The Curse of a Godess

33.

She lightly taps her hands on my cheeks and frowns, "You fool, it's me. I don't have time to talk right now, Persephone is behind me waiting for us to escape. She wanted to free Poseidon first, but I don't know if she's going to be okay."

"Why would you bring her here?!" I snap through gritted teeth. "Cronus is with Poseidon right now!"

"I don't know why I brought her here, but she convinced me!" She gripes back quietly as her vines continue to mess with the ropes.

"She needs to get out of here!"

"Try telling your future children what to do once they're older!" She bites, "It's not as easy as it seems!"

As her vines continue to fail to untangle the ropes, Poseidon's screams stop. Demeter turns back when she also notices the silence, and I hear her breath get more frantic. The thunderous footsteps echo like a monster creeping over the mountains, and her vines begin tugging on the ropes.

"I don't care if you take the ropes with me." I whisper, "Just hurry!"

"I'm trying!" She bites quietly, "Give it a moment! I can get the ropes off, just stay quiet!"

Before the silence can stretch for too long, the sound of armor clashing rings through the building made of clouds. Persephone, you better not have been caught by him.  If anything, try to fight long enough until I can get to you. The clashing grows louder, and the feeling of the loosening of the rope brings my hands to begin wrestling with the restraints. I could almost thank the rest of the Gods when the ropes break free, and I instantly fall to my knees before trying to hobble up.

"Wait!" Demeter says quietly, "You need to heal! You can't go out there injured."

"You want me to leave Persephone out there?!" I bite, "She can't fight for herself! Not against Cronus!"

I push her aside and she begins to pull me back before I rip from her grasp.

"Hades stop!" She demands, "You can never protect her from everything!"

As the words slip through her lips, the guilt stops my muscles from taking another step.

"I may be a hypocrite!" She admits.

"She's going to get hurt sometimes, and there's nothing you can do about it. She's a lot stronger and smarter than we think. She will be okay, but you need to sit back and heal yourself before you try helping her. If you go out there injured, both of you will caught. Trust me, if you keep sheltering her, she will grow to hate you."

Persephone's words play in my head when her only request was to never chain her down. I wanted to protect her, and I failed. How could I sit back and let her fight alone? I didn't want her to feel the pain Cronus put me through, but Demeter was right. If I had tried to fight him injured, he would have the both of us locked away. I needed to heal.

"Go, and I will catch up once I heal." I order, "She is strong, but that doesn't mean she has to fight alone."

Persephone's POV

The sweat collecting in my hand causes the sword to lightly slip as I point it toward Cronus. The only thing separating us is the pedestal holding Zeus' lightning bolt, and my mind eases as the bolt remains untouched. So it's true, only Zeus can hold the bolt. If Cronus could, he would've taken it by now.

Cronus stares at me with no words, his eyes occasionally stretching up and down me like he was studying every detail. He was too strong to fight in a one-on-one battle, but I could probably distract him long enough for the others to get free. Luckily the rest of the titans were nothing to me despite their ten foot stature. They were nearly giants who walked like humans, and their presence alone sent fear in every corner despite my power. As I predicted, their life energy stored in the palm of my hand and only Cronus stood in my way.