He drew his arm around her neck and brought her lips to his. She started to move again when Hades rolled, taking control, except that once she was beneath him, he didn’t move. She glared at him and lifted her hips, but he remained still.

“I will always want you, and I would have welcomed you to my bed any night.”

“I didn’t know,” she said.

He pressed a thumb to her swollen lips.

“Now you do.”

He gave her a bruising kiss, and they came together again, working through their anger and their pain until all they felt was their hearts beating together as one.

***

Persephone rose hours later in search of Hecate. She found the Goddess of Witchcraft in her cabin bundling sage.

“Good evening, my sweet. You look well.”

Persephone smiled. “I am well Hecate, thank you.”

“You are here to ask for a favor?”

Persephone twisted her fingers together.

“How did you know?”

Hecate smirked. “I don’t imagine you were eager to leave Hades’ company. Something brought you to my doorstep and it isn’t training.”

Persephone snorted and explained. “I need to speak to my mother, but under...controlled circumstances.”

“You wish to summon her so you can also dismiss her?”

Persephone nodded. “Can you help me?”

Hecate wrapped the last of the sage. When she was finished, she turned toward Persephone meeting her gaze.

“My dear, I would love nothing more than to help you stand up to your mother.”

Persephone grinned and they teleported to her room in the Upperworld. Hecate got to work, instructing Persephone in the art of summoning spells.

“First, we must cleanse this area,” she said, burning sage and carrying the smoking bundle around the room. Once she was finished, Hecate used her magic to draw a triple circle on her floor.

“Conjuring the living is no different from conjuring the dead,” Hecate explained. “In both cases you are summoning the soul so the spell is the same.”

Hecate gave Persephone a piece of obsidian and a piece of quartz.

“Obsidian for protection,” she said. “And quartz for power.”

After that, she produced a black candle which she placed in the center of the triple circle. She hovered over it, her eyes lifting to meet Persephone’s.

“When I lite this candle, the spell is complete. Your mother will hear the call.”

“Are you sure she will come?”

The Goddess shrugged. “There is a chance she may resist, but I doubt your mother will give up the chance to see you.”

“You don’t know how angry she was when we last spoke.”

“You are still her daughter,” Hecate said. “She will come.

Hecate bent, cupping her hand over the wick of the candle. Persephone saw the goddess’s lips move, and when she pulled away, a black flame flickered.

“Shall I leave you now?”

Persephone nodded. “Yes, thank you, Hecate.”

She smiled. “Just blow out the candle, when you are ready for her to leave.”