Matt rolled onto his side, propping his head up in his good hand. “What’s it like?”

I turned my head, wishing it was Matt’s face I was seeing and not Brian’s. “Are you asking what it’s like to be an Ophi?”

“Yeah. I mean, why do you want to go back to that? You’re human again. I’d think you’d jump at the chance to be back with your mom.” He reached his hand with the cast toward my face, brushing my cheek lightly with his fingertips. “With me.”

Right now, that was what I wanted. “It’s complicated. I’m their leader. If I don’t go back, I’m damning them all.”

“Can’t someone else lead them? I mean, someone must have been in charge before you got there—to that school.”

Yeah, and she was a power-crazed bitch who liked torturing the souls in Tartarus. Who liked torturing me in particular.

“Let’s just say that didn’t work out so well.” Of course, Tony or Arianna could lead the others. They both knew everything there was to know about being an Ophi. There was just one problem. Neither had my power. “I’m the only one, Matt. I’m stronger than the others. I’m tied more closely to Medusa.”

“Can’t you raise Medusa? Get her to lead the Ophi?”

If only I could. “Medusa’s soul is trapped inside a statue. It took a bunch of Ophi to put her there, and most of them died in the process. No way could I raise her.”

“Why’d they want to trap her, anyway? Isn’t she like a mom to all of you?”

“That’s actually the reason they did it. Hades was going to take her power and her soul. He would’ve tortured her. What the Ophi did saved her from that. It protected her from Hades. He can’t touch her.”

Matt shimmied toward me, coming onto my towel. I turned sideways so we were only inches apart. “Okay, forget being Ophi. I know at least part of you wants to stay here. Tell me why. What do you miss about being human?”

“This.” I reached for his arm. “You.”

He leaned forward like he was going to kiss me, but I kept going. “Mom, Melodie, my old life—I miss all of it.”

He sighed, obviously hurt that I’d stopped him from kissing me.

“You could have all that again. You have it now. Well, not Melodie, but you could tell her the truth. She wouldn’t go blabbing to anyone.”

I shook my head. “No. We can’t tell anyone else. It’s too risky. Besides, Melodie is going off to college in a year, anyway.”

“All right, then forget about Melodie. I’m never going to age. If you don’t stay, I’ll outlive everyone I know and love. Immortality isn’t worth it if you’re alone.”

I was trying not to think about that part. Leaving Matt would mean sentencing him to a lonely existence. “I could always check in with you, and when you’re ready to move on, I could release your soul.”

“Back to that place? Those fields? I don’t want to just wander for all eternity, either. This is my best option, Jodi, but if you aren’t here with me, I don’t want it. Watching everyone I love die while I stay like this would be a living Hell.”

His words cut through me, making my throat sting with the unfairness of it all. “Do you wish I never brought you back?”

“No. I wish you’d love me like you love him.”

Alex. Matt wanted me to look at him the way I looked at Alex. If I was still connected to my Ophi soul, my conflicted emotions would be sending my blood bubbling and mixing under my skin. I’d be raising every dead body in a ten-mile radius. But I wasn’t Ophi. I was human.

I swallowed hard and leaned forward, pressing my lips to Matt’s. He gently tipped me onto my back, holding himself above me with his elbows. His body pressed against mine, our limbs tangling. This felt right. Matt and I were supposed to be together…if I was human. Which I was now. He deepened the kiss, and I struggled to breathe, but I didn’t care. I couldn’t get enough of Matt.

I was getting dizzy from lack of oxygen. No, not lack of oxygen. I was losing my connection to my human soul. Drifting away.

Matt pulled back slightly. “Jodi?”

My eyes met his for a split second before they closed.

“No, don’t go back to him. Stay with me.” He pressed his lips to mine again, but I only felt them for a second before I was back in the underworld.

I shook my head, trying to focus on my surroundings. I was in the palace. The judges stood before me.

“Melodie Chambers, you will spend your afterlife in the Fields of Asphodel.”

Melodie? I stared at the girl, taking in every feature. Brown hair, blue eyes, athletic build. My blood simmered. She turned toward me, seeing me for what must have been the first time.

“Jodi?”

My blood boiled now, making my skin ripple. She stared in horror.

“Escort her to the afterlife,” the middle judge said.

I stepped toward Melodie, stopping two feet in front of her. “Mel.”

“It is you.” She stared at my arms, still rippling with the power of my blood. “What’s happening to you?”

“It’s a long story. Mel, I’m so sorry. For everything. For waving you down that day. For taking your car and leaving you stranded without a phone. For being the reason you’re here.”

“What do you mean, the reason I’m here? I died, didn’t I? You couldn’t have been responsible for that. If you’re here, then that means you’re dead, too.”

“No. It’s different for me. But forget about that. How did you die?”

“This truck came out of nowhere. I was at a traffic light, and it turned green. But when I drove through it, this truck barreled right into me.”

Oh, God, Hades had made it painful. I was going to kill him. Could you kill the god of the underworld?

“I said, escort her to the afterlife,” the middle judge said, his voice so loud it shook the palace walls.

I turned to him, allowing my blood to surge and bubble in my veins. “No. She shouldn’t be here. If you’re going to judge souls, then you should know how they arrived here. You don’t have all the information. Hades isn’t playing by the rules. He’s taking people. People I care about, just to get back at me. You can’t let him do that. You’re here to fairly judge people.”

I couldn’t see their faces under their hoods, but since they weren’t stopping me, I went on. “Did you know he took a soul out of the Elysian Fields and had me move her to Tartarus?”

The hooded judges turned their heads back and forth, checking with each other.

“What proof do you have of this?” the middle one asked.

“I took her there. She was my human boyfriend’s sister. She died a month ago from a brain aneurysm. You determined she belonged in the Elysian Fields, but he overruled your judgment to punish me.”

They murmured among themselves for a few minutes. Hades was in charge here, so maybe appealing to these three was pointless, but it seemed like I’d struck a nerve.

Finally, the middle judge spoke. “Hades is the ruler here. We are meant to pass judgment. That is all. If Hades desires to have a soul moved, he has that right. While we stand by our decision, we will not speak against our lord.” He motioned to Melodie. “Now, please escort this soul to her afterlife.”

“You don’t even care that Melodie wasn’t supposed to die? That Hades killed her?”

“We do not determine who dies or when they die. We only judge the life they lived and decide what afterlife would be most suitable.”

This wasn’t working. If I wanted Hades to bring Melodie back, I was going to have to talk to him directly and be prepared to offer something big in exchange.

I took Melodie by the arm and led her through the palace doors.

“Jodi, what’s happening? Where are you taking me? What are the Fields of whatever they called it?” Her voice was riddled with panic.

“Don’t worry. I’m going to get you out of here. You weren’t supposed to die. Hades was looking for me, but he found you first. He’s using you to get to me. I’ll talk to him, make him fix this.” I wasn’t sure I could, but what else was I supposed to say to her?