Series: Willow Winters
Total pages in book: 81
Estimated words: 74198 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 371(@200wpm)___ 297(@250wpm)___ 247(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 74198 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 371(@200wpm)___ 297(@250wpm)___ 247(@300wpm)
The touch itself is reassuring. Persephone has seen my resistance to Hecate’s message.
“We will begin,” Persephone states, and the souls get to their feet. The very next moment, the doors open, and a single new soul enters, the same guards on either side. There is no hesitation now.
The crowd feels free to whisper and they do.
“I am your queen wherever I go,” Persephone says as the guards lead the soul to the dais. “And you are my king.”
“Wherever you go,” I agree as I repeat her words, although I can’t stop looking at her. What deal has she made with Hecate?
“And your love is stronger than any other emotion, even anger,” she says, a little faster. The soul will arrive at the dais in a matter of moments. She is an older woman with light and thinning, shoulder-length hair. She appears dazed and unsure of where she is. I know that Persephone will be kind to her. “Is that still true?”
“Of course it is, my queen.”
Persephone leans over and kisses my cheek. A quiet gasp whispers through the crowd and is quickly stifled. “The Underworld is healing. You are healing, too. All is as it should be.”
I place my other hand over hers and look into her eyes. I do not have time to say all I wish to say and explain the anger and fear twisting inside me, held at bay by her hands on mine. I do not have time to tell her what it means that her touch is comforting in this way, and how I cannot be expected to live without it again. I do not have time to tell her that I know, I know, that the realms must be in balance or they must be destroyed.
“All will be balanced in time,” I say instead.
Persephone nods, a private smile curving her lips. She squeezes my hand between both of hers.
Then, without letting go of my hand, as if it is natural to hold her king’s hand while she pronounces judgment upon a soul, Persephone faces the woman who has arrived at the dais.
The guard announces the reason for the soul’s unrest. The brutal manner in which it was ended brings tears to many. The fact that she ended it herself but was not in her right mind, too concerned with her children having enough food to eat and not wanting to eat herself. She sacrificed her soul, although the penalty for suicide is well known. She could not easily be placed, as she thought if she only ate a morsel, she could be with her family, and no one would perish. This is the consequence of Demeter's pain and withering of the crops. Mothers died to save their children. But for how long?
“Do not be worried,” my queen says, her voice soft, as comforting and welcoming as a thick blanket after coming in from the cold. “You are meant to be here. You have found your way, and now there is only a short journey ahead of you.”
“And…then what will I do?” the woman asks, staring up at Persephone with wide, agonized eyes.
“Rest,” Persephone says, smiling. The warmth in her voice is not a performance. It’s as real as the warmth in her hands. “You are able to rest now and with that rest, you will have abundance.” She turns her attention to the guards. “She is noble, although she misjudged her actions. Please take her to the Elysium.” Her verdict brings a murmur over the crowds. “Do you agree my king,” she asks me and I do. With a nod, the woman is taken away and the courts continue.
Persephone
Hades remains silent for several judgments. He doesn’t pull his hand away from mine or give any sign that he wants me to let go, so I do not. The nervousness that runs through me feels misplaced. This is where I belong. I’m meant to be by his side. I pause for him to take the floor each time, but he simply nods to me.
I keep thinking he will signal to me that he wants to take over in passing the judgments, but he does not. Four of them go by. Five. Ten. My heart beats faster for a while, but I keep my hands around his and steady myself with his presence next to me.
The questions still come to my mind: am I ready for this? Am I prepared to judge souls after my absence? How will I know what to say, and where to send them?
But as every new soul answers, I find that I do know. It’s achingly obvious to me. I find that I only need to observe them, and then look inside myself for the answer.
And it is there, just as my powers are in the Underworld, and just as they are on Olympus.