A Touch of Chaos (Hades x Persephone Saga, #4)

by Scarlett St. Clair

Persephone’s eyes burned with tears, and after a moment of quiet, Yuri whispered, her voice quivering, “I just wish everything was normal again.” Persephone hardened against those words. It was such a natural thing to say when things felt uncertain, but the longer she lived with loss, the more the idea of normal angered her. There was no normal. There was only the past, and it was hopeless to wish for it even at her loneliest, because nothing could return to the way it was—not in the aftermath of this. “There is no ‘normal again,’ Yuri,” Persephone said. “There is only new and different, and neither are always good.” The soul frowned. “Persephone, I—” She rose to her feet before Yuri could finish, knowing what her next words would be. I’m so sorry. And she could not stand to hear them either. She could not even explain why, but they were just words, empty ones people said when they had nothing else to give. “Thank you, Yuri, for the tea.” She fled before her emotions got the best of her and teleported to the Asphodel Fields. By the time she arrived, she was already in tears. She looked out on the Underworld from where she stood, her arms crossed over her chest. The wind picked up, whipping her hair, and the asphodel around her swayed, grazing her gown.