Genre: YA Urban Fantasy
Release Date: May 13th 2016
Summary from Goodreads:
Chrys has been in the Underworld for thousands of years, hidden
away by her father, Hades, from all of the other gods. He's afraid that if
someone finds out about her, they will destroy her because of the dichotomous
power that she holds, the power of life and death. So she has remained in the
Palace of Hades all her life, making very few friends and always bored out of
her mind.
Huntley would have never guessed that after he died he would wake
up with a beautiful girl standing over him. And that she would be the Dark Lord
of the Underworld's daughter. Yet, for some reason, she keeps him around as her
tutor, as if he knows anything about the world. But Huntley knows that all she
really wants is a friend; being trapped in the Underworld can get pretty
lonely.
That is, until Chrys decides she wants to run away to the human
world after a big fight with her mother Persephone. Chrys claims her father is
just over reacting and that nothing bad will come of it. There's no way that
the gods will notice she's there for only a couple of days...right?
Excerpt:
CHAPTER 7
Chrys
The
River Styx is really intimidating. Like, seriously.
I
honestly never really realized it until now, being without someone who knew how
to guide the boat for me. I had only taken a boat out a couple of times, but
never this far, and never with this much risk. Now that I stood there, waiting
for the others, I found myself questioning my decision a little bit. Not enough
to turn back, but enough to realize that Father was going to be really pissed
if he found out I had hijacked a boat and left the Underworld with two of my
friends. I guess I knew that already but it was hitting me hard now.
I had
left a note for him, telling him we were going to visit Maka and not to worry,
that we would be back in a few days. He knew I needed to let off a little steam
and that leaving me alone was the best choice. At least, I hoped.
I was
already wearing my ring and waiting to give A.J. and Huntley theirs. I was
almost past the point of no return, making a decision that could get me in the
worst of trouble.
And
it felt exhilarating.
I was
surprised that Huntley wasn’t fully on board with this, but more cautious than
A.J. and I were. He was only coming because he wanted to make sure I was safe.
But if A.J. thought it would be fine, I really doubted it was going to end
badly.
At
least I hoped that it wouldn’t.
A.J.
was the cautious one out of the three of us, so if Huntley thought it was fine,
it was probably going to be fine. I trusted him, especially after all this
time. He cared enough to stay in the Palace for me, so he had to be speaking
the truth.
A.J.
and Huntley showed up, checking behind them to make sure there wasn’t anyone
following them. I nodded to both of them and handed them the rings. They
slipped them on their fingers, and we quickly climbed in the boat to travel
around the River Styx into the sky that was Oceanus.
The
boat was like an old gondola that might simply crumble if we were going over
actual water. It was beyond old,
probably the same age as the Underworld itself. It creaked and cracked as we
stood on it, rocking slightly back and forth. The three of us each grabbed a
stick and pushed off the peer of the palace and into the river we went.
“How
does this actually work?” Huntley asked. “I mean, it looks like we are
traveling on clouds.”
“You
really going to ask questions of how things work in the Underworld? Not just
accept that things work differently here?” A.J. replied. We had barely been
gone for a couple of moments and they were already arguing.
“The
rivers here are more like air currents, trapping things that have been lost in
the mortal realm,” I explained. “The river we are on now is the River Styx, the
River of Hatred. It is but one of five rivers. Most of the dead come to this
world via Acheron, the River of Pain. It is where Charon runs his service. The
other rivers flow through the Underworld and serve as transportation to places
throughout. But without a boat, all of the rivers will curse those who try to
escape, so make sure the water doesn’t touch you.”
Huntley
glanced over the water, his eyes wide. I probably should have mentioned that
earlier, but it had completely slipped my mind. When you knew something for
such a long time, it was hard to remember to tell others who might not know.
“Don’t
worry, you’re fine. But because of this, no god from the other realms can get
through Oceanus, which is why Father has hidden me away for so long. That is,
except Hermes, he can travel between realms. Why that is, no one really knows.
He kinda just appears some days and Father can’t figure out how he’s doing it.
As for my mother, well, it’s really rare for anyone to come to the Underworld
and be able to go back to Earth. In some legends the hero can, or antagonist,
depending on your point of view. The River Styx was their greatest obstacle.”
“But
she sneaks men in here,” Huntley countered.
I
nodded. “Yeah, but they don’t come by themselves. She pays Charon to escort
them. He will escort anything as long as he gets paid.”
“Oh.
So which one is the River Styx?” Huntley asked.
I
gestured in front of us. “This one. We will be going around the Underworld
seven times and then be dumped into Oceanus.”
“Seven
times? Won’t that take forever?”
I
shrugged. “Space is weird here. Doesn’t take too long actually and the farther
we get, the faster it starts to go.”
“Oh,
I guess that makes sense,” Huntley said. “Then where is Oceanus?”
I
nodded up. “You see the blue clouds that covers the entire realm? That’s
Oceanus.”
He
looked up at the sky. The molten blue shimmered in the light of the morning.
Where the morning light really came from, I still wasn’t sure. This world was
weird, I had to agree.
“Shit.
How are we supposed to get through that?” he asked.
“Hence
the boat, moron,” A.J. commented.
Huntley
pointed up. “Yeah, but that doesn’t have a surface that we can travel on.”
I
shook my head. “That’s because we don’t travel on it. We travel through it.
Oceanus is like a shell between this world and Earth.”
“Oh
yeah, that’s going to be fun. Do you even know where we are going to end up?”
I was
silent. I actually didn’t. I figured, probably wherever my mother was last, but
I couldn’t be sure. It wasn’t like I had a preference. Anywhere was better than
here. Finally, I shrugged.
“We
don’t even know where we are going?” Huntley exclaimed. “Chrys, seriously, get
some sense in your head. This is a bad idea.”
He
was right, I really didn’t know what I was doing. I should turn back now, I had
let my emotions get the better of me. I was turning into my mother.
And I
didn’t want that.
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About the Author
Dani Hoots is a
science fiction, fantasy, romance, and young adult author who loves anything
with a story. She has a B.S. in Anthropology, a Masters of Urban and
Environmental Planning, and is currently in the Your Novel Year Program through
Arizona State University.
Her hobbies include
reading, watching anime, cooking, studying different languages, wire walking,
tinkering with her violin and concertina, and volunteering at the library. She
lives in Seattle with her husband and two cats.
Author Links:
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