Free From Origins (Descendant Prophecies Book 3) by Mary Ting Page A

Persephone pulled a string from her neck and placed something on the palm of her hand. It was black and small, the size of my thumb. It looked like the stone I was wearing, only darker. “I have it. Hades gifted it to me. It was to ensure Hephaestus would never find it if he was successful in creating someone powerful, such as yourself. But I know you are good. You could have killed Hades, but you heard my plea. You are compassionate. You have light in your soul. I know you know what love is. That is why you stopped. And it’s the only reason why I’m showing you the stone.”
    Though every fiber in my body told me not to believe any of this, my heart told me she was telling me the truth, and looking into Hades’ eyes, I knew there was good in him. Like he’d said, gods were not perfect, but I believed they tried to be, just like us. But what if I was wrong? What if Hephaestus and Hades were working together, and they were tricking me to get what they wanted?
    “Where do we go from here?” I decided to go with my gut instincts. They hadn’t led me wrong so far. I hoped this wouldn’t be the first time. “Hephaestus has my parents. If I don’t bring the stone and Hades’s head, they will die.”
    “Do you know what will happen when you give Hephaestus the stone?” Hades asked. He didn’t let me answer. “Your world will die. At this point, you have no choice but to accept my help.”
    “What are you suggesting?”
    “Make a fake lodestone and take it to him. Find a way to bring the other two stones. Release me from this place and I will go with you to help free my brothers.”
    “Why do you need the other two stones?” I knew the answer, but I wanted to know what he would say.
    “Once I leave this place to your world, I’ll need them to heal my body.”
    “I want to trust you, but I don’t know if I can.”
    “Time is running out. You go with what your heart tells you to do, Skylar,” Persephone reasoned. “That is your name, isn’t it?”
    “How do you know my name?”
    “I’ve been following Hephaestus the other six months of the year, trying to find his weak spot, and that is how I found you. I know many things about you, Skylar. I’ve watched you since Hephaestus came into your life. You know love. Love is the only thing that feeds hope. Wouldn’t you do anything for Mason?”
    “Yes,” I said, hesitantly. Though I didn’t want her to know my weak spot, she knew it anyway. There was no sense in trying to hide it. “But this is different.”
    “It isn’t, Skylar.” Persephone took a step toward me. “I didn’t love Hades when he first took me, but I love him now. Not because it’s forced, but because he has changed for the better. What would you do if something were to happen to Mason?”
    “Are you threatening me?” I was pretty sure she wasn’t, but when it came to protecting the ones I loved, I would do anything.
    “No. I don’t know how else to prove to you, besides letting you know Mason and your friends are safely back home, as Hades promised. They went through the portal.”
    “How do I know you’re telling me the truth?”
    Hades extended his arm and called upon the fire from the pit. It burst upward, and through the flame, I could see my friends and Mason. Mason was sitting on the sand, staring out into the ocean where the portal was. My heart broke to see him waiting for me. Then I saw his family sitting down next to him, looking utterly exhausted. They were all waiting for me. I was very touched by their gestures. Parts of their clothes were torn and etched with burn marks, evidence that they had been to the underworld.
    “Why didn’t he let my friends enter with me to see him?” I asked, when the flames died and I couldn’t see them anymore.
    “Because you came here for one purpose. I don’t think it would have been a good idea to have that many angry descendants threatening us, do you? I also don’t think we would have enjoyed our chat.” Hades