“Why are you here?” she said without preamble, and Henry hesitated. Did she know after all? Or was she simply asking about his supposed parents?
“Why are you here?” he said
“Because,” she whispered, “I want a family.”
Henry smiled. “That’s why I’m here, too.”
“Good. Everyone needs a family.” She hugged his arm and all but dragged him to his feet, surprisingly strong for such a small girl. “Come on, I’ll show you my doll.”
With the same patience Diana had shown him only minutes before, Henry let her pull him away. It was strange, and no matter her age, he could never see himself loving anyone else the way he’d loved Persephone. But perhaps being friends wouldn’t be such a bad thing, after all.
* * *
On Ingrid’s eighteenth birthday, he finally told her who he was.
After eleven years by her side, he knew her better than he knew himself; he knew she would cry. He knew she would be confused and ask more questions than he could possibly answer.
What he hadn’t expected was her acceptance.
Despite his deception, somehow she’d taken his hand, kissed his cheek, and asked to see the Underworld. For him to show her his world and everything he’d ever known before he’d met her. At first he’d been tempted to comply, but he’d never brought a living mortal down there before, and some fundamental part of himself refused.
Instead, as the tests began and the members of his family began to watch her, he reopened one of the long-dormant manors he’d built for Persephone. It was the least he could do, giving her a place on the surface where she could stay when the Underworld became too much. He wouldn’t make the same mistakes with Ingrid. She would not be Persephone, and no matter what it cost him, she would be happy.
And so, he thought, would he. Their friendship was just that—perhaps to Ingrid it was more, but he still didn’t have it in him to take her as a true wife. He loved her dearly, more than he’d loved anyone since Persephone, but it was a platonic love. And whether or not she accepted it, he could never quite be sure.
“So,” said Ingrid one day as they walked through the gardens of Eden Manor. “If you’re really Hades, and I’m supposed to be the new Persephone, then where are the pomegranate seeds?”
“The…what?” said Henry.
“The pomegranate seeds. You know, how in the myth, Persephone eats a bunch of seeds while she’s in the Underworld, and that’s why she has to stay down there with you.”
Henry stared at Ingrid blankly. “Persephone liked pomegranates, certainly, but I’m afraid the story you’ve heard isn’t what really happened.”
“Well, of course it isn’t,” she said, rolling her eyes. “You didn’t kidnap me, after all.”
He nearly choked. “Kidnap?”
“You really don’t know, do you?” Ingrid took his hands and sat him down on the nearest bench, and in the warm breeze, she told him everything she knew about the Persephone myth. And the more she spoke, the more Henry realized it really was nothing more than a myth that held next to no truth. Was that really what the world thought of him? What Ingrid thought of him?
Once she’d finished, he told her the real story, every last painful moment of it. From agreeing to the arranged marriage to their disastrous wedding night to Persephone’s affairs. Especially with James.
And rather than ask question after question as she usually did, Ingrid remained quiet. He’d never told anyone before, not like this, not as if it was ancient history. A small piece of his burden lifted away with each word he spoke, and once he was finished, he felt strangely empty. Not healed, but as if there was room for more now.
“I’m sorry,” she said quietly. “It’s terrible, what you had to go through.”
“I’m afraid I brought it on myself,” he said with a small, sad smile, and Ingrid furiously shook her head.
“You’re crazy. Of course that isn’t your fault. You were as much a victim as she was, and you didn’t—you didn’t do anything wrong. She’s the one who broke your heart.”
“I am the one who forced her into marriage to begin with.”
“No, her mother forced her into marriage. You did everything you could to make an awful situation livable for both of you.” She shifted closer to him on the bench, her hand sliding up his arm to settle on his shoulder. “I get why you don’t love me the way I want you to, and I won’t ever pressure you, I promise. But do yourself a favor and at least try to move on, would you? Even if we’re only ever friends, we could be happy. Really, really happy.”
“I would like nothing more,” he murmured, pressing a kiss to her cheek. “Persephone is my past, one I cannot ever forget. But you, Ingrid, are my future. And for the first time in an eon, I do not dread it.”
Ingrid leaned toward him, brushing her lips against the corner of his mouth. It was such an intimate gesture that Henry nearly moved back, but he couldn’t. Not when it could mean losing Ingrid. “You better not,” she murmured with a playful smile. “We’re going to be happy together—you know that, right?”
“I do.” Or at least he hoped so.
“Good.” Another grin, and her blue eyes sparkled. “Now, I’m serious about those seeds. There has to be a ceremony to make this all official. That’s the only way you can do it, you know.”
“Is that so?” he said, amused, and he clasped her hand in his. “Very well. For you, I will do it.”
She squealed and threw her arms around his neck. “Can I wear a dress? A really pretty one?”
“The most beautiful dress you can think of,” he promised, kissing her knuckles. “You can have whatever you want.”
Her grin relaxed into a warm smile, and she cupped his cheek. “Hasn’t anyone told you? I already do.”
Her words were a greater salve than any medication in the world, and he gathered her up, holding her in the sunshine. They would be happy together. Perhaps not as happy as he’d once wanted to be with Persephone, but Ingrid was all the things Persephone never was. And Henry knew exactly how lucky he was to have found her.
The weeks passed until finally it was the night of the ceremony. Ingrid had planned every detail, from her dress to the food to where the council would sit. They had obliged her at Henry’s request, though he suspected they would have anyway, considering how pleased they seemed to be at the prospect that he wouldn’t fade. Regardless, everything was falling into place. Only three more tests, and she would finally be one of them.