Page 72 of Queen of Shadows and Roses
With a sigh, I shadow-walked back to Persephone’s garden and found her waiting for me. She sat at the edge of the pond, idly running her fingers through the water. She tensed as soon as I appeared, her eyes darting to my face.
‘Hi.’ She smiled coyly, a rosy warmth blooming across her cheeks.
‘You ready?’ My mouth twitched at the eager nod of her head. ‘Let’s practice.’ I extended my hand to her and grasped her tiny fingers.
After an hour, Persephone’s frustration boiled over. ‘I can’t do it!’ she screeched, stamping her feet for what felt like the hundredth time.
I needed a new tactic, something to cut through her panic. I moved in close, pressing my chest to her back. ‘You can. Youwillunlock your power,agapi mou,’ I whispered in her ear, my arms circling her waist.
‘What does agapi mou mean?’
It signified “my love”, but I wasn’t revealing that information just yet… Not until I knew my love was reciprocated. Instead, I ran my hands down her stomach, into the band of her shorts, and then down to her panties. I pushed them aside, and she moaned low in her throat as I massaged her clit with the palm of my hand. ‘Try harder,’ I muttered in her ear as she pushed her ass against my engorged cock.
‘I need you to…’ she whimpered.
I tensed, forcing my eyes closed. ‘Persephone. Show me your shadows.’
‘I—I’ll try,’ she groaned, pushing back into me.
I pulled my hand away and licked her neck as my fangs elongated.
She spun around, glaring. ‘You’re cruel.’ I shrugged and bit back my half-smile, trying not to cringe—my cock was uncomfortably hard, and I groaned silently. She resumed her position. ‘Here goes. But what if I can’t control it?’ She glanced worriedly back at me.
‘Then I’m here to save you.’
Her power was extraordinary. It made my hard-on even harder. Gods, she was amazing. The black tendrils of shadows pulsed from her widespread hands and enveloped the garden, withering everything under their touch, and she screeched. ‘Pull the power back inside you, Persephone.’
‘I can’t. I can’t control it.’ Her voice was panicked, so I took her hands, and the shadows dissipated.
‘My garden!’ she cried.
‘Really?’ I arched a brow. Her grin was wild, defiant. She crouched, slammed her palms into the soil, and released a torrent of flora magic. Life erupted in a riot of colour, her garden returning even more breathtaking than before.
‘Again,’ I instructed. We replayed the scenario over a dozen times, and eventually, she gained some semblance of control.
‘Your shadows are a part of you, Persephone. A part of you to cherish and welcome. Draw them back inside. Surrender to your magic, and don’t panic.’ I turned her to me and gazed into her enchanting, vivid green eyes. ‘Remember, sometimes, to walk in the light, you need to embrace the darkness.’
She nodded and swallowed thickly as she took deep breaths; then she followed my instructions. Gradually, the shadows receded.
‘Gods, I’m exhausted,’ she whined after recreating her garden again.
‘You’re not stopping yet.’
She turned with her hands on her hips, glaring up at me, and I grinned at her until Hecate appeared. My grin withered, like an old memory. Fuck.
‘We need you for judging. Like, yesterday,’ Hecate barked. I groaned; Persephone scowled, and I vanished into the aether.
After judgingtwo particularly nasty humans to an afterlife in Tartarus and one egotistical demigod whom I’d stripped of his memories and left to wander the Meadows of Asphodel, my mood was dark. I shadow-walked back to Poseidon’s realm, to which I had an open entry. I found him brooding in his office.
‘Hades.’ His gaze looked me over. ‘What’s the problem, Brother?’
I dropped into his plush sofa and sighed. ‘Many things,’ I muttered.
‘Then let’s have wine.’ He handed me a large glass of fruity red liquid, and I downed half of it in one gulp.
‘Let me guess. Your undisciplined wife is the biggest problem.’
‘Of sorts.’
