‘I know. But still.’
‘All I’ve ever wanted is to see the world,’ I say. I can’t feel it yet. All I want right now is comfort. But I know that when the sun rises tomorrow I will wonder what is beyond the horizon. And now I’ll be able to find out.
‘I know.’ He sighs. ‘I know this is good. You get to explore the world like you always wanted to and you get to rule Hell on the side. But I’m left in the Underworld. I can’t walk this world with you – it would be encroaching on territory.’
‘I wouldn’t let you even if you could. You’d hate it. And who would run our home?’
‘I’m not sure Hell without you is preferable to this world with you.’
‘I’ll explore and you’ll create and time will fly by.’
‘You’re taking this so well.’
‘I’m taking this the only way I can. I’m somehow devastated and elated at the same time but you know what I’m not? Concerned. I love you. That’s all there is to it. Six months apart isn’t going to stop that.’
‘Six months, Persephone. You won’t even be able to visit – and I certainly won’t. Zeus really might start an all-out war if he so much as sees me on Earth.’
I jolt – it was something I hadn’t even considered until he said that. ‘Exactly,’ I say, turning to him. ‘Zeus couldn’tseeyou.’
For someone else, I might have to be clearer. But not Hades – my clever, brilliant husband who doesn’t have to leave my side at all – because Zeus gave him an item when he was a child, a helmet to be used in war, to invisibly spy on the enemy. And now he can use it for love, to visit Earth when I am here, to silently slip his hand into mine, and even if we can’t say anything, if acknowledging an invisible presence might be something the Olympians notice,wewill know we aren’t alone. We won’t be able to talk, to hold each other, to be together in the way we yearn to be – but we’ll be together a little, and that might make the whole thing tolerable.
His eyes widen with the realization and, finally, he smiles with the success of our victory.
He plucks a nearby sprig of asphodel and pushes it into my hair, tucking it behind my ear. ‘You’re the best thing to ever happen to me.’
‘That’s not fair on Cerberus.’
He laughs. ‘True. Aside from my dog.’
‘Well, dogs aside then, I would have to say likewise. I never even knew it was possible for someone like you to exist. I’m so very glad I ran to Hell, that I met you – that you did all you did for me. Please take care of the afterlife. We put a lot of care into that.’
‘I will,’ he promises. ‘Persephone, I … thank you. Thank you for intruding into the Underworld and demanding xenia and refusing to leave –’
‘You don’t sound very thankful, darling.’
‘I’m trying for a dramatic and profound farewell here.’
‘Farewell?’ I repeat as I stand, pulling him to his feet with me. ‘Um, no. You think the nymphs aren’t going to yell at me until they get to meet you? You’re coming with me.’
He considers. ‘Zeus will be sulking for at least a day. He won’t even notice I’m here.’
‘Precisely. So you can come meet my family.’
He seems to realize what this will actually entail and his eyes widen. ‘Oh, actually, Zeus could smite me at any moment.’
‘Hades.’
‘What? This is scary.’
‘You’re the king of Hell and you’re scared of a handful of nymphs?’
‘Yes.’
‘Then good – you’re prepared.’
‘Do you know how much back and forth it took to get the nymphs to make your wedding veil? We’re not going to properly be together for six months and you want me to suffer like this first?’
‘Stop whining.’
