Once she was fully attired, Xenia handed her a plate of polished brass in which to observe her appearance. Curled locks of hair framed her face to either side, the rest of her braid pinned at the crown of her head. The metal distorted her image slightly, leaving her with the face of a ghost.

Persephone lowered the plate, placing it on the table. Without Hades to focus her anger upon, she was forced at last to reflect upon the enormity of her situation. She should have run. She had disobeyed her mother, and now this was her punishment—to be damned, like Prometheus and Ixion before her.

“Our queen will be most charmed,” Xenia said, as if that were a thing to be desired.

Persephone shuddered. “When may I speak with her?”

Xenia looked nervous. “Forgive me, but it won’t be today. Instead, I’ve been asked to—”

Persephone couldn’t have cared less about what Hades wanted her to do. “She won’t even see me?”

“Soon,” Xenia said in the tone all servants used when they wanted to smooth ruffled feathers but had no authority to keep their promises.

Persephone threw her hands up in disgust. If the jewels had not been so intricately wound into her hair, she would’ve ripped them out.

Xenia held up a sheet of papyrus. “Today, Queen Hades simply asks that you rest and take a leisurely visit to the main areas of the underworld. In addition, she asks that you become aware of the areas where you would be ill-advised to visit without assistance—namely, Tartarus, the Plain of Judgment, the Vale of Mourning, and the lands east of the Elysian Fields.”

Such an itinerary did not suit a plaything who had been stolen for one or two nights and would soon be released. Persephone felt a lightness rushing to her head, causing the room to sway.

She grabbed the bed frame for support and sat on the bed. Who were her allies here? Hermes was bound to visit at some point, though Gaia only knew if Persephone could catch him alone. She knew of no one else who would be sympathetic to her plight and had business in the underworld.

“Mistress? Would you care for some water?”

“No,” she said. Drinking or eating the food in the underworld could bind her here forever. She remembered that much from her lessons, at least.

Xenia shifted uneasily, the movement partially obscured by her long chiton. “Shall we begin with the Asphodel Fields, in that case? It’s a pleasant ride down and most becoming at this time of the morning.”