We make it to the end of the hall in one piece, but rounding the corner is when things grow all the more unsettling. The hallway leads us to an unnerving foyer lined with statues. Black and white marble figures with faces contorted in pain and grief watch over us as we enter the room. These are the same statues that plagued my nightmares growing up.

The architecture of this place is chillingly familiar, yet out of place. I soon realize that we are wandering through my family's castle, only no one is home and the layout is a scattered puzzle. Rooms aren't where they should be. Paintings and statues have been distorted and dispersed haphazardly. And the front door that should be attached to the wall of the foyer is nonexistent. The light emanating from the lantern in Maddox's hand is the only thing granting us any comfort in the endless darkness.

Another gust of cold air whooshes past us, making me shiver. I hate being cold. As insufferable as the heat has been on the island, I'd choose that over the chill of winter any day. Most of my siblings would beg to differ, though. Especially Atlas, he hates the heat. He usually spends more time indoors during the summer. And if he has to go outside, he won't do anything to cool himself down, such as swimming in the lake like our other siblings. He's so stubborn about everything. No matter how hot it is outside, he will never go into the water if he can help it. 

The gears in my brain click, and I freeze in place, gaining Maddox's concern.

"What's wrong?" His voice is barely even a whisper.

Now that my brother's gone, the environment has morphed into a world that brings me discomfort. My family's castle has always been my least favorite place to be. Bad memories haunt me when I'm within its walls too long, and the halls are constantly cold and dreary. Ever since I was little, I always feared—

Maddox's hand tightens around mine, distracting me from my thoughts.

I bite my lip, hesitating a moment before finally telling him, "Atlas was terrified of the water when we were kids. And he said he woke up in the middle of the ocean after using his magic. I don't think anything that happens in this dimension is random. It's personal."

Atlas nearly drowned once when we were children. And on top of that, I used to beg our mother to read us a storybook she had about sea monsters. I loved it, but Atlas despised it. He was too stubborn to opt out of listening to the story, and as a result, it only added to his deep-rooted terror of the depths. His fear of water got to the point where he'd wait outside of the bathroom when I bathed. He thought he was keeping me safe from whatever his imagination had conjured up in our youth.

Maddox cocks an eyebrow doubtfully. "Your brother didn't seem to be very afraid of water anymore. Seems a tad silly to use a childhood fear against someone."

"He probably thinks he outgrew it, but Atlas still avoids hanging around deep waters to this day. But he also can't stand being weak, so he taught himself to swim anyway."

Maddox's eyes flicker around the dark room. "So, you think this place is manifesting itself into people's subconscious fears?" he asks wearily. 

"I think so, yes."

He purses his lips. "What about Juniper? What is she afraid of?"

"Juniper's terrified of heights. As soon as she woke up on the other side, where were we?"

He frowns. "Some kind of platform. We couldn't even see the ground below, we were so high up."

I nod. "And birds bother her too."

"Birds?" he replies dubiously. 

I don't waste time explaining the details to Maddox, but the memory immediately replays in my head. Juniper had been feeding bread to some geese near a pond. Everything was fine until she ran out of food to give them. One of the geese had started to peck and hiss at her, eager for more bread that she didn't have. I was there to run them off and carry her inside, but the damage was already done. She will refuse to go outside if she sees so much as a dove now.

"Some geese scared her last year, and now, she'll run away from anything with wings. I think that's why those harpies were gunning for her more than you or me," I explain. His expression slowly changes with each word as he wraps his head around the point I'm trying to make. "And she is terrified of Starborns, thanks to Atlas's horror stories. That's why she was freaking out and screaming for Orion. She was reliving the memory of the night she was captured by Starborns. Do you see what I'm saying? Our surroundings have been tailored to my siblings' fears, but now that they're gone—"

"This place is tied to your subconscious now," he declares, finishing my sentence. 

I nod, peering around warily. "Yes, but it might be tied to yours too. Has anything here seemed... unsettling to you?" I whisper.

The walls groan eerily when another cold breeze dances past us. He shudders. "Everything here is unsettling," he says dryly.

"Obviously," I retort. "But has anything felt personal?"

He starts walking again, tugging me along with him. "Not now. The first time I was here, yes, but not this time. I already gave up my magic, so there's no reason for me to be a target anymore. Maybe if you were gone, then I'd be the default victim, but that's just speculation."

"Me? But why? I thought Starborns couldn't lose their magic," I say absentmindedly. I'm half-distracted by the darkness looming outside of the lantern's light. It feels like the statues are watching us from the shadows. Everything about this place is giving me chills.

My eyes wander back to Maddox when he answers, "They can't. Even if you wanted to, it's not physically possible for you to give your magic away to anyone or anything."

I try to cross my arms, but he catches my hand when I start to pull it out of his grasp to do so. A sigh escapes me, but I don't fight him. "How do you even know that?" I mumble irritably.

"I know because I've met Starborns before. They told me that their magic cannot be taken, and before you start, yes, I believe them."

A short, almost inaudible laugh escapes me. "Of course you do. No offense, Maddox, but you really shouldn't go around believing what everyone tells you. If there's a way for me to give up my magic to save us, then we have to—"

"I trust them because they weren't just any Starborns. They were my friends."

I blink at him. Not only does Maddox, a Moonborn, welcome the company of vengeful mortals, but he has also formed alliances with the most violent and despicable Celestials in our world. 'Keep your enemies closer', they say...

I turn my nose up at him. "The keyword there is were. And why were you befriending Starborns of all people?" I sneer.

"That kind of judgment is exactly what wounded you when your brother looked down on you for something you can't change about yourself. You'd think discovering you're a Starborn would encourage one to have an open mind, but that doesn't come easy to you, does it?"

His words feel like a slap in the face. I stop walking and jerk my hand out of his. "You don't—"

He cuts me off, which only irritates me further. "Even if you could give up your magic, I wouldn't let you. You'd be saving us from the lockup, not the prison. Which means, we have to find another way out. Starting with that sword."

My scowl increases, but his expression doesn't falter one bit. We're both silent, yet unyielding. He's finished saying his piece, while I'm at a loss for words. He's right. I can't judge my own kind and fault my brother for doing the same. And If my magic is as important to everyone's escape as he thinks it is, giving it up now would be foolish. 

Honestly, there's a large part of me that admires Maddox's honesty. He doesn't mince words. I appreciate that quality, but I don't enjoy being reminded about Atlas's disappointment. It's hard to forget enough as it is.

You shouldn't have even been born, Calypso. 

He holds out his hand expectantly, making me feel like a disobedient toddler in a mercantile. My burned hand stings when I subconsciously clench my fist. I grit my teeth to suppress a wince, but something else in my expression must've given me away because Maddox's eyes soften. For some reason, pity irks me more than a sour attitude, but I try to swallow my irritation. I need to stay focused, not emotional.

I cross my arms, ignoring his outstretched hand. "What makes you think the sword is our best way out? Why do you have so much faith in it?" I ask, hopeful for a less vague answer this time.

"Because—"

He stops short when a low growl rumbles deep from within the darkness. His hand brushes against mine, encouraging me to take it. My eyes widen at the familiar rattling sound reverberating from behind me. Has the creature that dragged me through the darkness not so long ago resurrected itself for revenge, or is there more than one monster skulking around in the castle?

The beast snarls threateningly, slithering closer to us at an alarming speed. I entangle my hand around Maddox's, and we take off running in the opposite direction of the ominous sounds. We stay glued to each other, but I can't stop looking over my shoulder. The lantern in Maddox's other hand isn't very bright, but my curiosity is hoping it will be enough to reveal what is chasing us.

I can't see a claw or a face, but I do notice when the silhouette of the creature scutters across the wall. The shadow only lingers for a second, but the monster looks like a giant bundle of over-sized snakes. A giant bundle of oversized snakes that is getting way, way too close to us.

My breath catches when Maddox suddenly yanks me to the other side of him. Before I can blink, I'm being shoved through a door and into what feels like a closet. Our hands disconnect, and I don't see the lantern or Maddox anymore. I'm in complete darkness.

"Calypso." That isn't Maddox's voice. Who else is here?

I turn around, looking for the source of the whisper, but it's too dark to see anything. The stranger says my name again, but I can't tell where it's coming from. I'm about to respond, but a muffled cry escapes me when a sudden and intense pulsation in my head makes my ears ring. A wave of dizziness threatens to take me down.

"Maddox?" I say his name so quietly that I barely even hear it myself. 

I silently pray that he hasn't left me to fend for myself. Or maybe something happened to him? I can't imagine what would happen if I were to pass out right now.

I reach out into the black void in front of me and nearly gasp when someone backs into my touch. If the closet wasn't so small, I probably would have tripped over my own feet. Our proximity increases when the person backs into me to close the door. I shove my hands against the back of the stranger in an attempt to force him back into his own bubble of space.

"Ow," Maddox hisses. "You're pushing me into the door." His muffled voice tells me that his face is pressed right up against his side of the closet. He's as far away from me as he can be in this tiny area.

Begrudgingly, I drop my hands. It's too dark to see his face, but I know that he's facing me now. While we're not completely pressed into each other, we're still close enough that there's no need to hold hands. I'm very aware of where he is. On a positive note, the pounding in my head is starting to subside.

"What happened? Why didn't you answer me?" I ask urgently. "And where's the lantern?"

"Shh."

I oblige his command when I hear the slithering creature stop right in front of the closet. We both hold our breaths. Neither of us dares to make a sound, let alone breathe. Not even when we hear the monster retreat. I can still hear it wriggling outside of the closet door, but it's getting further and further away with each passing second.

Apart from the monster's menacing sounds, it is extremely quiet, so I jump when Maddox finally breaks the silence. 

"I left the lantern out there. I was hoping it would distract it."

I exhale heavily. "I think it can see in the dark. The one that grabbed me back in the room reacted when I looked in its direction."

I feel his body move as he shrugs. "Maybe the light is deterring it, then? I don't really care, as long as it leaves," he whispers.

"Did you hear someone whispering out there?" I ask.

"Uh, no. Did you hear something?" he asks cautiously.

I clear my throat, then respond with, "Yeah, but I'm probably just too dehydrated, or something."

I can hear the worry in his voice. "We'll find something as soon as we're outside," he says reassuringly. 

"Maddox, what if there's not actually a way out of here?"

He's quiet for a moment. "Well, there has to be. Outside air is getting in here somehow. You felt the wind out there too, right?" he presses.

"Yeah," I mutter numbly.

All I know is that the breeze outside of this closet cannot be a good thing. I want it to be a good thing, but something in me just knows that it isn't. If this dimension has truly altered itself to personally haunt me, there's no way the cold air is luring us to a better place.

"Callie, what are you afraid of?" he suddenly asks, taking me off guard.

I blink at the darkness. "Huh?" I breathe.

"Your theory," he murmurs. "You told me what scares your siblings, but what is your fear?"

Telling him the truth doesn't feel like a bad idea, but I also don't like the idea of giving him information that could be used against me in some way. I start to instinctively cross my arms but stop when Maddox's torso gets in the way. I want to take a step back for some distance, but my back is already against the wall. And I can still hear the monster lingering from a distance, so we won't be leaving the closet anytime soon.

"I... I don't know. Juniper's fears were more obvious. I think mine is more subconscious. Like Atlas's," I say curtly.

He tsks. "Stop being so vague. You realized the Autolycus Cage knew your siblings' fears because something here frightened you. I saw it on your face. So, what was it?" he implores.

Damn him for being so observant. "It doesn't matter."

"Yes, it does. We'll have a better chance at escaping if we both know what we're up against."

As always, I know that he's right. I shouldn't let my pride or paranoia get in the way of this. 

Reluctantly, I whisper, "Those statues in the foyer are the same ones in my family's home. I was afraid of them as a child. And I don't like being cold at all. It makes me feel confined and isolated. And everything in here is just that."

"What else?" he says firmly.

"I was afraid of the dark growing up," I admit shyly.

"One second. I think it's gone."

He readjusts himself, brushing against me for a moment. He opens the closet door. The lantern flickering outside of the closet reveals to me that his head is poked through the opening of the door. After a moment, he closes the door. It's pitch black again.

"I think we should wait a few more minutes, just to be safe," he declares, shuffling back around to face me. "Anyways, continue. Are you still afraid of the dark, then?" he asks.

I roll my eyes. "Of course not."

"Are you sure?"

"Why wouldn't I be sure? I'm not afraid of the dark, Maddox," I reiterate coldly.  

He's silent for a moment, then he finally says, "You said that Atlas thinks he outgrew his fear of water because he taught himself how to swim, but he still avoids deep waters to this day. You may not be afraid of the dark in the same way, but something about it must still make you uneasy."

I run my hand through my hair, elbowing Maddox's shoulder by accident in the process. I mutter an apology but say nothing else after that. Maddox breaks our silence again.

"Listen," he says hesitantly after a moment, "I... this dimension, or whatever you want to call it, used my fears against me too when I first came to the island. I didn't think much of it at the time, but it makes sense now that I've heard your theory."

My curiosity is peaked. I give him a gentle shove when he remains silent. "Okay, well what are you afraid of?" I press.

He clears his throat. "Well, uh, I was in a really bad fire when I was younger. I was okay, but a lot of the people that I cared about died. And I saw a lot of it... their deaths, I mean."

"Oh..." I whisper so quietly that I don't even know if he hears it.

He continues after a moment. "Anyway, when I was over here by myself, I saw a lot of fire and death. I tried to help the injured. Tried to put out flames. But nothing worked."

"So, how'd you survive?" I ask.

"I had to accept that I couldn't control chaos, let alone death. I thought I was afraid of the fire, but now... I know that it was more than that." He pauses briefly, considering his own words. "While the fire was undeniably terrifying, it wasn't my true fear. I didn't realize it until now, but I was actually afraid of everything tied to that fire."

I consider leaving it at that, but my curiosity gets the best of me. "Such as?" I persist.

"Well, I'm afraid of losing the people that I love. I'm afraid of letting people down when they need me. And I did both of those things. And if I'm being really honest, I was afraid of the person that caused that fire all those years ago."

My eyebrows knit together. "Cyrus?" I guess bluntly.

He stifles a laugh, but there's no humor in his voice when he speaks. "It doesn't matter. I only told you all of this to help you understand what I'm asking you. If you're not afraid of the dark itself, then what fears are you connecting it to?" he asks impatiently.

"I'm going to let this go for now since we need to focus on escaping, but I want to know more about that story later," I reply sternly.

A breathy chuckle escapes him, tickling my ear when I turn my head. "I thought you didn't care about me, Love?" he muses knowingly.

I ignore his teasing. He can think what he wants. I only want to know the truth so that I will have a better understanding of who I'm allied with. For now, I shrug off his glib comment and start picking my brain to answer his question.

When I was little, the dark scared me for obvious reasons. Like most children, I worried about what could be watching me from the shadows. I would combat this with a nightlight. And as much as I hate to admit it, I still have to have a small amount of light when I'm sleeping alone in a room to this day. But not because of the dark itself or the nonexistent monsters under the bed. Well, after what I've seen here, I wouldn't be surprised if there are monsters under some beds.

"Callie?" Maddox says gently when I don't respond.

"I'm thinking," I grumble. I'm not afraid of the dark, but I have to have a light source. Why? It clicks after a moment, and I take a deep breath. "I like to have a light on when I'm sleeping alone. I'm not scared... but it makes me feel less lonely. It's more of a comfort thing now, I guess."

"Well, what about when you're not alone?"

I shrug, tossing my hair over my shoulder. "Then I feel okay."

The closet door creaks open again. I can barely make out Maddox's face, but I think he's smiling. "Well, I'd say that is all the more reason to stick to our first rule," he says, taking my hand into his. "We should move now. I think the creature is gone, but we'll be sure to keep the light with us."

He exits the closet before I can reply, tugging me along with him. He snatches the floating lantern from the center of the room. The flame isn't exactly bright, but even a little visibility is better than nothing.

An icy breeze drifts past us, making me tremble again. My heart rate picks up when Maddox steers us in the direction of the chilly weather. We round a corner that leads to another dark hallway. The wind is almost constant now, sending goosebumps up my arms and a shiver down my spine.

"Maddox, I hate the cold. If this place is actually built to terrorize me, are you sure it's a good idea to follow something that makes me uncomfortable?" I whisper, gazing over at him with uncertainty. 

"Yes, unless you have a better idea."

Before I can respond, a much stronger gust of wind bursts down the hallway, knocking both of us off of our feet. The glass lantern shatters against the stone beneath us. With our only light source snuffed out, we're sitting in almost complete darkness again. Almost. Moonlight is spilling out of a room further down the hallway. The open door creaks with each puff of the frigid wind.

A loud roar echoes from behind us, making us both jump up instantaneously. We take off running towards the moonlight at the end of the hall. That same slithering bundle from before is bounding after us now. I grab Maddox's hand and squeeze tightly. Another strong surge of wind like that could very well separate us, or send one of us flying back into the monster's clutches. 

Now that we're at the other end of the hallway, I realize that the open door is familiar. It leads to my bedroom. But before we can enter, a sharp pain shoots into my skull for the second time. My hand slips out of Maddox's, and I fall to my knees abruptly. I close my eyes and push my head into the ground, longing for the sudden wave of pain to diminish. And slowly, it does.

"Give me your hand," Maddox orders from above me.

I'm about to reach for his outstretched hand, but a snake-like limb wraps around my ankle and pulls me out of his reach. A cry escapes me when the creature bites into my calf. Blood trickles down my pants leg. The monster is trying to pull me back into the darkness.

Maddox runs over to me, grabbing one of my arms when he's close enough. To my surprise, the beast releases my leg after a moment, allowing Maddox to help me. When I'm on my feet again, I turn around to face the monster behind me. A gasp escapes me when a yellow, reptilian eye pops open to observe us. But the monster doesn't strike. It's waiting for something.

I follow the snake's gaze, and my eyes land on Maddox's hand which is intertwined with mine.

The monster begins to shriek when Maddox and I start to back away from it. It's chasing us again, but I'm almost certain that it won't attack us... unless we get separated again. And that's what it wants. It's waiting for an opening.

Maddox stops running when the snarling creature gets too close and turns to shout, "Vrasmós!"

The monster's deep cries bellow throughout the castle, shaking its' walls. Maddox doesn't boil the thing to death like I did, but he does inflict enough pain to keep it down for a few good minutes. While it's still incapacitated, we bolt down the hall and into my bedroom. Once we're inside, I slam the door behind us and lock it. The monster is still wailing in agony from afar. Still trying to recover from the pain.

Like clockwork, Maddox's hand is on my leg, healing the throbbing bite mark I received from one of the snake heads. I say my thanks before turning to face the open window on the opposite side of the room. The curtains that normally frame my window are on the ground. Outside is a raging blizzard that has caused parts of my room to ice over.

My head starts to throb again. I rub my temples in frustration. It must be from all of the stress.

"Maybe we should try to wait in here until the storm passes," Maddox suggests. The creature down the hall bellows uncannily, making his eyes widen. "Or maybe not."

I take a tiny step forward, and when I do, another powerful draft bursts through the window, knocking me on my backside again. Maddox lands against the bedroom door with a thud. The constant breeze is so cold that my face stings. I notice snowflakes clinging to my dark hair from the corner of my eye.

Once the howl of the wind settles down, I stand back up. "This is my bedroom. Well, a copy of it, I guess. There should be coats in the closet," I offer, turning on my heel to approach the closet.

"Your bedroom?" Maddox questions.

I don't make it very far to my closet, and I don't get the chance to explain anything. Instead, I find myself on the ground again when a piercing ache shoots through my cranium once more. But this time, the pain is much, much worse than before.

Maddox is at my side quickly, shaking me. His voice is an incoherent drawl. I can't hear him over the ringing in my ears. I try to look up at him, but that only makes my head pang all the more painfully. My vision blurs, and I think I might just pass out.

I think I hear a smothered roar echo from down the hall. Is the monster coming this way? Can it get through the door?

"Callie!" Maddox's voice is muffled. Anything else he says after that is lost on me.

It feels like someone is stabbing into my brain with a hot fireplace poker. I think I'm screaming, but I don't know anymore. Nothing feels real. Unable to cope with the pain any longer, my body ultimately goes limp and I'm gone. Or so I think.

"Calypso." The voice is firm and commanding. Familiar, yet unfamiliar. 

I push against the cold ground beneath me until I'm able to sit up. I'm still in my bedroom, but Maddox isn't here, and my window isn't open anymore. And the lights are on. Am I dead or dreaming?

"Look at me," the man orders. This is the voice that called out to me from in the closet, but who is it? How do they know my name?

I turn to the voice coming from behind me. My eyes meet a familiar face... but also not familiar somehow. Standing beside my dresser is a man with bright blue eyes that resemble my father's. His hair is just as dark as mine, and he doesn't look much older than me. Even his facial features, perfectly defined and uncompromising, are like a typical Van Blake's.

Shakily, I rise to my feet. My headache is fading fast, but I don't trust that it won't come back. 

"Who are you?" I ask meekly.

I immediately think of my father's constant scowl when the mysterious man frowns at me. Is this a younger version of him? How strange.

"That isn't important right now," he booms. "I have plans for you, Calypso. I'm going to let you go for now so that we may talk later."

Let me go? What does that mean? Where's Maddox?

I shake my head, taking a bold step forward. "Tell me who you are. And where's Maddox?"

His lips twitch with a hint of a smile. "I'm a Starborn. Like you. And for the record, I do not doubt that you could find your way out of here with enough time. You're very powerful, Calypso, but we can't afford to waste any more time."

I take a step back when the stranger walks towards me. He grips my forearm tightly when I turn to run, making me wince. Now that his face is closer to me, I realize that his eyes are my father's eyes. Same shape and color, only this man's eyes are lifeless. Colder, meaner.

"Let go of me," I hiss through a tight jaw.

His eyes narrow maliciously. "You're welcome," he breathes.

My world turns black for the umpteenth time upon his words. I don't know if it was a dream, and I was already unconscious, or if whatever this man did to me caused me to black out just now, but when my eyes do finally open for good, I see the sun peaking through the clouds above me.

I blink rapidly. Once my eyes adjust to the change of light, I sit up. I'm on the floor of a forest. A familiar wet and humid forest. Looking to my right, I notice pale tree limbs lined with vibrant, blue leaves. It's the same tree that Maddox and Juniper gazed upon with me while we were searching for Orion. Even though I've seen it already, I'm still very much in awe of its' beauty. It's almost as if the tree itself is glowing with magic. 

I'm back on the island. Back to reality. My hand burns in protest when I press it into the squishy ground. I suck my teeth at the pain but push myself up and onto my feet anyway. My legs wobble, but I manage to stay standing. I twirl around frantically when everything that just happened catches up to me.

"Maddox?" I don't yell, but I don't whisper either. I want him to hear me, but I don't know who else could be around. The silence drags on, so I say his name again. Still no response.

A pit forms in my stomach, heavy and gnawing. Is he unconscious somewhere? Hurt even? As much as I don't want to admit it, there is a part of me that was starting to like Maddox, trust him even. I suppress a groan, rubbing my temples in frustration. This is why I didn't want to make anything personal between us; he's become yet another person I have to worry about, and the thought of something awful happening to him makes me feel sick.

No, he has to be here. He just can't hear me. I have to believe that. "Maddox?" I say in an even tone. Silence. My throat dries. Screw it, it's worth the risk. I open my mouth to yell a bit louder this time, but I'm cut off by someone who definitely isn't Maddox.

"Try again, Love," Dolion teases, mocking Maddox's English accent.

I back away from him instinctively. "Get away from me," I order.

"What do you think I'm going to do?" he asks innocently, dropping the forced accent.

My pulse quickens when he starts walking towards me. "Dolion, stop. I'll use my magic," I warn, giving him a dark look.

He stops walking, raising his hands submissively. "During the day?" he asks, throwing me a coy smile. "Besides, your magic is long gone by now."

That's right. He thinks I'm a Moonborn. Moon magic doesn't work during the day, and he likely believes that I lost my magic in the second dimension of this island like he did.

"Where's Maddox?" I behest with a cold stare.

He smirks. Avoiding my question, he instead asks, "Why would I have helped you the other day if I wanted to hurt you, Calypso?" He says my real name on purpose to remind me of what he did for me. To hold it over my head, no doubt.

Dolion helped me when he covered for me in front of Maddox. He didn't tell him that I'm Alberich Van Blake's daughter. And while I do appreciate him keeping his mouth shut, it still isn't enough of a reason to trust him.

The memory of Dolion burying a hatchet in Maddox's gut suddenly resurfaces, making me grimace inwardly. The uneasiness continues when images of him murdering his siblings, one by one, in the Moon Gathering last year flicker through my brain.

"If you really want to help me, then you'll tell me where Maddox is, and then you'll leave," I say.

He cocks his head to the side, studying me. Amusement glints behind his gray eyes. I'm debating on making a run for it, but his next words keep me rooted in place.

"Don't you want to know what happened to Orion?"