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"Diana--Demeter, she’s my mother She decided to have me in a last-ditch effort to save Henry because she felt so dauilty for what you did to hi He marriedThanks for rubbing my nose in it"

The words were out before I could stop the the around it and acting like she had nothing to do withborn would’ve been stupid

I was born to be another incarnation of her, to be the version of her that even she couldn’t be, but now that I was standing in front of her, I kneould never coraceful and put the f lowers around us to sha to hurt the people who loved her for the sake of her own happiness

I wasn’t Persephone, and for the f irst tio, I f inally realized that was a good thing I was the one who could want Adonis and say no

Overwhele Persephone stared atI couldn’t identify, but I kneasn’t good She didn’t have to tell me to leave I turned on h the meadow, and when I took a deep breath, the sone to care Anger boiled away any sympathy I’d had for Persephone, and I didn’t care if she was my sister I’d never had a sister before, and there was no need to change that now

I heard the door swing open again and footsteps against the dirt as so

"Kate," said Ava "Kate, stop"

I was halfway to the trees when she grabbed my arm I whirled around, ready to lay into her, but the words formed a lump in my throat

"You know that isn’t true," she said softly "Henry didn’t marry you because you were Persephone’s sister" I tried to speak again, but all that came out was a choked sob, and my cheeks burned from humiliation I’d barely spent f ive minutes with her, and already she’d reduced ot the chance in the f irst place," I blubbered "And love was never part of the deal

All I had to do to ednot to cry more than I already was Now that the dam had burst, however, I couldn’t stop All of the worries and tension I’d kept bottled insideout, and wave after wave of sobs assaulted nity I had left

I hadn’t signed up for this I didn’t want to facewith her Even with the cancer, I’d been happy in New York with my mother, when I hadn’t known I’d been her second child, a replacehter who hadn’t been perfect

Now, all her hopes and expectations weighed heavily on my shoulders, and my resolve cracked

I didn’t want to be ement I loved Henry Maybe it wasn’t the sort of endless, eternal love poets wrote about and er,he was in my life--he’d saved me, infelt right It felt real

And eventually we could get there if he would give th, and all the while I suffered, knowing I wasn’t good enough for hi I wasn’t Persephone

It wasn’t such a good thing when I thought about it that way

Sonizing Ja okay?" he said, sounding like he didn’t want to be here I didn’t blame him I didn’t want to be here, either

I shookmy face with the sleeve ofto be like that It’s bad enough already, needing her and asking for her help I can’t take her acting like this, too"

"You’re no prize yourself," said Persephone from behind James, and I stiffened Ava placed herself between us, and I could’ve sworn I heard her hiss

James held out his arms, as if he expected them to hurl theh, both of you All three of you None of us wants to do this, but it doesn’t matter ant, because if we don’t, Cronus and Calliope in" I stared at the wildf lowers at my feet I’d accidentally crushed one with the heel of entle now could bring it back to life It wasn’t until disappoint for one of Henry’s f lowers So he could be with me everywhere else, but not here Not with Persephone

Persephone batted Ja closer "I’h the h Jahtened as another wave of sobs advanced, and I clenched my jaw in an attempt to keep it at bay "It’s f ine You didn’t mean for it to happen" Ava stepped beside me and took my hand, and that was all I needed to feel even more like an idiot than I already did Cronus could kill us all, and here I was breaking down over so no one could help