Series: Willow Winters
Total pages in book: 103
Estimated words: 94417 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 472(@200wpm)___ 378(@250wpm)___ 315(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 94417 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 472(@200wpm)___ 378(@250wpm)___ 315(@300wpm)
“Death.” His eyes return to mine. “There is too much death, my Queen. The gods have created an imbalance. Your mother—”
“My mother would do no such thing!” I cannot stop myself from silencing him.
Not my mother. She would never harm. I refuse to believe this is her doing. She would not. My mother has always been dedicated to keeping the realms in balance. She has given so much life to the mortal realm. She has answered their prayers! She gives for the sake of giving.
Screams rise in the distance. The dogs continue to bark. It is all too much.
Sylvie steps closer and takes my hand. “My Queen, mothers would do unfathomable things for their daughters.”
Before I can speak another word, Hades takes my hand from hers and places something in it. It’s cold and I have an instinct to pull back.
“What are you doing?” My voice is less than a whisper. There are seeds in my hand, caught between my touch and his. I would know the shape of seeds anywhere. “What are these?”
“Do not drink the wine your father gives you,” Hades tells me urgently.
“What?”
“Eat them quickly, my love. And do not eat or drink anything from your father.” My head spins and he pushes my hand up. As if to have me eat them now.
It’s all too much but the look in his eyes… I cannot deny him.
Hades releases my hand, and I tip the seeds into my mouth. At least some land on my tongue, and I slip them between my teeth. They are tart and juicy, flavor bursting every time I chew. They are small, but there is much to them, and some fall to the ground with his rushed approach
I lift my hand to my mouth, hardly feeling it, and tip another three seeds onto my tongue.
Hades strokes my cheek.
I look into his eyes, a thousand questions racing through my mind. Why is this happening? Why now? What more would I have to say to him if we only had time?
We do not.
The barking is louder. They are here. I am certain what once was is gone. Today marks a new era. What is to come, I am not sure. But I must continue in uncertainty.
I swallow again. “Hades.” I whisper his name, already feeling as if I’m saying goodbye.
“Do not drink the wine, my love. Promise me,” he orders again. “Tell me you understand.”
“I will not drink the wine,” I repeat, but I cannot tell him I understand. I have always drunk the wine offered at my father’s table. I cannot think of a single reason why I should avoid it. But Hades’s expression is deathly serious. He nods at my promise, then glances up.
The doors to the meeting hall open with a harsh bang, and Cerberus’s barks fill the room. As well as other hounds. Those who accompany Hekate. The mother, the maiden, the crone.
“Hades,” I say, one more time. I cannot face what is to come without telling him something, but no words come. How can I possibly state what he has done for me into words? How can I tell him what our bond has come to mean to me in this short time? The days here were so long when I first arrived in the Underworld, and now it seems they have flown by.
I am not ready to say goodbye and yet, I know that I must. I do not wish to leave, and then there is a part of me already gone. It is a torment I cannot bear. It paralyzes me.
I am not the same woman I was when I came here, and it’s because Hades gave me the freedom to discover myself.
I look down at my wrists, startling at the realization that there are no magical chains flickering there. Nothing binds me to Hades’s bedroom. When was the last time I felt their presence? I cannot remember.
I look back up into his pained expression, speechless.
“My Queen,” he says.
“My King,” I manage.
Then magic thunders in the room. A black cloud whirls tightly through the space, stopping only a few feet away from me.
Hekate steps out of the dark, her hand held out to me. She is majestic. Her dark hair flowing and her eyes nearly pitch black. They mirror all that is around her. Magic flows from the powerful Titan. The mother of witchcraft and the keeper of keys.
My head bows in her presence but more so, my body wishes to be held by her. To release the pain. She takes it so willingly. Please, Hekate. I pray in silence.
I take her hand without thinking, only realizing what I have done when our hands touch.
“Come, Persephone. Now.”
Hekate starts to lead me away. All those times I dreamed of rescue, and now that it is here, I do not want it. Not like this. It’s like being kidnapped a second time.