Persephone could argue. Hecate was wonderfully detailed in all her work and she’d seen her move mountains with her magic, while also plucking out a single needle from a wounded soul. Of all the people who lived in the Underworld, Hecate was the first in line who could hold her child.
When she was ready.
Nodding sharply, she tucked the babe into the crook of her arm and held out her other hand for Hecate to take. “Come then, help me stand.”
“You should wait a few more minutes. You need time to heal.”
Persephone could feel the ripping and tearing as she moved. Blood coated her thighs and slicked her feet where she’d stamped in the blood soaked sands. But no, she would not wait to return to the castle, even though she’d just given birth.
Waiting would only prolong the time before Hades could see his daughter. And she wanted her husband to see what they had created.
“Hecate,” she snapped. “If I wanted to wait and heal, then I would be here for the rest of the day. I’m sure Hades is worried sick, and I refuse to make him wait any longer.”
Hecate nodded. She helped Persephone stand, then replied, “Hades sent me to come and find you. He was worried, but I could sense what was happening. I sensed your daughter long before she came into the world.”
“So you told him what was happening, yes?”
“I told him this was the path of women, and he’d just get in the way.” Hecate chuckled. “He didn’t like that.”
“No, I’m sure he didn’t.” Persephone winced with the first step, but then chuckled at the thought of Hades’ face. “What did he look like when you told him?”
“Like he’d eaten a bad pomegranate.”
Together, they laughed as they made their way back to the castle. And Persephone healed with each step. She felt the power inside her running through every injury, every tear, and soothing all the stretched out ache the babe had wrought. She would be fine in just a few hours, perhaps, with the ichor running through her veins.
Persephone pitied human women who were not so quick to heal after such an ordeal. She pitied the Titan women who had birthed a thousand children, although she wondered why they’d ever even try for another.
They reached the castle and Hecate steadied her as she staggered.
“Easy,” Hecate said. “You only have a few more steps my queen.”
She stopped and reached forward with a blood slicked palm. Carefully, she touched her hand to the side of Hecate’s face. “Thank you,” she said, her voice ringing with sincerity. “Thank you for all that you have done, my friend. My dearest friend.”
Hecate’s eyes filled with tears and she nodded sharply. “Come, my queen. Let’s show your husband his new daughter.”
Chapter 43
Hecate had told him the babe was coming, and to his immense displeasure, Hades had completely frozen. A thousand thoughts ran through his mind at the same time, and he didn’t remember how to move.
Persephone was having the baby.
He was about to find out whether he had a son or a daughter.
He might lose her. Even though he knew it was impossible for a goddess to die from childbirth, they were much hardier than that, he’d seen the mortals who came to the Underworld after the task. He’d seen the way their bodies were shriveled and broken. He’d thought he understood their pain.
Now, he realized he couldn’t ever understand the pain they went through. The horrors as their body twisted to release the child within them. Or worse, that his own wife was doing it alone and without him.
He paced back and forth in their private quarters, waiting for them to return. Hecate had said she would go get the queen and help her return to the castle. He had to trust that his right hand would ensure Persephone made it back in one piece. He had to know for certain that she was well.
His heart bled knowing he wasn’t there with her. In his mind, he’d romanticized the ordeal. He’d hold her in his arms while she bore their child into the world, letting her grasp onto his forearms and whispering encouragement in her ear. It would be painless for her. The King of the Underworld would make sure of that.
Instead, she was alone.
In pain.
Potentially needing help and he would never have known.
He was going to make himself sick if he kept worrying this much. So when the knock came at the door, he jumped