“I’m a friend,” a man said. “Don’t be alarmed.”

Persephone’s hands shook, but she managed to maintain her grip on the tray and jug. She felt the solid plane of the man’s muscles as a warmth against her back. A living man, in the underworld? Oh, Hades would not be pleased.

She blinked slowly, and he released her.

“You’re not dead,” she said, taking two steps back, clutching the serving tray and the wine jug to her chest.

“My name is Ismaros,” the man said. “I’ve come to rescue you.”

“Did my mother send you?”

Ismaros’s brow crinkled. “She is sorely missing you.”

He must have done well to evade detection thus far, but how long could it last? He was dressed in a servant’s garb, though it ill-suited him. Ismaros had the musculature of a blacksmith but the bearing of a king. If anyone looked at him too closely, surely they would suspect something was wrong.

Still, what other choice did she have?

“Did she send you?” Persephone repeated. She glanced aside to check if anyone was nearby, but the corridors were empty.

“Yes, of course she sent me,” Ismaros said, sounding impatient. “Will you meet me at dawn tomorrow? That’s when the next wagon is due to the overworld, to retrieve more supplies for your table.”

It made sense that they had some way of regularly replenishing their pantry with stores meant only for Persephone. She was even more grateful for Hades’ decree that she need not eat food from the underworld.

“I’ll be ready,” she said. “Where?”

“By the stables. We will journey some way by wagon. It... will not be pleasant.”

“I’ll survive.”

“We’ll need a way past Cerberus,” he said.

“I’ve eluded him once before.”

“That might be a problem. Whatever you did, the same trick will not work a second time.”

Persephone frowned. “I’ll think of something.”

He nodded. “Until we meet, do nothing to attract suspicion.”

What did he think she was, a simpleton? “I could say the same for you. You don’t look like a servant.”

Ismaros grimaced. “I’ll be careful.”

They had already spoken for far too long. Persephone continued on her way to the kitchen. Finding it devoid of people, she helped herself to more wine and food before returning to Stephanus.

She would not be taken back to Demeter. Once she reached the surface, she would find a way to dodge this Ismaros and instead seek out her father. Zeus could annul her marriage and grant her the true freedom she desired. And if he wanted something she could not give him in return, then... she would deal with it, later.

She hastened back to the library, where she found Stephanus sound asleep, a scroll held loosely in his lap.