AllFreeNovel
Share Us
But he did reject her.
Not that night. She kept her plan to herself and didn’t mention marriage around Pelops until the day he died in the clearing. Until the day she knew without a doubt that he wanted to be with her, after she spent the last five years quietly reassuring him that she was the perfect choice. The same day that he was going to say yes, that he absolutely wanted her with him every single day until he died and no one else. That he would no longer need any other companions when Persephone could fulfill his every desire, wish and need.
But he didn’t say any of that, and then he died. And she married another king; in another realm; of another world.
The Infernal Zeus, mortals called her husband. The Dark King. King of the Dead. Anything but Hades.
Hades, she sneered to herself, not daring to say his name aloud. Mortals believed he could be summoned by name alone. They feared that they would call him to the place they stood and force his hand, force him to take them to the Land of the Dead against their will. Persephone wasn’t sure they were incorrect since he had shown up on Olympus when she spoke his name, claiming to have heard her call.
She almost wished she had been as afraid of him as the mortals. That she had accepted the death of her mortal lover as all immortals who love mortals must eventually. He would have died in just a few short decades anyway. He will die in a few short decades, thanks to her deal with Hades.
An eternal deal in exchange for several minuscule decades.
There was a loud splash to her left and her head shot up. Her breath caught in her throat and her heart stalled as she pictured Hades standing before her in the shallows of the ocean, the water splashing gently against his legs. His dark eyes murderous and burning at her insolence for searching out Pelops, for doing the exact opposite of what she promised him.
She blinked quickly against the tears still filling her eyes until they focused on the figures splashing in the shallow sandy waters along the edge of the beach.
It wasn’t Hades who approached the spot she sat.
Her breath returned, faster than before and her heart beat hard enough that she clutched at her chest in an effort to keep it inside.
Pelops.
This couldn’t be a coincidence. That they were both here, on this sandy strip of land mere feet from each other, they must have been drawn to each other. Their love was so strong that even Hades couldn’t keep them apart.
He looked up from the water, scanning the sky and then the beach. Persephone eagerly watched as his eyes trailed along the top of the sand dune behind her before resting on her face.
When he saw her he stopped splashing with his companion and stared at her, cocking his head like a sheepdog.
She lifted her hand and waved once.
Knowing Hades had commanded her not to speak to him wouldn’t stop her from going to him, it couldn’t stop the Fates, who clearly had other plans for them. They were the only explanation for him showing up here, at this exact spot, this exact moment when she was here, too.
A small part of her felt wrong for waving at Pelops, and wanting to run to him. Hades had explicitly told her not to seek him out, and though she hated him for it, she understood. She was his wife, and this was the man she had been with before him. The man she would still be with if his life had not ended so soon, who would still love her and want to take her from him.
There was no spark of recognition in his eyes, vibrant green in the midday sun. He stared at her, his gaze unwavering and concentrated on her. Until his companion, a dark haired woman with hard, stormy eyes, grasped his hand and tore his attention from Persephone.
A dazzling smile lit up his face when he looked at her. A smile that Persephone had never seen grace his lips in the years she had known him. It was a smile filled with true happiness and adoration as he beamed at this unknown woman.
Persephone’s heart ceased beating looking at that smile. It was brilliant enough that her chest cracked open, the ache that had filled her heart now seeping into her body and freezing her limbs. She couldn’t move, couldn’t even look away from them.
“Beautiful day today,” Pelops said amiably and nodded in her direction as they walked by, his companion’s eyes narrowing at Persephone as they passed. She flicked her dark, braided hair over one shoulder and smirked triumphantly at Persephone over her shoulder, tightening her grip on Pelops’ arm.
That look set Persephone in motion and she jumped up, spraying grains of sand into the air, and rushed the few steps they’d made it past her. She clutched Pelops’ other arm roughly, forcing him to turn toward her as he halted. When he stopped she loosened her grip, small crescents of red forming where her nails had dug in.
“Excuse me,” she said breathlessly, “could I have a moment?”
Pelops eyed the hand still holding his forearm, and when he looked into her eyes she saw bewilderment and confusion. Not a moment of recognition for the girl he loved hardly three weeks ago.
“Why?” The dark-haired girl spat.
“I just—” Persephone was taken aback by the fierceness in the woman’s voice, the outright hatred lacing her words. “I just wanted to say hello and catch up with an old friend.” She smiled sweetly up at Pelops, ignoring the girl clinging to his other arm.
“My apologies,” he said, his eyes narrowing with confusion, “but I do not know you.” He gently pulled his arm from her grasp and smiled softly. “I think you’re mistaking me for someone else.” He turned from her, raising his brows at the woman to his side, who looked at Persephone like she had just won a solid gold crown.
“No,” she croaked, her throat suddenly dry. “No, you are exactly who I’m looking for, Pelops.”
At the sound of his name on her lips he turned around, eyes wide with surprise, letting go of the woman to face Persephone. She watched with horror as he nudged the girl behind him, protecting her from Persephone, as if she was a threat.
