Blood of Immortals | Chapter 20

Chapter 20

My mission was clear: find the mirror in the Underworld. Gideon, however, wasn’t as clear on my need to go alone. As the Queen’s stand-in while she was away, he was hesitant to let me undertake such a dangerous task without his help. But I had convinced him, reminding him that if I wanted to prove my bloodline, I needed to do it on my own terms.

Reluctantly, Gideon assigned two elite warriors to accompany me: Amari and Veltra. Neither of them knew the mission’s true purpose. That knowledge was a privilege shared only by me, Gideon, and Nana.

Amari didn’t hide his disapproval of me. His glares, sharp remarks, and clear annoyance made it obvious that he found me unworthy of his time. Veltra, in contrast, was far more approachable. She asked friendly, albeit probing, questions about the mirror. I dodged them, unwilling to reveal too much until I knew the truth of my own story.

On the seventh day of our journey, we stumbled upon a group of trolls robbing an elderly elf woman.

“Let go of my belongings, now!” the elf demanded, her voice surprisingly firm.

The trolls ignored her, and one even raised a club to strike. I didn’t wait for things to escalate. Without hesitation, I hurled a knife at the nearest troll, embedding it in his hand.

“Ahhh!” he howled, clutching his bleeding hand. The other trolls froze, then turned tail and fled with panicked cries. Cowards.

Amari and Veltra stepped forward to check on the elf.

“Are you alright?” Amari asked, his tone uncharacteristically gentle.

“Yes,” the elf replied, gathering her scattered belongings.

“Let us help you,” I offered, kneeling to assist her.

When we’d finished, the elf held out a basket of food to us. “Take these with you,” she insisted.

“Oh, no, we couldn’t possibly—” I began, but she cut me off.

“You are going to the Underworld,” she said.

Her words stopped me cold. How could she know that? Only three people in the entire kingdom knew of our mission, and this elf wasn’t one of them.

I stared at her, questions swirling in my mind, but she ignored my confusion and pressed the basket into my hands. Inside were a bottle of wine and a honey cake. Not just any wine and cake—ambrosia wine and honey cake. Food for the gods.

I looked at her, my suspicion growing, but before I could speak, a voice echoed in my mind. Do not question me, child. It is not the time yet.

The voice was hers. I was sure of it.

Swallowing my questions, I simply said, “Thank you.”

---

Later, as we resumed our journey, Amari surprised me by striking up a conversation.

“You’re pretty good with knives,” he said, referring to my earlier intervention with the trolls.

“Gideon trained me,” I replied without thinking.

“The Royal Duke?” he asked, his tone shifting from disdain to awe.

“Yeah,” I said.

“Wow. You’re lucky,” Amari said. “The Royal Duke was a legend during the war of gods and demons. Everyone admired him.”

“Really?” I asked, genuinely intrigued.

“He used to be the commander of the royal wolves. His strategies turned the tide of many battles.”

“Huh. He never told me that.”

We spent the next few hours swapping stories. I told him about my training with Gideon, sharing a few humorous anecdotes. For the first time, Amari seemed relaxed, even friendly.

But not everyone was as willing to warm up to me. Later that night, as I returned to camp after gathering supplies, I overheard Veltra talking to Amari.

“Aren’t you getting too close to her?” Veltra asked.

“She seems nice,” Amari replied.

“She could be a spy for all we know,” Veltra said sharply.

Annoyance flared in Amari’s voice. “This is my business. Stop interfering.”

---

On the tenth day, we reached the River Styx. Tied to a post was a small boat, and sitting beside it was a strange creature with gray skin, wearing nothing but a piece of black cloth around his waist. Charon.

“Hello!” I greeted him cheerfully.

He blinked at me, confused. “Uh… hello?”

“Is this boat going to the Underworld?” I asked.

“I’m on leave until next week,” he replied.

“What?” Veltra snapped. “We can’t wait here for a week!”

“Why are you on leave?” I asked.

“It’s my birthday,” he said shyly.

“Oh, happy birthday!” I exclaimed.

“Thanks…” he mumbled.

I remembered the ambrosia wine in the basket. A sly idea formed in my mind. “How about this?” I said, holding up the bottle. “I’ll give you this wine to celebrate your birthday, but you have to guide us to the Underworld in exchange.”

“I can drink wine anytime I want,” he said dismissively.

“But this wine is special,” I insisted. “It’s made of ambrosia.”

His eyes lit up. “Ambrosia? Really?”

“Really.”

After a moment of deliberation, he nodded. “Alright, deal.”

We handed over the wine, and Charon guided us across the river. When we reached the gate to the Underworld, he turned to us.

“We’re here,” he said.

“Thanks again! Happy birthday!” I called as he rowed away.

We turned to face the gate—and the massive three-headed dog guarding it.

Cerberus.

Its growls rumbled like thunder, saliva dripping from its fangs. All three heads snapped toward us, their eyes burning with malice.

“Great,” I muttered. “What’s next?”

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