Elysian Fields

CHAPTER 30

"I refuse to kill you."

"That is literally your job!"

"Well I refuse to do it!"

"And I refuse to simply follow you home!"

A fire smoldered in the hearth of what Persephone grew up knowing as Aydon's childhood home, though she never had the ability to enter the building herself. A single room dwelling, the space was both cozy and unsettling, bare walls and plush furniture creating clashing vibes. She sat curled in an overstuffed chair, hugging her knees to her chest, eyes tracking Hades as he paced before the dying flames, his expression a cross between agony and defiance. The dying light cast shadows that made him look gaunt; deadly in her eyes for the first time.

"There will be another way, Persephone. We just need time to figure it out."

"There is no time! I have no time! Do you not understand that? Every second cone is one closer to my death. I would rather we not waste that time that I have left!" That strange, roiling anger began to bubble beneath her skin and Persephone breathed deep, attempting to keep it at bay.

"You may die in a way, but that destroys your soul. Do you not see why I am so hesitant to risk that?" Hades' brow was furrowed when he looked at her, quickly resuming his wearing away of a path before the hearth.

Persephone felt her eyes narrow in a glare. "Every moment sitting in this mortal body is destroying my soul. What part of that do you not understand? Fate has been set into motion and you wish to keep me trapped!"

That strange anger kept building beneath the skin, layers tearing apart as thorns burst forth all over her body. Vines, dark and deadly, began to break through the ground and a crown of Narcissus flowers bloomed upon Persephone's head. She rose from her place on the chair, standing to full height. Blood dripped from her eyes, rid tears falling to the ground at her feet. Just as foretold, where her blood fell, crimson poppies bloomed.

"I am your queen," Persephone's voice rang out, the goddess within her pushing Kore aside. "And you dare to keep me mortal? Remember that I am the Destroyer, Aidoneus. You are not exempt from that."

Hades' eyes widened and he fell to his knees in a gesture of worship. The woman before him had always been beautiful, but as power radiated from her, she was luminous. Indescribably. Near impossible to behold.

"My Queen," he muttered.

"You shall release me or everything you hold dear shall crumble into ash and choke you to a death of your own." She quirked a brow in warning.

"As you wish."

Persephone stared at the man knelt before her, his words sating the feeling within. Holding his gaze, her vines began to retreat, thorns retracting beneath her skin once more. Skin began to heal over and the blood disappear. Moments later, all that remained of the outburst was her crown of Narcissus' flowers. It was not lost on Hades that it was the flower of his realm. He stared back at the woman before him, mouth agape.

"I don't know whether to be terrified or amazed by you," he finally breathed.

"Both, I think," Persephone confirmed, extending a hand for Hades to take.

"Definitely both."

* * *

Hades gripped Persephone's hand as they walked through a field of grass, blades whipping and tickling their fingers as they strode on. The sun was high in the sky, a golden orb in a sea of blue. Endless. Clear. He glanced over at the woman beside him and offered a small smile, though her gaze was turned down. He took a few deep breaths through his nose, letting them out slowly. He couldn't believe that they were actually going to do this.