Meg didn’t waste time. “She died in a flood created by the gods in their battle with the Titans, but it seems she wasn’t meant to perish. She has an infant daughter on Earth. Hera asked me to bring her back to her child.”

Persephone glanced at Hades. “Can you do what she’s asking—allow a soul to live again?”

“It’s a gray area,” Hades said, sounding uncomfortable. “She hasn’t been gone long, so it’s technically possible, but if I do it for Meg here and word gets out, every soul will want a get-out-of-hell-free card.”

“He has a point,” Persephone said.

“No one has to know,” Meg replied quickly. “Just give me a chance to convince her to come back with me.”

Now Hades grinned. “Convince? You mean she doesn’t want to go?”

Meg paled. Why had she let that slip? “She will. She just doesn’t remember her family on Earth at the moment. But I can fix that and get her back to Hera on time.”

Hades’s grin widened. “Hmm…interesting. You’re on a quest, so you must have some sort of deadline. When does your time run out?”

The heat in this place was making her sloppy. But it was too late to backpedal. Meg pulled the hourglass out of her satchel. The sight made her stomach drop. The sands were almost to the top. “About a day.”

Hades laughed. “You’ll never make it!”

“Then what do you have to lose?” Persephone’s eyes flickered to Meg’s for half a second. “Let her help us, and then Megara can try to help this woman before her quest is done.” She took Hades’s hand. “I want to be with you forever, but we can’t keep hiding. We should be free to enjoy our lives here without fear of losing one another.” She paused. “What was it the Fates told you? The riddle?”

Hades sighed. “Something about the Earth being your only hope. I don’t know, it’s hard to get a straight answer from the all-knowing. They talk in circles.”

“But she’s technically from the Earth,” Persephone continued, pointing to Meg. “What if they mean her?”

Meg leaped at the opening. “The Fates are never wrong. And I’m offering help. Let me at least try.”

Hades looked at Persephone and put both hands in hers as he stared into her eyes. They stood that way for a while. Then he sighed, lowering his voice. “Make the call.”

Persephone nodded once.

Inhaling slowly, Meg tore the petal in half. As she did, it and the stem disintegrated and drifted off into the air. She absently wondered if it would actually work to call a god other than Hercules, her stomach twisting at the thought of losing out on a chance to talk to him. Meg shook her head, trying to stay focused. There was only one god who could make her suggestion for Persephone happen. Someone who not only believed in marriage, but who could talk the All-father into going for such an unusual arrangement. “I wish to speak with Hera, please.”

A warm orange and pink ball began to form in the center of the room. It grew larger and larger till it burst into a ray as bright as the sun. Hades and Persephone shielded themselves from the bright light. Slowly, the outline of the god began to appear. She was dressed in the same magenta gown Meg had seen her in atop Mount Olympus and wore the same crown, which was glistening despite the dreary room. Hera spotted her and looked around at her surroundings in surprise.

“Megara?” Then she did a double take. “Hades.” Her eyes narrowed when her gaze found the woman standing next to him. “And Persephone! So this is where you’ve been hiding. Your mother has been looking for you everywhere!” She looked at Meg again. “What is the meaning of this? Why have you summoned me? How have you summoned me?”

“I apologize for being so bold,” Meg said as Hades and Persephone watched the exchange. “Hercules gave me an orchid that allowed me to call on him if I was in need.”

Hera pursed her lips. “I see. And yet you call on me instead of him?”

Her tone was frosty at best. This was not the way to win over one’s potential mother-in-law.

“Only you can help with what needs to be done…and that is to allow Hades and Persephone to stay together,” Meg said. Hera stared. “I know it may sound strange, but these two…well, they are in love.” She looked back at the pair. “I’ve seen them together, and they actually seem to suit one another. When he’s burning, she cools him down. And she has added much-needed beauty to the Underworld that Hades never would have allowed before.” She paused, thinking out loud now. “I think that’s because she’s inspired down here with him. Maybe they’re inspired by each other. In any case, they wish to be together. And besides,” Meg realized, “it couldn’t hurt to have a happy god of the Underworld, could it?”

“That would be a plus,” Hera admitted. “But Persephone has responsibilities. The Earth’s harvest, for instance…”

“That’s why I’m asking you to appeal to Zeus and Demeter to let Persephone stay with Hades in the Underworld for half the year. She would spend the other half on Earth for the harvest. Everyone wins.” Including me, Meg thought. She thought of Layla and her heart began to ache. Maybe not everyone. Though they would all be reunited again someday, she knew it wouldn’t lessen the blow of Katerina leaving Layla now.

Hera looked at her sharply. “This is your request, then—what you really want your last appeal to the gods to be?”

“Yes,” Meg said firmly. “I believe helping this love will help others.”

Hera seemed to consider this. “Then I will grant your request, Megara, and I will talk to Zeus and Demeter.” She looked at Persephone. “You will be the first god allowed to travel back and forth regularly from the Underworld.”

“Really? Thank you, Hera! Thank you!” Persephone cried. She and Hades held on to one another.

Meg almost couldn’t believe it herself. She’d done it! She’d negotiated with Hera! Maybe she could go toe-to-toe with a god after all.

“There are stipulations, of course,” Hera continued. “Spring is upon us, and the grains of the land must be replenished. Persephone, you will come back and do your duties to the Earth now, and when the summer has faded, you will return to Hades for the fall and the winter.”

Hades and Persephone looked at one another.

“We’ll make it work,” Hades said as much to Persephone as he did Hera.

Hera went on. “A boat will arrive in the next few hours to take you back to the world of the living. But know this: once you board, you cannot look back at the Underworld or at Hades. You should concentrate on your work on Earth and trust you will be returned to Hades when your time is over,” Hera stressed. “If you turn back for any reason, the deal will be broken. No one is meant to travel back and forth between worlds. This is an exception made only for your…unique situation.”

“Thank you, Hera,” Persephone said. “I won’t let you down.”

Hera’s eyes flickered to Meg’s. “You’ve done well, child. I do not say that lightly.” Then Hera faded away as quickly as she’d come, the glow from her lingering embers drifting up into the cavernous ceiling. Meg was on her own once more.

As Hades and Persephone embraced again, Meg looked back at the hourglass clutched in her hand. There were only a few grains left, and she still had to convince Katerina to come with her as well as figure out their own way home. As Hera had said, no one was meant to travel between worlds.

“I need to find Katerina,” Meg blurted out. “What’s the quickest way to Asphodel Meadows?”

“The stairs,” Hades retorted, not taking his eyes off Persephone. “And don’t forget—I will only turn the other cheek until your time runs out.”

Meg groaned. She’d climbed almost a hundred staircases and walked for miles to reach Katerina the first time. She’d never make it.

“Hades, a deal’s a deal,” Persephone chimed in. “At least give her a shot.” She snapped her fingers and Meg’s feet flamed, shooting her straight up the stairs at lightning speed.

She could still hear Hades shouting as she zipped around staircases faster than light: “Good luck, babe! You’re going to need it.”