Page 8 of Hades and Persephone: Crown of Souls

“It is, technically.” Hades’ chest expands with a breath. “What you know as the earth—the globe—is a—” He pauses to smirk. “A flat and layered thing. Each realm is a new layer. Although they are entirely separate entities, the laws of nature for each specifically different, there are points of connectionwithin these layers. Some of these layers even bleed into the others, overlapping.”

“Overlapping?”

Hades nods. “Yes.”

“What do you mean?”

His eyes never leave me as he asks, “How do you see Olympus? In your studies, how have you come to understand it?”

He watches as I wet my lips, drawing breath as I assemble my thoughts. “Olympus was thought to exist at the very top of Mount Olympus. It’s where the Gods—Zeus, and the other Olympians lived.”

Hades arches a brow. “You believe that all the Gods lived together at the top of a single mountain?”

“Well…” I shrug. “Technically, the Gods aren’t real so…”

“We’re very real, Persephone.” Hades’ voice is dripping with darkness. “I know you know that. Deep inside, you know this is real. I am real.”

I exhale a shuddering breath, then draw back my shoulders. “What is Olympus, then?”

“Olympus is a realm just like the Underworld. There is a portal into that realm, however, on the top of Mount Olympus. And it is there, through that portal, that many of the Gods reside.” He smirks. “So, in that you are correct.”

I narrow my eyes. “People hike that mountain all the time. You’re telling me there is a portal into another realm and no one has ever discovered it?”

“Humans have a funny way of seeing only that which they want to see.”

I huff. “That’s a cryptic reply.”

“There is nothing cryptic about it. It is true. The portal is there, where it has been for thousands of years, undiscovered.”

“How has no one accidentally fallen into it?”

His lips quirk. “Oh, I’m sure a few have.”

Something cold washes over my skin. Goosebumps rise and I clamp my teeth against a shiver. “So, it’s just sitting there open for anyone to fall into?”

“Not technically.”

“Hades,” I snap.

His smirk pulls into a grin. “The portal on Mount Olympus shifts with the sun in the sky. It must be entered at the right angle for the time of the day in order to access Olympus. All souls are formed in Olympus, divided in the fall to Earth, struck by a bolt delivered by Zeus.”

“Wait, what?” I’ve heard the myth. That all souls are created whole but were divided—torn apart—and forced to search the globe for their other half.

It had always given me pause, the myth that is the splitting of souls. But to be told there is truth to the story—to the horror, I just…

I don’t know what to think.

“Why do you think infants enter this world crying, little goddess? They are grieving the loss of their other half.” Hades sighs. “Zeus is a sadistic God. But he hides his vengeful tendencies well from those who admire him.”

“Why would he do something like that?” I feel horror-struck.

“He is vengeful.”

“But what could have befallen him to make him do something so terrible to all the souls he helps to create? The souls he is supposed to love?”

“Perhaps he bargained away the piece of his soul in which compassion and honor lived.” Hades leans forward in his seat, his eyes sliding from me to the shadows where Maya appears carrying a large, covered tray. He smiles kindly at her, a softness overcoming his expression that I’ve never seen before.It reminds me of the way a father might look at his child. Tender and loving. “Thank you. It smells delicious.”

“I’ll be sure to tell Linus.” I hear Maya’s reply, but I can’t tear my eyes from Hades. I’m struck by the emotions in his face. The tender care.The love.

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