“I’m going to round up the others,” Tony said, motioning over his shoulder. He wasn’t one to pry.

“Thanks.” I smiled at him as he turned and walked away.

“You don’t know what it was like.” Alex’s voice was small, barely more than a whisper. I knew he was talking about what had happened between Chase and me—how Chase had become a wedge in my relationship with Alex—but I let him get out whatever he’d been holding inside. “I wanted to rip the guy’s head off. I’ve never wanted to kill anyone before, but I wanted him dead. The way he…and the way you…”

I threw myself at him, pressing my lips firmly against his. He couldn’t even talk about Chase without going crazy. I’d thought getting that anger out would’ve been therapeutic, but it was killing him inside. I wanted him to forget about Chase. To forget about everything but me and how much I loved him. He returned the kiss as if it was the last one we’d ever have—and considering we were in the underworld and Hades could very well kill us, maybe it would be.

His arms wrapped around me, pulling me closer. I could feel his heart beating against my chest. Thumping. I wanted to take his pain away, so I allowed my blood to mix and sent some of my power to him through every part of our bodies that were touching. His eyes opened wide in response and then closed as he pressed himself against me. This was what he’d been talking about earlier. This was how Chase used to make me feel. How Chase used to control me. Only I wasn’t controlling Alex. I just wanted to make him happy.

“Oh, come on!” Lexi’s voice shattered the perfect bubble Alex and I had created for ourselves.

As I pulled away from him, he pouted and tried to find my lips again. “Alex, we have company.”

He opened his eyes and looked shocked to see everyone watching us. “What’s going on?” He was still dazed from my power.

“Jodi,” Arianna said, “I’m not sure that’s good for him. Remember, too much power is never a good thing.”

“I’m not complaining.” Alex had a big dumb grin on his face, and I couldn’t help smiling. At least he wasn’t angry anymore, or thinking about killing Chase.

“What’s it like?” Jared’s eyes lingered on me a little too long. If he thought I was going to show him, he was dead wrong.

“Okay, let’s talk about my plan before this gets any more awkward.” I motioned for the group to huddle up. The other souls in the Fields of Asphodel were pretty oblivious, but I didn’t want to take any chances. I wasn’t putting it past Hades to send souls to watch over us while he was busy doing who knew what in some other part of the underworld. I tried to sound confident as I filled everyone in on my plan.

Arianna wrapped her arm around my waist. “Honey, I have to tell you that I don’t like this idea at all. I’m afraid we might lose you if you try this.”

She was sweet to care so much about me. I often wondered if she felt so attached to me because her own daughters weren’t exactly the caring type. Abby had gone completely evil and power-crazed, and Lexi was… well, not exactly Miss Congeniality.

“Arianna, I appreciate your concern, but this is our best shot. I know it’s risky, and it’s going to hurt like hell to rip my soul in half, but if it means saving all of you, I’m doing it. You guys are my family now.” Family. I thought of Mom and how, if my plan worked, I’d get to see her again. I held back my tears.

“What can we do?” Carol asked. She owned Serpentarius, the Ophi nightclub, along with her husband Mason, and I was sure she missed him like crazy.

“I’m going to need help from all of you. My body will still be here with half my soul inside, but Tony said I’ll have to tune it out. Otherwise, the double vision is going to drive me insane.”

Carson, our Ophi doctor, readjusted his glasses and nodded. “You need us to watch over your body, make sure nothing happens to it.”

“More than that.” I looked around the group. “I need you all to make sure Hades doesn’t notice I’m not all here.”

“How on earth do we do that?” Leticia asked, already looking defeated.

I wished I had a clue.

Tony put a reassuring hand on Leticia’s shoulder. “We talk to her, and if necessary, we pretend she’s talking back.”

“What about when the others are torturing us?” Lexi asked, and, for once, she actually sounded like she was trying to be helpful. Arianna smiled at her, no doubt proud that her daughter was choosing to do the right thing instead of following in Abby’s footsteps. Maybe the fact that Abby had been the one torturing her had finally knocked some sense into her.

“There’s nothing you can do about that,” I said. “I’m sure my body will respond to the pain, so it will look like I’m suffering just as much as the rest of you.” I hoped the torture wouldn’t send me rushing back to this body. I had to be strong enough to keep my soul divided and figure out a way to save us all.

Leticia stared at me, and any sign of the fights we’d had in the past—the times when she didn’t quite believe I wasn’t screwing up on purpose—had all melted away. She was scared for me. “It seems like there’s an awful lot that can go wrong with this plan.”

“That’s because there is.” I gave her a weak smile. “Leticia, I told you I never intentionally did anything to harm our group. Yes, I’ve made mistakes, but I never meant to hurt any of you. If you have any doubt in your mind, I plan to erase it now, by doing this. I’m putting my soul on the line to prove I want to be your leader. I want to be the one to save us all.”

She rushed toward me and threw her arms around my neck. “I’m so sorry. I should’ve believed you. I know you were only trying to do what was best for us.”

“Hey, there’s no need to apologize.”

“Yes, there is. I blamed you. For Randy dying, for my own failures, for everything that happened with Chase. When I saw what he did to you, I realized I was wrong. And now, seeing how you’re going to risk everything for us, I have to tell you how sorry I am.”

“What’s this? Group hug time?” Abby stood with one hand on her hip, glaring at me. She always had been good at sneaking up on me.

Leticia squeezed me even harder, terrified of Abby and the torture she could inflict upon us.

Arianna looked at her daughter with nothing but disappointment in her eyes. “Abigail, this doesn’t concern you.”

“Mother, didn’t you miss me? I asked Hades if I could spend a little extra time with you. You know, to make up for all the time we lost when you shipped me off to the school and dismissed me as Victoria and Troy’s problem.” Abby was trying to maintain her composure, but I could see her fingers trembling. I remembered how much it hurt her that her own family had abandoned her. But I also knew Arianna had been trying to scare Abby into changing. It was a tough-love kind of situation—a last effort to show her how dangerous it was for her to crave power the way she did. That was the difference between the Ophi at the school and the Ophi at Serpentarius. The ones at the school actively used their powers. The ones at the Serpentarius were Ophi more in theory. They didn’t believe in using their blood to raise the dead.

I pulled myself free from Leticia and stepped toward Abby, letting her know I wasn’t afraid of her. “What do you want?”

“Hades sent me to get all of you. It’s time to return to Tartarus.”

How long had we been in the Fields? It hadn’t seemed long at all. Definitely not as long as we’d been in Tartarus.

Leticia sobbed. “I can’t go back there.”

Abby grinned, enjoying this way too much. “You don’t have a choice.”

“Fine.” I crossed my arms in front of me. “We’ll go, but not with you.”

Abby cocked her head to the side. “I don’t think you understand how this works. I have control over you now. This isn’t your little school, Jodi.”

“No, it’s not. It’s the underworld, where you’re a prisoner, too.”