Page 167 of A Kingdom of Wild and Power
Tabitha Wysteria
It had driven Kage almost to the brink of madness to know that he must endure the whole day before he could return to Bryn. He tried earnestly and stubbornly to believe the valkyrians would not harm him, yet with each passing hour the line between ally and adversary grew ever more indistinct, as though the world itself had begun to blur its loyalties.
He found Zagreus upon his throne, wearing an expression of quiet irritation, his eyes fractured and strangely adrift. It was an odd sight upon such a severe face; the look did not belong to him. Kage also noticed that Wren was nowhere to be seen. Stranger still, considering how lately she had seemed almost physically tethered to Zagreus’ side.
‘She’s gone,’ Zagreus muttered, as though he had plucked the thought straight from Kage’s mind. ‘Mal has gone to Hell and taken Wren with her.’
‘And you allowed that?’ Kage asked, a little surprised.
Zagreus only shrugged, the movement languid. ‘I gave herconditions.’
‘Of course you did.’
‘You won’t have to persuade her to kill Eris for me. I’ve already done that for you.’
‘Lucky me.’
Kage wondered how long he would be forced to wait before he could return to Bryn’s side. Time, in the Underworld, was an impossible thing to measure. Indeed, it scarcely existed at all. The hours neither marched nor drifted; they simply were not. And so dread crept steadily into his thoughts. What if, by the time he returned, the goddess Eris had already come and gone, leaving ruin in her wake? What if Bryn was already in danger? Kage had not warned him.
‘Hide,’ Zagreus said sharply. ‘My mother is coming.’
Kage opened his mouth to object, but the tightening of Zagreus’ jaw made it painfully clear that there would be no victory in such an argument. Reluctantly, he slipped behind the throne of skulls; an immense, grotesque monument of bone, so vast and ornate that Persephone would surely never notice a man concealed behind it. At least, he hoped she would not.
Through the narrow gaps between the carved bones, Kage watched as Persephone swept into Tartarus, Thanatos following in her shadow like a silent echo. This time she did not claim her son’s throne from him, but remained standing instead.
‘A pleasure to have you here, mother,’ Zagreus said, though the languid drawl of his voice suggested quite the opposite.
‘Someone has entered Hell,’ she replied.
Zagreus did not answer at once. Instead, he remained sprawled across the throne, half-sitting, half-reclining, as his stare drifted idly to his nails as though they held far greater interest than the matter at hand.
‘I am the Queen of the Underworld,’ Persephone continued,her voice sharpening slightly. ‘Such things do not escape my notice, Zagreus.’
‘I’m aware.’
‘Well then?’
‘Well then what?’
‘Who entered?’ Her dark eyes narrowed to thin slits. ‘You are the keeper of this prison. You ought to know who comes and who goes.’ Her tone carried the crisp, cutting edge of a mother scolding a son for neglecting his duties.
‘Kage Blackburn,’ Zagreus replied at last, his voice loose with indifference, almost bored. ‘He went to do as you wished. To retrieve Makaria.’
Persephone visibly relaxed, satisfaction softening the severity of her features. ‘Excellent. Send for me the moment he returns with her.’
‘Will you keep your end of the bargain?’ Zagreus asked before she could turn on her heel and sweep away.
She paused, turning slowly back to face him.
‘Will you keep your word and leave Mal’s child alone, as you promised?’
Behind the throne, Kage stiffened the instant Persephone laughed.
‘Of course not,’ she said.
‘But you promised.’
‘So?’ Her expression twisted, something cold and venomous cracking through the surface of her beauty. ‘Mal Blackburn is the reason Makaria is trapped in Hell. She is the root of all this chaos. She deserves whatever fate finds her. And that child…’ her lip curled faintly, ‘would be far safer away from her claws.’
