Page 89 of The Queen & the King

My mother’s eyes widen when she realizes this isn’t just an act of rebellion but that I have recovered what she took from me. But I don’t stop. I can’t.

“Well, Iamperfect. Just as I am, and while you may have birthed me, you didnothingto shape me into the woman I have become. A woman I am proud of, my husband is proud of, my friends are proud of.”

Mother’s eyes glow a little, making her look possessed. She grabs my arm, digging her nails into me. “Mnemosyne will wipe that memory clean again and again and again. You will learn your place.”

I shake my head, trying to pull my arm free, but my mother must be tapping into some of her overwhelming power to hold me there. Gold ichor spills from small crescent -shaped cuts where her nails dig into me.

“It won’t matter,” I snarl. “I will remember again and again. Because my love for Hades and my realm is bigger than everything.”

My mother tugs my arm again, but suddenly, my shoulders are wrapped in the arms of another. “I’d love to test that little theory, daughter-in-law,” Kronos’s deep voice growls in my ear.

My mother’s eyes go wide, and she lurches forward. Between one breath and the next, she is gone, and Kronos and I are surrounded by dark brick and the overwhelming smell of musty, damp sand and earth.

Fifty-One

Hades

IINHALE DEEPLY, FILLING MY LUNGS WITH THE CRISP SEA AIR.I close my eyes, absorbing the peace of being so far from responsibility.

The Isle of the Blessed, the Home of Heroes, is one of my favorite places in the Underworld. One part of the island is filled with perfect white sand, and those who call it home linger around the various domains they’ve created here. But the other half has been abandoned, the cliffs dropping off into the river below.

I smile and draw on my tie to the Underworld, creating a small stone cottage on the cliff. Each stone falls into place, and the windows form, looking out over the cliff. Inside, it is tiny compared to the palace, but it contains everything we might need, most especially the massive bed. There is even a dog bed big enough for Cerberus. This is a retreat for us when this is all over. We can have the honeymoon we never got to have.

I open my eyes and stare at the cottage, smiling as I think of Persephone seeing it for the first time.

“It’s beautiful,” a deep voice murmurs. I look up and see Odysseus lingering at the lower path.

“Thank you.” My eyes narrow. “Illusions won’t work on me here, Niece.”

Odysseus smirks, his form rippling and changing, replaced by a goddess with grey eyes. Athena.

“I didn’t think I was welcome,” Athena says, striding up the path toward me.

You’re not.

“Yet you came anyway,” I say drolly, looking out at the rivers that flow toward the cliff. Zeus must have brought her here. She doesnothave an invitation. Zeus enjoys dropping his children off here or in Atlantis to harass Poseidon and me, using his standing invitation to slip them past the wards.

“You called my office,” she says, stopping at my side and looking out at the view.

I wince. “A misdial.”

Athena laughs, her all-knowing eyes pinning me. I force myself not to shift under her scrutiny. Fucking Goddess of Wisdom.

“Persephone trapped on Olympus can’t be good for your mental health,” Athena says, studying my reactions.

My eyes narrow on her, and my voice lowers to a dangerous softness. “It would be unwise to provoke me.”

Those clear grey eyes flicker with uncertainty for a second before a flash of stubbornness chases it away. Fuck, she looks so much like her father with that light in her eyes. She’s not going anywhere until she gets what she wants. I spin away from the cliff, going to inspect the cabin, my shoulders bunching as she follows after me.

“It would be understandable if you were feeling the strain with all the changes in your life recently,” she continues.

“Changes?” I ask, grinding my teeth.

Fuck, why did I ask? I know it just enables her to pry even deeper.

“Yes.” She steps inside the cabin, and I bite back a growl as she settles into an armchair in the corner.My armchair,the one with a wider seat where I imagined Persephone curled in my lap with her head resting on my shoulder, her eyes closed as I read to her, lost in my voice. It was not for a nosey, unwelcome Goddess of Wisdom with a questionable degree in therapy. “Not only in your personal life but in your abilities as well.”

I sit down on the couch, crossing my arms over my chest. “That has cleared, and your father should learn not to gossip.”

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