“Persephone,” Hades said her name, but it sounded so far away. She couldn’t look at him because her eyes wouldn’t focus. “Persephone.”
Finally, Hades placed his hands on her face and forced her to meet his gaze. When she stared into those black eyes, she burst into tears. Hades pulled her against him as she shook and sobbed.
“My darling,” Hades soothed, rubbing her back. “We don’t have much time.”
She barely heard him, but felt his magic cradling her. They teleported and she found herself on the bank of the Styx. She pulled away, her face was soaked, and the pressure that had built in her nose and behind her eyes made her head hurt.
“Hades, what are we—?”
Her question died on her lips when she spotted Charon’s ferry crossing the black river. The daimon was ignited like a torch against the muted landscape. Behind him, sitting with her knees drawn to her chest, was Lexa.
She looked pale but unafraid, and when Persephone spotted her, a raw sob escaped her. She clasped a hand over her mouth to suppress them.
Charon docked and helped Lexa to her feet. As she stepped onto the pier, she embraced Persephone so tightly, she thought her bones would break.
They cried together.
“I’m sorry, Seph,” Lexa whispered.
Persephone pulled away and met her gaze. It was strange to see her blue eyes in the Underworld. Beneath the muted sky, they were bright and...lively.
“I don’t understand,” Persephone said. “I thought you were...better.”
Pain erupted in Lexa’s eyes. “I...tried.”
Persephone swallowed a thick lump in her throat, and then a horrifying thought occurred to her. She turned to Hades, alarmed and afraid.
“Where is she going?”
Hades looked just as distressed as Lexa.
“Seph,” Lexa whispered, drawing her attention. “It’s going to be okay.”
But it wasn’t going to be okay.
Persephone understood what had happened now.
Lexa had taken her own life. She was a suicide. She was going to drink from the Lethe, which meant she would forget everything, include her.
“Why?” Persephone’s voice quacked; her mouth quivered.
Lexa just shook her head, as if she couldn’t explain.
Your actions have condemned Lexa to a fate worse than death.
“I did this,” Persephone wailed.
She’d bargained to heal Lexa, brought her broken soul back to occupy a body it didn’t want, to a life it had finished. In doing so, she’d set her best friend up for another devastating end.
“Persephone,” Lexa said, taking her shaking hands. “This was my choice. I am sorry it had to be this way, but my time in the Upperworld was over. I accomplished what I needed to.”
“What was that?”
She smiled. “Empower you.”
That made Persephone cry harder, and they embraced again.
They didn’t part until Thanatos arrived, marking an end to their reunion.
“Are you ready?” he asked, his magic was calming, comforting, and for the first time in a long time, Persephone was thankful for it.
“Wh-where am I going?” It was the first time Lexa looked uncertain since she arrived.
Thanatos looked to Hades, who explained, “You will drink from the Lethe,” he said. “And then Thanatos will take you to Elysium to heal.”
For so long, Persephone had tried to imagine a world where Lexa didn’t exist, and now she realized this was it, this was the beginning of that world.
“I will visit you every day,” she promised. “Until we are best friends again.”
“I know,” Lexa’s voice cracked. Persephone closed her eyes, trying to memorize the feel of her best friend’s hugs, the warmth of her, the feel of her hands digging into her back.
“I love you,” Persephone whispered.
“I love you, too.”
When they parted, Thanatos took Lexa’s hand, and she watched as they walked the stone path toward the Lethe. At some point, she and Hades returned to the palace. He encouraged her to rest, and she did, falling into the comfort of Hades’ bed.
When she woke, she hadn’t remembered falling asleep. She rose, exhausted, and went in search of Hades. She found him standing in front of the fire in his study. He stood with his hands behind his back, the firelight reflecting off his face, making him look serious and severe. He seemed deep in thought, but as she entered the room, he stiffened.
Guilt slammed into her, and she knew he was waiting for her anger, for her blame.
“Are you well?” she asked when he didn’t turn to her.
“Yes,” he said. “And you?”
“Yes,” she said, and it was true. She was better, despite knowing that Lexa was dead, despite knowing that she had drank from the Lethe.
She was going to be fine.
Persephone stepped closer to him.
“Hades,” she waited for him to face her. “Thank you for today.”
He offered a small smile and returned his gaze to the fire. “It was nothing.”
She reached for him, placing her hand on his arm. His gaze fell there first, and then met hers. “It was everything.”
He turned to her fully and their lips collided. They kissed for a while and soon Hades drew her to the floor, entering her in one, smooth, purposeful movement.
“You were right,” Persephone whispered. She was referring to Lexa’s end. Her breath catching in her throat; her fingers twined into his hair.
“I did not want to be right.”
“I should have listened,” she said, and moaned as a wave of pleasure rocked through her.
“Shh,” Hades quieted her. “No more talk of what you should have done. What is, is—there is nothing else to be done but move forward.”
As the first orgasm shook her body, Hades gripped her hard. “My queen,” he hissed.
“Hades,” she moaned his name.
They reveled in the feel of each other, deepening their connection before collapsing together in a heap of skin and sweat and sex.
At some point, Hades rose with Persephone and moved them before the fire. She rested on her back, Hades on his side.
“I’m going to quit New Athens News,” she said.
The god lifted a brow. “Oh?”
“I want to start an online community and blog. I’m going to call it The Advocate—it will be a place for the voiceless.”
“It sounds like you have thought about this a lot.”
She smiled. She was taking Hecate and Lexa’s advice. She was crafting her own life, taking control.
“I have.”
He placed his fingers beneath her chin. “What do you need from me?”
“Your support,” she said.
“You have it.”
“And I’d like to hire Leuce as an assistant.”
“I’m sure she’d be pleased.”
“And...I need your permission,” she added sheepishly.
“Oh?”
“I want the first story to be our story. I want to tell the world how I fell in love with you. I want to be the first to announce our engagement.”
Kal and Demetri had tried to take that away from her, but now she saw it as a path toward empowerment.
“Hmm,” Hades feigned considering this. She could tell because of the look in his eyes. He was part amused, part admiring. “I will agree under one condition.”