Page 48 of Spring's Descent
“We can’t attack unless there’s proof,” a softer, more melodic voice chimed in. “With death magic spiraling out of control, the other factions are looking for reasons to renounce you.”
Aidoneus scoffed, and I swear the temperature in the room dropped a few degrees. “They would die before a rebellion ever took root.”
“If it were as simple as that, we would’ve killed them ages ago,” the androgynous voice countered. “But Hypnos is vital for The Realm of the Living. Without sleep, the mortals will?—”
“Lose all semblance of sanity,” Aidoneus cut in. “I know, Thanatos, but I was blocked from my magic. I couldn’t shift, couldn’t travel through shadows. Persephone was plummeting to the fiery banks of the Phlegethon and the only reason I was able to call on a sliver of my true form was because sheaccidentallypushed life magic into me, weakening whatever curse had plagued me.”
Footsteps echoed in the stretching silence, growing louder until the bed dipped. Sweet frost and darkness swirled around me as the faintest caress trailed across my cheek.
“She didn’t even know she had magic.” The concern in Aidoneus’s voice had me wanting to reach for him, to assure him I was okay, but my body was too weak to respond. “Demeter must have been suppressing it somehow.”
“The curse blocked you from me,” Thanatos said. “I knew you were in The Underworld, but I couldn’t sense where. Magic strong enough to break through that level of power would have manifested at a very young age. Twelve, thirteen at the latest.”
“Eight, actually,” Aidoneus answered, and I could practically see the proud tilt of his lips. “Persephone was only eight when she first displayed magic powerful enough to resurrect a field decimated by death magic.”
A sharp intake of breath sounded from my left as Thanatos drew nearer. “So, sheisthe one. The earth witch promised to us.”
“She is,” Aidoneus rumbled. “And so much more.”
“You really think Demeter would strip her only daughter of magic, of her woven destiny, to keep her from us?”
Aidoneus brushed back another wayward curl before answering.
“No. While Demeter is cruel enough and threatened enough to hide Persephone’s destiny by uprooting her entire coven under the ploy of attacks from the Dark Faction, she is far too selfish to go through years of plotting simply to deny me Persephone. Killing her as a child would’ve been easier. We’re missing something.”
The other presence paced a few steps before stilling. “I’ve only been able to cross into The Realm of the Living when a soul is ready for reaping, but the earth coven has yet to change their location. From what I’ve glimpsed, the witch Persephone was with appears to be a servant of some kind—Lark, I believe her name was.”
Lark. My ears pricked as my pulse picked up, willing my body to fight off the temptation of sleep.
“She’s being held by the green witch named Cyrus, but I couldn’t see much beyond the forest where the soul I collected was.”
“Another witch?” Aidoneus asked.
“Yes,” Thanatos answered, his voice low and even more dangerous for it. “Another claimed by her awakening.”
Her awakening?Oh gods, he must mean Willow. But her birthday wasn’t for another week. It couldn’t have passed already, and she wouldn’t have been claimed. She was far too strong for that.
“What does Hecate make of it?”
The mother-of-all-witches Hecate?
“She’s furious,” Thanatos said, the sounds of padded footsteps picking up as he resumed pacing. “Apparently, the witch was destined to further good relations between covens.”
“Her crossing?”
“Just like the others. Nothing but wisps of a soul. She’s been to the Lethe and is healing in the Elysian Fields. Hecate is tending to her, but she should be along?—”
“Right now.”
The weight overlying my body seemed to lessen as the feminine voice rang through the room. It was as if my magic was replenishing as she drew near. Gods above, she must really be the Hecate of legends, the Mother of Witchcraft. And she was here, helpingme.
“Thanatos said the promised witch was stable but unable to wake.”
I can hear you, I wanted to shout, but my lips didn’t even twitch.
“It’s been two days,” Aidoneus growled as the weight on the edge of my bed lifted. There was a definite chill to the air, but the sounds of Hecate’s soft footsteps didn’t falter.
No wonder I felt like death. I was probably halfway to the grave if it had been two days, and I still couldn’t open my eyes.