Page 65 of The Queen & the King

“I miss you.”His voice echoes in my mind, and I smile.

“I miss you too.”

I shift in bed, laying my head on the pillow he was using, his scent still so potent. I quickly fall asleep, but I don’t go back to our meadow.

Tonight, there is only darkness.

Forty

Persephone

ISTRETCH IN BED, HIS SANDALWOOD AND CITRUS SCENT SURROUNDING ME.I reach for him, my hand only meets cool, untouched sheets. I frown,patting at the mattress, notreadyto open my eyes quite yet.

“Hades?” My voice sounds groggy and sleep-filled.

Could he have gone to work already? Surely not. Itis too early. Ihughis pillowcloseand quickly fall back to sleep.

I nuzzle into my pillow,inhaling deeply of Hades’ scent, the scent of dreams. Last night was the first night I hadn’t dreamed of our meadow for a long time, and I missed it. No matter how much I searched for it, all I could see was darkness. I wasn’t lonely or scared. It wasn’t isolating or eerie. It was just black, and there was something comforting about it.

I stretch in my bed, the cotton brushing against my naked body, and slowly blink my eyes open. While meeting Hades inthe meadow every night is everything to me, it doesn’t make for a very restful sleep.

I start to truly wake, peeking through my lashes. My eyes snap open, and I lurch up in bed, looking around. Black vines with gold leaves and thorns cover my entire bedroom. They line the walls and obscure every piece of furniture except for the bed.

My mother knocks on the bedroom door, and my eyes snap to it. “Persephone?”

Fuck. Shit. Fuck. Fuck.

I look around the room, my heart racing in my chest, thinking of what she’ll do if she sees this. And even if she’s somehow okay with the fucking jungle of vines, will she be able to scent Hades?

Reckless, Persephone.

“I’ll be right down!” I call, trying to make my voice sound as even as possible. Somehow, I need to keep her out of my room until I can work out how to reverse whatever I did in my sleep.

“Hmm,” my mother replies, but thankfully, I hear her footsteps retreat down the corridor after a moment.

I climb out of bed and grab my robe. I look around the room as I pull it on. The vines appear to be throbbing as if matching my heartbeat. I close my eyes and try to will them back, but when I open them again, there has been absolutely no movement.

Fuck.

A moment later, the door rattles as someone tries to open it, probably my mother. She often used this tactic, trying to catch me doing something I shouldn’t be, like reading books about other gods.

The vines tense over the door, preventing anyone from entering, and I blink in fear. It will be horrible if my mother manages to get in. What if I have completely lost control over these powers I didn’t know I had? My vines have just recentlybecome black, and they have never been this strong or powerful before.

“I will be right down, Mother.” I try to hold back my growl, but I’m not sure I’m successful.

Finally, I hear my mother go downstairs, truly leaving this time. No doubt I’ll pay for that later.

I close my eyes again, trying to pull the vines back, needing to force them to do… something, but they continue to defy me. I sigh heavily and make my way through the bathroom to wash. The vines only move enough to let me enter and exit.

I dress in a simple sundress and leave my hair down. I don’t care about my mother’s rules anymore. She went too far yesterday.

My mother looks up when I enter, and her eyes trail over me. I can feel her distaste, but I don’t even look at her. I can’t. Even the thought of her face makes me want to destroy her house.

Her copy ofOlympus Todayrustles as she lifts it again, and the servants sporadically filter in and out, placing plates of vegetables down and filling our cups with water and tea. I keep my eyes on my plate, picking at my breakfast. I can’t even face eating at the moment, especially when it continues to be the homegrown vegetables from my mother’s garden. It wouldn’t surprise me if she tried to poison me.

My mother clears her throat. “No contact from Adonis. You must have burned that bridge good.”

“Oh, don’t worry about that, Mother.” I glance at her, finally meeting her gaze. “He got exactly the night he deserved.”

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