Page 70 of The Queen & the King

I keep brushing my fingers over her face, hair, and shoulders, tracing her curves down to her hips. I need to make sure this dream is not… well, a dream.

“I love you.” She kisses me again, sobbing. “I love you. I’m so sorry.”

I shake my head, the small movement feeling arduous. “Berry misses you so much.”

I try to wipe away her tears. “I miss him too.”

“I have been so lost,” I whisper, my voice hitching. Persephone kisses me again, closing her eyes, and the questions that burn inside me need answers. “How… How did you… What happened?”

My brain isn’t working.She remembers.

“I think my powers were slowly trying to pry them back. I was having these strange dreams and waking up with my room covered in vines. But I would only get glimpses of memories before they vanished. Then Kronos slammed me into a wall, and they… clicked into place.”

“Hewhat?” I snarl.

“Hades.” She shakes her head. “Later.”

I ignore her, inspecting the back of her head for a bump or a bruise. “Did he take anything? Time?”

Did he steal days from her? The one thing I can’t ever replace?

She shakes her head, and I exhale in relief.

“Mellie? Helios?” she asks. “What’s happening with the war?”

She would be so disappointed in you.

I clear my throat before saying, “Mellie’s been helping me dreamwalk. We’ve captured some Titans, but not all, and my father remains elusive.”

Persephone steps back and paces. The action is so familiar that my chest aches. But she isn’t just the Persephone I lost. She is also the Persephone I found. There are traces in her face of the young girl who was controlled by her mother, who thought she was unworthy of love and affection. The girl who thoughther horns would repulse me. If possible, I love her even more now than I did before. I love her past as well as her present and future.

I look down at my hands, inhaling sharply. “There’s more.”

She stops and glances at me.

I brace myself and close my eyes, letting reality seep into the dream, showing her how the darkness now covers my body in black swirling tattoos. “I can’t stop it.”

I listen to her footsteps as she moves closer. “Oh, baby.”

Persephone cups my jaw, gliding her thumb over my cheek. I slowly open my eyes, letting her see the way the darkness has intruded upon them. She traces her fingers along my cheeks and neck, following the lines of the swirling tattoos.

“This is a manifestation of your anger and grief. Only you can make this better,” Persephone says.

Shame burns me. “I can’t do that without you. I need you home with me. Safe.”

She grabs my face roughly, forcing me to look at her. “You are not without me. I need you to be strong. I need you to keepyousafe. I can take care of me.”

She’ll take care of herself?

“You’re coming home now,” I hiss. “You can’t think to stay.”

“Being in Olympus gives us an advantage,” she insists. “My mother can’t handle Gaia’s power.”

No. No. No.

“You want to spy on her? Are you insane?”

She crosses her arms, her expression stubborn. “No. I’m not.”

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