My…mother.
Fuck, that’s weird to even think in my head, especially since she looks only a few years older than me.
“Please promise you’ll return,” she whispers brokenly, her tears wetting my shoulder.
I meet Hades’s steely eyes, and he nods slightly, letting me know he’ll find a way to make that happen.
“I promise,” I tell her.
This time, I actually mean it.
Persephone pulls away and sniffles. “Good.” A wobbly smile spreads on her face. She cups my cheeks, her touch incredibly gentle. “I’m so, so proud of you, my darling girl. And I’m so, so sorry we couldn’t save you the first time around.”
“You’re allowing me to return to my men,” I tell her. “I can forgive you both for just about anything because of that.”
A single tear cascades down Persephone’s blotchy face, though she doesn’t lift a finger to brush it away.
“Go. Return to your loves. We’ll be here when you need us.” She gives my cheeks one final squeeze and then releases me, stepping away.
I turn to face Hades—my father.
“I’m ready,” I tell him. “Bring me to my men.”
CHAPTER FORTY-SIX
THEA
One thing is certain. I am most definitely not a fan of dying and coming back to life. It fucking hurts.
Hades couldn’t have healed me when he brought me back to the land of the living? Even a little bit?
Dad of the year.
Awareness returns to me in stages. First, I become aware of an incandescent burning sensation in my chest, like my heart has been physically removed from my body and stomped on. Then my hands and feet begin to tingle. A pounding headache erupts behind my eyelids, drowning out all other sounds.
Finally, I hear the voices.
Theirvoices.
Rafe. Everett. Krystian. Zaid.
My blood fae. My shifter. My elf. My wraith.
It feels like I’m swimming through sticky black tar that clings to my skin. I’m desperate to escape it, desperate to get to them, but the darkness holds me back.
Let. Me. Go.
With one final burst of strength, I lunge to the surface, coughing and sputtering.
“Thea!”
Four faces hover around me, their expressions ranging from shocked to disbelieving. Hope and pain battle for dominance in their eyes.
Fuck, my chest hurts. And my head. And my face. And my arms. And my legs. And my?—
Can I just say everything hurts?
Dying sucks.
