Page 57 of A Touch of Chaos

Persephone wondered how Zeus would know. Was his decree bound with magic?

“We must find another way,” Sybil said.

Perhaps Hades will know.Persephone thought the words but did not say them aloud. She wasn’t sure why, but there was a part of her that feared her hope, because she knew what she would become if Hades was taken from her. It would be like letting the evils of Pandora’s box into the world again, only she would be behind the chaos.

Before long, it was time to leave. Persephone met Hecate in the foyer of the palace. The goddess handed her Galanthis, the black cat she’d instructed her to take into the labyrinth.

“Do not worry about her. She will take care of herselfandyou,” said Hecate. Then she placed her hands on either side of Persephone’s face. They were cold, and she shivered beneath her touch. “Many of us have relied on magic too long to try solving problems without it, butyou—you have had to live most of your life as a mortal. There is no one better suited for the labyrinth than you.”

Persephone took a deep breath, trying to ease the anxiety bubbling in her chest. It didn’t work, but her words were comforting.

“Thank you, Hecate,” she said, her voice quiet.

The Goddess of Witchcraft smiled and dropped her hands. She might have looked like a proud mother if it wasn’t for the hint of fear in her eyes.

“You can do this, Persephone.”

Persephone said nothing, just held the cat tighter as she called on her magic and left the Underworld.

CHAPTER XIII

DIONYSUS

“What do you mean she’s in the hospital?” Dionysus demanded.

Naia and Lilaia, two of his maenads, had just returned with news, and it wasn’t at all what Dionysus had expected. Phaedra had been admitted to Asclepius Community Hospital. Given her shitty husband, he feared Theseus was responsible.

“She’s in labor,” said Naia.

“Labor,” Dionysus repeated.

“She’s having a baby,” said Lilaia. “In case you don’t know what that means.”

“Iknowwhat it means,” Dionysus glared. “But how did this happen?”

“Given how often you eye fuck Ariadne, I am surprised you don’t know where babies come from, Dionysus.”

“I really don’t know why I put up with you,” Dionysus said.

Lilaia grinned.

“Ariadne never said her sister was pregnant,” Dionysus said.

Naia shrugged. “She hasn’t seen Phaedra in months. It is possible she doesn’t know.”

“What am I supposed to do with the fucking baby?”

“What do you mean what are you supposed to do with the fucking baby?” asked Lilaia. “You bring it with you.”

“That’s kidnapping.”

“It’s not kidnapping if there is consent.”

“The baby can’t consent!”

There was a beat of silence, and then Naia said, “I really don’t understand how you lived this long.”

“That makes two of us,” Dionysus snapped.

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