came true, I knew that whatever way it all went, I'd still have my friend. So when I thought I was losing you to him, I acted out. I was selfish. I didn't want to lose you, but ultimately that's what happened anyway."

Sympathy squeezes my chest. Shaking my head, I reach over and smack the back of his head. "You're a complete idiot, Spencer. You're never going to lose me. We'll be best friends forever!"

He rolls his eyes. "Ha-ha. Hilarious."

"I'm serious. Even though I love Hades, and, as much as I'm sure you hate it, I always will, there's always going to be a special place in my heart for you. You've been there for me since the beginning; for the good times and the bad times, and you've never once stopped trying to make me smile. You've never stopped being my best friend, and I'm never going to stop either." I twist my lips to the side when he doesn't reply, keeping his gaze fixed on the pebble snaking through his fingers. "Okay, I was just grossly cute, and you're still looking like someone peed in your wine. What else is going on?"

"It's nothing. I wouldn't expect you to understand, E."

I hum, and look out across the lake. After a moment, it hits me. "You're thinking about Ariadne. Aren't you?"

He sucks in a sharp breath, turning to me with wide eyes. "How do you—"

"Spencer, c'mon. It's me we're talking about. I find out everything." I scoff. He smiles minutely, but his features quickly harden. My voice softens, my heart panging painfully for him. "I'm sorry you had to lose her, Spencer. It's never easy losing someone, even more so when that person means the world to you. And I'm even more sorry that you had to go through that alone."

Spencer doesn't say anything, but I can tell from the way his jaw tightens that the torment doesn't stop twisting up his insides. I sigh, reaching over to squeeze his hand.

"Spencer, listen to me. You are not going to lose me. Yes, I live in the Underworld, and yes, I have a new life now, but that doesn't mean I'm just going to cut you out of that life. We're best friends forever, remember? You're stuck with me for the long haul. The immortal haul. You're going to have to do a lot more than live in a different realm to get away from me." I nudge him with a wink. The corners of his mouth turn up, and his shoulders lose some of their tightness. "Besides, who else is going to help me tease Hades?"

"Uh, hard pass. Do you really think I'm going to willingly help you flirt with your boyfriend? It makes me want to hurl just thinking about it. You and Hades? It's just... ugh." He wrinkles up his nose. I roll my eyes, and shove him harder. This time, he grins outright. "Besides, it's just so much less satisfying pulling his pigtails now that you two are a thing. You somehow take the fun out of teasing the most tease-able person in the world."

"Well excuse you, you judgmental twat. That's the man I love you're insulting."

Spencer mimes gagging. "You want me to vomit, don't you? You really want me to vomit."

"Well, it's not like I don't have any experience with cleaning up after you."

"Says the one who's been a mess most of her life." He retorts. I laugh, shaking my head. He sighs. "E, I've missed this."

"Me too." I smile, watching the rock he throws bounce across the lake's surface. "So, what are you going to do now? Surely you're not just going to stick around here, now that you're not stuck looking after me? University isn't exactly a fun-loving carnival."

"It is when you're me. I make it a carnival." Spencer stretches out his legs, leaning back against the rock. He folds his arms behind his head. "But no, I'm not sticking around. It's getting too boring here without you and the twins to stir up trouble with."

"What are you going to do, then?"

"Who knows? The world's my party oyster." Spencer shrugs. "Honestly, at this stage I have no clear plans. I was thinking about getting back in touch with my roots, maybe returning to Greece for a few decades. I've missed the landscape, and the beaches, and the cuisine. Besides which, the people over there are getting a little slack with worshipping me. They need a refresher course, or a Spencer-sized miracle."

"Wow, and here I was hoping that your gigantic ego had deflated a little while I was gone."

"What do you mean, gigantic ego?" He cocks an eyebrow at me. "I am a remarkable god that needs to be revered, and I'm not afraid to acknowledge that."

I snort. "As long as your remarkable ass remembers to take some time from being revered to come and visit me."

"Evie, you and I both know that as much as I might want to, it isn't that easy for me. I can't just travel down to the Underworld like I can to another town."

"Spencer, you are lying through your ass and we both know it. You're practically attached at the hip to the one god with a one-way ticket to every plane in the universe."

"Okay, fine. You're right. I just didn't know how to tell you." He fixates me with a sombre look. "It's your face. I don't want to see your face. It's too ugly. You traded down when you became a goddess."

"Spencer!" I smack his shoulder, hard.

"Alright, alright, I'm sorry. Stop, before you bruise my beautiful golden skin." Spencer chuckles, catching my fist in his hand when I take a swing at him. "What did I just say? You know I bruise like a peach."

"That was when you had a mortal body." I retort. "You're a god. You don't bruise."

"My ego definitely feels bruised." He mutters, pretending to wipe away a tear. I roll my eyes at the dramatics. He grins. "But there is something you have bruised though. And it's not my ego."

"Oh really?"

"Yes. It's something much worse. My feelings." He replies seriously. I smack him again. He laughs, holding his hands up defensively. "Don't hit me, it's true! You hurt my feelings, Evie Autumn."

"You're going to keep harping on at me until I play along, aren't you?"

"It's very likely, yes."

"Alright, fine." I groan. "How did I hurt you, oh sensitive and delicate Dionysus?"

"Okay, the sarcasm hurts, but I'm willing to look past that for the sake of our friendship." Spencer sniffs haughtily, sticking his nose up in the air. I give him a deadpan look.

"I'm one snarky comment away from getting up and leaving, Spencer."

"Oh come on, now!" He complains. "Then I really won't know, and that'll hurt my feelings even more!"

"Know what?"

"Know the gossip!" Spencer exclaims. I stare at him, my brows furrowing in confusion. "E, it's been over a week since Poseidon tried to take over the world and you haven't told me anything about the Underworld-ian fallout!"

"That's what this is about? My god you are despicable." I laugh, shaking my head. "There's nothing to tell, Spencer; I have no idea what happened after they took Poseidon out of Tartarus."

"Well no, neither do I; you'll have to ask your boy-toy if you want the specifics for that particular endeavour. I'm talking about the fallout in the Underworld." He elaborates when I screw my face up even more. "Well, did you ever find Poseidon's evil henchman? The last I heard, or, rather, saw, he was slinking out of Tartarus with his tail between his legs."

"Oh. Right, that. Oh yeah, we found him alright." My mind flickers back to the look on Hades' face when we found Rhadamanthos, hiding in the Halls of Hades, and wince. "Hades was... displeased, when we finally found him. As you can probably imagine."

"Displeased?" Spencer arches an eyebrow. "That's an interesting adjective to use."

"Well..." I laugh a little, shrugging. "Okay yes, he was more than displeased. A lot more. I've never seen him that angry, actually. It was..."

"Earth-shatteringly scary?" Spencer offers. "The single-most terrifying thing you've ever witnessed?"

"Something like that." I grimace. "Anyway, Rhadamanthos found out very quickly that betraying the one person who decided to give you a second chance in the after-life was an extremely bad idea, particularly if that one person was the god who controlled your after-life. He's now rotting away in his own personal slice of hell, and Aeceus has, very grudgingly, started helping Minos in his stead; something I don't think either of them is particularly happy about."

Spencer snorts. "Isn't it his job to help Minos?"

"Well, yes. But if Aeceus had his way, he'd be back holed up in the garden with Pluto and Cerberus." I chuckle. "In all honesty, I give it a week before he's hidden himself away again and Minos is angrily begging for my help. He might even regret telling me that I'm 'mediocre'."

"Wow, he sounds like a delight." Spencer remarks dryly. "That means you're going to be pretty busy for a while then, huh?"

"Probably. Or, by judging how busy Hades has been over the past week, most definitely." I groan, stretching out my arms. "Gives you plenty of time to... refresh your roots."

A smirk crawls across his face. "There are some pretty gorgeous roots over in Greece."

"Ugh, Spencer. Don't do that. Don't be gross." I screw my face up in disgust.

"Whatever do you mean?" He blinks at me innocently. "I was just talking about my roots."

"With you, there is never 'just talking' about anything. There's always at least a strong insinuation." I retort dryly. He cackles, his smirk growing, and I shake my head. "I truly pity any girl who ends up with you. You're as romantic as a donkey's ass."

His eyes narrow. "That was a disgusting pun, Evie. I am ashamed, not only to be your friend but to be breathing the same air as you right now."

"Thank you. I learnt from the worst." I let out a long breath, slowly pushing myself up to my feet and dusting off my hands. "I will say though, I'm going to miss someone appreciating my puns. Hades is way too literal to find them amusing."

I heard that. And I am hurt that you think I do not appreciate your puns.