Chapter 13
Hades
“She keeps doing that,” Hades said, looking at Hecate for answers.
Persephone was bent with her hands resting on the bed, swaying back and forth, a haunting moan leaving her mouth every other minute. It kept him on edge, ready to fight, though he recognized this wasn’t war.
“Because it sucks,” Persephone groaned, resting her head on her hands.
“I know,” he said, rubbing her back. “I’m just worried.”
“You don’t know,” she said, looking up at him. “You are just worried.”
Hecate chuckled. “I told you she’d tell you exactly how she felt.”
Persephone straightened as much as she could and walked around the room until another contraction overwhelmed her and she paused, now leaning over the chair nearest the fireplace as it shuddered through her.
Hades had never felt so helpless, which was saying a lot, given that he had been trapped in the labyrinth and literally stripped of his powers, but even that did not compare to watching Persephone experience this pain.
“Is there something you can give her?” Hades asked.
“We have a plan, Hades,” Hecate assured. “All will be well.”
“You said you had a plan,” Hades said when an hour later, nothing had happened and Persephone’s pain seemed to be worse. She was lying in the bed, moaning deeply, her fingers wrapped tightly around his. He’d never heard her make these sounds. It tore his chest apart.
“The tonic will kick in shortly,” Hecate said. “Just give it time.”
Hades wondered how she could be so calm when all of this felt so intense.
He placed one hand on Persephone’s belly. He knew he could not heal this, but perhaps he could ease her pain. He thought it might be working when her moan turned into more of a hum.
Her eyes opened into slits, face glistening as she turned her head toward him.
“Thank you,” she whispered.
It eased his guilt just a little.
“It’s time to push!” Hecate announced. “Knees out. Help her, Hades!”
Persephone was slightly reclined, her knees pulled up nearly to her shoulders. Hades latched onto one leg. He was so far out of his depth and a little panicked, though he tried his best not to show it.
“Take a deep breath,” Hecate instructed. “When the next contraction hits, push hard. Go, Persephone.”
Her legs shook with the effort as Hecate counted to ten.
“You’re doing great. Again,” the goddess instructed. “Go, go, go! There we are!”
His eyes darted to Hecate, and then he saw a head of bright blond hair and suddenly, there was a baby in Hecate’s arms.
“We have our boy!” she announced. “Put him on her chest, Hades, and rub his back until he cries.”
That is a baby, he thought as he followed Hecate’s instructions. A small, little life.
Zagreus, his son.
“He’s beautiful,” Persephone said, throat thick with tears.
Just as Zagreus started to cry, Persephone moaned and bore down, and there was a second, loud wail.
Hecate laughed.
“And we have our girl,” she said. “Look at that hair. Just like yours, Hades.”
He looked from Persephone and Zagreus to Hecate and Melinoe. He could not explain the feelings exploding inside him. He was both in awe and deeply afraid, but in just a few short minutes, he suddenly had everything he’d ever wanted.
A family.
“Are you happy?” Persephone asked later, when Hecate had left to give them time alone.
They sat in bed, each holding one of the twins who slept soundlessly in their arms, swaddled in blankets Alma had quilted for the pair.
She’d taken the time to stitch each square with an image.
“To represent everyone who loves them,” she’d said, pausing to chuckle.
“I had to get creative. There are so many, after all.”
Hades looked at his wife and answered, “More than I ever imagined possible. And you? Are you happy?”
“I am…” She paused, and Hades wondered why she was struggling to find the words, but when she finally spoke, he understood. “I am grateful and content…and still in disbelief. We’re parents.”
It was hard to believe. He was not sure he had fully wrapped his mind around the idea, even though he was holding a baby that was basically a mini version of himself. Melinoe had his features while Zagreus had clearly taken Persephone’s.
“I can’t believe Hecate trusted us enough to leave us alone with them,” said Hades.
“It’s not like she went far,” she said. “You heard her outside the door.”
Earlier, she had been arguing with Hermes about some kind of winged shoes and why the babies could not wear them.
Hades chuckled. “True.”
Persephone leaned against Hades’s shoulder. “Look at the life you created in the Underworld.”
Hades’s chest tightened at her words. “We created,” he said. “But you are right. They are miracles.”
He smoothed a hand over Melinoe’s head.
He wished he had a better word to describe them, but it was probably the closest to what he intended. A miracle was an extraordinary event. They were common for mortals since gods granted them, but there were fewer instances for the divine. Somehow, they had managed two.
“Now that they are here,” Hades said. “I can only think of them as a gift.”
Even if the Fates granted the children for some purpose of their own, it did not matter. They would face those trials as they came. For now, he would have peace.
“I think you are right,” Persephone said, her soft gaze shifting from Zagreus to him.
“Merry Christmas, Hades.”
He smiled and leaned forward to kiss her, speaking close to her skin. “Merry Christmas, darling.”