Once he let me go, I turned toward Mother, who stood stiffly beside her throne. Her eyes were trained on the floor, her hands clasped tightly together, and as I took a step toward her, she backed away. With that one movement, my heart broke completely.
“I hope you are happy,” she said in a strange, almost formal voice. “I will come see you when I can.”
“Thank you,” I whispered, though we both knew that if she did come, it wouldn’t be for a very long time. We’d both made mistakes, and it would take a lot more than this to fix the rift between us. But despite everything that had happened, I ached for the certainty that one day, things would be okay again. No matter how long it took.
Hermes slipped his arm into hers, and as he led her from the throne room, he glanced over his shoulder to give me one more smile. Mother didn’t look back.
I took a deep, shuddering breath. Hades and I were alone now, standing face-to-face, and I had no idea what to say. I should’ve apologized. I should’ve thanked him. I should’ve said a million things, but nothing came out.
“Are you ready?” he said quietly, and I nodded. He took my hand, and as I gazed around Olympus one last time, the sky-blue ceiling and sunset floor faded. This was it, the moment I’d been racing toward ever since Adonis had taken his last breath. But no matter how frightened I was of mortality, of what it would be like to need to breathe, of what it would be like to feel pain and the world around me as a mortal, a sense of calm washed over me, as well. I’d made the right decision. That was all I needed.
When we landed, a sharp pinch jolted through the bottom of my foot, and I opened my eyes. We stood in Mother’s cottage, and the moonlight seemed to light up every corner. I shifted my weight, and underneath my foot I found the source of that jabbing sensation: a pebble.
So this was what it was like to be mortal. I set my hand over my chest, feeling my heart beat, and I drew in each breath with care. Everything felt like it was more somehow—smoother, rougher, hotter, colder, all of it. It was as if I’d woken up from a deep sleep, and I was only now aware of the world around me.
“Are you all right?” said Hades, and I nodded.
“It’s just…odd.”
He smiled sadly. “I cannot imagine.”
We stood there side by side for a long moment, and all I did was breathe. In and out, in and out, memorizing the awareness of mortality. How was it possible to feel so alive every day and not burst?
But as much as I enjoyed it, it couldn’t last forever, and I didn’t want it to. I sat down on the edge of the bed and shoved my trembling hands between my knees. “I’m ready. How…?”
“Leave that to me,” he said quietly. “Make yourself comfortable.”
I lay down in the bed, my heart pounding so hard that it actually hurt. “I’m scared,” I whispered, and Hades took my hand. I’d never realized how soft and smooth his skin was.
“Do not be,” he said. “I promise everything will be all right.”
For once, I believed him. “Thank you,” I whispered. “I know I was never very good at showing it, but you’re my best friend. Even when things were rotten, you were always there no matter what I did to you. I’m so sorry for everything.”
“What’s done is done,” he said quietly. “All I have ever wanted was for you to be happy, and if this is the way…”
“It is.” I propped myself up on my elbow. “This is exactly what I want.”
He stared down at our joined hands, his expression forlorn, and he said nothing. He really had been so damn wonderful to me—maybe I hadn’t seen it at the time, but I did now. He deserved so much better than what I’d given him, and in that moment, I wanted nothing more than for him to find it. I was only sorry it’d taken me so long to realize it.
Before I could stop myself, I leaned in and touched my mouth to his. It was a gentle, tender kiss, the kind he’d given me the night we’d nearly slept together a second time. Now I was glad he’d stopped me. Between us, we had enough regrets without inviting more.
Warmth spread through me as I moved my lips against his, and all too soon, he pulled away. For several seconds, neither of us said anything, and my heartbeat resonated in my ears. How was I supposed to say goodbye when I’d spent my life thinking I would never have to?
“I will be there for you whenever you need me,” he whispered. “All you need to do is ask.”
A lump formed in my throat. “Thank you. Come visit me sometime, yeah?”
But even as he nodded, I knew he never would, and asking him was cruel. He deserved the chance to move on. We both did.
“Lie back,” he murmured, and I obeyed. His silver eyes met mine, and as the weight of sleep pressed down upon me, he gave me one final smile. I returned it.
“I love you,” I whispered, and he was silent. At last my eyelids grew heavy, and darkness closed in around me as eternity claimed me as her own. It was painless, peaceful, everything death should have been, and I went quietly. I went gladly.
The last thing I saw was him.
* * *
The sun in my afterlife wasn’t as warm or as bright as the real thing, but it was enough to wake me.
I shielded my eyes, squinting at my surroundings. I lay in the bed that I’d died in, but it was daylight now. Somewhere in the distance, birds chirped and a strong breeze rustled the trees, and the flowers hanging from the rafters of Mother’s cottage filled the room with the most incredible scent.
So this was what my afterlife would be.
My afterlife. Adonis. I scrambled to my feet and looked around the one-room home, but he wasn’t there. My heart sank. He had to be here. After everything that had happened, he deserved peace.
I pushed open the door and stepped into the artificial sun. It wasn’t the real thing—beyond the illusion of my afterlife, I was among the dead in the caverns of the Underworld, surrounded by the very rock I’d hated for eternity. The unbearable weight was gone though, along with the wall that had haunted me for eons. Apparently they’d died with my mortal body, leaving my soul free. Finally.
Inhaling deeply, I looked around my afterlife. Flowers bloomed in the garden, a rainbow of colors and as fresh and new as the spring, and the scent of a summer day wafted through the air. It was beautiful, but it couldn’t be perfect, not without—
A figure appeared on the path, shaded by the trees, and warmth filled every inch of me. As he stepped into the sunlight, I grinned and launched myself down the path.