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Letting out an indelicate snort was not what Persephone had expected from this news, but Hecate was not one to give a person what they would expect. Only her truth, which was why Persephone adored her so.
“Of course he does, Persephone.” She shook her head tiredly. “It probably has something to do with how his eyes go all intense and twinkly when you’re in the room.”
Persephone reeled backward. “You cannot be serious, Hecate.”
Hecate arched a brow in response.
“You haven’t seen anything about our bond in your inquest, have you?” Persephone asked
warily.
Hecate’s expression grew serious. “There’s a connection there,” she said. The witch frowned. “And it’s deep. Fundamental. It could be because it was your magic that technically woke his.”
“Or?”
“Or,” Hecate trailed. “It could be something more. I need more time to analyze the magic.
Research a few spells I haven’t used since the Roman Empire was in England.”
Persephone sighed and took a long pull of her wine.
“The Moirai do not fuck around when they decide to stir shit up, do they?” Hecate joked dryly,
her bracelets clinking as she raised her glass in a mock cheer.
Persephone looked at the fire, her thoughts becoming increasingly frantic and unfettered.
“How do I explain any of this to him when I do not truly understand it myself?” she asked her friend, knowing Hecate knew exactly what she meant. “I do not know how to do all this. How to speak to him, much less how to explain how deep this all goes… how far back it all goes. He already has dealt with so much in just a small timeframe. How do I add to that? How do I… how do I become what he needs me to be?” Persephone clenched her fist, feeling something bubble up inside her. Something strong and hot like fire.
Angry flames, she thought. It felt like flames in her chest and throat.
Hecate immediately put her glass down before she moved to kneel before Persephone, taking her hands in hers. Squeezing them tight, Hecate leaned her head against their knotted fingers.
“I feel so weak,” Persephone murmured, her eyes burning. The feeling was so foreign, it held her attention for a moment before Hecate spoke again.
“I’ve never seen you act stronger.” Persephone’s attention jerked to her friend before her,
gazing up at her with pure sincerity.
“You’ve always been in control, handled everything because being the Goddess was easy for you,” Hecate continued as she lifted her hand to brush the tear from Persephone’s cheek. Persephone blinked in surprise at the drop of liquid on Hecate’s finger. “Now you are dealing with something so out of your comfort zone, you feel for the first time. You are allowing your emotions to surface. You are allowing them to release so they will not hold any control over you.” Moving back to sit next to Persephone, Hecate pulled Persephone’s head to her shoulder,
running her hand up and down Persephone’s arm. Just like she did when Persephone herself was
new to this world and grieving for her sisters and her mortality.
In this very room, many moons ago, she had helped Persephone adapt to no longer being human, and here she was helping Persephone find that humanity once again. That balance.
“This brings back memories,” Persephone said with a watery laugh as she wiped away the
tears from her eyes.
“Yes, and you were just as stubborn and strong-willed then as you are now. Look how far you’ve come from where you were,” Hecate sang the words a little, swaying them both with her arm wrapped around Persephone.
“How old are you?” Persephone asked, just as she had that first night when she was new to
her domain. Scared and unsure of her next step.
“I will not answer that. Perhaps at your next millennial life crisis,” Hecate stated, chuckling softly before growing serious again. “It is normal to be scared when the emotional stakes are this high. You’ve never let yourself feel this much the entire time I’ve known you, but I believe if anyone can handle this, it is you.”
