I open my eyes, and see Shayne’s gaze has shifted from determination to hope. He’s trying to draw the word from my mouth.
“I’m Persephone,” I say.
It comes out solid. All at once. I am Persephone. The box had held the secret, and now the secret is out. The truth is finally free.
Shayne takes me toward him, and every fantasy I’ve imagined since I met him comes to life. I’ve known him and been with him for eternity, and being with him now fills a piece of me which has been missing for the last eighteen years. And I’m never going to let it go again. Our kisses start soft, but as the fire crackles in front of us, I throw away any bit of hesitation. The heat rises until there’s no stopping either of us.
Chapter 36
Confusion
I lean back into Shayne and watch the fire. Persephone. I play the sounds over in my mind. Four syllables. Melodic. Exotic. And Shayne seems to like it. He rubs my hair and keeps finding excuses to use it.
“Do you want more wine, Persephone?”
I shake my head. “No, I’m okay.”
“Something to eat, Persephone?”
Again, I shake my head.
“Are you cold, Persephone?”
This is it. His arms are wrapped around me and flames roar in the fireplace; he knows I’m not cold.
I turn to face him. “You’re just trying to say it.”
Shayne cocks his head. “Say what?”
I punch him lightly. “My name.”
Shayne acts as if he’s gotten the punch line to a joke. “Oh…Persephone.” He smiles. “I just haven’t used it in a long time.”
The problem is that knowing my real name has only made me more confused. “So I’m the Queen of the Underworld.”
“Next to my side.” Shayne’s breath is on my shoulder. He leans into me and kisses my neck sending a ripple of chills through me once again. God, I love that.
I recover and look around the room, remembering how much I like it. “And I designed this room?”
Shayne nods. “I told you it was designed by someone with great taste.”
“And so, we’re…married?” It’s weird even to say.
“Hmm…well…kind of.”
I narrow my eyes. “What do you mean…kind of?”
“Think about it.”
“I’m trying not to. It’s making my head hurt.” Because how can I be Persephone when I’ve been Piper my entire life?
“Maybe we can figure it out together.” Shayne sits on a sofa and motions for me to sit next to him. Cerberus pads over and puts a head on each of us, begging for a bit of attention. “See, Cerberus remembers you.”
I smile at Cerberus. “And I remember him. Though I’m not sure how.”
“So what do you remember?” Shayne asks.
I sink back into the red leather and force myself to think. “I remember growing up. For the last eighteen years. As Piper.”
“And what else?” He’s hoping for something more. “Do you remember when we met?”
I sigh. “I don’t know. I remember being Persephone. Being part of this world. But it’s like it was another life. A part of my past but not a part of Piper.”
An image from ages ago plays there before my eyes like a movie on the tube. Of a mountain and a hidden area away from my mom. Even back then, she never wanted me to leave her. She thought I should stay by her side always. Earth was warm then, too, but my mom controlled the seasons. Winters were cold, and summers bright. But there were no extremes. No Global Warming. Plants prospered and flourished and flowered and bloomed. And I infused life into them just by my mere presence.
My mom tried to trust me. She let me venture out into the wide open spaces. And maybe I felt oppressed then, too, because I left her every chance I got. I had friends who met me and helped me sneak away. I had other gods vying for my attention. And though I toyed around with the idea of one day picking one to spend my life with, not Hermes and not Hephaestus and not Ares drew my interest. Though Ares was always the most persistent.
I saw my mom in the morning. She told me she would be spending the day traveling the earth in Apollo’s chariot. As the goddess of all living plants, my mom had responsibilities way bigger than most of the other immortals. And so she left, and I met my friends in the meadow.
“Have you heard the rumors?” Peisinoe said.
“What rumors?” Aglaope asked.
I leaned forward, wanting to catch their excitement. After all, it wasn’t every day my mom left me alone.
“The Underworld is leaking into our Earth,” Peisinoe said.
“Leaking?” I asked.
Peisinoe moved her head forward so all four of our heads nearly touched. “They say monsters are coming out into the world.”
Thelxiepeia put her hand to her mouth. “Monsters!”
Gods, she was always such a drama queen.
Peisinoe nodded. “Through the caves around Mount Othrys. They’re coming out into our world. The gods are all trying to control them.”
I covered my mouth. “My mom should know. She’s out there.”
Aglaope looked over at me. “Persephone, that’s what your mom is doing today. She’s checking to see if the rumors are true.”
Aglaope had taken every opportunity possible to make me feel stupid. Of the three, Peisinoe was the only true friend.
I shook my head. “She’s just on a random patrol.” But the idea made sense. Monsters escaping might be momentous enough for my mom to leave me alone.
Aglaope tossed her hair over her shoulder. “You are so naïve, Persephone.”
“I am not,” I said, even though I knew it was true. But with my mom controlling my every step, how could I not be? “What caves, anyway?”
And Peisinoe told me.
I waited until they left; I made an excuse about needing to help some dogwood trees blossom. And then I started walking. Maybe I was naïve. And overprotected. And if so, then what better way to begin my escape from that shell than to see exactly where these monsters were coming from anyway? Maybe I could help stop them.
It had taken over an hour to get to the caves. Not only was it through scrub and rocks, but it was halfway up a hill and hidden behind a couple boulders. In fact, I almost gave up on finding it entirely, but then I felt the waves of heat. And I followed them until I found the mouth of the cave.
It took a bit of convincing myself, but I finally summoned the courage to go inside. I took one step and then another and entered the blackness.
“Haven’t you heard the rumors? There are monsters around.”
I turned at the sound of the voice even though it was too dark to see. “I’m not scared of monsters,” I said, though my heart went into overdrive.
He laughed. “Really? Then why is your voice shaking?”
Deep breath. Whatever I’d gotten myself into here, I was a goddess. I could handle anything thrown my way. “I’m just cold,” I lied.
Another laugh. “Maybe you should come closer then.”
And I walked closer.
He took one of my hands, and electricity shot though my entire body evaporating any chills or fear trying to hide inside me.
Now, back in his home, I run a hand through Shayne’s inky hair, remembering it was longer when we first met. But otherwise, he looks exactly the same. Immortal. And perfect. “I remember. My mom was furious when she found out.”
Shayne laughs. “And nothing ever changes, does it.”
Things had only gotten worse. “She started the rumor,” I say. “She said you’d kidnapped and raped me.”
“And she turned your friends into Sirens,” Shayne says. “They never got over that.”
They hated me afterward, even Peisinoe, spinning the kidnap and rape story out of control. Everyone believed it.
I shake my head, remembering my mom’s ensuing wrath. The barrenness of the earth for months at a time. The droughts. The ice storms that froze the earth over. That she knew I wanted to be with Hades made her actions all the more extreme.