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CHAPTER XXXI – TO CLAIM A QUEEN
Hades watched from a distance as Persephone walked across the grand stage at her graduation. She looked beautiful, her honeyed hair gleaming beneath the bright sun, her skin glistening like gold, and a smile curving her perfect lips.
“She looks so…happy,” Hades said, more to himself than anyone else, but Hecate was there to answer.
“Of course she’s happy. She just spent four years in purgatory.”
“College, Hecate,” Hermes corrected.“I think you mean college.”
“Same thing,” she shot back.
“She invited me to the afterparty,” Hermes said with a grin, and Hades tried not to smirk when Hecate elbowed him in the ribs.
“Ouch! Stop!”
He tracked Persephone as she left the stage, holding onto her hat as the wind blew. It picked up her scent and carried it to him, leaving him feeling hollow. It was then she paused and looked in their direction.
“Oh, oh! I think she sees us!” Hermes waved.
“She can’t see us, we’re invisible!” Hecate said, elbowing him in the ribs again.
“Watch it, Hecate! I’ll turn you into a goat!”
“Just try, feather feet!”
Hades sighed and rolled his eyes at the two, but quickly focused on Persephone again. She seemed troubled, a line forming between her brows and the corners of her mouth dropping. It was in that moment he thought he saw the truth of her heart—she was just as devastated as he was. It was almost unbearable, and the thread that still connected them throbbed in his chest.
He ached for her, wanted her, loved her.
“Go to her,” Hecate encouraged.
“She would deny me,” Hades said.
“Maybe,” Hermes replied.
Hecate raised her arm again, and the god flinched, shuffling a few feet away. She turned back to Hades and argued.
“She would welcome you. She loves you.”
“Shelovedme,” Hades said.
“Do you want me to call you an idiot again?”
Hades glared.
“At least she told you she loved you,” Hecate said, hands on her hips.“She still hasn’t heard those words fromyou.”
He frowned and felt ashamed. Hecate was right, he should have told her he loved her the moment he realized it. All this time, he had gone on about how she was his goddess and queen, and he had not even managed to say the three words that would illustrate the truth of how he felt because he feared her rejection.
Persephone’s attention turned from them as Lexa’s name was called. She cheered for her best friend as she walked across the stage, and the two embraced before they returned to their seats. Despite his painful thoughts, Hades found himself smiling as he watched her continue living.
He had few regrets in his long life, but one of them would always be never telling her how much he loved her.
***
Hecate flung open the door to Hades’ chambers. It was noon, and he was still in bed, exhausted from a night of bitter bargains at Nevernight.
“Get up!” she said, and threw open the curtains, letting in daylight. Hades groaned and rolled over, covering his head.
