Chapter 32
Persephone
“What in the name of Olympus is going on!” roared Zeus, as the throne room materialized around us. I heaved deep breaths as shudders wracked my body, still clinging to Hades, vaguely aware that he must have shrunk because he was stroking a hand down my back.
“You're safe now,” he said quietly, pulling me tight to him. I felt like I was on fire, my stinging skin still burning, my lungs aching. Fear and confusion and pain were blistering through me.
“Answer me, Hades!” Zeus bellowed again, and I felt a crackle of electricity around us.
“Give her a damned minute will you!” Hades shouted. “I don't know what happened, it was your cup she drank from.”
He tightened his grip around my shoulders, and I felt a tingle of magic wash over me, cooling my skin.
You're safe now. I repeated his words in my mind, until I began to believe them, my heart finally beginning to slow its sprint around my ribcage.
“Tartarus is the worst fucking place in the world,” I mumbled into his chest, tying to suppress the sobs that the adrenaline and tension had brought bubbling to the surface.
“That's the idea. And you should never have been anywhere near it.”
With a deep breath, I pushed myself gently away from him, blinking up into his face. His smoky disguise engulfed him as I moved back, but I got a glimpse of his silver eyes, and the rage in them set my pulse racing again. This wasn't over.
“Are you suggesting someone other than one of us sent her to Tartarus?” said Poseidon's voice, and I looked towards the sea god. He, Zeus, Athena, Ares and Apollo were all standing up, every one of them looking alert and angry.
“Unless anyone cares to admit to playing a bad prank,” added Hermes. His usually playful smile was significantly absent. Nobody spoke.
“We will get to the bottom of this, brother,” hissed Zeus accusingly. Smoke billowed around Hades, tinged with blue light.
“Why the fuck would I do this?” roared Hades. “Even if you rule out the fact that I don't want her dead, now Campe won't do a damned thing I tell her, and Cronos knows Persephone is here. You think I'd cause this shit in my own realm?”
Icy cold air was streaming from him as his voice got louder, the slithering tone taking over. Zeus' expression changed from angry to wary as I watched. Was Zeus frightened of Hades?
There was a long pause, the tension practically tangible.
“We will deal with this in private,” snapped Zeus eventually, and sat down hard on his throne. The other gods followed suit, and Hecate appeared by my side.
“We gotta go,” she said with a glance at Hades. He nodded, and she flashed us out of the throne room.
We were back in my room, and the first thing Hecate did was give me a massive glass of nectar.
“Shit, Persy, Hades shouted something about Campe and Cronos. Please, please tell me you weren't in Tartarus.” I blinked up at her, and she shook her head and sat down on the bed beside me.
“You have got to be joking,” said Skop, jumping on my other side. “You were in fucking Tartarus?”
“A really big snake woman tried to kill me, then a goddess of fire killed Kerato while Hades held Cronos back, and then Hades got us out of there.
That's the condensed version,” I said. A small sob escaped me as I remembered Kerato crumpling to the ground.
“He gave his life trying to help me,” I whispered, rubbing at my filthy cheek.
“Hades’ guards are immortal, don't worry,” Hecate said quickly. Her face had gone pale again as she stared wide-eyed at me. “Hades held back Cronos?”
“Yeah.”
“Persy, this is bad. Like really bad. Dying during a Trial is one thing, but becoming a Titan plaything in an eternal pit of torture?”
“Is that why Cronos wanted me alive? To be a plaything?”
Hecate didn't answer for a long while.
“Hades might know more once he's spoken to the others,” she said eventually. “Have a shower, you'll feel better.”
I nodded and stood up, finishing what was in the glass and relishing the strength it gave me.
“Will you stay here?”
“Of course,” she nodded.
“Thank you. I really don't want to be on my own right now,” I admitted quietly.
“I'm not going anywhere, Persy.”
“Me either,” said Skop. Feeling eternally grateful, I walked to my washroom, pausing at the door.
“And you're sure Kerato will be OK?”
“Yes. It might take him a while to regenerate, but he's a demon. He'll be fine.”
“Ok. Good.” I turned and stepped through the door to my washroom, and froze in my tracks.
My apartment. I was in my bedroom, in my apartment in New York. My mind slowed almost to a stop as I blinked around the room. It looked like I had never left, the bed neatly made, a pair of blue jeans slung over the back of my easy chair, and my laptop open on the little desk, humming quietly.
I turned slowly on the spot, to see Hades standing behind me. I opened my mouth to ask him what was going on, but my words failed as I saw the look in his eyes.