Page 137 of A Kingdom of Wild and Power
She swallowed. ‘And Ash hates me now.’
Something shone in Thanatos’ dark eyes, too swift to name, too dangerous to linger on, but she refused to decipher it.
‘He could never hate you, Melinoe,’ he said quietly.
‘No?’ She finally looked at him then, if only for a heartbeat, before returning her attention to the views. ‘Are you so certain of that?’
‘I am.’
‘Why?’ Her voice sharpened, brittle as frost. When he did not answer, when silence once again settled heavy between them, she exhaled slowly. ‘I think,’ she said at last, her tone turning cold and resolute, ‘it is time I began setting my plan in motion.’
Thanatos inclined his head, then lowered himself to crouch before her, one hand resting gently upon her knee. The gesture was careful, reverent almost. Mal told him everything, everythought that had festered in the quiet hours, every fragment of vengeance she intended to weave into something sharp and deliberate. He listened without interruption. Without judgement. Only the faint tightening of his jaw betrayed that he understood the cost.
‘I don’t want you going there,’ he said softly.
‘It was your idea.’
Thanatos sighed. ‘Yes, it was. But I never thought you would have to carry it out.’ His entire body tensed. ‘I don’t want—’
‘I don’t really care what you want,’ she replied. There was no cruelty in her voice, only exhaustion and a sorrow that had settled too deep to uproot. ‘It is what needs to be done. Or would you rather serve Persephone as your queen for the rest of eternity?’
Thanatos exhaled slowly. ‘No. I would not.’
‘Then I must return to Hell,’ she said. ‘And repay Persephone for sending me there all those years ago.’
His fingers tightened instinctively against her knee. ‘I will come with you.’
‘No.’ She shook her head at once. ‘I must go alone. If you vanish for too long, Persephone will grow suspicious. She cannot know what I am planning. You must distract her and keep her attention elsewhere.’ She paused, worry creasing her brow. ‘But first I must find a way past Zagreus.’
‘Zagreus?’
‘He won’t allow me through Tartarus to reach Hell.’
A faint smile touched Thanatos’ lips, and Mal forced herself not to dwell on how it unsettled her.
‘I wouldn’t be so certain of that, Melinoe.’
Her eyes narrowed. ‘What do you mean?’
Thanatos turned his stare towards the grey wyverian sky beyond the archway. He stared at it for so long she wonderedif he would retreat into silence, hoarding yet another truth from her.
‘Makaria and Zagreus,’ he began at last, ‘have never truly known what it is to be loved. Not properly. Their mother married Hades for power. Perhaps she loved him once. I believe she did, but she could never forgive him for choosing Hecate over her, time and again. Makaria and Zagreus were born not solely of affection, but as leverage. As anchors to keep Hades bound to her side.’
His voice grew quieter.
‘She loves them, yes. But I am not convinced she loves them more than she loves power. And if she does… I do not think they have ever felt it.’
He reached for Mal’s hand and clasped it firmly.
‘When you were Melinoe, you were the only one who treated them as siblings. You cared for them without ambition. You loved them without calculation. You never used them to gain influence or favour. They have not forgotten that.’
Mal stilled.
‘Why do you think Makaria was so willing to remain trapped in Hell for you?’ Thanatos asked quietly.
Mal bit the inside of her lip. Too many nights had been spent staring at nothing, sleep evading her, guilt gnawing steadily at her bones. She had left Makaria behind. She had not gone back.
Until, at some point, she had forced herself to stop caring.
