I wasn’t sure what was considered polite here, so I elected to perform an awkward bow in greeting. “My Queen.”
Persephone’s smile widened as I straightened my spine again. “Welcome to the Underworld. How do you find its pleasantries?” Her voice was soft and feminine, and sounded just the same as when I had heard it in my death.
“Your realm is beautiful,” I answered honestly, “if a little different. Thanatos told me about it before, though, so I was at least somewhat prepared for the magnificence of this place.” I swallowed nervously when she arched a brow. “Oh—oops! Was he not supposed to tell me that stuff? Well, he didn’t tell me any important…things…”
My face grew hot, and I decided it was best to shut up right then.
Persephone considered me silently, then burst into a soft giggle. “You must forgive that I do not yet know your name.”
“Oh. I’m Cyrie,” I said shyly.
Her eyes twinkled as she studied me. “Very well, Cyrie. I have but one thing to ask of you. Do you love him?”
“Yes,” I replied at once. “Of course I do.”
She nodded to me, approving. “Good. Be good to him. Truly I have never seen him this way. You must really be something, to have made Death come crying.”
“Oh,” I stalled, fidgeting with my jewelry. “No, I’m just—I’m just a girl, you know?” It was a silly thing to say, but how could I have conveyed the depth of our bond?
Persephone inclined her head, and her eyes narrowed. I was struck by the uncanny sense that her clever gaze reached more than just my appearance. “So modest, too,” she said slowly. “I think I will like you.” She smiled again, and the prickling sensation of being examined faded away.
My anxiety eased with my next exhale. “Thank you for helping us,” I offered. “I heard what you said while I was dying.”
“Oh, it was my pleasure to calm Hades down a bit. He can be a little obsessive at times, though he means well. Besides, I understand your situation all too well.”
I blinked in confusion. “You do?”
She smirked. “Do you think I ate these by accident?” She plucked a nearby pomegranate and held it aloft. “Have youseenHades?” I shook my head, and Persephone laughed softly in response. “Whatever you’re imagining, it’s definitely notattractiveenough.” She winked, then tossed the fruit to me. “You follow in my footsteps now. May your path blossom before you.”
“Thank you,” I said, clutching her gift in my hands. When she nodded and turned her attention back to the garden, I bowed once more and prepared to take my leave.
“See you around,” the goddess called after me as I followed the path out of her grove. I supposed Iwouldsee her around. Could I be friends with Persephone? As unreal as it sounded, I hoped it might one day be true. She seemed pleasant enough.
I found my way home by retracing my steps, losing my way only once within the palace’s torchlit passageways. When I madeit back, I set the pomegranate onto our bedside table. What time would it be up in the mortal realm? I wasn’t sure, not with the way the constancy of this place confused my senses. There might be one way to tell, though: the state of Hades’ court. That, at least, would change over the cycle of a day.
I paced through our bedroom and across the adjacent lounge, where I pulled back the curtain on the far wall. I stepped through the glass doorway and out onto the balcony. There was no change in lighting when I passed over the threshold; the stasis of the absent sky and Underworld air made sure of that. Instead, I felt a subtle shift in tone as the confines of our private space transitioned to the open court below.
In the ballroom beneath me, souls meandered between the tables around the perimeter of the dance floor. They were arranging and polishing the furniture, I realized, no doubt in preparation for the proceedings of the night.
An idea sparked, and I chuckled to myself. How better to watch and to wait than from Thanatos’ black chair? It loomed from atop its platform, inviting. Without hesitation, I stepped up onto the dais and sank into his seat. It was too big for me now, to be sure, but I guessed I’d fit perfectly if I was sitting in his lap. A theory to be tested later.
I passed my time perched there in Death’s throne, gazing down at the court of the departed. When the souls below had finished polishing and were midway through the setting of the tables, they suddenly froze in place. They turned their faces upward, and I followed their gazes to see Thanatos swooping down toward me.
He dropped onto our balcony with grace, his wings fanning out behind him, and looked me over with a gleeful smile. “What a sight you are!”
“I do see the appeal of watching from up here,” I teased.
Thanatos offered me his hand. I tried to maintain an air of controlled poise as I accepted it, but the joy on his face melted my restraint. I giggled and tossed my arms around him as I stepped down from the dais.
“Dear gods, you’re gorgeous,” he sighed, squeezing me tight around my waist. “Absolutely perfect.” He lifted my feet off the ground in his enthusiasm, and when he set me down again he crushed his lips against mine. Makeup, effective.
“Wait!” I giggled as he continued, and I gently pulled away. “If you kiss me, you’re going to mess it all up!”
“This has never bothered you in the past,” he complained.
“Well, we’re going to see my sisters now, aren’t we? For the last time in quite a while? I’d rather my smeared makeup not dominate the conversation.”
“Hmm. I suppose that is fair.” He grumbled, but he couldn’t hide his elation. “To find you waiting for me here is everything I have wanted. Something I thought would never come to pass. So do not expect me to wait one moment once we have returned home, my naughty priestess!”
