had a sick feeling in her stomach that said her mother wouldn’t uphold her end of the bargain. Maybe the harvest would go well. That had to happen. Otherwise, the mortals would stop praying to her mother, and that was the only thing Demeter had left these days.
Persephone worried she would return to the mortal realm and find the humans starving once again.
Demeter sighed. “Yes, I remember the deal, my darling. Of course I do. The mortals won’t be harmed.”
“I’ll be keeping track of how many souls are brought to the Underworld.” She lifted a brow. “Do you think I won’t?”
“You will.” Demeter pointed out the door. “Someone is already waiting for you. I can’t bear to watch you go.”
Or she had somewhere else to be and was already going to disappear the moment Persephone looked away. Either was the truth, and she supposed it wasn’t the end of the world if her mother didn’t want to see her off.
Persephone gathered her up in one last hug. “I am going to miss you,” she whispered against her mother’s shoulder. “Even though we haven’t been on the best of terms since I’ve been back. I do miss you when I’m gone.”
Perhaps it was shock that made Demeter hesitate. Or perhaps she just wanted to get this goodbye over with. Whatever the reason, she hugged Persephone a little tighter, then shoved her toward the door. “I know,” she replied. “I’ll miss you too.”
Persephone didn’t look back. She headed out of her personal quarters and into the sun where Hermes waited for her.
He held open his pretty arms and smiled. “Ah, yes. Little queen! Are you ready to go back to the land of the dead?”
“More than ever,” she replied. Standing before him, she placed her hands on her hips. “Do we really have to fly?”
He quirked a brow, and even she knew that was a silly question. This was Hermes. Of course they had to fly.
Persephone let him gather her into his arms and they left the mortal realm. He flew them over countless fields of glorious gold wheat and beautiful farmlands that she and her mother had helped build. Persephone felt a sense of pride in knowing they were the ones who had helped create this place. The mortals would survive because of them.
“How does it look?” Hermes asked.
“Like I straddled the line between the living and the dead,” she replied. And that was what she was. A Queen of the Living and a Queen of the Underworld, ensuring the humans survived through both lives happily and without issue.
And she would be with them through it all, she decided. From start to finish.
Hermes guided them through the nearest portal and then landed on the black sands. He released her immediately, touched a finger to his forehead, and then took off without so much as a goodbye.
She supposed that was for the best. She didn’t like talking to him, anyway.
Now, she could focus on the wondrous feeling in her chest. The hope that bloomed, stretching like the stalk of a great sunflower, and setting roots deep into her soul.
Home.
The knot in her chest unraveled and she could breathe again. Deep inhales that stretched her ribcage and sent relaxation throughout her entire body. Every muscle relaxed. Every knot in her back released and suddenly, she stood straight and tall again.
Bending down, she tunneled her hands into the black sands and let the grains travel through her fingers. “I’ve missed you so much,” she whispered to the very spirit of the Underworld.
Heavy footsteps approached, thundering across the great planes to her side.
Persephone barely had a chance to look up before a big, sinewy body collided with hers. Three faces licked her own. Three heads barked and whined their pleasure that she was finally home.
Laughing, she tried to shove his heads away while scolding, “Cerberus! Cerberus, stop. Stop it!”
He knocked her onto her bottom and continued licking her face. Thankfully, he hadn’t forgotten her. Persephone had been so worried her dearest of friends, now that Cyane was long gone, was still alive and well.
“That’s quite enough Cerberus.” His deep voice sent shivers through her entire body.
Hades.
Of course he would be waiting for her, although she hadn’t been so sure. She’d only seen him the once, and the farther she was from that moment on Mount Olympus, the more she wondered if it was nothing but a dream.
Persephone shoved the dog off her and sat up straight to look at her husband with wide eyes. “Hello,”