Page 2 of The Dread Queen's Bargain

Persephone sighed, waiting under her pulse, relaxed again, and the rushing, strange magic in her veins calmed down.

It’s something I’ll have to figure out for myself, Persephone decided. If I do, maybe my mother will finally see some sense and realize I’m not a child or a teenager.

Persephone wiggled her fingers, and a strawberry bush materialized beside her. She smiled in relief, happy that sometimes her powers still did what they were supposed to. Persephone popped some sweet berries in her mouth, letting the juice stain her lips and run down her chin.

“Kore!” Demeter’s sharp voice cut through the clearing.

Persephone paled and jumped to her feet, desperately trying to smooth out the wrinkles in her peplos.

That was fun while it lasted.

Demeter appeared out of nowhere, materializing in front of Persephone in a cloud of green smoke. Persephone wrinkled her nose in distaste—Demeter’s magic always smelled like rotting crops and mildew.

“Mother,” Persephone groaned, “I told you to stop calling me by that name.” Her voice dropped so Demeter couldn’t hear her. “It’s hardly appropriate to call me ‘maiden’ anyway.”

“That’s your name, and I will call you by it.” Demeter snapped. She pointed a finger in Persephone’s face. “Kalligeneia was worried sick about you. I cannot believe you keep pulling ridiculous stunts like this, yet you want me to take you seriously.”

“Ridiculous stunts?” Persephone scoffed. “Demeter, be serious for a moment. I don’t understand how you think at nearly one thousand years old I need a goddamn nanny.”

Demeter sucked in a sharp breath. “I’m your mother! Do not use my first name like that.”

“What? It’s your name, so I will call you by it.” Persephone feigned innocence and parroted the words back to Demeter.

Demeter’s brow furrowed as her cheeks reddened in frustration.

“What was the point of running away from Kalligeneia?” Demeter looked around the glen where Persephone had been hiding. “So you could sit here by yourself and do what?”

Her eyes landed on the strawberry bush Persephone had been snacking from. She sneered as she looked disdainfully between the fruit and Persephone.

“Really?” Demeter put her hand on her hip, looking her daughter up and down. “You don’t think that you ate enough at lunch? My god, Persephone, you eat as much as a soldier.”

“You mean an adult?” Persephone barked back, crossing her arms over her chest. “I eat the same amount as a grown person? I hate to be the one to break this to you, but I’m not fourteen. It’s fruit, for the sake of the gods.”

“You don’t need any more.” Demeter scrutinized her daughter’s body. “You already look obscene every time you appear at the temple to accept gifts from the mortals.”

“I’m sure I do!” Persephone screamed, her anger getting the best of her. Persephone pinched her thighs and ran a hand up her curves. “It looks fucking stupid for an adult woman to wear a child’s chiton and a flower crown to accept gifts for ‘Kore.’” Persephone made air quotes around the name.

“It is your role—”

“Leto, give me strength.” Persephone rolled her eyes. “I’ve had tits for five hundred years, Demeter. The only person who looks obscene is you, continuing to insist I play the same role for you for generations.”

“Kore!” Demeter gasped, looking mortified. “I don’t even know where you picked up on language like that, but when I get you home, you’ll be sorry.”

Persephone’s frustrations quickly turned to anger. A deep, unforgiving rage had been building up in her for the better part of a century, and suddenly, on a sunny afternoon, she realized she could no longer hold it in. Her mother watched and critiqued Persephone, especially over things she could no longer control.

“Language?” Persephone laughed mockingly. “The way you can live in a reality completely of your own making is incredible. Genuinely, your denial is impressive.”

“I don’t know who you are and what you’ve done with my daughter, but this is abhorrent behavior.” Demeter continued with her tirade. “You need to understand the responsibility you have in this world. For me and for the mortals who depend on you.”

Persephone’s anger boiled in her blood. It was like a living thing, becoming more a part of her than any of the attributes her mother attempted to thrust upon her. Persephone was a fertility goddess and encompassed all that it entailed. She spent only a few decades starving herself to remain waifish and prepubescent for her mother’s approval until she’d had enough. Persephone dressed as she wanted to, ate when hungry, and admired each curve and soft roll of her body.

“How dare you make me try and question my place in this world over and over again.” Persephone’s voice dropped an octave, and Demeter’s face blanched. It was a tone neither Persephone nor Demeter had ever heard come out of her mouth, but Persephone was too angry to stop.

“You insist that I play a perfect part for you while denying the other parts of who I am. You don’t have to fucking like it, but you do have to accept it!” Persephone hissed.

As she spoke, dark clouds began to accumulate around Demeter’s ankles. They were subtle at first, only tiny wisps of clouds. The angrier Persephone got, the stronger they grew. It looked like black oil floating in the air, tightening slowly around Demeter. She didn’t notice it until they were nearly up to her waist.

“Oh… Oh, no.” Demeter started to panic. She wiped at her arms and legs as if she could scatter the dark clouds. “Persephone, stop it!” Demeter shrieked. “Stop it, now!”

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