Chapter 17
Persephone
The meal Morpheus served us was fantastic. As we ate Sam asked more questions about the Underworld and Hades, but I struggled to concentrate on the conversation.
The final Trial was almost here, and then this would be over.
The thought of losing, of Hades wed to someone else, caused a surge of something dark and hot to roll through me, unsettling enough that I stopped myself even considering it.
I had to win. There was no alternative.
I still didn't know how I could live forever in Virgo, but I knew I at least had to be able to try. I ached to talk to Hades, and almost leaped out of my skin when his voice sounded tentatively in my head.
“Persephone?”
“Hades!”
“Am I interrupting?”
“No, never. I miss you,” I told him.
“Good,” he replied, and I swore I could hear a smile in his mental voice.
“Can I come and get you?”
“Please.”
Hades flashed into Morpheus' rooms a second later, and I was surprised to see him in a black toga instead of his jeans. He looked obscenely hot in it, the glimpse of bare chest making me want to reach out and touch him right there.
He nodded politely at everyone, and I told him that Hecate and Morpheus were going to ride with me in the chariot. Genuine relief washed over his tense features, and he thanked them both.
“I must prepare Persephone as best I can for tomorrow, so we are leaving now,” he said.
“Code for screwing,” said Skop, and I glared at him. Hades fixed his gaze on the small dog, and his tail stopped wagging.
“Persephone has no need for a guard tonight,” he said. “You may stay with Hecate.” Hecate made a noise of protest but a look from Hades made her fall silent.
“This could be my last night with Hades,” I told Skop quickly. “Please.”
“If anything happens to you, Dionysus will kill me. And not demon-kill me, but actually kill me.”
“What's going to happen to me with the King of the Underworld there to protect me?”
“That's not the point, I'm not supposed to leave your side.”
A long silence filled the room, the mute argument obvious to everyone.
“You can turn back into a gnome and drink this stuff with me if you like. I'm not bothered by your enormous dong,” said Sam, raising a glass at Skop.
“Fine,” Skop said after a second’s hesitation. “That sounds fair.”
I shook my head with a smile. All it took was some booze to buy his cooperation.
“I'll see you all tomorrow then,” I said, and kissed my brother on the cheek.
“I need the low-down on these mutts of yours,” I said to Hades, once he had flashed us to his rooms. “And then I need the low-down on this extremely sexy toga of yours...” I made my voice as seductive as I could, but frowned when I saw his expression. “What's wrong?”
“So many things,” he said, and his words were laden with strain.
“Tell me.”
“I can't—” he began, shaking his head, but I cut him off with an ineffectual shove to his chest. I ignored the electrifying feel of his skin on my hands and put on my fiercest face.
“I am not taking anymore of this “I can't' bullshit.
I don't know if you noticed, but I killed a demon today.
I have stopped asking you about my past, as you requested, and am doing everything I can to embrace my future.
With you. As Queen of the god-damned Underworld.
Do not fucking tell me that I do not need to know or you can't tell me, or I swear I'll lose that damned Trial tomorrow on purpose.”
I was expecting anger or rebuttal from him, but relief washed over his face, the tense anger softening and making him irresistibly beautiful. Before I could stop myself I stood up on tiptoes and kissed him. He kissed me back, softly, and too briefly.
“You are right, and we should talk. Now. If we keep kissing, then there will be very little talking.” Desire flashed through his eyes and I stepped backwards, nodding.
He was right. If his lips were on mine a second longer I would be tearing off his toga with my teeth.
We sat down together in his sitting room, and he took a long breath. I didn't know if I was supposed to, but I felt nervous. I mean, what could he tell me that was worse than Cronos wanting to use me to destroy Olympus?
Was he going to tell me what I did before, to get sent away?
A weird mix of desperation to know and fear that once I found out I wouldn't want to, skittered through me and I wrung my hands together.
“If you win the Trial tomorrow, you will become my Queen. And when you ruled beside me before, I shared everything with you. It would be folly not to share what I know with you now.”
“I'm glad you're seeing sense,” I said tersely. He gave me a look that said 'don't push it,” and continued.
“You have seen the darkness in me,” he said.
It wasn't a question. “That darkness comes from the souls who pass through here who have sinned. I began to lose my faith in life, and the darkness took root. Each year, the number of terrible things I pass judgment on increases. The number of sinners increases. The crimes worsen. The greed and hatred of mortals appears boundless and infinite.”
The look on his face caused a lump to swell in my throat. The strain he carried... Infinite. His endless future was to be exposed to the very worst of people.
“I am worried, Persephone, and I can not tell my Olympian brethren the true consequences of my concerns. The world they rule celebrates greed, exemplifies selfishness, encourages hatred. Eventually the darkness will win and the Underworld will claim me.”
My heart was hammering in my chest as I listened to him. What was he telling me?
“If Zeus knew how strong the beast inside me was, he would find a new ruler of the Underworld, rather than risking me lose control. And he is beginning to suspect. But even if he does that, I will not be able to leave. Too much of myself is in the very rock around us, and too much of the essence of Virgo lives within me. My bond to this place is final and unbreakable.”
“What would you become then?”
“The thing you saw when you came back from New York. Forever. And I would be far too powerful to be free. Zeus would have to imprison me in Tartarus.”
“No,” I said, aghast. “No, you couldn't live there!”
“It wouldn't be me anymore.”
“We can't let this happen. We'll make them understand, make them change how they rule Olympus!”
“Persephone, I have been asking them for centuries. It is too late. You can't just make the world nicer.”
“Then my magic will save you!” Tears were spilling down my cheeks now, memories of the mindless violence I had felt from him when the monster had taken over twisting through me.
“Yes. Your ability to nurture life, to share your light... It heals me. Only you can keep my soul safe.”
“Hades, even if I lose and you have to marry that witch, I will do anything to keep you safe,” I whispered.
“But Zeus was right about you living here. Eventually the darkness will put out your light. You are made to thrive in nature, not under the ground, encased in rock.” Pain filled his voice.
I stared at him.
“So... If I stay here and keep you alive, I die?”
“You will lose your soul to this place, just like everyone else here. And with it, lose the power to heal me.”
A small sob bubbled out of my throat before I could stop it, and he wrapped his huge arms around me. I knew with every fiber in my being that I would rather die than watch him be lost to Tartarus.
“We'll find a way to stop it. We'll find a way to stop so much bad happening in the world.” I knew I sounded naive, but I didn't care. I had nothing else.
Hades stroked a hand down my hair, his sturdy warmth an anchor for my churning thoughts.
“My Queen, we have many obstacles to face before we even get to that. As long as you live in the Underworld, in proximity to Cronos, the other Gods will interfere. They want me to guard Tartarus tomorrow, instead of watching the Trial with them.”
“What? Why?” I pulled out of his embrace to look at him.
“They are worried about another sabotage.”
“But you think it's one of them?”
“Perhaps, yes. And so does Poseidon.”
“Which one?”
“I don't know. Honestly, I can't see a reason any of them would want to start a war or destroy Virgo.”
Hades fell silent and I blew out a sigh, trying to reign in my emotions.
“What if Zeus loses control again?” I asked him.
“I have thought about this hard,” he said, and there was steel in his voice. “It will make more sense if I tell you about my dogs first.”
I raised my eyebrows, an invitation to continue.
“Cerberus is the most well-known. I found him as a pup in the depths of the Underworld, born to monsters now trapped in Tartarus. In those lonely early days he was my only friend.” I felt a pang of love for Hades so strong I almost interrupted him to kiss him, but instead I sat on my hands and listened carefully.
“Cerberus ended up being the first of three dogs, and though the other two are not as dangerous as him, they are both lethal in their own way. They are called Fonax and Olethros. When you lived here, you spent two years bonding with them, and though it was a test of patience, they came to trust you eventually. Cerberus took the longest to come around, but actually, he ended up the most fond of you.” A lop-sided smile pulled at the corner of Hades' mouth.
“Back then you had enough power to survive your early attempts at making friends with them. I'm praying you do again now.”
“Surely I've got a better chance than Minthe,” I said, optimistically. “They might remember me.”
“The river Lethe is a powerful thing. I doubt that it was any less effective at wiping the dog's memories than everyone else's.”
“Speaking of which,” I said, casually. “Where is the river Lethe?”
“Persephone, you must never go there. I swear to you, it will only bring you pain.”
Frustration simmered and settled in my gut.
“Do you intend to keep this secret from me our entire lives?” What would be left of them when the godforsaken Underworld had stripped our souls bare.
“Yes. As you asked me to.”