Page 80 of Queen of Shadows and Roses
‘I sorted it with your high priestess when you first arrived here. Hades has been sending his men to manage your schedule. Charon and Erebus have returned plenty of the little ass-wipes to Tartarus. Your high priestess is delighted.’
‘Oh,’ I muttered, confusion clouding my mind. ‘Please thank him.’
‘Now, Sephy. Use the tiniest burst of darkness this time, then draw it straight back.’ I did as she asked and let out a whoop. Tee grinned at me. ‘Let’s go and have lunch.’
‘Thank the gods,’ I groaned. ‘I think I’ll take a nap as well. I’ve not been sleeping well.’
‘Absence makes the heart grow fonder, babe.’
‘Well, people who think that should be hogtied and drowned,’ I shot back. Tee gave me a curious glance but didn’t answer.
After lunch, I wandered back to my room, angsty but tired. I quietly opened the door to Hades’ suite, only to find it deserted, and sighed. I was acting like a lovesick teenager, and needed to get control of myself. Pretending I wasn’t missing him was draining; pretending I didn’t perhaps love him was worse.
I walked to the beautiful rose tree and gently touched the petals, inhaling the magical, restorative fragrance of the blooms.
My eyelids drooped... The tiredness was bone-deep.
I curled up on his bed, clutching the pillow to my face. It still smelled of him—earthy, like the night air mixed with that fresh, woody, spicy fragrance. I inhaled deeply and closed my eyes, wondering if I truly loved him, and, if so, how love could cause such pain—such aching discomfort in one's chest.
‘Sephy!’Tee’s frantic voice roused me from my slumber.
‘Wh—what?’ I grunted as I sat up. I was still in Hades’ bed, but the doors between our rooms were open.
‘You need to heal someone.’
‘Heal? W—what?’
‘You're able to heal, or you could, but we’re running out of time. Hurry. Come on.’
I scrambled from the bed, my brain still sleepy and fuzzy, as Tee flashed me to what seemed to be a vast throne room. Two black thrones, one huge and one considerably smaller, stood on a large dais. Black marble, infused with sparkles adorned the room, and Grecian pillars, topped with massive golden flames punctuated the walls.
Erebus and Thanatos were in the centre of the room, kneeling over a man I didn’t recognise who was prone on the ground. As I walked closer, I halted. The man had a blade in his chest, seemingly near his heart, and the amount of blood staining his shirt triggered my gag reflex.
‘Sephy. You were able to heal… before. Can you at least try?’ Tee soothed, gripping my hand tightly.
‘Heal?’ I croaked, my gaze fixed on the man’s pallid face. He was struggling to breathe.
‘Just try, Sephy. This is Orpheus. He oversees Hades’ Underworld clubs. He was attacked in New York; we think Ixion is responsible. It’s a blade of Olympus. If they puncture major organs, they are deadly to demigods. It's a bit like a divine blade, but more dangerous. Luckily, another demigod found him, and Thanatos was in the area.’
‘Does Hades know?’ Tee shook her head in answer. ‘I’m not sure I can. What if I unleash my shadows?’
‘He’s dead anyway if you don’t try,’ she said matter-of-factly. ‘Just try, please.’
‘How do I do it?’ I was frozen in place, paralysed by fear. Tee shrugged. Great. ‘Do I n—need to touch him?’
‘No,’ Thanny replied. ‘You used to, like, shoot out golden vines.’
‘What?’ My eyes darted to his. ‘How do I do that?’ He, too, shrugged. ‘I think I’m going to be sick,’ I groaned as I covered my mouth.
‘Persephone.’ Erebus’s soothing voice drew my attention, and I shifted my gaze to his eyes—those dark pools twinkling with moondust. ‘Just try. No matter what happens, if you don't try, he will die.'
‘Release it, or try to, when I pull out the dagger,’ Thanatos said.
I nodded meekly and closed my eyes. Taking deep breaths, I thought about creating life and healing life and called upon my flora magic. I instinctively knew what to do. I didn’t blink or question it. My heart rate slowed as I felt my magic responding—its swamping heat enveloping me, its warmth flowing into sinew and bone.
I opened my eyes and extended my hands towards Orpheus. Thanny nodded once and pulled the dagger from Orpheus’s chest, causing him to convulse. My eyes rounded, but I clung to the magic, instructing it to heal Orpheus. I gave a little yelp as golden-amber light illuminated the space; the warmth of the energy felt like the heat of the sun’s rays, and golden vines shot from my hands, entwining around Orpheus, but I sensed that the energy was draining my lifeforce. Orpheus coughed and groaned.
‘Enough, Sephy.’ Tee placed a hand on my arm,and I recalled it to me as I did with my shadow magic.Thanatos let out a whoop of delight.
