~Val's P.O.V~
I propped up on the bed when I realized Oulixes hadn't returned for a long time. I place my feet on the cool stone floor and stand up, realizing Cerberus was no longer in his cage. I slip out and down the hall being as quiet as I can just in case Oulixes is near. Once I'm out of the dark tunnel of a hall I spot the shore where Charon had dropped us off. I heard a loud bark coming from what seemed to be the other side of the Underworld. At least I know where Cerberus is. I sigh to myself. I pull out my spell book that Gaia had given me when we were little and opened it to the page I needed.
"Deíxe mou to éna thélo̱ na do̱." I murmured under my breath which translated to "Show me the one I wish to see" in Greek. The water in front of me started getting rougher and a wall of water the size of a large mirror sprang up and in it, it showed Cerberus...being ridden? By Phoenix, Benoni, Eros, and some dark haired boy I had never seen before. I tried to reach out and touch my sister and soulmate but that just caused the water to drop back into the lake. I sat down and crossed my legs and slipped my hand into the cool water. I twirled my finger in a circle and caused a mini whirlpool to float along the River of Souls. As I sat at the bank of the river I noticed something was different about where I was. It wasn't the same as when we came here before. The Underworld had changed. Not only that but there was a beautiful white stallion with wings. The stallion looked cautiously at me before taking cautious steps towards me.
~Nix's P.O.V~
If ever given the chance to choose between riding a horse or riding a giant three headed dog, always choose the horse. Dogs don't have saddles, they drool a lot, shed a lot, stop to pee a lot, and don't have that natural leisurely gallop that all horses seem to have. Seriously, choose the horse.
I wasn't the only one who seemed to not be enjoying the ride. Caden was furiously trying to spit out a mouthful of dog hair, and Ben looked a little nauseous. Eros was the only one who looked relatively okay, but he had a deep scowl of concentration on his face, like he was constipated or something. When asked about it though, he said he was trying to tap into the psychic connection that soul mates apparently have. He said the closer he is to her, the stronger it gets. Whatever, I was putting my faith in Cerberus. Even if he was a bit more out of control…
"Is it me or is it getting hotter in here?" Caiden asked. They all looked at me and I tried not to get defensive.
"It wasn't me!" I said.
"It's the lava pools," Benoni called from behind. "Hades said it makes the Underworld more homey or whatever. I think he should watch more Interior Decorator TV shows."
"Okay, if we're getting closer to the lava pools, what does that say about getting closer to Val?' I asked him.
"It could mean nothing, but if I had to guess, I'd say that means we're getting closer to the living quarters of my ex-family. I mean, no one wants to live in a cold wasteland, so we usually kept close to the lava."
I nodded and turned back around. Suddenly, uneasiness clouded my senses, but it wasn't my uneasiness. Sure, I had quite a bit of it but this was—
I cast a quick glance at Caden. He was looking around wearily, particularly at the ceiling. He wasn't paying any attention at all to what the rest of us were doing or talking about.
"You okay there, space cadet?" I asked. His attention turned back to me and I could not stop myself from marveling at his sea colored eyes.
"Yeah… fine." He said. The same feeling a weariness erupted within me and I found the guaranteed source of it.
"Are you sure about that?" I asked. "If you're worried about Hades, don't be. We'll give that dusty old sleaze ball what's comin' to him."
"No, it's not that…" He admitted. He must have recognized that my stare meant I wasn't about to let this go (you'll find I can be very persistent and, yes I'll admit it, stubborn). "I… may or may not be sort of claustrophobic…" He admitted slowly.
At first I was surprised, then I realized it really shouldn't have been that big a surprise. He was the grandson of Boreas, the Greek God of the North Wind. Fresh air and the need to be close to the sky literally ran in his blood. He wasn't meant to be searching through underground tunnels in the Underworld for some girl he had never even met before, just because of little ol' me. It was pretty sweet of him though.
"I'm sorry," I said. "I should have realized sooner. Hopefully we won't be here for too much longer."
He nodded and tried to give me a smile, but he still looked nervous. We rode in silence for a little while.
"I have a fear of drowning," I said finally. Caden looked over at me in surprise. "I can't swim. Not just in that I don't know how, but I physically can't. I don't have the ability to float; I just sink like a rock. It has something to do with being a fire elemental demigod I guess."
He nodded in understanding before smirking. "Have you ever tried using floaties?" I laughed and was about to tell him about all of the disastrous swim lessons Val had tried to give me when Cerberus skidded to a stop.
~Val's P.O.V~
The stallion approached me cautiously and slowly before it was standing a foot away from me and I could reach up and pet it. I cautiously reached out and stroked the stallion's neck. It whinnied softly and patted its head against my back.
"Such a beautiful horse. What's your name boy?" I murmured to the horse. He lifted his head and puffed its chest out almost proudly. There was a gold plaque with the name Pegasus engraved in it. " Pegasus?" I murmured and it neighed gently. I looked into the Pegasus's eyes before speaking again.
"Can you find Cerberus?" I asked. It whinnied and scraped the floor with its hoof. I smiled and climbed onto the stallion's back and gently held onto his mane. He turned and trotted down the opposite tunnel than where I had come from. He gently picked up speed until he was at a gallop as he ran down the stretch of the tunnel. He turned left and then a right and then he stopped and looked around. He was searching for something, I heard his wings ruffle a bit. I turned and looked at them they were all moving, but not like he was preparing for flight but has if he was using them as a sense. He was feeling the air! I slowed my breathing and tried to mimic his movements. I held my breath and could feel hot air and cold air. Hot air coming from one tunnel and cold air coming from the other. Pegasus started towards the cold air tunnel then stopped. That's when I heard Cerberus' pounding paw steps. Pegasus must've heard them too because he turned away from the cold air tunnel and galloped down the hot air tunnel. I could feel the heat grow as we galloped further down the tunnel. I heard Cerberus' steps grow louder the further into the tunnel we went. A small smile crept to my lips as I felt and heard Eros's thoughts and emotions. My shoulders relaxed with relief. I would see them all again!
~Eros's P.O.V~
My senses suddenly grew relieved. Weird, I was feeling everything, but relief. That's when it had hit me. I was feeling what Valentina was feeling!
"I can feel her!!" I suddenly exclaimed causing Ben and Caden jump a bit but then regain their grip on Cerberus.
"It speaks!" Nix exclaims teasingly then paused before growing serious, "What do you mean you 'feel her'?" everyone turns their eyes to me.
"Val! I can feel her emotions! I think she felt mine too because I suddenly felt relief! She knows we're here!" I said happiness growing in the pit of my stomach. I'm so close I can feel you, my love. I told you I would get you back! I thought to her knowing she could hear my thoughts since we were close enough. I knew you'd save me! Wait there! I'm on my way I've missed you all so much! I love you. Her words filled my head and her gentle voice soothed my taut shoulders.
"She's on her way here!" I exclaimed looking down all the possible tunnels she could come out of. That's when I heard the distant but close sound of a horse's gallop.
"Where did she get a horse?" Phoenix asked looking down the tunnel the sound radiated from. Before I could answer a beautiful white stallion with huge white wings trotted out of the tunnel with Valentina perched on its back. She gently stroked the stallion's neck.
"Good boy, Pegasus! Good boy!" she murmured and the horse whinnied. She climbed off his back as we all slide off of Cerberus's. I ran up and threw my arms around her slim waist and spun her around as she threw her arms around my neck and I could feel her tears hit my shoulder.
~Val's P.O.V~
I clung to Eros's neck never wanting to let go. His minty and musky scent filled my nose and I inhaled it never wanting to forget his scent. He put me down and I was almost tackled by Phoenix.
"Nix!" I screamed and hugged her back tighter.
"Val! I was afraid I wasn't going to see you again!" she murmured to me hugging me just as tight. Ben joined in our hug as did Eros. The dark haired boy kind of stood to the side looking slightly awkward.
"Hey Nix, care to introduce me?" I ask once everyone pulls away, but Eros who had his arm protectively around my waist.
"Oh! This is Caden, Caden this is Valentina the girl we were searching for. Caden is my… uhh…" she trailed off and glanced at Caden."My... soulmate." she adds and I grinned at her cheekily.
"Hi Caden! It's nice to meet you! You look like a demigod… are you?" I ask he looks up at me and smiles.
"Yeah I guess I sort of am." he responds, I look at Phoenix and grin.
"I told you, you'd find someone close to our actual age!" I teased she opened her mouth to respond but was interrupted by a loud angry yell.