Page 94 of The Queen & the King

Fifty-Four

Persephone

HE’S RIGHT. AS USEFUL AS THIS POWER WOULD BE TO DESTROYKronos, to obliterate him, I can feel Gaia’s power writhing against my control. It surges through me like a stormy sea. The power is immense, terrifying, overwhelming, and eclipsing, yet no part of me wants to explore it. I relax into my own power, feeling it wind around me comfortingly. It’s missed me as I have missed it.

Hades watches me, fear in his eyes. Doesn’t he see that I have no interest in this power? All I have ever wanted is to return to him, to come home.

I cup his cheek and nod before stepping back from him. Removing my hands from him is almost painful. I don’t ever want to stop touching him. Cerberus watches, all of his heads tilted. I know he can feel the other power within me, but he’s too excited that I’m back to care.

I close my eyes, and I can see the power within me. No longer is there just darkness but angry wells of red and orange. My fingers tingle at the feeling of it coursing through me, the foreign power conflicting with my own. It’s draining me. I’m not sure how my mother lasted as long as she did with it inside her.Though, I believe the more powerful you are, the more difficult it is not to succumb.

“How do I begin to restore the balance?”

“Just breathe and allow my power to move through you. Think only of love and joy.”Gaia’s voice echoes in my mind, reverberating in my skull.

I take a breath and think about all the love in my life. My reunion with Hades and how my heart leaped when I first collided with him. The way his scent surrounded me like the coziest of blankets. I think of Cerberus and how his tail wagged so fast when he first saw me that I thought he might take off.

The roiling colors begin to calm. They are still swelling angrily but a little more muted, no longer jagged and hard, now with a gentler curve. The crimson red deepens to a maroon.

“Keep going, Persephone,”Gaia gently commands, her voice softer.

I think about Mellie and Helios and how I long to see them, catch up with my friends, and hug them. I remember the dream Mellie took me to before I was taken and how much peace it brought her. The only place of comfort to the Goddess of Nightmares. Until Helios.

It’s not long before my mind goes to my mother, and I’m surprised to find pain there. How could I possibly be upset that she is dead after all she has done?

“Concentrate, Persephone,”Gaia growls. Clearly, thoughts of my mother are doing nothing to fix what she broke. I feel my energy waning, putting everything into trying to correct the balance. My power surges within me, attempting to expel the foreign one trying to destroy me from the inside out.

I cling to thoughts of Hades. He is the key here. Hades is my joy and happiness. I remember the first time we flew together. I hold tight to the memory of the first time I showed him my true self and how he reacted to seeing me with wings and horns.The power calms more, morphing into a deep purple, placidly waving in front of me.

“You are almost there. Keep going.”

I groan, feeling so weak, and I have no idea why. I’m barely doing anything, and yet things feel calmer. Her power isn’t pushing against mine. It’s gently weaving through me.

I need more memories.

Watching Pride and Prejudice on his couch, trying to resist him. Showing him the dress I had designed for my coronation. Seeing the look of pride on his face when I looked up at him while he crowned me.

Hades. Hades. Hades.

Something snaps gently within me, and along with it, complete understanding.

“It is done.”

I open my eyes to find I am wrapped in a cocoon of light. A figure appears in front of me, and I have to squint to make out the features. It dims ever so slightly, and I can see her clearly. Her long red hair billows in an invisible wind, and her vibrant green eyes are shining. She hovers in front of me, wearing a loose white chiton cinched at the waist.

“Gaia,”I whisper, my eyes wide.

She floats toward me and cups my cheek with a kind smile on her face.“You weren’t even tempted, were you?”

“Well… I considered using your power to kill Kronos,”I reply honestly.

Gaia laughs, the sound like wind chimes in a soft breeze. “But you knew the cost, and you understood that you had to choose between one or the other. You were never tempted to keep the power, to try to harness it for your own gain. Even if you had used it to kill Kronos, the intention was to protect the greater good.”

I nod. “I just wanted to be home.”A tear tracks its way down my cheek at my truth and how much I am still yearning for it, even though Iamhome.

Gaia gives me a soft smile, and I feel the power shift slightly, my mother appearing beside Gaia. Demeter no longer looks angry or weak. She looks stronger than she has in a long time. She looks at peace.

“Is there anything you wish to say before I release her spirit?”Gaia asks.

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