“You would have.” She sighed, but returned to the altar. Instead of raising her arms as though she was giving a speech, as he’d expected, she sat upon the altar itself.
The Oracle’s shoulders curved inward. She braced her hands beside her hips and stared down at the glossy floor. This was the portrait of a defeated woman, and every artist in all of Greece would have given their right arm to paint her.
Ambrosius sat at her feet. He wrapped his arms around his knees and watched her with rapt attention. “Oracle of Delphi, I need to know the truth of Hades and Persephone’s tale.”
“Why, mortal?”
“I have come from the city of Eleusis. I have dedicated myself to the worship of Persephone and Demeter, but...” The next words he said would doom him forever. He knew. If Persephone herself didn’t kill him, then her mother, Demeter, would. “I don’t believe the history to be true.”
“Why?” The Oracle met his gaze with those dark eyes. “Why would you believe the story to be untrue when you are just a mortal and they are the gods?”
“Because I don’t believe the Bringer of Death would have stayed with Hades. I believe she is strong enough to leave him, but the stories claim she loves him.” Ambrosius felt tears build in his eyes. Emotions welling too strong as the Oracle drew power from his thoughts. “If I feared someone, if I was stolen from my family and raped, I would never love them.”
Tears welled in her dark eyes as well. They slid down her cheeks and she reached for his hands. “Oh,” she whispered, squeezing his fingers. “I didn’t see that.”
He knew what she’d seen in his memories. The pain and anguish would never leave him. Bowing his head over her fingers, he pressed his forehead to the delicate lengths. “For all the years I have given her, I deserve this.”
The Oracle remained quiet for a long time before slipping her fingers from his. “So be it.”
Ambrosius braced himself. He finally would discover the truth to the mysteries of Eleusis and all he’d dedicated his life to. Would he survive it?
“You’ve heard the story of how she was kidnapped. Hades stole her away from her mother and dragged her kicking and screaming into the Underworld.” The Oracle turned her gaze toward the sky and frowned. “You know of the plot between Zeus and Hades. The flower that opened the portal that freed the dark god. You know the pain and torment of a mother left behind.”
“Yes, Oracle.” The tale he was certain was wrong. Hades couldn’t be that horrible of a god, but he hadn’t the faintest idea of what the truth was.
The Oracle looked down at their feet again and smiled. This time, it was a slow grin. A sly expression that made him quake where he sat.
“Kore, the maiden, was no fainting woman as everyone liked to think. She wasn’t just a weak little nymph who turned meadows into golden wheat.” The Oracle turned her eyes upon him, and he saw the madness of Tartarus in her gaze. “It was she who placed a petal of ichor upon his lips. And when he stole her away, it was she who steered his chariot into the grave.”
Chapter 1
The nymphs and naiads danced in a circle around Kore, giggling in bubbly, petal soft tones. Kore laughed with them, although she didn’t know why. They were cleaning the Temple of Artemis today. A duty that wasn’t particularly fun.
But the nymphs enjoyed being out of sight. Demeter’s gaze could burn when they acted like this. Silly. Like little girls when they should be watching over Kore.
They were all brightly colored and so pretty it made her eyes hurt. In comparison, Kore’s chestnut-colored hair and sun-tanned skin looked almost mortal. The freckles dotting across her nose made other goddesses laugh. The dirt underneath her nails marked her as a lesser goddess, perhaps a demi-goddess, or worse... a nymph like the others.
One nymph tripped over a naiad, their peplos flying over their heads as they tumbled to the ground together.
Some guards they were.
Kore giggled with the others and held out a hand for her dearest friend to take. “Cyane, be more careful.”
The naiad in question had little desire to be anything but reckless. Cyane lived her life on the edge, wild and free in all aspects. Kore just wished she could be more like the naiad and less like the daughter of Demeter.