Chapter 13 Persephone #2
My father turns to see the flames, then glares at me. “Do you threaten me, daughter?”
“You wanted to take this away from me? My purpose? My very being!” I shout with tears in my eyes.
There are voices at the entrance of the hall. My mother is louder than Aphrodite, but Aphrodite is not much quieter—and there is a third voice with them.
Athena. Her demanding voice ever commanding attention.
“Do not be angry, sister!” Athena says in a tone that is probably meant to be pleading. Or soothing. “He only tries to kill his favorites,” she adds.
“I do not care,” my mother snaps. “Persephone is my daughter. How dare you suggest to me—”
Aphrodite cuts in. “How could you not know? It was so obvious! How could Demeter’s daughter suddenly be without powers? You had to be waiting for this, Demeter! He never wants to allow—”
The gods of Olympus argue by his throne as I glare up at him. My fingers stretch one at a time in a pattern before coming back into my palm and all the while the plants wait for my call. With patience I stand before him. My anger dimming with the thoughts of Hades.
He knew. He saved me and yet... He knew.
My father huffs, loud enough to draw my attention back to him.
“What’s done is done,” my father says, clearly finished with the conversation.
I am not finished. But my anger is so strong that I do not know how to form an argument that will cut as deeply in him as I feel now.
I crave to hurt him when I speak. I desire to make my father feel ashamed of what he has done. Although shame is not something he is accustomed to and surely, this is not the worst thing the god has ever done.
Perhaps Athena’s comments have merit. I desire to make him understand that he has damaged things between us beyond repair, and it will never be the same as it was. Perhaps I was a fool to not see him for who he is truly to his core.
My father and I have never been close the way my mother and I are close. He did not spend the kind of time that she spent with me in childhood. He did not teach me magic the way she did, with a shared warmth between us, as if she was inviting me to come with her as I began to discover my powers.
I glance at her and it’s obvious she has thoughts of her own.
Brooding in the corner, she stares down my father.
Her own fingers stirring beside her. Her power is radiant and focused.
She does not see me. In an instant she turns her attention to the ground beneath her.
But it does not move and she restrains herself.
Perhaps she suspected. But now she knows.
My love, Hades's voice murmurs in the back of my mind. You must come to me.
Hades. He lures me to the depths of the Underworld. Does he feel my pain at this moment? Does he know I am aware of at least one secret he’s held from me?
I came here to know the truth and now that I have it, I turn my back on my father and leave the gods and their pleasures behind me. As swiftly as I arrived, I leave.
My blood cools and the heat upon my crown settles.
I arrive at my rooms before I have even decided to go there. Once inside, I throw the door shut behind me, and as soon as I turn, I come face-to-face with Hecate.
My heart hammers. I might have expected Beatrice, but not Hecate. The great Titan and goddess of magic and knowing. After a few quick breaths I’m able to speak. “Hecate.” I greet her with a slight bow of respect.
“My child.” She greets me back as she does so many of her followers.
“It is the eve before the new moon,” she states in an even voice, and the pounding in my heart beats with anticipation. Hecate would not be here, telling me the phase of the moon, if she did not have something in mind. “I must return to the Underworld for Diepnon.”
I hold my breath.
“You are welcome to accompany me, if you wish.” Chills run down my shoulders.
My eyes burn with fresh pain at the thought of my mother realizing I’ve gone, but surely she will understand.
With my throat tight I dare to ask Hecate, “And would you take me back here if I were to ask you in the morning after the new moon has settled? When you lead the army of the dead back to the Underworld…if I were to meet you and plead for your help along the crossroads?” I swallow thickly, aware that I am asking such a powerful goddess if she would ignore the law of the gods if only I asked.
My heart pains in such a way I cannot describe. Tortured between a liminal space.
“I will accompany you for as long as you need,” she answers as if she knew I would ask.
I reach out for her hand and the Titan embraces me. The tears fall as I know my mother’s agony will be wretched.
And then I hear Hades call me his love once again like a whisper in my ear. As if he’s placed a spell on me, I must return.
“Please,” I say, relief warming me like a roaring fire. “Please, take me with you.”
Hecate glances at the door to my rooms. “It is hours until the moonrise. I will lead my hounds when the moon is fully in the sky. We will have to remain out of sight until then, and no one must see us leaving.”