Hecate cackles. ‘As you asked so nicely. I cannot see where she is now. But I can see a version of her, a memory.’
‘Someone saw her taken?’ Mother’s desperation has me clutching to Hades even tighter.
‘She disappeared in the middle of the day,’ Hecate almost sings. ‘On the sunny island of Sicily and only a single soul saw! Just one. Other than the two involved in the act, obviously.’
‘Who?’
‘I just told you.’
Mother waves the torch threateningly close to Hecate’s face. ‘I am in no mood for riddles.’
Hecate laughs and the sound is so gravelly the flames shake. She snaps her fingers and the torch flickers out.
‘What a good thing your child is smarter than you.’ Hecate grins. ‘The sun, Demeter. Helios saw all as he pulled it across the sky.’
‘Fates, this is it,’ I breathe.
‘You are safe,’ Hades repeats and I wonder who he is trying to convince. I’m certainly not stupid enough to believe him.
Father must have been watching because, in a lightning flash, Mother is before him. He lounges on his throne like it is the comfiest thing in the world but the fingers on his lightning bolt are taut and his back straightens as Mother approaches.
Mother speaks before he can demand it of her. ‘Helios knows,’ she says darkly and I pity poor Helios even as he is about to reveal my secrets. Mother will not look kindly on him for keeping this information from her. ‘We will have to wait until the sun sets to speak to him but we now have it on Hecate’s authority that he knows where she is, or at least what happened to her.’
‘Good,’ Father growls. He’s the angriest I have seen him, lightning sparking in the air around him as he shakes with rage. ‘I will kill whoever has taken her for what they have cost me. They have made me the laughing stock of the Heavens.’
‘I thought you said no one would –’
‘Well, they are!’ Father snaps. ‘They’re all laughing! I will destroy whoever has caused this, whoever dared snatch heraway from us. I will tear them limb from limb until the punishment of Prometheus seems a kindness.’
I freeze. I hadn’t considered this. I’d assumed that sooner or later my parents would realize I ran away of my own volition. And maybe they will. But,ifmy father mistakenly believes Hades kidnapped me, he’ll punish him for it. All those threats, all those promises of pain … they’re promises for Hades. I’ve seen Father’s rage. I’d never be able to tell him the truth before he enacted his fury and he probably wouldn’t believe me if I did. Hades would be hurt. He might even be killed.
And, gods, if Zeus really were to go to war for my honour – and wars have been fought for less – even Poseidon’s support might not be enough.
How many humans would die in the slaughter between the three great gods?
I wave the vision away. I take a breath and stare at the inky waters. I can’t just stand and watch as they hunt me down, as they turn to Hades, seeking revenge for an imagined slight.
There’s only one thing that I can do.
‘Marry me,’ I say, because it’s the only way. If I’m married, they have no reason to be angry. If they believe he did not steal my honour but my hand then he’s safe.
He startles. ‘Excuse me?’
I can’t tell him. If I tell him it’s because I’m scared of what they’ll do to him, he’ll never agree to it. He’ll laugh and say that he’s fine, even as they level a blade to his throat.
I’ve put him and every being of this realm in danger. My father will slaughter him, or throw him in the same pit as the Titans, or at the very least snatch the crown from his headand give it to someone else, someone just like himself, and all three courts will be ruled by horrible, awful men. Because of me, Hades could lose everything – even his life.
‘You said the offer was still open,’ I say. Tears burn into my eyes but I don’t let them fall. ‘Please, Hades, I have to. They’re furious – they might –’ But that won’t convince him. He won’t agree to this because of Zeus’s threats. He’ll agree to this for me. ‘They’ll come and take me back and I don’t want to leave. I don’t want whatever marriage they’ll push me into. I can’t leave this place.’ I drop to one knee because isn’t that what you’re supposed to do? ‘If … marrying you is the only definite way to stay then … marry me, please.’
It might not be the reason I’m asking, but I’ll let him think it is if it’s what saves him.
Hades falls to his knees too and then he’s looking right at me.
‘Persephone.’ His hands cup my face, like if I look away for even a second I may not realize what decision I am making. ‘Are you sure about this?’
I can’t breathe, can’t look anywhere but at him. I feel like I could cry, knowing this moment isn’t real, not in the way I might want it to be. I don’t … Even if it were, I … In this moment I want him so badly that not having him feels like heartbreak.
‘I love this place,’ I say, my voice breaking. My throat is swollen with the tears I’m holding at bay. This whole thing is a mess. But I can’t cope with the idea of anyone hurting Hades. I’d do anything to save him from the tiniest shred of pain, let alone all my father could bring.
