With those three words, Brooks lost himself to the darkness wondering if he’d ever resurface.
Persephone thought death would be weightless, her soul like the feather of a bird drifting with a summer breeze. She thought that her mind and body would finally be at peace, that the wrongs of the world would be a physical thing as it lifted from her. Persephone knew she wasn’t dead, though, because everything hurt and dying would be a blessing. Just like when Narcissus left her at the bottom of a pond. Somehow, Persephone was alive and she dreaded opening her eyes to find out why.
“Are you awake, Beauty?”
Persephone squeezed her lids tight before prying them open. Through blurry lashes, all she could see was the cracked ceiling of his office stained from wood-burning smoke. “What did you do to me?” she croaked.
“I’ve secured myself a life partner in this dreadful place.”
She couldn’t see him, but his voice filled her ears from every direction.
“What did you do, Hades?” Persephone tested her limbs and flinched. It was painful, but they did move.
“It’s complicated. I’m not sure you have the mind space to keep up.”
Anger fueled her movements as she rolled to her side and tried to sit. “Try me,” she ground out through the pain.
“Do you know why I live in the Underworld, Persephone?”
“You know I don’t.”
“I do, and that’s why explaining it to you is going to be a waste of my breath.”
“I think I deserve it after what you’ve done.” She sat up and faced the man she thought she loved. He was laid back in his chair with one leg crossed over the other like he was waiting for an artist to paint him.
“I’m here because my brother cursed me.”
That caught her attention. “What?”
“Zeus. We were losing the war against the Titans, you see. Overpowered and outnumbered. Desperate to find something that would tip the scales. That was when those three cunts of fate showed their faces. They made us an offer we couldn’t refuse– chaos enough for two. Zeus and I would hold the power of a Titan and win the war, but with great power comes grave consequences, they warned. The Titans were tyrants because the chaos drove them mad, and that was to be our fate.” Hades sipped from his chalice and followed her with watchful eyes as she pushed from the floor and moved to occupy the chair in front of him. He waited until she was settled to continue.
“We accepted the offer, of course. How could we not? We defeated our elders less than a year after that. Ten long years of war, and all it took was a bargain with fate.” He scoffed as he shook his head, taking another sip from his chalice. “By the end, the overflow of chaos was already taking its toll. Zeus became paranoid and exiled anyone he thought could challengehim. Including the brother who fought by his side. We swore an oath upon Styx when we accepted that deal. Even daemon as strong as The Twelve have to keep promises bound by the river. I won’t go into details, but he outmaneuvered me. Tricked me into breaking my oath and the river Styx claimed me. I’ve been exiled here ever since.”
“Are you dead?”
Hades rolled his eyes. “No, I’m not dead, you dense girl.”
“You said the Underworld was no place for the living.”
“I did, but I hold the power of a Titan, Persephone. I can do everything,” he ground out, “except leave this godsforsaken place. Trapped within the inner circles of hell and going mad.”
“So you trapped me here because… because you’rebored?”
“Well, when you put it that way it sounds rather daft.”
Her head was spinning, unable to comprehend the words laid out in front of her. “I want to leave, Hades. I want to go back home. Demeter will pay a heavy price for my return.”
“I’m afraid I can’t do that, Beauty.”
“I’m serious, Hades. She has the hand of Zeus. We can bargain for your freedom–”
“Persephone,” he tisked. “I want that for the two of us more than you know. Unfortunately, it will never happen. I’m bound to the Underworld just as steadfast as you are.”
“I’m still alive, Hades!” Persephone gestured to herself frantically, hands waving up and down as she pressed her point. “I can–” she stopped as something odd caught her eye, body frozen and chin trembling. Persephone looked at her shaking hands and choked on a sob as she turned them over. The outline was hazy and her skin was faintly transparent.
“The dead cannot walk among the living, just as the living cannot walk among the dead. If you’re in the Underworld, Persephone, you are either dead or dying.” Hades sipped hiswine as the mad gleam in his eye dipped to her feet and back up.
A tear fell from the pool in her eyes as his pompous smile sent a wave of ice cold horror washing over her body. Persephone shuttered, her breaths coming in shallow pants as she closed her eyes and turned to follow his stare. When she opened her eyes, she stopped breathing all together.
