Chapter 9 Persephone #2
He practically growls at her. “I shall turn on you, Demeter. Do not forget, I am the god of gods! Or, worse, I’ll send you to Hades.”
She smiles. It is a sharp, vicious smile that matches the deep color in her cheeks. “And you will see the end of the world.”
My father dismisses her with a wave. “Your threats will not save you.”
“No, but they will end you. Mark my words, Zeus. They will end you and everything you have ever built. You will sit on a throne among piles of rubble. Is that what you wanted?”
Although they quarrel, my mind spins and my breath comes up short.
Any life who consumes the seeds is condemned to remain in the Underworld for all time.
All time. That means all eternity. That means the thing I feared when I was first there, and missing my mother. Having to stay in the Underworld would mean not seeing her again, unless it was through a mirror.
It would mean not having access to my powers, and that is entirely different from losing them because of a mysterious illness or curse.
It would mean knowing, for all eternity, that my powers were returned to me in full, and that they are there on Olympus and in the mortal realm, but I cannot touch them.
I did not know that when I ate the seeds.
But there had been some deal between Hades and Hecate. There had been… I look to her, but her gaze offers nothing but sympathy.
There have been so many plans made without consulting me, and now I feel I have chosen to give up half of myself without being warned that it could happen.
My mother and father circle each other, arguing, but I cannot hear a word they sneer at each other. Does it matter if my father has done this? Does it matter where the blame is placed, in the end?
I do not think it does. I think it’s already too late and it's my fault.
Is it already too late?
Hecate ignores them both, silently making her way to me, stopping close enough that I have to pull myself out of my thoughts and look into her dark eyes.
“They will call you the queen of the dead,” she says, her expression solemn. “Because never have so many died for a god.”
“I am not the queen of the dead,” I argue, my voice going faint at the last word. “I cannot be. I am a goddess of life.”
“Those who love you torture souls in your absence.”
“Hades?”
“Those who love you,” she repeats meaningfully. “Your mother has sent thousands of souls from the mortal realm to the Underworld, and Hades has destroyed nearly as many. He will not stop this carnage until you are returned.”
“But my mother—”
“Your mother is Zeus’s responsibility. You made your choice, giving your soul to Hades by consuming those seeds and being consumed in return.”
Calmly, as my mother weeps in desperation, I ask Hecate, “How can I be returned?” For I will have words with Hades. I will not be sentenced to a life where I am without and cannot do as I wish.
“What if I just have a little more time,” I start but I know the cost of such things.
“Daughter,” Zeus states clearly for all to hear, striking his staff and splitting the sky with sharp bolts and a thunderous boom. “It is law. And I will not see the realms come undone.”
And so it is.
Suddenly, I can hear it—all of their cries.
I remember the sound. Their voices echo in the back of my mind.
All of the souls, mourning when they streamed overhead through the dark sky, but now it is twice as loud.
The screams of those in the mortal realm who have relied on my mother for life and sustenance and who have been betrayed by her, they send chills down my spine.
They are calling for me, and they are cursing me. They want me to help them, or they want me to leave…to destroy myself as a sacrifice for them. What they do not want me to do is nothing. They do not want me to stand still.
And I do not want to. These are my people.
They send their prayers to me. They believe in my ability to help them or to at least comfort them.
At the very least, they believe I am worth something.
They believe I can reach them, or else they believe I can reach my mother and convince her to favor them again.
My throat goes dry and tears prick my eyes. No longer are the prayers for life anew. It’s for those who are already in need. Those who need peace in the afterlife and a guiding hand. Balance must be returned.
“My daughter,” Demeter calls, her eyes red-rimmed and tears streaking down her cheeks.
“Mother,” I whisper. I can barely swallow.
If he owns me—if I am bound to return to go to the Underworld forever—then how can I convince my mother to end her battle against the mortal realm?
How will I ever convince her to stop? Why would she listen?
Zeus… What will his sentencing be? All because she loved me and fought for me. I must fight for her now.
“Mother stop. Please. Give me a chance,” I rush my words out to her before turning back to the Titan who has such wisdom and magic.
“What do I do?” I ask Hecate. Surely, she should be able to guide me. “I do not know how to—I do not know what to do.”
“The world is at your mercy, Persephone.” Those words turn me cold with fear. I thought I had moved beyond that kind of fear, but it is back, returning with a vengeance. “You must decide soon.”