Persephone lifts her head from the flower, and her face brightens. The fog rolls in between the rows and rows of florals. The faint purple hues mixed with the fog only add to her ethereal beauty. The smile across her face cannot be for me—for I’ve taken that life from her—but after a moment, she lifts her hand and waves to me. Her delicate features are calling to me.
Her lips form my name, but no sound reaches me. Perhaps I’m meant to build her the castle in the foreground, to ensure she has the florals she’s always wanted and needed. For the death here will not do. Maybe in a liminal space. Somewhere between the Underworld and Olympus. Somewhere we can run away together for a moment. Just to hold her. To have her warmth in my embrace. Hecate…could she make such a reality possible?
“My Lord,” Minox says again, a touch louder this time. As if he believes I hadn’t heard him. I did. I do not care for company or requests at this time. The rage has left me hollow. There’s nothing left of me to offer.
“No,” I answer.
I cannot seem to get closer to Persephone, but it is all I can think of. I need to know if she’s safe. I need to touch her. The skirts of her gown blow gently in the breeze, the fabric ripping in the air. Is she happy? Does she find joy in these moments where I find pain?
She’s beautiful in the summer. Gorgeous. There is no comparison. It’s Persephone who gives the meadow its beauty. It’s Persephone who makes the sun shine.
I used to dream about the sun. I used to dream about the light.
In those centuries that I was trapped in that dark pit, I wished for the light. Even a single beam would do. There is no doubt I could offer Hecate something she’s always wanted. The power that exists here behind the walls of the Underworld… If only she could offer a safe haven for the two of us. Is it possible?
“My Lord.” A hand squeezes my shoulder. It is a gentle touch, but it gets firmer. Minox. It must be him, because it is his voice in my ear, but I do not want to speak to him.
The vision of Persephone begins to fade. And in its place the anger returns. The meadow turns gray, then black. Persephone loses color last of all, and I stare at her for as long as I can.
Just one more moment, please.
She is gone.
“Leave me,” I seethe. My tone warning as the rage billows in my chest again. Without her presence, I’m only left with the desire to make everything around me feel the pain I feel. Is that not what Demeter did? And she got what she damn well wanted.
“I cannot, my Lord.” Minox states and there’s a hint of regret in his tone.
I lurch forward in my chair in the lonely bedchambers, my back protesting, and balance my elbows on my knees so I can scrub at my face. My eyes are gritty and my mouth is dry and it occurs to me at this moment that it is possible I have not slept.
How could I fall into a slumber not knowing how she rests.
Minox places a careful hand on my back. The touch hurts as if he has bruised me, but I breathe through the discomfort and do not throw him off. He is too gentle. Too soft with me.
I remind myself of all I know of Minox. I have to clear my throat several times, then swallow. The Fates and Hecate have promised me. I will not negotiate. I merely need patience. I pray I do not lose my sanity while I wait.
“What is it,” I rasp at him, rubbing at my face again. This is my kingdom, I must act as a king. For that is what my queen deserves when she returns.
“Zeus has requested a meeting.”
Every inch of my body turns to stone. I can barely breathe, and Zeus wants a meeting. My lungs freeze as hatred rips its way through my being.
“Has he?” I say, the question ending with a sound that is nothing like a laugh.
“Yes.” Minox answers. “He has offered to meet via scrying.”
“Convenient.” I lean back in my chair again, tip my head back, and close my eyes.
How long have I been sitting in this chair?
Hours, I think.
I cannot remember coming to my rooms. Last night, I gorged myself on violence and destruction. There will be a record, somewhere, of how many souls I destroyed, but I cannot guess the number. For all I saw was red and then darkness.
Opening my eyes, I glance down at my lap.
My clothes are covered in ash. That, I remember. I wreaked such havoc on the Underworld that it rained ash throughout the realm.
The anger flickers to life again like an ember in the grate.
