“She will return soon,” Hecate answers. “It is your father who wishes to see you and who you must see first.” Disappointment runs through me for only a moment.
I wonder about that as we walk through the halls. Olympus is teeming with servants. There are more than usual, or else they have all been called to help with whatever disaster happened here. Some kind of storm? An argument between gods?
I am certain I will find out.
It strikes me again that I am walking next to Hecate. Hecate, who I have prayed to so many times. Who I have begged for help in my darkest moments. Who Beatrice often relies on.
I steal a glance at her out of the corner of my eye. Her dark robes flow, sinuous against the white walls. She holds her head high. A subtle breeze, like magic, stirs her long dark hair.
She is regal and unmovable.
For a moment, I feel like a girl walking next to her—young and fearful that I would lose my powers and helpless to do anything about it.
But I straighten my back. I stand tall beside her.
I am a queen in my own right.
Is it your own right? My inner voice questions. Will you ever be allowed to return?
My throat tightens at the thought. I must return. Hades looked into my eyes and swore that his love would last forever. Forever, to the gods, is not a small thing. He intends for me to be his queen for all eternity.
Then what am I doing here, on Olympus? My mother. I need my mother.
It does not take long for us to reach the grand main hall. The doors open before us, and I step through with Hecate.
My father sits on his throne on the massive dais, and as I enter, he picks up his head. His eyes wide with surprise. They flash as he registers me and the delight and welcoming arms are unexpected.
A softness runs through me.
He rises from the throne and comes to me, his pace fast, his strides long, his arms outstretched. When he reaches me, he folds me in a tight hug. And I rest in his hold, feeling as if I belong. As if I’ve found love that I’d lost.
Hushed murmurs rise in the background.
With a prick on the back of my neck I can feel the eyes of Olympus watching. The main hall is not empty. There is an audience.
Finally, my father pulls back, his hands cupping my shoulders. “Persephone. Are you well?”
“I am,” I answer easily.
“And your journey was a safe one?” he questions, but I’m unable to answer.
“It was safe indeed, Zeus,” Hecate states. Her tone colder than it was with me.
“My daughter has returned to us,” my father announces, and scattered cheers go up from the others in the main hall. He looks down and studies my face again. Applause fills the hall and white gowns appear from the corner of my eyes.
Thoughts of my sisters bombard me. I’d forgotten how much I’d lost while in the Underworld. Slowly, I come back to who I was before and I find love there.
“You’re sure you are well?” My father’s eyes pry into my own. An urge to pull away takes over and I do just that, then I grab his hands with my own and hold them between us. The rough calluses caused by his bolts make me aware of just how soft my own hands are.
“Of course, Father,” I tell him. “I am well.”
His brow furrows. “You were not injured? Forced?”
I shake my head. I do not know how to answer him. My first weeks in the Underworld were harrowing, but that was because I was not ready to see it for what it was.
A new world. A whole realm.
With a king at the center of it. And a place for my power.
