PART III
The path to paradise begins in Hell.
― Dante Alighieri
For one, horrifying second, Persephone couldn’t move.
She was frozen, numb.
Her legs felt shaky and her chest ached in a way she never thought possible. It was like her shock had become a monster, and it was clawing its way out from the inside.
Then an awful sound escaped her mouth.
The two froze and turned in her direction. Hades pulled away from Leuce, and the nymph collapsed to the ground, unprepared for his sudden movement.
“Persephone—”
She barely heard him say her name over the roar in her ears. Her power churned inside her, boiling her blood, rushing to the surface of her skin.
She saw nothing but red.
She would destroy him. She would destroy her. She would destroy this world.
Persephone screamed her rage, and everything around her began to wilt. The trees rotted before her eyes, the leaves withered and fell, the grass yellowed and faded until all the earth around her was barren. She would strip Hades’ world of life like he had stripped her of happiness.
Leuce fled and Hades came toward her. At his approach, she felt the devastating blow of his betrayal all over again.
“Persephone!”
“Don’t say my name!”
Her voice sounded different, guttural.
Her power was hot in her hands, and she fed her anguish into it. The ground beneath her feet began to rumble
“Persephone, listen to me!”
She had listened to him. She had listened and believed him.
I love you—deeply, endlessly.
She wasn’t listening anymore.
He took a step toward her.
“Don’t!”
As she spoke, the earth between them split, and a massive cavern opened between them.
Hades’ eyes widened.
“Persephone, please!” he sounded desperate, but that was expected.
She was destroying his realm.
She screamed, her voice rang with fury and violence, and her magic was like fire against her skin. She didn’t know what she was doing, but she felt guided to bring her hands together, and the power that gathered there was immediate. It blasted Hades, sending him flying backward into the desolate landscape.
He landed on his feet and dropped his glamour. He was a manifestation of death—dark and menacing.
This is how he looked upon the battlefield, she thought, and for a moment, Persephone’s heart beat harder with the fear that he might overpower her.
Shadows peeled away from his form and raced toward her. He was trying to subdue her, and the thought sent a burst of raw anger through her. She screamed again, and her magic tore from her, freezing the shadows just as she’d frozen everyone at the Lyre.
A deafening silence followed, and she met his gaze before sending Hades’ shadows racing back toward him with a burst of her own magic.
Hades lifted his arm, and the shadows disintegrated into ash.
“Stop!” He commanded. “Persephone, this is madness.”
Madness? She would show him madness.
“You would burn the world for me?” She asked, recalling words he’d used when she’d spoken to him about Apollo, recalling how fervent he’d been when he’d told her never to use the god’s name in their room again. Their room. Power gathered in her hands. “I will destroy it for you.”
Hades’ eyes widened just as a terrible cracking sound filled the air. Massive roots split the sky, barreling toward the earth. She was drawing the life from the Upperworld into the Underworld.
The roots hit the ground with a deafening explosion, shaking the earth and destroying mountains.
“Hecate!” Hades’ voice was powerful and resonate as he summoned the Goddess of Magic. She appeared immediately, manifesting beside Hades. Together, their power fought Persephone’s, and the roots that threatened to spear the Underworld were halted, mid-air.
“What happened?” Hecate cried.
“I don’t know. I felt her anguish and came as soon as possible.”
Hades answer incensed her.
Felt her anguish? He had seen it! Why was he acting like he wasn’t the traitor here?
Persephone’s rage continued. She fought hard against Hades and Hecate. Combined, their magic was like an impossible weight. The more she pushed against it, the more drained she felt, but she wasn’t just exhausted physically.
Inside, her rage was turning to despair.
Inside, she was broken.
“My dear.” It was like Hecate was right beside her, speaking into her ear though she stood on the other side of the cavern. “Tell me.”
Persephone’s eyes blurred with tears and she shook her head.
“Persephone, tell me what happened.”
Tears slid down Persephone’s face as the memory that unleashed her terror welled to the surface, unbidden. If Persephone could, she would have repressed it for the rest of her life, but, at Hecate’s words, she relived the terror of discovering Hades inside Leuce. Seeing the pleasure on her face made her want to vomit.
This time, instead of inspiring the anger that fueled her power, the memory exhausted her. She felt unstable on the inside, defeated, and sick. The power rushing through her body died, and she swayed. Hecate caught her in her arms just as she vomited.
Slowly, the goddess helped her to the ground, and Persephone rested in her arms. She brushed her hair from her face, soothing, “It wasn’t real my dear, my love, my sweet.”
Persephone sobbed, turning her head into Hecate’s chest. “I cannot unsee it. I cannot live with it.”
“Shh. You will, my dear. Rest.”
Then she was embraced by darkness.
***
Persephone woke in the queen’s suite, her face felt swollen and her head hurt. Plush blankets cradled her weak body, and bright light filtered in through the windows. It took her a moment to recall how she’d gotten here, but soon the memories returned, flooding her mind like a living nightmare. Tears formed in her eyes and slid down the side of her face.
“Do not cry, my sweet.” Hecate said.
Persephone turned her head and found the goddess sitting beside the bed. Persephone rubbed her eyes, trying to make the tears disappear, but she just sobbed harder.
Hecate took Persephone’s hand. “Breathe, my dear. What you saw wasn’t real.”
Persephone took several deep breaths and looked at her friend. “What are you saying?”
“You walked through the Forest of Despair, Persephone. What you saw was a manifestation of your greatest fear.”
Persephone was quiet for a moment, trying to grasp what Hecate was saying, but the terror of those memories were embedded in her mind.
Hecate sighed. “And I see the enchantment hasn’t worn off yet.”
“Enchantment?”
“We think that’s how you ended up in the forest,” she said.
“You think someone enchanted me?” Persephone frowned. “Who?”
The goddess offered a small smile, but there was nothing humorous about it. “Hades is on the hunt.”
She shivered. She could just imagine what that meant, recalling how he’d looked in the forest after she’d drained it of life. Still, she couldn’t help hoping he found whoever had done this, because what she had seen last night was torture.
Persephone sat up, leaning against the headboard, her head spun. “Why would Hades have such a horrible place in the Underworld?”
“Well, it is an extension of Tartarus,” Hecate said. “And you weren’t meant to be there.”
Persephone pushed the covers away and tried to stand up, but she felt so weak.
“I’d like to go outside,” she said.
Hecate helped her stand and they stepped outside. It was late afternoon and Persephone was relieved when she strode onto the balcony and saw that the Underworld was lush and green.
Suddenly, she was frantic. “The souls! Did I—”
She used so much power, she’d shaken the ground and cracked the sky, giving no thought to the people she might have hurt.
“Everyone is fine, Persephone,” Hecate assured her. “Hades has restored order.”
Persephone closed her eyes and let out a long breath.
Thank gods, she thought.
They entered the garden and found a spot to sit beneath the purple wisteria.
“You demonstrated great power in the forest, Persephone,” Hecate said. She couldn’t place the tone of the goddess’s voice, but she sensed a mix of admiration and fear.
She looked at the goddess. “Are you…afraid?”
“I’m not afraid of you,” she said. “I’m afraid for you.”
Persephone’s brows drew together, and Hecate sighed, looking down at her hands. “It was a fear I had from the moment I met you, that you would be powerful…terribly so.”
Persephone shook her head. “I…don’t understand. I’m not…”
“You halted Hades’ magic. You used his magic against him, Persephone. He is an ancient god, well-practiced. If the Olympians find out…”
“If they find out…?” she promoted when Hecate’s voice faded away.
It was her turn to shake her head. “I suppose anything could happen. They might want you to become an Olympian, or…”
“Or?”
“They might perceive you as a threat.”
Persephone couldn’t help it, she laughed, but one look at Hecate told her just how serious the goddess was about this.
“That’s ridiculous, Hecate. I can barely control my power and apparently I can’t maintain my strength.”
“You’re learning control and strength comes with practice,” Hecate said. “Mark my words, Persephone, you will become one of the most powerful goddesses of our time.”
Persephone didn’t laugh.
They were quiet for a while after that, and soon, Hecate rose to depart.
“I must go, I promised Yuri we’d have tea. I didn’t think you’d be up for it.”
Persephone smiled. The goddess was right, she didn’t feel up for much. She was exhausted and still unsettled by the events that had unfolded last night.
Hecate leaned forward and kissed Persephone’s hair before departing.
Alone, her thoughts turned to Hades. She’d thought she’d manifested her greatest fear when she’d almost lost Lexa, never really considering that Hades’ betrayal could be just as horrific. She still felt unfathomable pain when she thought of him and Leuce together, despite Hecate’s explanation for what she saw in the Forest of Despair.
She sighed and rose to her feet, wandering through Hades’ garden, halting when the god walked into view from the opposite direction. He was in his Divine form, his strong frame draped in robes, and his long hair was pulled up into a messy bun. His horns were like black slashes, rising into the sky. He looked exhausted and pale and beautiful.
She held her breath in his presence, feeling as if there were oceans between them.
“Are you well?” he asked.
The question always warmed her, but this time it ignited her. She felt so much for him in a single moment, she could hardly make sense of it all, love and desire and compassion.
“I will be,” she answered.
Hades watched her for a moment, gaze searching.
“May I join you on your walk?” he asked.
“This is your realm,” she answered.
Hades frowned, but said nothing, and as she moved forward, he fell in step beside her. They didn’t hold hands or walk arm-in-arm, but now and then their fingers would brush, and the sensation was electric. Every inch of her skin felt like an exposed nerve. It was so strange, after everything they’d been through in the last few days, her body still responded to him as if none of that had happened.
She found herself wondering if Hades felt the same, then noticed his fists clench at his side.
She took that as confirmation.
They walked in silence until they came to the edge of the garden, where Persephone had found herself last night before venturing into the Forest of Despair. Finally, Hades turned toward her and spoke.
“Persephone. I…I don’t know what you saw but you must know—you must know—it wasn’t real.”
He sounded so broken, so desperate for her to understand.
“Shall I tell you what I saw?” She whispered the words, and while she didn’t feel angry, she, too, wanted him to understand. “I saw you and Leuce together. You held her, moved inside her like you starved for her.”
She shook as she spoke, and her nails dug into her palm.
“You took pleasure from her. Knowing she was your lover was one thing, seeing it was…devastating.”
She closed her eyes against the nightmare as tears streamed down her face.
“And I wanted to destroy everything you loved. I wanted you to watch me dismantle your world. I wanted to dismantle you.”
“Persephone,” Hades whispered her name, and then she felt his fingers beneath her chin. He tilted her head up and her eyes fluttered open. “You must know that wasn’t real.”
“It felt real.”
Hades fingertips slide across her skin, collecting her tears.
“I would take this from you if I could.”
“You can,” she said, drawing close. “Kiss me.”
Hades lips pressed to hers. His tongue teased her lips before thrusting into her mouth and coiling with her own. His mouth was brutal and bruising, and he tasted smokey and sweet, and as he explored, her hands sought, running down the planes of his hard stomach and gripping his cock through his robes.
An unnatural groan escaped his mouth and he pulled away; his gaze burned into hers.
“Help me forget what I saw in the forest,” she said, breathing hard. “Kiss me. Love me. Ruin me.”
They collided, tearing at each other’s clothes until they stood naked beneath the pallid Underworld sky. Their lips crashed, tongues tasting, breath mingling. Hades’ hand cupped the back of her head, the other moved down, over her belly and into the nest of curls between her thighs. She moaned as his fingers dipped into her hot flesh. For a moment, she was lost in the pleasure of him, in the ache at her core.
When Persephone could no longer stand, Hades knelt with her. She settled back, cradled by his robes while he sat on his heels, staring at her unclothed body, eyes like the fires of Tartarus.
“Beautiful,” he said. “If I could, I would keep us here in this moment forever, with you spread out before me.”
“Why not fast forward,” she said. “To when you are inside me?”
Hades grinned. “Eager, darling?”
“Always.”
He pressed a kiss to the inside of her knee, and then trailed them down her thighs until his mouth closed over her cleft, his tongue playful, before parting her slit and spearing her. She bucked against him, and Hades pushed her knees down, spreading her wider. She could feel herself clenching around him, her arousal so heightened, it was almost painful.
She came, gasping his name, threading her fingers through his hair so she could pull him up her body to kiss him. His lips crashed against hers, trailed her neck, and then her breasts, his tongue swirling around each tip, making them rock solid.
“There was no greater torture than feeling your anguish,” he said. “I knew I was somehow responsible, and I could do nothing about it.”
She pressed her fingers to his swollen lips. “You can do something about it.”
She reached between them, where Hades’ hard-as-steel cock pressed into her leg. She guided him to her center. They came together viciously. Hades’ hips dug into hers as his cock split into her and she reveled in the ache of him filling and stretching. Her head snapped back, pressing into the ground, and she arched against him, a guttural cry escaped her mouth. Hades bent to kiss her lips, capturing the sound. She couldn’t find a place for her hands. Her fingers clutched at his silk robes, at the grass, then his arms.
“Fuck!”
Maybe he’d cursed because she’d broken skin, she wasn’t sure—but either way, he pinned her wrists above her head. His eyes were wild and unfocused, and his tempo increased as he chased his orgasm, slamming into her harder than ever.
They came together and Hades collapsed atop Persephone, his head resting in the crook of her shoulder. They were slick with sweat, and their breaths came in harsh gasps. After a moment, Hades lifted himself onto his elbows, and brushed Persephone’s hair from her face.
“Are you well?”
“Yes,” she whispered.
“Did I…” he hesitated. “Did I hurt you?”
She smiled at the question because she had never felt better. “No.”
She touched his face, tracing his brows, his nose, his kiss-swollen lips, and whispered, “I love you.”
A faint smile touched Hades’ lips. “I wasn’t sure I would hear those words again.”
Hades’ admission hurt her heart.
Her eyes began to water. “I never stopped.”
“Shh, my darling,” Hades’ gaze was tender. “I never lost faith.”
But she had and the thought nearly destroyed her.
Hades gathered her into his arms and brought her to his bed. There, he kissed her, drawing her from her darkness. He nudged her legs apart with his knee, and just he prepared to consume her once again, there was a knock at the door.
Persephone froze, and to her surprise, Hades directed the person at the door to enter.
“Hades!”
The god rolled off her, and sat up in bed, his naked chest exposed. Persephone sat up beside him, holding his sheets to her chest as Hermes entered their bedroom.
“Hey, Sephy,” he said, giving her a sheepish smile.
“Hermes,” Hades called his attention.
“Oh yeah,” he said. “I found the nymph, Leuce.”
“Bring her,” Hades ordered.
Persephone gave Hades a questioning look as Leuce appeared in the center of the room. It had been a while since Persephone had seen the nymph, and she looked exhausted and scared. Her eyes were wide and her whole body shook. When her gaze fell upon Hades and Persephone, a horrible sob exploded from her throat.
“Please—”
“Silence,” Hades commanded, and it was like Leuce lost her ability to emit sound. “You will tell Persephone the truth. Did you send her to the Forest of Despair?”
Tears spilled down Leuce’s face as she nodded.
The wine, Persephone realized—Drink! The wine tastes like strawberries and sunshine. Persephone’s instinct was to feel betrayed, but something seemed…off.
“Why?” she asked.
“To tear you both apart,” she answered.
There was no hint of venom in her voice, and Persephone found that strange. If the nymph had truly wanted this, why was she so…remorseful? She shifted, moving closer to the end of the bed.
“Why?” Persephone asked.
Leuce eyes widened and she shook her head, refusing to speak.
“You will answer,” Hades said.
Persephone didn’t think it was possible for Leuce to cry harder, but she did, and this time the nymph collapsed to her knees. “She will kill me.”
“Who?”
“Your mother,” Hades said.
The revelation shouldn’t have shocked Persephone, but it did.
“Is this true?” she asked, turning to Leuce.
“I lied when I said I didn’t remember who gave me life,” she admitted. “But I was afraid. Demeter reminded me over and over that she would take it all away if I didn’t obey. I’m so sorry, Persephone.”
Leuce hid her face. “You were so kind to me and I betrayed you.”
Persephone gathered the sheets around her and slid off the bed, ignoring the fact that she left Hades bared to the room. She approached and knelt before Leuce.
“I don’t blame you for fearing my mother,” Persephone said, and as she spoke, Leuce met her gaze. “I feared her for a long time, too. I won’t let her hurt you, Leuce.”
The nymph collapsed into Persephone, and the goddess held her for a long moment, until she was able to collect herself.
“Hermes,” Persephone said. “Will you take Leuce to my suite? I think she deserves some rest.”
“Yes, my lady.” He gave an exaggerated bow and smirked.
Once they were gone, Persephone turned to Hades, who had a peculiar look on his face.
“What?”
He shook his head, a smile growing on his face.
“I am just admiring you.”
She was temporarily distracted by his comment, and then said, “I suppose we should summon my mother to the Underworld.”
Hades’ brows rose. He clearly had not expected her to say that. “Shall we call upon her now?” he asked. “Perhaps we should make love so that she has no reason to suspect her plan worked.”
“Hades!” Persephone chided, but smiled, too.
