I willed the vines to release him and he fell into the sea of black bat flowers, panting.
揅抦on,?I said to him, taking my mom抯 hand again. 揕et抯 go home.?
The trek through the forest was hours long. Little was said. All I wanted to do was curl up with my mom and listen to the beat of her heart. She, too, was somehow different. There was a stillness about her that felt like she was just doing her best to hold it together. She抎 spent a month in the underworld and couldn抰 have known for sure that we could find a way to get her back. She said we抎 have time to talk about it later and so I tried to let it go. All she wanted was to take me home and I was okay with that.
When we reached the shore we piled into the dinghy and began to row out to the ship. Bioluminescent streaks under the water抯 surface sent my heart into a frantic gallop, but as the sirens appeared, so did two other figures.
On the sandy shoreline, Persephone, queen of the underworld, stood bathed in moonlight and with her was her namesake, our Persephone.
揟hey抮e together now,?Circe said. 揌er and everyone who has come before. She抣l always be with us.?
Our Persephone now carried the lyre and played it so beautifully Circe began to weep. The sirens retreated, and we boarded the ship and sailed away from Aeaea on Circe抯 conjured winds. Persephone stayed on the shore waving to us, and we stayed at the rail until the island disappeared behind the veil of invisibility that had guarded it since time immemorial.
I spent the early morning hours curled up beside my mom. She managed to find a way to sleep, but I couldn抰。 I was afraid I抎 wake up and find that everything we抎 done was just a dream. I was scared to death that Mom wouldn抰 be there when I woke up, so I just didn抰 sleep. As Circe guided us to port at the foot of the Great Eye, Hermes met us on the rocky beach and Circe went to talk to him.
揥ho is that guy??Karter asked.
揧our thousandth great-granddaddy,?Marie said.
Karter looked confused.
揑t抯 Hermes,?I said, wondering what that might mean to him. I studied his face as he took in the information.
揌e didn抰 tell us that抯 who he was when we first met him,?Karter said.
揌e抯 kind of a dick,?I said.
Marie stared at Karter. 揑 guess it runs in the family.?
Karter eyed her and Marie squared her shoulders. She may not have retained her strength after her transformation, but I had no doubt she抎 beat Karter抯 ass if he so much as looked at her sideways. He didn抰 test her.
Mom walked up and put her hand on my shoulder. Karter looked back and forth between us.
揑抦 sorry,?Karter said, keeping his eyes on the deck. 揑抦 never going to be able to tell you how sorry I am. My mom棓 He sighed, shaking his head. 揈verything you saw her do, everything you learned, it was terrible.?
揟errible??I asked. 揝he killed my mom. She killed my birth mom. You said she killed your own father. 慣errible?is the understatement of the century.?
Mom抯 grip tightened on my shoulder.
Karter nodded. 揧eah. I just梟ow that you know all of that, would you believe me if I told you that those three things alone weren抰 even the most evil, awful things she抎 ever done??
I stared into his face. He was on the verge of tears. I imagined what it must have been like to be in his shoes, to know that this person who was hurting everyone around her was the only person in the world he had to depend on.
揥hat do you want me to say??I inched closer to him, and honestly, I didn抰 know if I wanted to punch him, or hug him, or cuss him out. 揧ou said you were my friend and I trusted you.?
揑 know.?Tears streaked down his face. 揑 know and I hate myself. I didn抰 know what to do.?
揧ou could have told me what your mom was doing sooner. You could have said something. Were you ever really my friend??Now it was my turn to let the tears fall. 揂ll that time we spent together in the garden, after everything I shared with you 厰 The knot in my throat made me feel like I couldn抰 breathe.
揗o抯 cooking,?Karter said. 揥atching you make those plants grow, being right there with you when we were pulling weeds and talking about school. I was your friend, and I didn抰 know how much I wanted that until I met you. My mom liked for me to be alone. It was better for her that way.?He set his jaw and winced. He angrily wiped his face. 揑 was your friend and I still want to be.?
揑 can抰 just pretend that none of this ever happened.?I looked at my mom. I had her back, but I抎 never forget how it felt to watch her die or the million times I thought I抎 never see her face again. I抎 never be able to get Mo抯 grief-stricken face or the sound of her wailing as she held my mom抯 lifeless body out of my head. It didn抰 matter that he felt bad, that he regretted it. He couldn抰 take it back.