Persephone looked at the door, then back at Hades. “You asked for my presence.”

“I insist.”

Throwing her hands up, Persephone stepped back into her own room and closed the door. She hesitated, feeling foolish, then rapped upon the door with her fist.

“Enter.”

Persephone did so, closing the door behind her this time.

“Do you know why I asked you to do that?” Hades asked, still seated.

The only boundaries you care about are the ones you set. “Your rooms are your own, and I’m here upon your sufferance.”

“Yes, and?”

Persephone’s face grew hot. Were they really doing this? She was a goddess grown, not an errant child needing a lesson! “And you want to remind me that you feel the need to control everything.”

Hades paused for a moment. “Not everything.”

“Me, then. You feel the need to control me.”

“The gardener tends his plants to grow in a manner that is pleasing to the eye, does he not?”

“I can’t fit the shape you’re training me for.”

“We shall see.” Hades folded her hands in her lap. The index finger of her sword arm was black with carbon ink. “People look to you, Persephone. They notice how I treat you. You cannot be above the law.”

“Your law.”

“My laws, and the ancient laws inherited from those who came before us.”

“Before us? You mean Gaia?” Persephone asked.

“I mean the gods that humans worshiped before Gaia. Before Chaos, before Nyx.”

Persephone pressed her hand to her mouth. That was a form of blasphemy, to say that Chaos was not at the beginning of the universe. But she could not stop the question that slipped from her lips. “What gods?”

Hades shook her head. “Deities beyond counting, long forgotten. One day our time will come, and we too will be forgotten. No more worshipers; no more sacrifices.”

For once, Persephone was grateful they were in the underworld. If anyone else had heard such treacherous words pass Hades’ lips... she did not wish to think of what might have befallen her. “But... we are their gods.”

“For a time, yes. And for that time to continue, we must fulfill our sacred duties, lest we be forgotten.”

“What about my duty?” Persephone asked. “How can I usher in spring from beneath the earth?”

Hades smiled. “There was a time before you. Your mother will have to bear that burden once more.”

Her mother... She had scarcely thought of Demeter in the last few days. “She will be greatly displeased,” she whispered.

Hades sighed. “Enough. On your knees and tell me, from the beginning, what happened this morning.”

Persephone trembled, her hands forming fists by her sides.

Hades pursed her lips. “In the overworld, you had no issue with proskynesis.”

“That was before I knew what you were.”

“And what am I?”

Persephone looked away. She could not say it. She was too weak of will.