Eyes blinked all around us from the edges of the water. Big, small, narrowed, and wide open, the colors across the spectrum of light. I swirled slowly in the water, taking it all in. The eyes peered from around large stones, from behind twisted and gnarled trees, and some just peered up at us from the ground itself, each blink dusting up the dirt like a tiny windstorm. “Remo, you seeing what I’m seeing?”

“Yes. There aren’t any watching us from farther down on the left side. Swim.” He gave me a gentle push in the direction he pointed at with the flick of his chin. I swam, doing my best to keep all the eyes within my vision. Because I had a feeling that if I looked away for even a second, they would rush us. There wasn’t animosity flowing from them, exactly, so much as . . . hunger. “They want to eat us.”

“Yeah, that’s what I’m worried about.” Remo swam beside me, carefully. As though he didn’t want to make a single splash. Silently I agreed with his tactic. Until something brushed against my leg, the lightest of touches that sent my heart rate into orbit.

“Something is in the water.” I bit the words out, doing my best not to recoil completely for fear of sudden movements drawing more attention.

“I felt it too. Just keep swimming.”

“This isn’t a Disney movie,” I whispered, my mouth hovering over the water’s surface.

He grunted, and I thought it was a laugh. I turned my head, took my eyes off the eyes that followed us from the shoreline, and watched in horror as Remo disappeared under the water, sucked down like Luke Skywalker when the trash-compactor monster grabbed him.

“Remo!” I screamed his name, and all around us a cry went up like a cacophony of shrieking toddlers that couldn’t be consoled. The sound reverberated against my skin and ears, sending shivers through me over and over—maybe I still had some of the Drakaina in me after all—as I spun around and around in a vain attempt to find him. I drew a deep breath and then dove under the murky depths. I forced my eyes open and blinked against the grit that filled the scummy liquid. The view was anything but clear, but I could make out a twisting shape, not unlike my own coils, and within it . . . Remo. I swam forward and tried to shift, knowing that I could take another serpent in my Drakaina form.

Nothing happened. Not a single puff of smoke. I didn’t slow, only swam harder. A coil rammed into me as it swirled around, squeezing Remo. I caught a glimpse of his eyes, saw them flutter shut, the bubbles racing from his mouth. I reached out and grabbed a piece of the snake, digging my hands in. My strength was still with me at least. I tore a hunk of the snake’s flesh off, and the serpent reared around, its face right in mine. It let go of Remo and wrapped around me. As we rolled through the water, we drew close to Remo, and I managed to push him to the surface. Or at least push him in that direction. The serpent rolled again and tightened its constriction on me, but I felt nothing. No pain. No loss of breath.

It put its head to mine, quite literally nose to nose. Who are you, that you would defy me? That you would resist my call, my coils, and your death?

I mouthed a single word, the bubbles escaping me finally as I stared into the glittering dark eyes. Drakaina.

The snake reared back, and I was released. I swam to the surface, my mouth coated with the foul water. I gagged, unable to get my bearings. A hand grabbed my arm and pulled me toward the shoreline. “Better to deal with a thousand small creatures than that.” Remo’s voice was filled with pain, and I looked at him. He was pale, and I realized I’d been right in my assessment. He was nothing more than a human here in the underworld. Not good, this was not good at all, and there was nothing I could do to change it. Not if I wanted to get us out of here. Our feet finally met resistance, and I slogged ashore, putting a hand behind Remo’s arm and helping him to stand. He leaned heavily on me, but again, I had retained some of my strength, so it wasn’t an issue.

I turned back, and the snake that had grabbed Remo reared up above the water, its mouth partially open, fangs hanging low. “Drakaina, you . . . are alive?”

A voice curled up through me and out my mouth, one that was mine and yet not quite. “She is the Drakaina now, I leave my power with her. She is your queen, and I suggest if you like your skin where it is, you help her.”

I snapped my mouth shut. The big snake bobbed his head once. “As it once was, now it will be again. Are you sure, my queen?”

The voice answered with a soft chuckle. “At first, no, I was not sure. But she has the heart that it takes to hold this much strength. Strike, help her find Hades, the world is at stake.”

Strike, the giant snake, tipped his head and flicked his tongue out. “Again?”

“Always. You know how it is with the damn pantheon.” I cleared my throat, and the Drakaina in me faded.

“Wait!” I yelled, and Remo looked at me like I’d lost my mind. I swallowed hard. “Wait, you . . . you’ve been helping me.” I spoke not to the snake in front of me but the one within me.

The voice of the Drakaina no longer sounded in my ears, but in my mind.

I was. But you do not need me now. You are finding your footing. Trust your instincts, trust the strength of your heart and mind.

“And if I need your help again?” I asked.

I will always be here. But I will sleep now; it has been a long time since I could trust someone with my power without having to hold their hand. Go, do what you came to do: find Hades. Her presence faded. Strike and Remo both watched me. I blew out a breath.