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Persephone stepped back from where Minthe had been. Through her bond with Devon, she had finally created something.
Bending, she tugged a leaf from the plant that was once the traitorous nymph.
As she rolled the leaf between her fingers, a minty and fresh smell rose, briefly covering the stench of brimstone.
Persephone let the mint leaf fall from her hand as she stood.
“Finally, you are of use to me, Minthe.” Persephone let the shadows take her back to the forest her mate had grown.
She needed to speak with her sister.
***
A freezing wind blew past her as she caught sight of flickering torchlight. Her sister was nearby. Her heartbeat sped up, but she calmed herself down before Devon felt it.
They found they could feel each other in times of emotional stress, and pleasure, through their bond. Two halves of a whole in an almost literal sense.
Her sister moved out from behind one of the trees, holding her torch as if searching for someone.
Persephone swallowed down the emotion of seeing her beloved Demeter again.
“I was looking for you.” Demeter smiled as she moved forward to embrace Persephone.
She found she suddenly lacked the ability to speak, couldn’t do anything more than stare at her long-lost sister. Her heart hammered in her chest, and she had to hold herself back from barreling into Demeter.
To stand before a loved one lost to death, to know you have a second chance to speak but that the chance was limited to a short window of time, was terrifying.
“Always the quietest of the sisters,” Demeter laughed as she pulled Persephone into a hug. “Sorry, I just… it is a shock to see you again. I feel like perhaps I made you up in my delirium,
looking for something to help me through…” she whispered but couldn’t finish. She was feeling her emotional state spiral as she hugged Demeter tightly. Something she never thought she could do again.
She stepped back to take in Demeter’s appearance. Her sister had not changed one iota since Persephone had first walked her past the gates.
“Oh, my sweet sister.” Demeter smiled as she shook her head, pushing a strand of Persephone’s hair behind her ear. “Always stoic on the surface but so full of love and emotions inside. I worried about you as a child, that the world would make you cold. Make you refuse to feel what you needed to be truly human.”
“I have missed you.” Persephone’s words came out on a sob.
“As I have with you, too. I couldn’t remember anything until my powers were bound to another immortal, then… I just remembered.” Demeter shrugged before her face took on a serious expression. “I remembered you pushing me into a dark room each time father was angry. How that last time you told me to stay put with our sisters and not to come out. I remember…” Demeter stopped, a tear slipping down her cheek. “Him stabbing you. You were killed saving us, yet you hold on to that as a punishment when in fact you deserve none of the sort. Why do you not forgive yourself?”
Persephone started to shake her head, but Demeter held her gaze.
“You always protected us… me. Always. I know you’ve carried that with you as Devon carried his grief before. You helped him heal, but I need you to heal yourself. You didn’t let me die, you kept me alive. Father killed me. You saved me. My soul is saved… you took on the burden of the Underworld to walk me in the gates yourself. My dear sister, I beg of you to please allow grace for yourself. You have been torturing your own mind for long enough. Release the worries and the grief into the ether and be happy. Live a life that all of us wish for you.”
Demeter ended her sentence with a kiss on Persephone’s cheek.
Persephone blinked back tears, but when Demeter pulled back, she nodded to her. Yes, she would do as her sister asked and push as much grief and burden that she could into the ether.
She knew it wouldn’t completely leave, but she would work on it. She owed that to them and to Devon. They deserved her happy and whole as she deserved from them in return.
“I don’t think my memories returned just for this talk, though I do appreciate the opportunity.” She took Persephone’s hands into hers, holding her sister’s gaze. “There are whispers floating throughout the Underworld. That there are Titans looking to release Cronus.”
“I know,” Persephone stopped her. “Crius and Atlas are there with him after trying to break him out.”
“There is more,” Demeter interrupted, quickening her words as if something or someone might steal them away before she could finish. “Before Atlas was banished, he had Titans raising an army outside of Halcyon. You need to find whoever holds Hestia’s power. That is when everything will truly be balanced.”
“He said Hestia’s power was in the city now.”
“Then you must find them,” Demeter begged Persephone.
