Epilogue
Persephone
The fire before me is warm and bright, roaring in the grate. It doesn’t matter that the days have been growing longer so gradually. We have such strong firelight that our rooms are lit with the warmth of the flames.
With nothing but comfort, I lounge on a sofa before the fire, leaning against my king, his arm around me and a book in my lap. It’s pages are worn and the cover is a leather binding with no name.
It’s the book Silvie brought for me. I have studied it, little by little, during this year’s moon cycles with my king.
I’ve taken each word, and each sentence, and each spell slowly, letting them sink into my mind and bloom there while we go about our days.
The grimoires in the Underworld are ancient magic, some lost to those in Olympus, and I will return it.
In winter, the days are shorter in the Underworld as well.
That means we have more time to walk the paths and tend to the various places throughout the realm.
It means there is a slower pace to all that happens, so when we meet a soul in the realms, there is no rush.
We can pause and speak to them for as long as we wish.
Many more souls speak with Hades now. Silvie has told me that he was not so open before he took me as his queen.
He did not spend much time at all coming to know the souls who dwell in his realms. He was lonely, Silvie will admit if I press, but he absorbed himself in his work and his duties and did not reach out to find connections.
Now, we have found a balance. There are sessions at court and meetings with advisers.
There are walks among the realms with Cerberus and without him.
There are places to visit to ensure they remain in good repair.
There are souls to speak with. There are chances each day to break bread with others.
There are celebrations in Elysium and peace in the meadows.
And there are quiet evenings alone. There are the meals we linger over, taking a blanket and glasses of wine to the floor in front of the sofa, sharing grapes and sweets until we cannot keep our hands off one another and must go to bed.
Or at least we must clear away the food so that it is not crushed in the midst of our passion.
Then there are moments like this, when we are together in the quiet warmth.
Our souls resting on one another. Hades enjoys looking into the fire to allow his mind to wander, and I like to read my books.
I will carry the knowledge with me when I return to Olympus, but it is not only the spells themselves I will use.
It is the theories behind them. This book speaks to the magic that surrounds us in the Underworld.
It describes a world of spells and magic, but it also describes how a witch—or a goddess—might prepare her mind to interact with such powers.
There is light and there is darkness within us all.
Both sides are required for the flawed ways in which we exist. Which is a blessing.
Gratitude should exist for every piece of us.
Including the side we were taught to fear or feel shame for.
In contrary, we should love it and allow that power to rise all the same.
That is what I would like to improve upon. I am confident in my powers in all the realms, but there is always more to know. There is always something to understand in a deeper way.
Now that I have time to understand and not fear losing my magic, I’m determined to learn it all. To study with Hecate on our long journeys.
That seems to be a duty of a queen—a deep understanding of her realm, and the souls within, and the magic everywhere. Hades shifts next to me, letting out a breath.
This past hour has been peaceful and quiet, but we are both ignoring the fact of today.
“My love,” he says and wraps his hand around my arm, running it slowly up and down. It is not a desperate touch. It is a comfortable one, as if we still have many moon cycles together.
I turn my head toward him. “Yes?”
“It is time for you to leave me soon.”
He reaches over and rests his fingers underneath my chin, turning me a little farther so he can kiss me.
It is as electrifying as it was the first time, burning just as bright.
It thrills me. There is a sense of danger in it, though he is not dangerous to me.
Perhaps I am only sensing the greatness of our powers together. We could be dangerous, but we are not.
That strength could come out in the bed. In our passion. Warmth pools between my legs. I squeeze my thighs together and deepen the kiss, opening my mouth so he can explore me.
I come up for breath after a while, my heart racing from the kiss. My book remains open in my lap. I move to close it, but then…
“Not yet,” I decide. “It can be a longer winter this year.”
He smirks at me, his eyes darkening, more of the firelight reflected there. “I so enjoy the longer winters.”
Hades takes the book from my hands and sets it aside, then scoops me up in his arms and carries me across the room to our bed. I put my arms around his neck and pull him close to kiss the corner of his mouth.
When we reach the bed, he stops at the side to kiss me again before he lowers me down. The bed is soft underneath me. It calls to me, the way the Underworld calls to me when I am away. I do not want to let go of Hades, so I don’t, and it is some time before he can pull away, laughing.
“It will happen,” I remind him, lest he think he can distract me enough to keep me here all through summer. “The winter will go. The spring will come again. There is no escaping it, Hades. The new season will come.”
“I know it, my queen.” He leans down and kisses me again, his hand sliding underneath my dress, ready to take it off for me.
Ready to expose my skin to him so he can tease my nipples and slide his tongue over all of his favorite places.
I am about to lose track of time—I know that for certain.
It is impossible to keep track when my king is with me this way. “But not yet.”
The End.