Persephone woke the next morning with sticky eyes and a headache. Her sleep had been fitful, the events of the day ebbed and flowed, hitting her hard, evoking a burst of sadness and raw emotion, then receding into a kind of numb stupor.
As she sat up, there was a knock at her door, and Hecate poked her head in.
“Good morning, my sweet,” she said. “I’ve brought you some breakfast.”
Something thick had settled at the back of her throat and she thought she might vomit. There was no way she could eat right now, not with the way her stomach churned.
“No thank you, Hecate. I’m not hungry.”
The goddess frowned. “Sit with me for a little while, then. Perhaps you will change your mind.”
“I’m sorry, Hecate. I can’t,” Persephone said, already on her feet. “I need to get to the hospital.”
She checked her phone, but there were no texts from Lexa’s mother or Jaison. She hoped that was a good sign. She hurried into the adjoining bathroom and scrubbed her face. The cold water felt good against her flushed skin.
“You really should eat something,” Hecate said. “It would please Hades.”
It might please Hades, but Persephone was sure she would be sick if she ate.
“Where is Hades?” she asked, exiting the bathroom. He’d been beside her through most of the night, waking up each time she rose from bed to blow her nose or wash her face.
The goddess shrugged. “I do not know. He summoned me early this morning. He did not wish to disturb you.”
She wasn’t sure why, but not knowing where Hades was at this moment made her uneasy. She couldn’t help where her mind wandered—was he sorting things out with Leuce? She had asked him to give her a place to live and her job back, but she had not seen the nymph. She supposed she could ask today as she was scheduled to meet Leuce later. It was part of the deal she’d made to mentor the nymph.
“I am sorry about Lexa, Persephone,” Hecate said at last.
The sentiment made Persephone shiver, and her eyes watered.
“It shouldn’t have been her.”
Hecate said nothing, and Persephone cleared her throat. After she was dressed, she grabbed her phone and her purse.
“I’ll take coffee if you have it,” she told Hecate as she prepared to head out.
“That is not sustenance.”
“Yes, it is—it’s caffeine.”
Hecate frowned, but obliged, summoning a steaming cup of coffee.
“Thank you, Hecate,” Persephone said. “When you see Hades, tell him I had breakfast.”
“That would be a lie,” she argued.
“No, it’s not. He knows what breakfast means for me.”
Hecate shook her head, grimacing, but didn’t argue.
Persephone left Nevernight on foot. It was already hot and it wasn’t even noon. The heat coiled around her skin as she walked, dampening her clothes and causing her hair to stick to her neck and face. She probably should have taken the bus, or asked Hecate to arrange for a ride, but she really wanted to be alone.
“Persephone!” she glanced up. Someone on the other side of the street had called her name. She didn’t recognize them, but they were now looking up and down the road in an attempt to cross. She quickened her pace.
“Persephone!”
She glanced behind her again. The person had made it across the street, and they were now running toward her.
“Persephone Rosi, wait!”