All at once, the sheer impossibility of my quest hits me. I’ve done two impossible things already; I’m not sure I can pull off a third. And then what? After I get the objects, I still have to call on Chronos and then my ancestor god. Won’t that be fun? The book was pretty vague after that. Who knows what I will face if I ever get the pomegranate seeds and get the chance to call the god of time.

I stop midpace and cover my face with my hands.

I was stupid to even think I could pull this off.

As I squeeze my eyes shut, trying to block out the tears of despair that I feel tingling, I try to stop thinking about the big picture—the pressure and the desperation to undo what I did all those years ago. Instead, I think about the current step, the next action I’m trying to complete.

The pomegranate seeds.

If I think about Chronos and time travel and changing everything that happened in the last ten years, it’s overwhelming. The pomegranate seeds seem easy in comparison.

My mind relaxes, and as it does it fills with an image.

I see a man—tall, strong, broad-shouldered, with long, flowing dark hair and a matching beard. He reminds me of Zeus and Poseidon, which means he can only be Hades.

He is looking at something. In the vision, I turn. No, he’s looking at someone.

At Persephone.

Pale blond hair and airy green dress blowing behind her as she races toward him. Her eyes are wide, desperate. Happy.

I look back and forth between the two gods, amazed at the emotion burning in their eyes, burning for each other. When Persephone reaches Hades, she flings her arms around his neck, and he wraps his around her waist.

With a gasp, I pull out of the vision, back into the ballroom.

I turn to Xander, unable to hide my grin. “I know.”

Racing back over to the alcove, I yank back the curtain and shout, “Love!” I laugh. “It’s love that binds Persephone to Hades.”

I hold my breath until the guard nods and steps to the side of the alcove. Behind him, the black stone wall transforms into an archway.

“Come on,” I yell at Xander. “Let’s get those pomegranate seeds.”

The room is spectacular. Even compared to Mount Olympus and Poseidon’s palace, it is breathtaking in its splendor. Descriptions in the sources Troy and I found must have been only guessing at what the Hall of Springtime really looks like, because they aren’t even close.