Series: Willow Winters
Total pages in book: 81
Estimated words: 74198 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 371(@200wpm)___ 297(@250wpm)___ 247(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 74198 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 371(@200wpm)___ 297(@250wpm)___ 247(@300wpm)
Movement is the only thing that seems to give me clarity, so I don’t take the shortest path. I stalk through the corridors of my home, turning one way, then another, treating it like a labyrinth.
If it were a labyrinth, then my queen would be at the center, waiting for me. She would be the conclusion to all my introspection. She would be the place where my mind arrived when it was at peace.
It doesn’t make me feel at peace to know that she is nowhere in my home or in the Underworld.
It makes me feel like tearing souls in limbo apart until there are none left to destroy, then starting on the rest of my realms. Clenching my jaw, I force the thought away.
I will not unleash that on the Underworld again. I cannot. Regret runs through me, and I can only imagine what Persephone would say.
Not now, at least. For now, I will walk the halls of my home, concentrating on my queen and what she would wish, and when I have reached my rooms, I will act.
Minox stays at my side. The tension is thick between us. Perhaps he is in need of a labyrinth as well, because he remains silent as we walk as if he is deep in thought. Perhaps he is. It would not surprise me. Minox spends most of his time in the shadows, watching the goings-on of the Underworld and keeping it running smoothly.
When my queen is restored to me, I will owe him a gift of gratitude for all he has done since she left.
But I remind myself, she has only gone so that she may return. She is only gone so that Zeus can feel the consequences of the errors he has made. She is only gone so that balance can be brought back to all the realms, and a truce can be called, and we can resume ruling, as we should have been doing all this time.
It is the way it must be. As angered as it makes me.
It is not until we reach the doors to my rooms and enter that I decide I have waited long enough to hear what he has to tell me.
“I hope it was not urgent,” I murmur as I pour myself a goblet of wine. The sound of it pouring against the gold fills the room.
“What are you referring to, my Lord?”
“Whatever news you came to bring me. I assume it was not urgent, otherwise you would have said it by now.”
“I did not come to bring news.”
Minox glances at me, his brow furrowed slightly. He seems perplexed yet calm. The hours since Persephone went to Olympus have been a strain on my advisers.
“Then why did you come?”
Minox inclines his head, as if he was expecting me to ask this question. “I came to await your orders, my Lord. I saw the lightning and wanted to make myself available in the event you wanted to send word.”
I almost laugh, a harsh, bitter sound, but I do not let it out. The sweet drink sloshes in the glass before I take a heavy gulp and huff a response. Send word to Olympus? Send word to Zeus? Should we scry once again so he can tell himself he did nothing wrong? Should I watch him through the mirror and stifle the urge to smash the whole thing to pieces?
No. No, of course not. The lightning was a sign that Zeus is in no mood to have a civil conversation.
A smirk reaches my lips at the thought. “Your instincts were correct, Minox. I do want to send word.”
It’s not long before Minox leaves my rooms; I finish my drink and then leave as well. I adjust my robe and crown, before settling on what will likely occur next.
He will be efficient in sending my message. I won’t have to wait long for the conversation that is to come.
Stealthily, I head to my andron. Perhaps this is the center of the labyrinth. It is, after all, the only place I can scry with Persephone, but it is not my queen who I have sent word to. My love must do this on her own. I shall wait in the shadows of the depths of her soul to need me. For I will always be there.
As I step inside the andron, Cerberus follows, shaking the night air off his fur and coming to my side. His feet pat rhythmically, the sound is soothing to the anxiousness that heats every inch of my skin. He peers up at me questioningly.
“There’s no need to worry, Cerberus. I have responded to the storm. It will not bother you again tonight.”
I stroke his fur.
“I hope it will not bother you again tonight,” I add, because I cannot guarantee that Zeus will remain calm. “In the meantime, I will speak with someone who may be able to make Zeus see reason.”