揥e knew what we were getting into,?Persephone said.
Circe huffed. 揇id we??
揗aybe not fully, but we抮e here now and I think I finally understand what needs to be done and you do too.?She kissed the top of Circe抯 head as her own eyes misted over. 揑抳e had my suspicions. You know this. I think it抯 clear now梬e must recombine the pieces. We have to give up what was given to us in order to make it whole again.?
I didn抰 understand.
揥e know who we do it for,?Persephone said. 揑抳e lived my fair share of lifetimes. I抦 ready, Circe.?Persephone broke Circe抯 grip and stood in front of me, her hands resting on my shoulders. 揌ow far are you willing to go for the people you love, Briseis??She smiled warmly. I was completely lost. 揧ou抳e crossed an ocean,?she continued. 揧ou抳e braved the sea and this wild island, and now you抮e here, to save your mom. Gods, what a remarkable person you are. To be loved by a person like you is the most any of us could ever hope for. I would go to the ends of the earth to make sure the people I care about most could be free from their burdens, from their fears. Let me do this for you and for Circe and for those who may come after. Let me do my part to unburden you.?
She leaned in and hugged me tight, then moved to the mound and climbed atop it. She stared into the dark, and it took me a second to realize she was staring at Marie.
A wave of confusion and then the clarity of understanding broke over me like the crashing of a wave. Persephone was a piece of the Heart now, and we had to reunite them. She was saying goodbye to Circe and to me, and now she was waiting for Marie to join her.
揥hen we were in the Grotto with the Fates, I saw something I couldn抰 share with you,?Marie whispered.
揑桰 don抰 understand,?I said.
She grasped my hand. 揥e gotta get your mom back. And if I have to give something up to make that happen, I will.?
My mind went in circles. 揥ait. What梬hat are you talking about? We抮e here. All the pieces are here and棓
揟he pieces have to be put back together,?Marie said softly. 揕ike a puzzle.?
She stepped away from me but I cut off her path. I pressed my hands into her chest. 揥hat are you doing? Stop talking to me like you抮e not gonna be here when all this is over.?As I said the words I understood fully how this had to work. The Heart flowed in Marie抯 blood, in Persephone抯， too. It gave them their immortality, and if the pieces were to be reunited, they had to give that up. Not just their power but also their lives. The very lives granted to them by the Heart. It was the fear that had lived in the back of my head from the beginning of this journey. It was always there, but I hoped that we could find something, anything, that would give us another option. But we were out of time. This was the only path forward.
揘o,?I said. 揘o. Marie, please. You can抰棓
揑 can. And I will.?The tears flowed from us both. 揑 knew it might be like this before we left Rhinebeck. I just桰 couldn抰 tell you that. I didn抰 know how. The Fates, they cut my thread.?
I couldn抰 speak. Marie and Circe had seen what would happen. Clotho, Atropos, and Lachesis had shown them.
Marie took my face in her hands and I wound my arms around her neck. 揑抳e stolen more moments than I can count,?she said. 揃ut these past few weeks with you were the best of them.?She gently slipped the vial of Living Elixir from my hand.
Circe moved to my side and put her arm around me.
揟ell your mom I said hi.?She kissed me and then was standing opposite Persephone before I could blink.
Circe held me tight as I struggled against her. 揗arie! Please! This is what the Fates showed you??I turned to Circe. 揥e have to find another way!?She simply shook her head and tightened her grip on me.
Marie uncorked the vial and deposited the contents of the Living Elixir in the soil next to the Mother. Persephone took a glinting object from her pocket and drug it across her palm. She handed the knife to Marie, who repeated the action, and as they held their hands over the Mother, Marie locked eyes with me. She smiled the way she had when we抎 first met. Like I was the only thing she could see, like I was the only thing that mattered.
Marie and Persephone allowed their blood to flow onto the surface of the Heart, and in the light of the full moon, in a garden of poison on an island that wasn抰 supposed to exist, the Mother梩he original piece of the Absyrtus Heart梑egan to beat.
CHAPTER 22
The pulse rocked the ground under my feet, and I clung to Circe as we struggled to keep our footing. The sound reverberated through the enclosure and in my bones. I stumbled back and fell hard on the ground. The Mother shifted on its stalk, and as the fresh infusion of blood moved through it, it sprouted a hundred new tendrils that latched onto Marie and Persephone.