Page 25 of Hades and Persephone: Crown of Souls

I see a woman—familiar and…

Fear slams hard inside me, like a fist to my belly. Air leaves my lungs in a rush, and I tear my finger from the ribbon of my hair to slam my hands into the surface of the table. I suck in air that whirls inside my chest like a cool arctic breeze around my shook heart. It takes me a moment to steady myself. To banish the vision—the memory—the image of the woman I’m beginningto truly believe might have been my mother in another life. A Goddess.A cruel and hateful being.

Lifting my head once again to meet the eyes of the new vision of me in the mirror, I feel the very first knots of acceptance stitch into place.

Maybe, just maybe this is real after all.

Chapter

Twelve

Persephone

Instead of findingHades in the bedroom waiting, I’m startled to find Maya. She looks giddy with excitement, but like she’s doing her very best to contain it. Even still, she fails. More, her excitement feels infectious.

I smile back at her, and she lets a little gasp of what can only be described as glee free.

“Persephone.” She flutters closer. “You look—” Her eyes move over every inch of me, and I don’t miss the way they glisten as they once again land on mine. “You look home.”

It’s not what I expected. Not at all. But at the words, something warm builds in my chest.

Unable to help myself, a little laugh precedes my honest, “I feel home.”

Her hands clasp together, and she gives a delighted little bounce on the balls of her feet. “Come, come. Hades is waiting.”

“Waiting where?”

“With Alastor, I presume.” She grabs my hand, tugging me along like I’ve seen the best of friends in high school tug eachother along. I’ve never experienced this for myself, being the outsider I was.

It feelsnice.

“Who is Alastor?”

“His horse,” Maya tells me. “He has four of them. All black and beautiful, but Alastor is his—” She frowns, like she doesn’t want to call the horse Hades’ favorite. “Well, his number one.”

“I’ve never ridden a horse.”

Her brows rise as her eyes grow wide. “Really?”

“Really.”

“But—” A frown puckers her brow. “Don’t your parents have a farm?”

“They do. Dad’s a wheat farmer, but he’s got tractors for all the hard work. He calls horses expensive crow bait.” I shrug. “So, we never had any.”

Maya’s expression pinches. I almost laugh. She’s very expressive.

“Horses aren’t crow bait.”

Sensing that I’ve offended her, I give another shrug. This one is helpless. “I really wouldn’t know.”

“Well, you’re about to find out. They’re very purposeful. But more, they are loyal and majestic beasts.”

I can’t hide my smile. Her passion is catching. “I’m excited to meet Alastor.”

She peers at me. The lines in her face smooth to offer a gentle kind of affection. It stirs the storm of feeling once again inside my heart. That storm only grows when she says quietly, “Aethon was your favorite—before.”

“Aethon?”

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