A Touch of Ruin

Persephone sprouts thorns from her body, and Hecate takes her to her cottage to heal her. Hecate thinks Persephone’s problem is that she is denying her true identity as the Goddess of Spring and future Queen of the Underworld. Hecate guesses that Persephone’s magic is manifesting as vines and thorns that wound her body because she is struggling to hold on to an identity in the Upperworld that no longer serves her. She suggests that Persephone can create the life she wants.

Persephone realizes that meeting Hades “shifted something inside her. With him came new desires, new hopes, new dreams, and there [i]s no way to attain those without letting go of old ones” (289). Hecate has her practice recreating the pomegranates she destroyed in the grove, and when Persephone remembers Hades’ teachings, she is able to do this. They mix poisons and discuss the summer solstice celebration.

Lexa does not seem to be recovering, and Demetri gives Persephone busy work at the newspaper. Sybil says that Persephone is meant for greatness, “but getting there will be war” (298). Persephone spots a cat following her; it turns out to be an Amazon, a daughter of Zeus trained for war, who has been sent to be her aegis, or bodyguard. Her name is Zofie, and she begs Persephone not to send her away.

Persephone takes Zofie to Aphrodite’s boutique to buy clothing and converses with Aphrodite. Apollo teleports Persephone to his club, the Lyre, where he makes her judge a competition between himself and a satyr, Marsyas, whom he wishes to punish for hubris because Marsyas boasted of being better than Apollo. Apollo plays the lyre, but Persephone is more moved by Marsyas’ song and announces him the winner. Apollo’s henchman captures Marsyas to punish him, and in her anger, Persephone unleashes her magic. She freezes everyone in the crowd and cuts Marsyas out of the henchman’s grasp, severing the henchman’s fingers in the process.

Back at her apartment, Persephone tells her roommates what happened, including Zofie, who is staying with her. Hades visits but doesn’t stay. As she goes to work the next day, Persephone sees a picture in a tabloid of Hades and Leuce exiting a club hand in hand. She feels betrayed and furious. Hades visits her at work, and she tells him to leave; she doesn’t want to hear his explanation. Demetri tells her to take the day off, and when she goes to find Pirithous to ask for his help, he covers up papers on his desk. He shows her a tunnel that leads to a public square. Persephone visits the hospital and finds that Lexa is confused and asking why she is in the hospital. Persephone tries to call off the deal with Apollo, but he says that both Lexa’s body and soul were broken, and he can’t heal her soul. He tells Persephone to meet him at the Seven Muses that night.

Hermes dresses Persephone in a slinky, revealing gown that is bound to attract Hades’ notice. Hermes tells her that Apollo is terrible to his lovers because he is broken, self-centered, and lonely. He might be a god, but he suffers human flaws. They join Apollo at the club, where he has a private booth. Persephone dances, drinks, and chats with the other gods. Apollo tells Persephone that Hades needs her trust. He explains that their feud began when Apollo accidentally killed his lover, Hyacinth, during a game. When Persephone gets sick, Hades comes to take her home. He reveals that when Hyacinth died, Apollo asked to die, too, and Hades did not allow it. In retaliation, Apollo slept with Leuce. Hades admits that he will always want Persephone, and she goes to bed with him.

Persephone helps set up for the solstice celebrations and confides in Hecate. She teaches the chef how to make a vanilla cake and then gets dressed in her gown and new crown of iron. She watches the performances, enjoys the party, and drinks the wine Leuce gives her. Apollo arrives, and Persephone introduces him to Hyacinth. She makes peace with Thanatos, but Hades doesn’t appear.

When he returns early in the morning, Persephone scolds him for not showing interest in her event. She says that if he doesn’t want her, he should let her go. Hades insists that he will always love her. Persephone is afraid that he has expectations of her that she can’t meet. Hades insists that he simply wants to marry her, and they make love. Persephone wakes to find Hades absent, and she wanders through a field into a wood she hasn’t seen before. In a clearing, she sees Leuce and Hades having sex.