that.'
'If you are going to ask me to send her back again, I won't.'
'On the contrary. I have decided she is safer where we can see and control her.'
'Control her?' Alarm bells rang in my mind, a need to protect her flaring inside me.
'You know what I mean,' he said dismissively. 'I believe that the culprit is closer to home than we originally thought.'
'You think it is an Olympian,' I said sharply. It wasn't a question.
'Yes. And since you are clearly still in love with her, you are the only one I can rule out. Hence this conversation.'
'Who do you suspect?' If the sea god was in the mood to talk, then I should get what I could out of him, and revisit the statement about controlling Persephone later.
'Ares has not had a war in a while, Hera has wrath more lethal than any of us, Aphrodite’s boredom knows no bounds, Athena makes wild plans beyond any of our understanding and Dionysus has been acting strange for weeks.'
'And Zeus?'
'He has the most to lose.'
'Or the most to prove,' I countered. 'And the most hatred for me.'
'He does not hate you, brother.'
'Really? So forcing me to marry against my will and exposing my realm to the world is an act of love?' My voice dripped with sarcasm.
'When Olympus discovers that it was you who created a new realm against Zeus' will, and that the Lord of the Gods can't undo it, they will lose respect for him. You know he can not tolerate that. You have brought this upon yourself.'
I hissed out a breath, unable to argue. A thought flashed into my mind.
'Oceanus may have a score to settle,' I said. Poseidon scowled.
'Oceanus is your friend and my mentor. I do not believe this would be in his interest.'
'You are right,' I said, feeling guilty for suggesting it. Oceanus was a Titan, and easily powerful enough to be the culprit, but he had never been malevolent. And I knew better than most not to judge Titans by their few monstrous ancestors. 'If Zeus has the most to lose, then could it be someone with a vendetta against him, rather than Persephone?' I said.
'That moves Hera to the top of the list,' Poseidon muttered. 'I'll never know why she married him.'
'He's as charming as he is fickle. How do I know it is not you, and this is not an elaborate scheme to dissuade me of your guilt?' I said, glaring into Poseidon's ocean-blue eyes. He chuckled softly.
'Brother, I certainly mean you no harm. It is true I fear what your lover could do to Olympus, but I am not so governed by pride that I will let my initial reaction stand. I want to help her win, for something in return.'
'What?'
'If she survives and she wins the Trials and gets her power back, let her live elsewhere.'
Anger trickled through my veins like ice.
'No,' I said immediately. Poseidon's face darkened, waves crashing in his irises.
'Hades, she can not stay so close to Tartarus and you know it. The more her soul deteriorates, the less control you or anyone else will have over her.'
'I do not seek to control her!'
'Do you mean to let the most powerful and evil being Olympus has ever seen go free?'
'Of course not but-' He cut me off before I could finish.
'Then make the right choice, Hades. She would be happier anywhere but here.'
The sick feeling in my gut spread, the knowledge that he was right worse than the anger roiling inside me.
'She can survive the Trials without your help,' I spat eventually.
'You are making a mistake.'
'This conversation is over.'
He gave me a long look, then the salty smell of ocean washed over me as he gave a bark of frustration and vanished. I closed my eyes, searching inside me for the remnants of Persephone's light, the barrier she had helped reinforce with her golden vines. I filled my head and my heart with her, and slowly the monster receded, sinking back into its toxic depths.
She had beaten many Trials already that should have killed her. There were only two left now, and then this nightmare would be over, one way or another.
But no matter how I spun it in my mind, I couldn't see a happy ending. If she died... The thought of losing her was unbearable, and I cast it out before the beast could rise again. If she survived but lost the Trials, I could not marry that nymph. And if she triumphed... Could I