Page 70 of His in the Dark

Zeus nods, seeming to forget himself for a moment. It is not like him to accept responsibility for agreements he has made. Why would he when it is so much more convenient to toss the blame on others? It is probably Zeus’s habit on Olympus, where those around him have no choice but to shoulder whatever he throws at them.

“You do not want me to finish this, Hades,” he warns.

I lift my chin. It is impossible to straighten my back any further. “I recommend that you do confide in Demeter swiftly then. Persephone flourishes here.”

His tone echoes disbelief, “In a realm with no new life! She cannot be herself in the Underworld. Not as the Goddess she was.”

“She can as the Goddess she is now!” I bite back.

“With what power?” he questions and my words leave me. For I know what I have taken from her but I wish to give her so much more.

He huffs, “If you truly loved her, you would feel the pain she has from the loss of the gift of Gods and the loss of her mother and life as she knew it.”

Silences stretches between us as I attempt to deny the truth he speaks. “I have never claimed to be a selfless God.”

Zeus glances at the windows, as if he might reach out through one of them and bend the mists of time to his will. That is surelybeyond him, and if this problem could be fixed by doing so, there is no need to discuss it with me first.

Perhaps he is only thinking of a way without war.

Is there some path he could take that I have not considered? Thoughts riddle in my mind. Perhaps I offer a gift. Persephone accepts the seeds, and I will grant something for her mother. A letter, a vision, a way for her worries and loss to be soothed. Before I can speak, he interrupts the silence.

“I need her returned,” he murmurs, his gaze piercing my own.

I cannot accept her loss. I do not reinforce this by repeating myself. I have been perfectly clear.

Zeus meets my eyes once more, a glint there that speaks of determination. “Let me see her.”

“No.” My refusal is echoed in my mind with a chorus of agreement.No, the voices in my head say.

Zeus will not have my invitation. No matter what excuse he fumbles for to get it, I will not give it.

The urge to be with Persephone grows stronger. I need her where I can see her. Where IknowZeus has not gotten to her through some other method.

“I can only confide in Demeter with truthfulness if I can see Persephone myself.”

This is laughable, but I do not offer him humor. Bring her here within his grasp? Let him talk to her? Let him try to convince her thathisway is the only one?

There is not a chance in any realm of that.

“Since when has truth been a requirement for your persuasion?” I ask him.

Zeus's mouth thins into a grimace, and then his expression breaks into the anger he has been attempting to subdue all this time. Outside the windows, a bolt of lightning cracks through the mists.

“Let me see my daughter,” he demands.

“Not at this moment, perhaps shortly.” I lift my eyes to his, “There is another way. I know it.”

“Time is not on our side,” Zeus warns.

“I require it.” Abruptly I stand, “Tell Demeter what you must. I will speak to Persephone.” With that, I leave him. Ignoring his screams of profanity and the thunderous bolt at my back that the light prevents from harming me.

PERSEPHONE

Hades is not in the bed when I wake, although I can feel that he was here last night. He left me to my own devices yesterday. I fell asleep waiting for him. Loneliness is all I have for my company this morning.

I wonder why he avoids me. Have I done something? Is there something that plagues him? Has he realized I’ve taken from him as easily as he took me from my own home?

It is completely different to be in bed with him when we are not at war.

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