Hades lowered herself to her knees before Persephone. “I have not always treated you with the courtesy you deserve. But if you choose to return to my home, to return to me, it will not be as my slave but as my queen.” Hades took a deep breath, her eyes never leaving Persephone’s. “I offer you my faith and my heart.”

Persephone smoothed the hem of her tunic over her knees, taking a moment to compose herself. “You have done me ill, it’s true. At first, I could not stand the sight of you. I had nightmares,” she said, her voice growing cold, “for months.” She held up a hand when it looked like Hades might speak. “But you came for me when no one else would. When others willfully turned away, because it was Demeter; because she was my mother and the keeper of the grain. You saved me. I’ll never forget that.”

“You saved me, too. When you took Demeter’s arrow in my stead.”

Persephone ran her fingertips over her scar. “I had to. I couldn’t stand by and watch you suffer.”

Hades bowed her head. “Why not?”

“Because...” Persephone trailed off. “You know why.” Her voice trembled. For Hades, that night had been half a mortal lifetime ago, but for Persephone, it might as well have happened yesterday. She remembered the heat from the fire, the scent of burning, the way the fumes stung her eyes. “I saw Demeter was going to take you away, forever, and I couldn’t—I couldn’t stand the thought of living in a world where you weren’t—where you no longer existed.”

“Oh, Persephone,” Hades whispered.

Persephone reached for the pomegranate, holding it in her lap. “In the overworld, I’ll always be in Demeter’s shadow. She will never let me forget that. Below... I’ve made a difference.” She briefly closed her eyes. She had changed things, made circumstances better for some—it was the truth and not conceit to say as much. “To the souls you care for and to the land itself. I don’t wish to leave you again—at least, not forever. But I belonged to the earth long before I ever met you. I must have the sun.”

“If I could capture a piece of it and bring it down with me, I would,” Hades said.

“I know.” Persephone counted out six shining seeds from the pomegranate, freeing them from the white pith, and held them on her palm, placing the rest of the fruit back on the table. “I’ll dwell with you for half the year—six months. For the other six, I’ll reside in the overworld. Will you accept?”

“I would have you by my side, always. But if I cannot...” Hades sighed. “Yes. I accept.”

Persephone placed the six seeds on her tongue, all at once.