Persephone

  “Let’s get some air.” Hades led me out of the ballroom. The party was scattered all across the Underworld, but we found privacy in the grove of trees. The trees stretched into the sky, their branches arching and spilling over, sheltering us from view of any of the other souls wandering the Underworld.

  “You’re trying to stop me from making a scene.” I stepped away from him into the center of the clearing. I spun around, holding my arms out. “Whoa.” I stopped mid-spin, waiting for the clearing to do the same.

  “You should probably eat something.” Hades caught my hand. “Think of something, anything at all.”

  I imagined pomegranate seeds and a plastic baggy full of them appeared in my free hand. I put six seeds in my mouth. An owl hooted in the distance.

  Hades laughed. “You’re going to need more than that. What’s your favorite type of bread?”

  “I’m a goddess. Do I have to worry about hangovers?”

  “Your metabolism will change when you come into your powers. As far as alcohol is concerned, right now you’re a human.” He suppressed a grin. “Ambrosia gets even gods drunk, so you’re in trouble.”

  I sat down on the cool grass. “Have you ever eaten one of these? They’re delicious.” I offered him a seed, and he took it, sitting down beside me.

  “I’ve tried everything. I was there when your mom came up with this one.” He leaned back, studying the sky.

  I followed his gaze. The sky was empty, faintly glowing with the same soft light that filled the Underworld. It was never quite dark here, but never bright enough for my tastes. “You guys really need to get a moon.” I tilted my head back further. “Where are the stars?”

  “This is the Underworld. The sky is just a decoration.”

  “Stars are pretty.”

  “Stars are tragic.” Hades turned to face me. “Most of the stars are nothing but reminders of love gone horribly wrong, or men challenging the gods.”

  “I thought they were gas giants.”

  Hades waved his hand. “Semantics. The constellations they form are nothing but sad stories. Why would anyone want to have a constant reminder of tragedy hanging above their head?”

  I thought about that for a minute, studying the blank sky. “Did you play a part in any of those tragedies?”

  He met my eyes and something in them set my heart beating uncomfortably hard. “No.”

  I smiled. “You’re nothing like I pictured you.”

  “Yeah, let’s not go down this road again. If you start talking about how my hair should be on fire, or how evil I should be, I might take Thanatos’ advice.”

  “You’re not evil.”

  “You don’t think so?” Hades asked, studying my face. “After what I did to you?”

  “You saved me.”

  “I could have handled it better. I could have taken a second to think, found some way that wouldn’t tie you to me.” He hesitated. “But when I saw you, there was just something about you…” He trailed off and looked at the sky. “Maybe I didn’t want to find another way. What if I wasn’t just impulsive, what if I was selfish? What kind of a person does that make me?”

  I burst out laughing. “Do you always over-think things so much? You saved my life. That’s about as selfless as it gets. Being down here isn’t convenient, and being married is a little weird, but it’s just a few months. It’s not like you get anything out of this, and I’ve been such a brat about it.” I shook my head, enjoying the wave of dizziness that accompanied the motion. “Thank you, Hades. For everything. Really.” I leaned over and kissed his cheek, giggling at the surprised look on his face. “I owe you, big time.”

  “I don’t think you understand.” He reached toward me. I blinked when he brushed a strand of my hair behind my ear. “It’s not just a few—”

  “Hey, Hades! Persephone!” Cassandra called. She laughed when she found the grove. “Oops, hope I’m not interrupting anything.”

  “Of course not.” Hades stood, brushed himself off, and extended his hand. I lay frozen, hand touching my face where the ghost of his fingers had brushed against my skin.

  “Persephone.” His voice was gentle. I looked up and grabbed his hand. “We should get back to the party.”

  Chapter XIII

  Waking up the next morning, I was miserable. On top of the inevitable hangover, I also had scratches on my knuckles and a bruise on my right arm. But on the bright side, I didn’t remember any nightmares. Maybe I should drink before bed more often. I laughed, then winced at the sound. Mom would have a fit. She’d probably invented the “your body is your temple” speech. Of course in her case, I guess it kind of was.

  I brushed my hair, wincing when I gripped the brush in my hand. What had happened last night? I remembered coming back to my room. Hades had dropped me off like a perfect gentleman.

  I glanced down at my knuckles and gasped in surprise. There was nothing there. The skin was unbroken and unblemished. Must have just imagined it.

  I forced myself through the day, hating the knowing smiles everyone gave me. My headache still hadn’t retreated by the time I had goddess lessons with Hades.

  “You’re not trying hard enough.” He set the bowl of M&Ms in front of me. “Charm me into giving you the red M&Ms. They’re my favorite.”

  I looked Hades in the eyes. “Give me the red M&Ms.”

  “Still not good enough.”

  “Give me the damn M&Ms,” I snapped.

  He snickered. “That wasn’t very charming.”

  I winced at the sound. “Please.”

  “Try harder.”

  I stood, pushing my chair back and moved the leather ottoman out of the way. Hades raised an eyebrow but said nothing when I touched his shoulders, looking him straight in the eye. “You really want to give me the M&Ms.”

  He pushed his chair back, breaking free of my hands. “It’s not seduction, Persephone.” He stood, crossing to the window and pushing back the red velvet drapes. “Just look me in the eye and tell me what you want. If you’re doing it right, a person would feel compelled to give it to you.”

  I caught his gaze. “I want Tylenol.”

  His smile was sympathetic. “That was a little better.”

  I sighed and tried again.

  Over the next week I fell into a routine with my lessons and learned my way around the Underworld. On New Year’s Eve, I retired to my room early and waited for the clock to strike twelve. There were no cheers and no fanfare. I half expected another ball, but it turned out the dead don’t celebrate the passage of time.

  In the entire time I’d been in the Underworld, I hadn’t felt lonely until tonight. I didn’t know why. It wasn’t like New Year’s Eve was important to me in the living realm. All I would have done was had a sleepover with Melissa, curled up on her couch watching the ball drop while eating cookie dough.

  My chest constricted. I missed Melissa so much. Cassandra was turning out to be a great friend, Helen too, but I’d known Melissa since we were born. We’d never been apart this long. There was so much I wanted to tell her.

  I crawled into bed, feeling the comforter fluff around me. I didn’t want to sleep, I never wanted to sleep again, but I was exhausted. I’d been having horrible nightmares ever since Brumalia. The daily training—physical, mental, and divine—was starting to take its toll. Especially combined with my sleepless nights.

  But the bed was so comfortable. My eyelids grew heavier and I began to drift off. With a gasp my eyes flew open. I could see the ceiling, but the edges of my vision were blurry. Tears pricked my eyes, but I couldn’t blink. A weight settled on my chest. I couldn’t breathe, couldn’t move. My limbs were heavy, pressing into the bed. I couldn’t turn my head. A scream worked its way through my throat but I couldn’t unlock my jaws to let it out.

  My throat went raw from my silent screams. My mind was awake but trapped in a body of dead weight. The nightmare had begun. I could never tell if I was asleep or awake when it began. Maybe I was somewhere in between.
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  The ceiling was white. Flakes rained from it, melting on my frozen skin. My body sank through the snow like a rock. I struggled, but my body wasn’t responding.

  My thoughts vanished as I heard cold bitter laughter. Ice crept up my fingers and toes. It snaked along my limbs, the cold biting into my flesh. The wind whispered my name, and I struggled harder.

  I felt something warm rise within me, and I latched on to the sensation. My mind flashed back to my few successes during my training with Hades, and the one time I’d made the flower grow. I heard footsteps crunching toward my icy tomb and knew with a quiet certainty that if they reached me I would be doomed. Dream or not, this pain felt real.

  The footsteps were closer. I couldn’t move my head to see the approaching figure, but the dream had never progressed this far before. I latched onto the warmth within me, and it shot through my body, releasing my limbs and unlocking my throat.

  I bolted upright in bed, screaming at the top of my lungs. The sheets tangled around my legs and I frantically tore at them, ripping them in my haste to be free. The door flew open and Hades dashed into the room, motioning for a wide-eyed Cassandra to stay behind him. He looked around the room before his gaze settled on me. My scream died. I took a heaving breath and burst into tears.

  “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry. It was just a stupid dream. I didn’t mean to wake you up. I’m so sorry,” I blubbered through chattering teeth. “I just had a nightmare. I’m sorry.”

  Hades’ eyebrows furrowed together and he knelt beside me on the bed. “You’re freezing.” He touched my cheek. His hand felt so warm I instinctively leaned into it.

  “I’m sorry.” I gulped back tears. I couldn’t seem to stop repeating myself. My heart pounded in my chest, and I couldn’t catch my breath. “I’m really, really—”

  Hades shushed me, wrapping a warm arm around my shoulders. With his other hand, he drew the blanket around me. “Cassandra, get Hypnos.” His voice had a forced calm to it like he was talking to a caged animal. I didn’t see Cassandra leave the room. I clung to Hades, shaking and crying.

  “I’m so sorry I woke everyone up.” My voice was hoarse.

  He shushed me. When I stopped shaking he pulled away from me and looked into my damp eyes. “What did you dream?”

  Something in the tone of his voice frightened me. He was trying to sound soothing, but I heard an undercurrent of rage, though I didn’t feel like it was directed at me.

  I started to shake again. “This is so stupid. It was just snow and ice.” I shuddered. “Pretty much exactly what happened that day in the clearing, but this time Boreas was there and—”

  Hades’ fingers bit into my shoulders.

  “You’re hurting me.”

  “Sorry.” He let go and rubbed my shoulder.

  “N-nothing happened. I don’t know why I was so scared. It’s just…I felt…” I swallowed hard. “I couldn’t move, and it was just…it was just—”

  “How long have you been having these dreams?” His voice sounded stilted, controlled.

  “I…I don’t know. Since Brumalia, I guess.”

  “Why didn’t you tell me?”

  I looked at him, puzzled. Was he actually upset I hadn’t confided in him about my nightmares?

  “We’re not that close.”

  He gave me a scathing look, and someone knocked on the door. I jumped.

  “It’s just Hypnos and Cassandra,” he reassured me. “Do you have a robe or something?”

  I flushed. It wasn’t like I was wearing lingerie or anything, just an oversized Lady and the Tramp T-shirt like the one I had at home. I closed my eyes and pictured a fluffy robe, pajama bottoms, and fuzzy slippers. I was still freezing.

  “Come in,” Hades called.

  “Did you want me to stay?” Cassandra asked me as she entered, Hypnos trailing behind her.

  “For what?” I asked, puzzled. “What’s going on?” I turned to Hades. “Why did you send for Hypnos? No offense.”

  “None taken,” Hypnos assured me.

  “Cassandra, you may go,” Hades said.

  She looked like she wanted to object but shrugged. “I’m right across the hall,” she reminded me.

  “Thanks,” I replied.

  “Hypnos is here to help you set up a mental barrier while you sleep,” Hades explained after she closed the door.

  I raised an eyebrow. “You guys cure nightmares? That’s impressive.”

  Hades hesitated. “It’s not nightmares we’re protecting you from. It’s—” He broke off, running his fingers through his hair. “Gods can use dreams to communicate with each other and certain mortals. We all have barriers in place, so another god would have to knock, so to speak.” He looked pained. “I’m sorry.” His voice was so soft, only I could hear him. “It’s been so long since this has happened, I didn’t think about having Hypnos build a barrier for you.”

  Comprehension dawned on me, and I stared at Hades wide-eyed. “That was real? Boreas was in my head?” I started shaking again.

  “No,” Hypnos replied. “Your consciousness was in a neutral space.”

  “Nothing was neutral about that space,” I snapped, and immediately regretted it. Hypnos hadn’t done anything wrong. “I’m sorry.” I cradled my head in my hands. “This is just a little much. Attacking people in dreams? Is there anything else I need to know about?”

  Hades shrugged. “You forget this is as natural as breathing to us. I’m not used to having to explain such basic concepts.”

  “There is nothing natural or basic about gods invading your nightmares!”

  “May I?” Hypnos approached the bed, holding out his hands. I looked at Hades. When he nodded, I let Hypnos take my hands into his, and felt something click into place in my mind. I shook my head at the unfamiliar sensation.

  “You’ll need to think of a phrase to say every night before you go to sleep,” Hypnos murmured, his eyes closed.

  “Not out loud,” Hades cautioned.

  I closed my mouth with a click, and tried to think of a phrase.

  “Just think of that phrase before you go to sleep every night. It’s like a lock. If for some reason you want to open yourself to communication, simply think the phrase again. I can teach you more about dreamwalking, if you wish.” Hypnos smiled at me. “You may develop a talent for it.”

  “Thanks.” I wasn’t sure I could handle another set of lessons, but maybe I could surprise Boreas next time. My mind filled with dark ideas, like tossing Boreas into an incinerator. “I’d like that.”

  “Thank you, Hypnos,” Hades said in dismissal. When Hypnos left, Hades muttered, “I don’t get it.”

  “Don’t get what?”

  “Boreas shouldn’t still be after you. He has to know you’re down here with me by now. Coming after you is suicide.” He shook his head. “A few thousand years ago, a stunt like he pulled tonight would be grounds for war.”

  “Are you going to do anything about it?”

  Hades shook his head. “Something else is going on here. I need to find out what that is before I act.”

  With that unsettling thought, he left me to go back to sleep.

  Yeah, right.

  Chapter XIV

  “You have absolutely no talent for dreamwalking,” Hypnos hissed in frustration.

  “I’ll say,” Hades muttered from the divan.

  “Maybe if my target was actually sleeping,” I snapped.

  “I can only sleep so much in a day. If I sleep any longer I’ll be in a coma.”

  “Let’s try again.” Hypnos took a deep breath. “Hades, sleep.”

  Hades fell mercifully silent, and I sank into the soft leather couch. The room Hypnos had selected to teach me dreamwalking looked like it should belong to a therapist. Aquamarine curtains covered the windows, casting the room in a soft blue glow.

  I closed my eyes and felt Hypnos’ powers settle over me, pulling me through layers of sleep. Hades. I directed my thoughts. I could sense the energy of other sleeping
deities. It was a weird sensation, like catching a glimpse of something out of the corner of your eye only to have it move before you turned your head.

  The minds of the gods twinkled in the darkness, reminding me of stars scattered in the vast emptiness. Hypnos had spent the last month getting me to the point where I could sense who was who. It was easier to identify gods I’d met. Thanatos was a guarded cloak of darkness; Hypnos shone like the sun; Hestia smoldered in the night; Charon cast an amicable glow. I found my mother, green and thriving, and Boreas’ frozen fortress.

  Despite the name, dreamwalking was nothing like walking around. I couldn’t keep my distance from gods I didn’t like, or get close to another. They all existed, suspended in this disorienting space; the only thing that changed was my awareness of them. If I stopped concentrating on them, they faded into darkness and I could slip into my own dreams without fear of Boreas following me.

  Boreas hadn’t tried anything since that last awful dream. Maybe Hades was wrong. Maybe Boreas would back off, now that I was protected on all fronts. I doubted he wanted Hades to come after him, but maybe being unprotected in my sleep had been too much for him to resist.

  “Persephone!” Hypnos’ frustrated voice startled me as it flooded my consciousness. Right…I was supposed to be concentrating.

  Since it was the middle of the day, there weren’t as many gods to navigate. It was easy to find Hades. He was a bundle of dark energy. I concentrated on sending a small pulse of energy his way. It was a weird feeling, gathering the energy in my mind and aiming it at someone without intention.

  To do anything else with my powers, intention was half the battle. I had to keep my mind on exactly what I was doing and what the desired outcome was. It was the difference between planning an arrangement—placing every flower just so to complete my vision—and throwing a flower in the general direction of a vase.

  After several tries, I found myself in the library. The bookshelves blurred around me and I rubbed my eyes.

  “Thank the gods,” Hades said. He was in hyper focus in the center of the blurry room.