P. Hoover - Solstice

My mom nods. “Yes, you fought. But Ares managed to control you. He has this way of calming people. Getting them to do what he wants.”

It settles on me; I know only too well about Reese’s power. It’s the power that overcomes me every time he’s near. “He drugged me.”

My mom shrugs. “Drugs. Power. Call it what you want. We needed your cooperation.”

How my mother could be a part of her own daughter’s abduction and drugging and death is beyond me. “I drank the water. And there was fire.”

“Yes, Piper.”

She moves toward me and reaches out, but I slap her hand away. This is not my mother. She’s a demon in the body of my mother.

My mom lowers her hand. “Ares killed the phoenix, then. It had to be done just right. With flames and a knife made of pure gold. Hephaestus himself crafted it, though he had no idea why.”

“Reese killed the phoenix?” I say.

“Yes. Without him, I never would have been able to do everything. You were still fighting, but as soon as the bird burst into flame, so did you. And then you were reborn to me and free of Hades forever.”

It’s like I’m watching my past life through the eyes of someone else. I cannot fathom how my mother could have done this. “And Reese’s involvement—”

“What? What about my involvement?”

I turn to see the door wide open, and Reese standing there, watching us. Outside, the wind howls, and the air is filled with smoke.

“You’re responsible for everything. Everything.”

His smile only grows.

“Every single thing that’s happened has been your fault. The phoenix. My death. Taking me away from the life I loved.”

Reese spreads his arms, like he thinks I’m going to run over and hug him. “But look at everything you have in your future.” And then his smell hits me hard, and I know it’s a drug.

I cannot let it overcome me. I cannot let go. I back away, putting distance between him and me, but he takes two steps forward for every step I take back.

“Stay away from me!” I scream it at him, fighting to keep the aroma from entering me.

But he still comes. “You promised, Piper. You said you’d give us a chance.” He’s close now, and I’m up against a wall.

I look to my mom. She’s standing there, watching, not seeming to process that I’m being threatened. “Help me, Mom.”

My mom looks at Reese. He’s next to her now on his advance toward me. Behind me, I feel the glass of the wall against my skin. And the thick scent of wine enters my nose. I force it out but know I need to breathe.

My mom shifts, and I think she’s going to do something to stop him. But then she actually presses her lips into a thin smile. “But maybe I was wrong, Piper,” she says. “Maybe being with him will solve all our problems.”

I shake my head. She’s under his spell. “Can’t you see it, Mom? He’s tricking you. You aren’t in control. He is.”

“Half of the assembly backs him,” she says. “And he’s waited so long.”

I look from her to Reese.

He nods. “Thousands of years, Piper. I’ve loved you since the day I first saw you.”

“He’ll let us all stay together. We won’t have to worry about the Underworld,” my mom says. “I can come with you when you need to go away.”

Every word out of her mouth makes me sick. A sudden coldness hits me as reality sinks in. I have no control. I have nothing. Even my own mother has betrayed me.

“I’ve waited for you, Persephone. I’ve waited so long. Forever. It’s been worse than eternity in Tartarus without you. Torture every time I see you.” He takes a step and then another, until I realize he’s only a foot away.

“I don’t want you.” I force the words out, even against the intoxication I feel seeping through me.

“That’s crazy.” He reaches out and touches me.

I yank my arm back. “I don’t want you. Not now. Not then.”

Reese steps close. “You do. You want me more than life itself. I see it in your eyes. I can smell it on you. You want me with every inch of your glorious body.” He grabs my arm now and holds it, his grip tightening until it hurts.

My body is dying to go to him. To give in to his words. Words I know are true. And words I know are planted by him, but I don’t care.

“Yes, Piper. Come to me. Be with me forever.”

My legs betray me, carrying me forward. But some part of my brain stops them, until I’m held rigid by my own internal battle.

“I don’t want you.” I can only get out a whisper now.

He’s leaning toward me. His smell is in my nose. In my mouth. I can’t fight it. I don’t want to fight it anymore. I just want to give in to what I know is right.

“Yes.” I whisper the word.

Reese smiles, and his eyes meet mine. And in them, I see the deception, masked behind sapphire irises. He’s coming for me. And I can’t stop him alone.

“Shayne.” I call him, praying he’ll come. Because I don’t think I’ll have a second chance.

“He won’t come,” Reese says. And then his lips are on mine, and I close my eyes.

Reese’s kiss is hot and hard, and I feel like he’s about to devour me. My mind fills with fog, and even though my brain screams against me, I kiss him back. But then, with a sudden motion, he flies across the room, landing on his back.

The door bangs open, and a breeze blows into the room, clearing away the drug that is Reese. I look around, but don’t see anything. And then a familiar hand touches me on the cheek, stroking it gently.

“Shayne?” He’s come.

I feel him but don’t see him anywhere. And then his lips are on mine, and I know everything I thought about him is wrong. I love him more than life itself. He’s my perfect soulmate, and I’ll never belong with another. The assembly of gods be damned.

“Shhhh,” he whispers in my ear. “I’m sorry I took so long.”

I still don’t see him, but he’s here, and his invisible presence moves away from me; I know he’s heading for Reese.

“Ares!” Shayne’s voice booms across the Botanical Haven.

Reese is on the ground, but he jumps to his feet, and a grin filled with malevolence covers his face.

How could I ever have kissed him?

“Nobody invited you to this party, Hades,” Reese says.

I look at my mom, who’s glancing around, trying to find Shayne, not looking at me.

“Piper invited me.” His voice comes from a different location now. He’s moving around. And he’s invisible.

Reese jumps out toward the voice, but when he reaches out and closes his arms, they come up empty.

“Looking for something, Ares?” Shayne’s voice again, now coming from near the register.

Reese whips around. “Why don’t you take off your helmet and fight like you aren’t a coward.”

Helmet. Of course. Shayne has his Helm of Darkness on. No one can see through it. Not even the gods.

“Cowards drug their victims, Ares. If you’re looking for a coward, you should check the mirror.” And when Shayne finishes talking, a giant palm tree lifts and flies through the air, hitting Reese on the back so hard he slams into the register.

But Reese is expecting it. The terra cotta pot shatters on the hard tiles, and he spins, flinging my mom’s scissors which he’s picked up from the ground.

They fly through the air, stick in something invisible, and vanish. And I hear Shayne’s gasp of pain. He’s been hit.

“Ah ha.” Reese is smiling now, walking toward the spot where Shayne is. “Maybe you can keep the helmet on after all.” He punches out, but his fist keeps going, hitting nothing but air.