P. Hoover - Solstice

My Queen. I was Queen of the Underworld. I remember walking the fields of Elysium and the meadows of Asphodel by myself, maintaining order and keeping control. And I even remember Tartarus. Delivering punishment to those damned. I think of Sisyphus and Tantalus and Pirithous. Punishment is deserved for evil like theirs.

Tantalus cut up his own son and served him in soup to the gods—to my own mother who actually ate it, which explains her aversion to meat.

Pirithous tried to steal me from the Underworld to make me his bride.

Sisyphus carved up travelers and guests for pleasure, keeping them alive as long as possible to prolong their suffering.

They deserved their fates in Tartarus. And I was happy to ensure their eternal torment. I delivered their sentences with pleasure.

Charon gives my hand a final squeeze and then takes us across the river. I look to the bubbling sorrows, and realize I can see faces with them now, not just hear words. I see Randy Conner’s face with his sadness. I see Councilman Rendon; he wants another chance. I see deaths and miseries and longings, all left behind. But the sorrows don’t tug on me as before. I dip my hand into the water, knowing the monsters won’t harm me, letting them come to me and trying to offer calmness in return. And when my hand touches the water, the monsters disperse, and the mad, frenzied bubbling of the sorrows stops. Within seconds, the River Acheron is calm.

Shayne and Charon both stare at me.

“The water hasn’t been calm in eighteen years, Piper.”

I smile at my name, and Shayne starts laughing.

He puts up his hands in compromise. “I’ll call you whatever you want.” And then he motions back out to the water. We’re bumping into the dock now, the boat causing the only ripples on the now smooth surface. “Just remember, we need you down here. I need you down here.”

When we step out, he holds me, and I never want to leave. “I want to be here. Forever.”

Shayne laughs. “And this is the root of the whole problem. It always has been.”

I pull back and look at him. “What do you mean?”

Shayne rolls his eyes. “Talk to your parents. But just promise me one thing.”

I nod. I’d promise Shayne anything. “What?”

“Promise me you’ll come back.”

It’s my turn to laugh. “Promise you’ll take me.”

Shayne smiles, and more than anything I want to be with him for eternity.

I smile and give him a kiss. And then I’m moving through the earth and the silver divide again, rising up from Hell back to the Botanical Haven above.

I check the clock on my FON; it’s Sunday afternoon. While it felt like an eternity in the Underworld, it’s only been about twelve hours of real time. And aside from me, the Botanical Haven is empty; my mom isn’t home.

My parents are gods. I am a god.

I look at the plants in the Botanical Haven around me and realize, from the changes in weather we’ve been having, half are on the verge of dying. A raw humidity presses in from all sides; the glass is so wet with condensation, I can’t see out. At the sink in the back, I fill a glass of water for myself, drinking the whole thing and refilling it before turning to the plants. They need moisture, so I throw open some windows. When I open the window, I notice dark clouds hanging in the west over the Hill Country. But they aren’t moving. They stay still like a threat that could descend on Austin in a second.

The heat pumps in through the windows, and I’m moved by the powers inside me. Around me, life returns to everything. Leaves grow, and flowers bloom. I change them with a mere thought in my mind. Pinks become blues. Yellows become reds. Life blossoms and flourishes, limbs grow to the ceiling, and roots dig out of pots and reach for the floor. The Botanical Haven is a thing alive and under my control. It flexes and bends to my will. I grow vines around the railings and hang flowers from the rafters. Fruit blossoms and then bursts into being on orange and cherry and avocado trees. Vines produce tomatoes and kumquats and black grapes. It’s a power I’ve always had though I’ve never known how to harness it like this.

A knock on the door shakes me from my zone. My mind immediately flies to Reese, coming to visit again. Knowing my mom isn’t home somehow. He knows I’m Persephone. He’s been waiting for me to find out. He’s been courting me forever, since even before I knew Shayne. And of all the gods who’d pursued me before Shayne, Ares never gave up. Once I made my decision, Hermes and Hephaestus and Apollo acquiesced and recognized me as Queen of the Underworld. But Ares remained unwavering. Biding his time. Always nearby.

I glance around a tall tree and look through the glass. But I don’t see Reese. I see Chloe. I rush to the door, unlock it, and throw it open. Chloe’s standing there with her arms wrapped around herself, shivering even though sweat beads down her face and arms. The humidity’s so thick, the air around her seems hazy.

“Chloe!”

She doesn’t move. I grab her and try to pull her in, and she finally lets me. I take her upstairs, drape a blanket across her bare arms even though it’s well over a hundred, and start some coffee brewing. It’s only when she’s sitting there at the table that she finally seems to realize where she is.

“Piper.”

“Hi.” I fill a cup of steaming coffee and slide it over to her. “You’re shaking.”

Chloe nods. “My body can’t seem to keep up with the temperature changes.”

My mind can’t seem to keep up with anything. “It’s like autumn is coming,” I say.

I try to think of something to keep the conversation going. Having Chloe here with me soothes something deep inside me. Like everything else about my life is off but Chloe is still the same. She’s just been freaked out recently; that’s all. She’s getting better. “If autumn is coming, that’ll blow a lot of scientists’ global warming theories right out of the water.”

“My mom says people used to play in snow,” Chloe says. “They skated and made angels.”

I think of the frozen River Cocytus, of doing just that. “It sounds like fun, Chloe. Maybe if we went far enough north—”

Chloe smoothes the top of her bandana. “You think there’s still snow anywhere?”

I want to tell her about kissing Shayne on the snowy banks of the river. I want to tell her about blowing icy breath. And trees with icicles. And a glacier beyond the ocean. I want to tell Chloe everything. “I’m sure there is. I think there are winter wonderlands just waiting for us.”

She pats my hands. “That sounds so nice, Piper. Like paradise.”

“Yeah,” I say. “Just like paradise.” I’m trying to find a way to start. To explain the oddities which have become my life.

But Chloe doesn’t give me the chance. Instead, she looks at her arm. “My tattoo keeps changing.”

I’m looking at it, too. Pure black. Ebony. And it spells out a Greek word I read clearly as Fate .

“It’s probably just the light,” I say.

Chloe’s holding her coffee cup with both hands, but she hasn’t taken a sip. I pick up mine and put my lips to it, hoping she’ll take my lead and do the same. But she sits there unmoving, her eyes still fixed on my arm.

“Did you know Hannah Reed is pregnant?”

So Chloe’s heard about the classroom incident, also. I’m sure it’s all over the school by now. “Yeah, I was there when she told everyone.”

“Do you think she’ll keep the baby?”

I try to grasp what Chloe is saying. “Yeah, I think she’ll keep it. She misses Randy a lot.”