A servant came to them. “Beg pardon, but Queen Hades has requested your presence.”

A chill fell upon Persephone. She was certain that if she refused to go, someone would be forced to drag her, and she had no desire to cause such a scene.

She followed the servant back inside the hall. Hades looked slightly more disheveled than before, her color high, strands of her hair loosened from dancing. She turned as Persephone entered and smiled.

“Time for you to depart,” Hades said. She held out her hand, and after a moment, Persephone took it, wincing as the movement caused the newly healed skin on her palm to stretch.

Hades cleared her throat, and a hush fell over the hall. “Friends, thank you for your company this evening. We must now depart”—she was forced to pause until the snickers died down—“but please, continue to enjoy yourselves as long as the night permits. Eat, drink, and celebrate the dawning of a new age!”

The crowd cheered, warm with inebriation.

Hades raised Persephone’s hand to her lips and kissed her knuckles. “I will see you anon.” She released her and turned to talk with a few last well-wishers eager to catch her on her way out of the hall.

Xenia took Persephone’s arm in her stead. “Come with me,” she said.

There was to be no procession, then, no ritual blessings. At least there would not be the scandal of someone else holding a torch in her mother’s place. Persephone supposed she ought to be thankful for small mercies, but she could not find it within herself to feel gratitude. She walked with Xenia beside her, and her heart filled with dread.

9

THE MARRIAGE BED

Xenia and another two girls herded Persephone to her room, sitting her down at her dressing table and working to undo the monstrosity of her coiffure. Many hands disentangled the small pins from her hair, inevitably tugging a little too hard at the braids when they snagged. Her scalp tingled as the tension eased, and she sighed with relief.

Once all the ornaments were gone, a girl combed out her hair. The chiton was next to go, though she was somewhat more ambivalent about taking it off. It was a garment of such rare beauty, she missed admiring the shimmer of the weave, despite its weight and the discomfort it caused her. Nevertheless, she changed into a plain white chiton, smoothing her hands over the reddened marks where the wedding garment had cinched in.

“Is there anything else you need?” Xenia asked her.

Persephone shook her head, and Xenia and all the servants departed. She sat on the bed and swung her legs over the side, for once at a loss as to what to do with herself. She hadn’t heard Xenia lock the door this time.