There was a knock at her door and Persephone looked up, meeting Helen’s gaze. She was dressed in a black, knitted top and a black and white plaid skirt. She wore thick stockings and knee-high boots to keep warm, and her blonde hair was twisted into an updo. A pair of pearl earrings completed the look. Despite the fact that Helen always looked chic, Persephone thought she looked a little more dressed up than usual.
“You look very beautiful,” Persephone said.
“Thank you,” Helen said, her cheeks coloring. “I…am meeting someone for lunch.”
“Oh?” Persephone raised a brow. “Anyone I know?”
“I don’t think so. At least, not yet.”
Persephone took that to mean Helen hoped to introduce her to this mystery person. Still, she didn’t press. Helen had arrived for their meeting, and as much as she enjoyed the company of both her and Leuce, she liked to keep things as professional as possible at work.
After a beat of silence, Persephone gestured to the couch in front of her desk.
“Have a seat,” she said. “I believe you had something to share.”
“Yes,” Helen said sitting. “I wanted to discuss my article with you. I’m taking it in a new direction.”
“Go on,” Persephone encouraged, curious. She took up her pen, ready to take notes.
Helen hesitated.
“I did what you suggested,” she began, and something about those words made Persephone’s stomach turn. “I reached out to members of Triad and managed to land an interview with one of their leaders—a high lord.”
“A high lord?”
“They…have a kind of hierarchy,” she explained. “It’s to protect those who cannot protect themselves.”
“You mean those with power are at the top,” Persephone said.
“Real power,” Helen said as if Persephone did not know what real power was.
“You mean like the gods?”
“Yes and no,” she said. “They have the power of the gods, but they use it to protect. They answer prayers, Persephone. They listen.”
“Helen,” Persephone said, dropping her pen. “You are misguided.”
“I’m not. I have seen it.”
“You’ve seen it,” Persephone stated flatly. “What have you seen? Give me an example.”
“I have been to their meetings and heard testimony,” she said. Persephone made a mental note to come back to what Helen had just disclosed—meetings? What meetings? The mortal continued. “This man had cancer. He prayed to Apollo, offered sacrifices, even showed up at one of his performances and begged for his help. No answer—not a word. He came to Triad and one of the high lords healed him.”
Persephone stiffened hearing this story. It sounded all-to-familiar.
“Have you ever stopped to consider why the gods may not have answered those prayers?”
“Yes! And the answer is always why? Why should we suffer illness and disease and death when the gods exist in perpetual health and immortality?”
Persephone did not have an answer for that because even she did not know, except that, after losing Lexa, she had to believe that every fiber woven into the tapestry of the world served a greater purpose. Perhaps it was that sometimes a friend must die for a goddess to rise.
She stared at Helen, wondering what had lured her to the side of Triad so quickly.
“Seriously, Persephone. I thought you would understand after what happened to Lexa.”
“Do not say her name,” Persephone said, her voice shaking.
“If given the chance, would you not have had her live forever?”
“What I want does not matter. You speak of things you know nothing of. It is one thing to proclaim the gods should be held accountable for their actions—that, certainly, is true. It is another thing to actively disturb the balance of the world.”
And Persephone had learned the consequences of those actions the hard way.
Helen rolled her eyes. “You have been brainwashed—too much time spent on Hades’ dick.”
“That is not appropriate,” Persephone snapped and stood. “If this is the intended direction of your article, I will not approve it for publication.”
Helen lifted her chin, defiance flashed in her eyes.
“You don’t have to,” she said, a smug tone in her voice. “I’ll take it to Demetri.”
“Do it,” she said. “But you will regret it.”
“Is that a threat?” Helen asked.
“That depends,” Persephone said. “Are you afraid?”
She noted the doubt that flashed in Helene’s eyes. Persephone picked up her phone and chose Ivy’s direct line.
“Lady Persephone?”
“Ivy. Please summon Zofie.”
As she hung up, Helen spoke.
“You’re afraid. Afraid you’ll lose your status when Hades falls.”
Persephone placed her hands flat on the table and leaned forward, ensuring that the glamour that kept the true fire of her eyes hidden melted away as she leveled her gaze with Helen’s.
“Now that felt like a threat,” Persephone said, her voice quiet. “Was it a threat?”
Helen’s eyes went wide and before the mortal could speak, there was a knock at the door. Neither of them moved, both held in place by the tension in the room. Persephone recognized it as her magic—it made the air feel heavy and electric.
Another knock and the door opened. Zofie stood in the threshold, her dark hair in her usual braid. She was dressed in a black tunic, pants, and boots. She looked unassuming, not at all the warrior she was raised to be.
“My lady, you needed my assistance?”
“Yes, Zofie. Please escort Helen from the premises. She is to speak to no one as she leaves the building.”
“I need to pack my office,” Helen argued.
Persephone didn’t look at her, keeping her gaze on her Aegis.
“Zofie, see that Helen only collects her personal belongings from her office.”
“As you wish, my lady,” she said, bowing her head. She turned to Helen. “Go.”
Helen took a step toward the door but turned back to Persephone.
“A new era is coming, Persephone. I thought you were smart enough to be at the forefront. I guess I was wrong.”
Without warning, Zofie pushed Helen out the door, causing her to stumble forward. The mortal caught herself before spinning to face Zofie.
“How dare you!” Helen snarled.
Zofie drew a dagger from a hidden sheath beneath her tunic. It glinted beneath the florescent lights in the waiting area.
“Lady Persephone didn’t say you had to leave the building walking. Go.”
When they were gone, Persephone collapsed into her chair, feeling exhausted. She couldn’t quite wrap her mind around the conversation she’d just had with Helen. She definitely had not expected her to change her perspective on Triad after such a short investigation. Then again, she did not know much about Helen outside of her work ethic which had always appeared dedicated and enthusiastic.
And those qualities she hadn’t lost but applied elsewhere.
Perhaps there was something else at work that Persephone could not see, something in Helen’s personal life that made siding with Triad the better option.