“No.” Demeter looked at Persephone. “You will remove your mark. Remove it, Hades!”
“The contract must be fulfilled, Demeter. The Fates command it.”
She had tried to deceive the Fates once; she could not do it again.
The Goddess of Harvest glared at Persephone. “How could you?”
“How could I? It’s not like I wanted this to happen, Mother!”
He flinched, unable to hide the impact of her words. He was well-aware that she was just speaking the truth, one he already knew well. Persephone had not wanted the bargain, and while it did not mean that she did not want him, he could not help thinking that with the end of their contract, came the end of them.
“Didn’t you? I warned you about him! I warned you to stay away from the gods!”
“And in doing so, you left me to this fate.”
Warnings only planted the seed of intrigue, something Demeter should have learned after existing for so many years, but she, like many gods, fell victim to mortal assumptions. One of those being, she could be the exception.
“So, you blame me? When all I did was try to protect you? Well, you will see the truth very soon, Daughter.”
If Demeter had been trying to protect Persephone, she wouldn’t have kept her powers from manifesting. Demeter had made her daughter codependent, ensuring she would always need her—need someone—to survive. Hades hated that, and he hoped by the end of this, before their contract was said and done, her powers would manifest.
That desire intensified as he watched Demeter strip Persephone of her favor, exposing her Divine form. The goddess was not gentle, tearing the power away with such force, Persephone fell to her knees, gasping for breath.
“When the contract is fulfilled, you will come home with me,” Demeter said. “You will never return to this mortal life, and you will never see Hades again.”
Demeter glared at him before vanishing, and Hades swore in that moment, the Goddess of Harvest would regret her actions.
He scooped Persephone up from the floor, cradling her against him as he sat on the edge of the bed. She couldn’t seem to catch her breath.
“Shh,” Hades crooned. “Everything will be okay. I promise.”
She burst into tears.
“I don’t regret you. I didn’t mean that I regretted you.”
He was glad she said it, even though he had known she hadn’t meant the words.
“I know.” Hades kissed her tears away.
There was a knock at the door, but before Hades or Persephone could speak, Lexa entered and halted, eyes wide as she took in Persephone’s appearance.
“What the fuck?”
There was no hiding her Divinity—Persephone was the Goddess of Spring. Hades half-expected her to beg him to erase Lexa’s memory, but instead, she pulled away and stood, appearing tall and regal as she spoke.
“Lexa,” he heard her say. “I have something to tell you.”
CHAPTER XXVIII – A PICNIC IN THE UNDERWORLD
Hades left Persephone’s apartment, teleporting to Olympia. He hated that he had to return, hated that he had to go before Zeus, but it was necessary and just as he suspected, Demeter had already arrived. He could hear her voice outside Zeus’ office.
“He cannot have my daughter, Zeus!” she cried. “I will starve your people if you let him keep her!”
When Hades entered, she whirled to face him. Demeter’s face changed when she was in a rage. Hades imagined Persephone had seen it over and over again. Her eyes seemed to sink into her face and darken. She leaned forward, shoulders hunched, like the weight of her fury was too much to handle.
“You!”
“Kill everyone, Demeter, it only makes me more powerful.”
“Hades,” Zeus said, sitting behind his oak desk. “Is what Demeter says true? Have you seduced her daughter?”
“I did not seduce her,” Hades said. “She came to me willingly on more than one occasion.”
He glared at the Goddess of Harvest, and she glared back.
“Liar! The mark on her wrist tells me otherwise.”
Zeus looked at Hades, waiting for his answer.
“She invited me to her table. The mark was fairly placed.”
“It sounds as though Persephone has made her own decisions, Demeter,” Zeus said.
“She is my daughter, Hades! I have a right to decide her fate!”
Hades did not look at the goddess, but at his brother.
“She is Demeter’s daughter,” Hades said, “But she is destined to be my wife. The Fates have woven her into my future, and Demeter has interfered.”