Page 53 of Spring's Descent
I’d opened my mouth to argue, but promptly closed it.
“You’ve been made to believe you were helpless your entire life because Demeter is a callus, power-hungry bitch who never wanted to have a child, and was never meant to raise one. She agreed to carry and give birth to you for a price, but make no mistake, Persephone, you were born of the gods.”
A faint buzzing filled my ears as I leaned against the chair. “Are you saying Demeter isn’t my mother? That it’s not her blood that runs in my veins?”
“She was only ever meant to be a surrogate, a responsibility she took on for a very heavy sum of magic.”
I followed Hecate in a daze as she led us toward a set of double doors with the gown draped over her arm. She pushed open the heavy double doors, stepping into the largest and most opulent wash room I’d ever seen. The vanity was huge, complete with a golden chair set before a diamond cut mirror. Various shades of rouge, charcoal, and jars of every size were present.
“Don’t get me wrong,” Hecate continued with a grunt as she stretched to place the dress on a hanger across from a small glass room—not room, shower. A wide spout tracked overhead, which looked like it would mimic getting caught in a summer rain. Hecate gestured toward it, trying to usher me inside. “Plenty of surrogates love the lives they grow, but Demeter only thought to keep you because of the power displayed at your birth.”
I pinned her with a stare, hands resting on my hips as I refused to move another inch until she explained.
“The Crystal City was covered in wildflowers in a matter of moments after you arrived. Dandelions were everywhere, which Demeter hated. She only ever cultivated the most expensive and rare flowers. Even after ordering every one of them plucked and killed, dandelions still sprouted—a testament to the well of power that would one day be yours.” Her smile faltered as her brows furrowed. “Hades didn’t tell you?”
“No,” I grumbled, crossing my arms. “As you’ve mentioned, we have a lot to catch up on, and yet he’s chosen to avoid me.”
She shrugged. “That’s what he does when he’s upset. Anger or avoidance. I’ve been telling him for centuries that it’s not healthy but it’s a little hard to explain empathy to a being whose heart has stopped. Thanks for fixing that, by the way. All my spells have failed.”
“What do you mean his heart stopped? And how would I have fixed it?”
She lifted a brow.
“Right,” I said, dropping my gaze to stare at my fingertips. “Unrivaled life magic.”
“Yep.”
“He didn’t say anything…” I started to say, but my voice trailed off as I thought back on our time together.
“It’s been centuries since he’s felt anything besides rage or numbness. I doubt he understands half of what he’s feeling.” Hecate squeezed my hands, offering me a kind smile. “Now,please, go wash up so I can help get you dressed. We really need to get going if we’re going to make it before midday.”
I nodded as Hecate reached in, the sound of running water hitting the river stone floor moments later. She made it to the edge of the doorframe before I thought to ask.
“Where are we going?”
Her green eyes shimmered as her full lips tugged into a grin. “The Elysian Fields.”
34
HADES
Tucking my wings in close,I dropped through the branches of the pomegranate trees, landing among gnarled roots and tufts of grass. The earth vibrated as Thanatos landed behind me. The ancient grove was my personal reprieve. I allowed souls to explore most of The Asphodel Plains, but this small piece of The Underworld was mine alone, making it the perfect place for Thanatos and me to talk.
And fuck if we didn’t have a lot to talk about.
Persephone hated me. She’d looked at my black eyes and ram horns with my monstrous wings stretched wide behind me and trembled as if I were fear incarnate.
I’d been the villain in so many stories, the evil God of The Underworld for millennia. It hadn’t bothered me before. So, why did the look of revulsion staring out at me through her fierce green eyes feel like my chest had been cleaved in two?
“Did you hear anything I said?”
Thanatos stepped over dead leaves to stand in front of me, his blond brow lifting as his pale pink lips pressed into a thin line. He was my opposite in every way from the white feathered wings to his outlook on life. Where I was the kill first, hunt for answers later type of person, Thanatos looked for peacefulalternatives. Ironic, seeing as how most souls in The Realm of the Living feared death, when its god was far kinder than me.
“I have thirteen days to get Persephone to weave her thread with mine—twelve actually, since we need to be joinedbeforeher awakening. And she fucking hates me.”
Thanatos’s brows furrowed, the frustration shifting into confusion. “And that… bothers you?”
“No,” I snapped, the denial confirming the exact opposite.