Daughter of the Earth and Sky

by Musa Publishing

  “It really was her.” He shook his head. “I didn’t think she had enough power to charm you anymore. I’m sorry—”

  I waved a hand, cutting him off. “You’ve been trying to tell me ever since you figured it out. Do you think she’s Zeus?”

  Hades shrugged. “I think I would have known. But I haven’t seen her since that day on the beach. Maybe that’s not Aphrodite at all.”

  I thought back to the day I’d met Aphrodite. How grateful she’d been that I’d come for her. She thought of me as a sister. How screwed up would it be if she’d been replaced and I hadn’t even noticed?

  “We’ll deal with her,” Hades promised. “Later.”

  I realized that I was still holding on to Hades. I flushed and dropped my hands from his arms, but I didn’t move away from him. I couldn’t. It was like fighting gravity. I gazed into his eyes and saw him struggling against the connection we shared.

  “Persephone…”

  My lips brushed against his. He kissed me back then wrapped one arm around me, crushing me to him, and propped his other arm on the bed behind me, stabilizing us. He drew back in a sudden jerk.

  “This is you?” He searched my face, looking for any sign I was acting under charm like the last time.

  “Yes,” I whispered. “Is this you?”

  His mind flitted to the last time I’d charmed him, and he nodded. “But I don’t think—”

  “Do you trust me?” I asked.

  “Absolutely.”

  “Then stop thinking.”

  My lips found his, and we were kissing again. I knew it sounded stupid and trite to say we belonged together. How many times had I rolled my eyes when I’d heard others say those words? But we did belong together. Ever since that first kiss in the clearing. We’d given each other a part of ourselves, and that could never be undone.

  I sank beneath him. His hand flew to the back of my head, blocking it from hitting the wooden headboard. He tangled his fingers in my hair. His other hand ran down my body. He hesitated, and I knew I could speak now and end this. He wouldn’t be mad and wouldn’t think less of me. I was completely in control here. Whatever happened next was my choice to make. I met his eyes, and he read the decision in them.

  Chapter XXIX

  Just because Thanatos was dead didn’t mean that our troubles were anywhere near over. We still had Zeus or Aphrodite to contend with, but before we could even do that, we had to make sure there weren’t more traitors in our midst.

  “So why can’t you charm anyone or teleport on the surface?” I asked Hades as we waited for everyone to gather in the throne room.

  “It doesn’t work like that. We have half of each other’s powers, so our abilities will be enhanced. Not traded off. Otherwise we’d only be half as good at what we could already do. Everyone would lose. You’d have to pull a Boreas for me to be able to charm anyone.”

  “But I could touch souls like the Reapers.”

  “That’s fealty; that’s different. Besides, souls are just as much your domain as flowers.”

  I blinked. I’d never thought of it that way. “But I can teleport down here.”

  “Because I rule this realm. Your mother has given you a claim to her realm. You don’t rule it, so you don’t get to say who teleports there. She’s pretty nice about it. Beings born native to her realm are allowed to teleport within it. Anything else…” Hades shrugged. “You have no idea how much negotiation it required for her to allow Thanatos and his Reapers the same privileges.”

  I frowned. The Reapers. I couldn’t feel them anymore. Had I given them to Hades?

  He shook his head, following my thoughts. “They were released when we reached equilibrium. They swore fealty to you, not us.”

  I started to reply when the door opened and Cassandra, Moirae, Charon, and Hypnos walked in. Cassandra’s eyes were red-rimmed, like she’d been crying, and I realized she must have seen what happened.

  “What’s going on?” Charon asked.

  “Where’s Thanatos?” Hypnos pushed his grey hair out of his face and scanned the room. “Is he coming?”

  My heart wrenched when I remembered they were twins. Hades shook his head slightly. That doesn’t mean as much to him as it does to you. He’s just asking.

  Hades explained what had happened to Thanatos in a quick, dispassionate summary. Only I could feel the pain and anger hidden behind each word, but Cassandra wasn’t fooled by his apparent disregard. She took her place beside Hades and squeezed his hand. There was silence while everyone digested Hades’ words.

  Charon’s face flipped through a whole range of emotions. Grief, anger, concern. The last was aimed at me. “Gods, Persephone. Had I known…”

  I shrugged uncomfortably. “My fault. I promised.”

  Hypnos shook his head. “You didn’t know any better at the time. So, what’s the plan, then? I assume the first thing we need to do is make sure Thanatos was acting alone?”

  Hades nodded. “Did any of you know about this?”

  “Of course not,” Cassandra said.

  “I’m not working with Zeus. I had no idea Thanatos was,” Charon said.

  “I had no knowledge of this conspiracy,” Moirae answered.

  “I don’t suppose our word is going to be enough in this case?” Hypnos said softly.

  “For you three—” Hades indicated Cassandra, Moirae, and Charon “—it’s going to have to be. For you…”

  Hypnos nodded, giving me a defiant look. “Try it.”

  Hypnos was still alive. He could still swear fealty. He could be charmed by me if he’d sworn fealty to Zeus. I met his eyes and breathed a sigh of relief when they didn’t widen.

  “He’s clean,” I told Hades.

  “I’m not working with Zeus.” Hypnos held his chin high. “I was not working with Thanatos. I’d never betray you. And I’d never be party to something—” he looked at me “—that would hurt her.”

  I looked down at the floor. “Thank you.”

  “So what’s next?” Moirae asked. “Do you need me to round up the demigods and the Reapers?”

  Hades nodded. “I’ve suspended the Reapers’ access to the surface until next Samhain, when we can charm and question them again. Which means, we’re going to be very, very, busy for the next few months.”

  “Why would you need to round up the demigods?” I asked.

  “They can cross between realms.”

  I blinked. “Wait, they can do that even if they’re dead?”

  “Of course. Where do you think ghosts come from?”

  “Can I charm them?”

  Hades shook his head. “Not if they’re dead. We’ll round them up per zone and keep a guard on them. Keep it civil, guys, innocent until proven guilty. Cassandra, can you keep an eye on the demigods in this zone?”

  She nodded.

  “Okay, Hypnos, keep an eye on Tartarus, Charon, the Elysian Fields—”

  “This has crippled us.” I realized. “We’re going to be acting as Reapers and guards and keeping things running down here? Just the six of us?”

  “Four. You and I are going to find Zeus and end this.”

  I shook my head. “Put Zachary in charge of Reaping. You can trust him. If we can find two, maybe three other souls we can trust on the surface, I think they can handle it.”

  “Zachary?” Hades gave me a quizzical look.

  “Asclepius’ new persona,” Cassandra explained.

  “What makes you think you can trust him?” Charon gave me a surprised look.

  “He helped me when the Reapers were attacking me. And he never had to be charmed. He swore fealty on his own. Who’s Asclepius?”

  “He swore fealty? To you?” Hades’ eyebrows shot up. “Well…okay then. You’ll still have to try to charm him, but if you say he’s trustworthy…”

  “Who is he?” I asked again.

  “He’s the first Reaper.” Hades was talking fast, indicating we needed to move on from this conversation. “He was a god of healing, a
nd he tried to stop death. That violated the rules of nature We put into place. Rather than changing the nature of the dead, it changed him.”

  The way he said “We” emphasized the capital letter, and I understood he was talking about my mother, Zeus, and the rest of the original six. When they created the world, they’d all agreed on its natural laws. Earth and all its inhabitants formed a complex system involving all their powers. To protect their creation, they’d even given up the ability to lie. Words had power; the wrong words could unintentionally change the nature of something. I’d never considered the ramifications of a god intentionally trying to change the rules.

  I felt sick. Poor Zachary. He’d tried to stop death and become its first agent.

  “I can Reap too,” Charon said with a grin, bringing the conversation back to its focus. “Call it multitasking.”

  I had a million more questions about Zachary and how the rest of the Reapers were made, but I forced myself to concentrate on what was important right now. “Good. Helen can watch the demigods here. Orpheus can watch the demigods in the Elysian fields—”

  “Orpheus?” Hades asked.

  I nodded. “He owes me.” I hesitated. A regular soul, demigod or not, couldn’t handle Tartarus. That required power. “Hypnos?”

  “I’ll watch Tartarus.”

  “Thank you.”

  Hades smirked. “Anything else, Majesty?”

  I scowled at him. “Actually, yes. Zeus is going to know Thanatos is dead, right?” When Hades nodded, I continued. “But he doesn’t know how it happened. Let’s use that to our advantage.”

  Chapter XXX

  Taking a shuddering breath, I dialed Aphrodite’s number. It had taken seconds to teleport back to my house and grab my phone. I grabbed my necklace too. I felt weird when I wasn’t wearing it. I teleported out before Mom realized I was home. The fewer questions I had to answer right now, the better.

  Mom was going to have a fit when she found out I’d added Aphrodite to our family plan, but I was glad I’d added at least one more way to keep tabs on her. Him. Whatever. I was still reeling with the betrayal.

  She’d said we were like sisters.

  “Persephone! I’ve been looking everywhere for you! Where have you been?” She spoke so fast I could barely separate the words.

  “Aphrodite?” I kept my voice soft and infused it with worry. Hades sat beside me on a picnic table, keeping watch over the park from behind our shield.

  “What’s wrong?” She actually sounded worried.

  “Thanatos is dead. He attacked me, and I charmed him, and oh gods, Aphrodite, I don’t know what to—” I took a shuddering breath instead of finishing the sentence. I did know what to do.

  “Are you okay?”

  “I’m not hurt,” I replied, keeping my voice thick with what could be interpreted as unshed tears. I kept my answer vague on purpose. I was great actually, but it would be weird for me to be too happy after killing someone.

  “Have you told Hades?”

  Not technically. Hades had been there, so I hadn’t told him anything. “No. Aphrodite, that’s his best friend.” My voice wavered, and I took a quick gasping breath that could be taken for a sob.

  “It’s okay. We’ll…we’ll tell him together. I’m sure he’ll just be happy you’re safe.”

  I raised an eyebrow in surprise. She was good. “I don’t know, Aphrodite.”

  “Was Thanatos working for Zeus?”

  “Yeah, he said he was supposed to take me to him.”

  She took a deep breath. “You could still be in trouble. Look, I can meet you at the park, by the Underworld entrance. Stay shielded till I get there, okay?”

  “Thanks, Aphrodite.”

  She hung up.

  I exchanged a glance with Hades. Now all we had to do was wait. If we could get Aphrodite to stand on the entrance to the Underworld, Hades could make a powerful barrier and trap Zeus in Tartarus with the rest of the Titans.

  The sound of a car pulling into the parking lot jolted me from my reverie. Aphrodite was a reckless driver, but this was too fast even for her. The rain bounced off the shield like pellets. We’d assumed we’d have the park to ourselves. Who else would come here today?

  My breath caught as I recognized Joel’s green Chevy Thunderbird. I’d promised to meet him…I glanced at my phone…now. I swore and shoved my phone into my pocket.

  “What’s wrong?” Hades asked.

  “Joel’s here.” I met Hades’ eyes. “I don’t want him to get caught up in the middle of this.”

  “Seriously?”

  “He’s here to talk me out of breaking up with him.”

  Hades raised an eyebrow. “Far be it for me to get in the way of that. Go ahead, get him out of here. Just be quick about it.”

  Joel got out of his car, shielded his eyes from the pelting rain, and looked around. He held a sad-looking bouquet of daisies, and, standing out on the wet pavement, he looked dejected and defeated.

  I pressed my lips together against the wave of guilt that washed through me. What had I been thinking going out with him? I’d hurt him by leading him on, and I’d hurt Hades. And, for some reason, Melissa seemed to really resent that I’d dated Joel.

  “She likes him,” Hades murmured, following my line of thought. He gave me an apologetic glance. “I’m in your head every night. I make observations. And I’m not hurt. Jealous, yeah, but that’s dumb. I told you to see other people. You listened.”

  My eyes widened. Melissa liked Joel! How could I have been so blind! I thought back on our conversations in a new light. It was so obvious.

  “Did I mention that you needed to be quick?” Hades reminded me as Joel headed off toward the walking trail.

  I blinked and stepped out from behind the shield right into a puddle. The rain was cold and quickly soaked the hem of my skirt.

  “Joel?” I swore and hurried up the trail. “Joel!”

  I ran up the hill at breakneck speed, keeping my eyes out for Joel. I saw a flash of a blue shirt through the trees. He was headed for the pavilion. Duh, probably trying to get out of the rain.

  “Joel?” I teleported around the curve of the trail. We were deep into the woods now. I dashed the final few yards and grabbed his shirt. He turned, surprised, pulling the headphones from him ears.

  “Oh hey! You’re early.” A grin broke out across his face. “How long have you been behind me?” He offered me the wilted bouquet of flowers with an apologetic grin. “Daisies are kind of hard to find. Look, I’m really sorry about that thing with Aphrodite…”

  I shook my head. “We need to get out of here.” I met his eyes. “This is going to freak you out, but you won’t remember, so don’t worry about it.”

  “Kora?” he asked uncertainly when I grabbed his hand.

  I tried to teleport, but it didn’t work. I was yanked back, my hand on his acting like a tether, pulling me back to the earth.

  My gaze traveled up his arm as I tried to decipher what this meant. An old conversation with Hades popped into my mind.

  “You can’t teleport with me. This isn’t my realm.”

  I met Joel’s eyes. I could teleport with humans. They were native to this realm. Demigods too. I’d teleported Orpheus to the hospital.

  “Right,” Joel said, meeting my eyes. “You’re going to forget you just tried that, and you’re going to walk with me, deeper into the woods.”

  I felt power sweep over me. Familiar power. Charm.

  I shook it off like water. “What? No! Let me go!” I tried to pull free, but his grip tightened.

  “What is this?” Joel laughed. “There’s quite a bit more power in you today.”

  “What are you?”

  His face rippled, and the glamour protecting him faded. His blue eyes lightened into an impossible sky blue, his hair shone like the sun. He looked taller, stronger, and overwhelmingly perfect.

  He gave me an easy grin and answered in a voice as smooth as silk. “Aw, come on, you know the answer to
that.”

  “Zeus,” I swallowed hard, yanking my hand away from him. It felt it like it had been seared with heat. “What did you do to Joel?”

  He laughed, flashing a mouthful of gleaming white teeth at me. “You’re pretty thick sometimes, you know that? There was no Joel.”

  “But Aphrodite—”

  “That was a handy distraction. She wasn’t too happy about it, but it’s not like she could say no. We are family.”

  I closed my eyes. How had I missed that? All that talk about us being sisters. Her complete and immediate trust of me. Gods didn’t have family loyalty. Zeus and Hades had never referred to each other as brothers. My mom and I were an oddity. But Aphrodite had trusted me from the beginning. Why hadn’t I realized how strange that was?

  Zeus didn’t need her to swear fealty. He’d programmed her to have unconditional loyalty to family when he created her. She’d always done everything I asked, even while complaining about it.

  “But I charmed you.” My voice was weak, I felt sick.

  “No. I charmed you. But you almost got me once.” His sky-blue eyes sparked with amusement. “I was impressed. I’d been watching you for a while, but the first time you tried to charm me, that last day of school before winter break, I knew you were strong enough to be useful.”

  I blinked. I had charmed Joel the day before Pirithous came to the flower shop. I’d been walking to Professor Homer’s class.

  That’s what set this all in motion? I felt sick to my stomach. My head was spinning. Zeus was Joel; he’d charmed me. I’d been wrong about Aphrodite. I’d set this in motion on that one stupid day. My mind couldn’t decide what to focus on; it was all so horrifying.

  “Why—what do you want with me?”

  “At first I just needed a vessel. Someone to collect worshipers without attracting too much attention. I was supposed to rescue you from Boreas.”

  “Asking fealty in return?” My throat felt dry as I remembered my speculation on how he’d planned to rescue Aphrodite.

  He shrugged. The gesture was so reminiscent of Joel that my breath caught in my throat. “That was plan B. Plan A involved the only god with a clairvoyant by his side.”