Chapter Thirty-Four
I think Themis and I understood each other in a way that others did not. We didn’t necessarily like each other, but we did understand the difficulty of having a child that wanted us dead. I used this to get her on my side. To twist her arm, and make her believe that she wanted to help me.
I’ve always been good at manipulating those around me.
Tabitha Wysteria
Eris tore into the Underworld like a bolt of living lightning, her wild cackle echoing across its furthest reaches. She found Zagreus striding through the Fields of Mourning, an enormous white wolf padding loyally at his side.
‘Tell me,’ she said, delighting in the way he halted at the sight of her, ‘now that your sister Makaria no longer oversees this corner of the Underworld… is the position vacant?’ She laughed at the sharp narrowing of his eyes. ‘I’m only jesting. I would loathe such a dreary responsibility.’
‘Charon ought to forbid you entry,’ Zagreus muttered, loudly enough for her to hear.
Eris waved him off and swept past, her grin stretching wider when she heard his footsteps follow.
‘Charon adores me,’ she said lightly. Every visit required her to cross by his boat, to be ferried into the realm of the dead.
She never minded. It was a pleasant journey, especially since Charon never spoke, and she so enjoyed needling his silence.
‘Why don’t you return to your own realm?’ Zagreus asked.
‘Because it’s dreadfully empty,’ Eris replied with an exaggerated pout. ‘Utterly tedious since everyone fled. My parents linger in the mortal world, as does my sister Enyo. Thanatos is bound here, along with my dear sisters the Moirai. There’s simply no one left to torment.’
‘Perhaps it’s empty because they wish to avoid being tortured by you.’
Eris paused, her smile deepening into something sharp and pleased. ‘Do you truly think so?’
Zagreus stopped, tilting his head.
Eris shrugged and resumed her stroll through the fields. ‘Well,’ she said lightly, ‘you’ve given me much to ponder.’
They reached the gates that divided the fields from the castle beyond.
Eris plucked a black rose from the earth, lifted it to her nose, then recoiled with a grimace at its rotten scent.
The gates groaned as they swung open, and she skipped through them, humming a soft, careless tune beneath her breath.
Persephone sat upon her throne in the great hall, irritation carved plainly across her face. The sight delighted Eris, especially when Persephone noticed her and unease crossed the queen’s features.
‘Has something happened?’ Persephone asked, leaning forward.
Eris tilted her head as she stared at the great black antlers crowning Persephone’s skull. She idly wondered what it would feel like to seize them, to wrench and tear until they snapped, until the queen bled beneath her hands.
Eris would love to see Persephone bleed.
Then again, Eris wanted to see everyone bleed. It was simply her nature. Gods were not gentle beings, and she had been born into one of the cruellest realms of divinity to ever exist—one of the most powerful bloodlines, yes, but also one steeped in pain and torment, in domination and decay.
She was the goddess of chaos and ruin.
And even if she had wished to be kind, she could not have been.
It simply was not in her nature.
‘No, nothing has happened.’ Eris inspected her nails with exaggerated care before her gaze swept the empty throne room. ‘Where is my brother Thanatos?’
‘On an errand.’
‘And when will he return?’
Persephone’s dark eyes narrowed, suspicion sharpening her features. ‘Promptly. Tell me, Eris, why are you here? Should you not be occupied with finding a way to secure Mal Blackburn’s child?’
‘Yes, yes.’ Eris waved the concern aside, bored. ‘These things require patience. One mustn’t rush matters of such importance.’
‘Since you mention important matters…’ Persephone cleared her throat. ‘There is something I wish to discuss with you.’
Eris tilted her head, interest sparking to life.
‘You have never married.’
An eyebrow arched. Before Eris could reply, Zagreus stepped forward, shouldering past her.
‘Mother—’
‘My son Zagreus remains unwed,’ Persephone continued, ignoring him entirely. ‘You would suit one another. Let us unite our bloodlines. You desire power, do you not? This would grant you more.’
Eris considered her, unimpressed. ‘And what, precisely, do I gain? I already walk freely in this realm thanks to Hades being my father’s cousin. Marriage to Zagreus offers me nothing I do not already possess. And my bloodline surpasses his, so he would benefit from me, not the other way around.’
‘He is the son of Hades,’ Persephone snapped, fury flashing in her eyes.
‘And I am the daughter of Zeus,’ Eris replied lightly. ‘The father of all gods. You’ll need a stronger lure than lineage if you wish me to marry my second cousin.’
‘Your children together would be the most powerful gods to ever exist.’
Eris rolled her eyes. ‘And why would I want children more powerful than myself?’ She shrugged, entirely unbothered. ‘Though I suppose I could always eat them and absorb their power.’ She laughed at Persephone’s pallor. ‘I’m only teasing, auntie.’
Eris turned upon Zagreus, who had remained silent throughout, his mismatched eyes fixed stubbornly on his mother.
His hands were clenched into tight fists at his sides, tension etched into every line of him, and the sight delighted her.
How she adored provoking others, pulling at their restraint until it frayed.
Perhaps she should marry him, she mused, and set both families alight with war. That, at least, would be entertaining.
‘I’ll think about it,’ she said lightly.
‘There is nothing to think about,’ Zagreus replied, his jaw set like stone. ‘I will not marry you.’
‘Why not?’ Eris attempted to summon sadness to her face, but the effort felt foreign, awkward.
She had never known such a thing, never learnt how to wear it.
When he did not answer, she stepped closer, until her lips hovered just beside his ear.
‘Imagine what you could do with a little of my power.’
‘I don’t want it.’
‘Then what do you want?’ She caught his earlobe between her teeth and bit down hard enough to draw blood. Zagreus did not flinch, did not move, but she felt his gaze slide to her, those mesmerising eyes watching her with sharp awareness.
‘Zagreus is heir to the Underworld,’ Persephone said sharply.
Eris drew back at last, turning her attention to the queen. ‘No, he isn’t. Mal Blackburn is the heir.’
Persephone’s eyes burnt with fury.
‘And she cannot be killed,’ Eris added calmly.
Persephone’s lips thinned. ‘But she can be contained.’
Eris bit the inside of her cheek, pensive, the familiar itch of chaos stirring beneath her skin.
Before she could press the matter further, the doors to the throne room creaked open and Thanatos stepped inside.
He paused briefly at the sight of Eris and Zagreus together, surprise appearing momentarily across his face before it vanished behind his usual composed indifference.
He moved towards the throne as though nothing were amiss.
‘I will think about it,’ Eris said again, dipping her head towards Persephone. ‘But before that… I have a favour to ask.’
‘What?’ Persephone looked as though she might physically shove Eris out of the Underworld if given the chance.
‘I want to know where my real mother is.’
The air in the throne room went utterly still, as though even the shadows had stopped breathing.
‘I do not possess that knowledge,’ Persephone said at last.
‘No. Perhaps not.’ Eris’ smile sharpened. She tilted her head towards Thanatos. ‘But he does. He has always known where our mother is and has never told me. Why do you think I resent him so much?’
‘I never told you for her sake,’ Thanatos replied evenly. ‘You would hurt her.’
He stood there in black so absolute it seemed to swallow the light around him, darker even than the night itself.
Eris felt the familiar urge coil in her chest to grab him, to drive her hands into his body and tear out his heart just to see what would happen.
She knew it no longer beat, not since he had become Death incarnate, but the desire remained.
She wanted to taste it, to devour it, to make it part of herself.
‘She deserves to be hurt.’
‘She doesn’t—’
‘She abandoned us!’ Eris screamed, her voice tearing through the chamber. Her eyes burnt with fury as she swung back towards Persephone. ‘Make him tell me. You can command him. Force him to speak.’
‘I don’t…’ Persephone faltered, her stare darting between Eris and Thanatos, uncertainty tightening her features.
‘You owe me,’ Eris snarled. ‘You want me to bring you Mal Blackburn’s child? Then force him.’
‘You have not yet fulfilled your end of the bargain,’ Persephone replied, leaning back against her throne. Gods, how Eris longed to rip her from that seat, to remind her how fragile safety truly was. ‘Bring me the child, and then Thanatos will tell you.’
Thanatos spun sharply, his dark eyes widening. ‘You cannot do that.’
‘Yes, I can,’ Persephone said, her voice hard as obsidian. ‘I am queen, and you are bound to me, whether you wish it or not.’
Eris laughed softly, a sound edged with impatience. She would not wait that long. Stepping forward, she let her eyes slide to Zagreus, who had remained silent throughout, watching everything with careful, restrained intensity.
‘Force him now,’ Eris said, her voice smooth and razor-sharp all at once. ‘And I will marry Zagreus. I will bind our bloodlines together. I will bear his child. But I want to know now where my mother is.’
Thanatos did not look at her. His attention remained fixed on Persephone, a silent plea written in every rigid line of his body. He did not need to speak it aloud. Eris already knew the answer.
Persephone would do it.
The offer was far too tempting.
Eris did not spare Zagreus a glance as he turned on his heel and strode from the throne room, the enormous white wolf padding after him without hesitation. He did not look back.
‘Tell her,’ Persephone commanded, her voice shifting. It was no longer merely her own, but layered with the will of the Underworld itself.
The command struck like a hammer.
Thanatos fell to his knees.
He fought it. Gods, how he fought it, but the realm tightened its grip, dragging obedience from him bone by bone.
Eris approached slowly, savouring every step, until she stood before him.
She slid her fingers into the pale strands of his hair and yanked his head back, forcing his dark eyes to meet hers.
‘Tell her!’ Persephone roared.
Thanatos convulsed beneath the pressure. Black blood spilt from his eyes, streaking down his cheeks like ink, and Eris laughed softly as she bent down and licked it away, delighted by his suffering.
‘Don’t resist, brother,’ she whispered into his ear, her breath warm, intimate. ‘Tell me where our mother is hiding.’
He shook his head.
The Underworld struck again.
Thanatos gasped, his body arching as the command crushed down harder, relentless and unforgiving. His resistance fractured, splintered…
And then, at last, he whispered the truth.
Eris released him immediately, shoving him back and watching with open satisfaction as Death itself collapsed against the cold grey stone.
‘Have fun preparing my wedding,’ she said lightly, blowing Persephone a kiss.
She kicked Thanatos once in passing, then turned on her heel and walked out of the throne room, her laughter echoing long after she was gone.