Chapter 33
Hades
As I watched her eyes widen in surprise to see me, I felt like someone had plunged a dagger into my heart. She opened her mouth, but didn't speak as she took in my face. My feelings must have been written all over it.
Devastation.
There was no other word that could describe what was churning through my ancient body.
“I'm sorry,” I said, my voice coming out brittle. Her features creased, a frown taking over her beautiful face. She had been through hell tonight, and she deserved to be treated like a victorious Queen. But we were here instead.
“Sorry for what?” she asked, her words painfully slow. She knew what I was going to say. I could see the fear in her bright green eyes.
“It's over.”
“What's over?”
“The Trials. Olympus, for you. It's over.” My voice was on the edge of cracking, emotion I'd spent over twenty years burying now building into a blazing pit of turmoil.
“No,” she said, and stepped towards me, shaking her head. “No, you can't do this.”
She didn't know how close to the truth she was. If I didn't do it fast, I couldn't leave her here, in the mortal world.
But I had no choice.
“You wanted to come home. And now you are. It's over.”
Her eyes filled with tears as she punched out, hitting me on the arm.
“Stop fucking saying that! It's not over!”
Something white hot burned at the back of my own eyes. But gods did not cry.
“If I say you're done, then you're done.”
“Why? Why are you doing this? You said you wanted me to win, to be your Queen? You said Zeus had made sure I couldn't quit the Trials?”
Tears were streaming down her cheeks, tracking filth from the pits of hell with them. The thought of her down there, in the darkest reaches of the most dangerous place in the world...
The monster inside me roared.
It had been awake since I lost her, since she had drunk from Zeus' cup. It had relished the fight with Cronos. And now I could barely contain it.
Cronos knew Persephone was in Olympus. Which meant she couldn't stay.
“I'll deal with Zeus,” I said quietly.
“So you could have sent me back all that time ago? When I actually wanted to leave? And you lied, told me you couldn't?”
“No. The other gods will back me on this. Zeus will have no choice but to abandon the Trials.”
“Will... will you marry Minthe?” Her words were barely audible, the pain in her expression unbearable.
I couldn't answer her.
“I can't believe you're doing this. I can't believe you actually made me want to win, want to be with you, and now you're fucking leaving me here!” She was shouting, her tears still streaming, her face furious.
I wanted to die. I wanted to throw myself into Tartarus's river of fire and burn to ash, rather than deal with losing her again. I couldn't do it. I couldn't see her like this, be the cause of her pain.
“She will cause the end of Olympus.” The words Poseidon had bellowed at me not ten minutes before echoed through my head. “If she ever meets Cronos, we are all doomed.”
I had no choice.
“Say something, you bastard!” she shouted, and another piece of my shattered heart splintered away, lost to the hungry beast inside me.
“You can't keep a light this bright in the dark,” I whispered, gathering every ounce of control I had left, and drinking in her every feature. “I'm sorry.”
With a heartbreaking wrench that destroyed the last of my fragile grip, I left.
Someone would die tonight. Likely many.
The beast inside me had broken free.
to be continued