Chapter 82 Persephone's Blast

Chapter 82 Persephone's Blast
Aria POV
The music is completely gone now and every gods and goddess face is turned toward me, frozen in shock, fear, confusion. Probably confused why a human just blasted into Olympus and caused thus much chaos

The marble beneath my feet is cracked where I landed, my magic still humming through the air. I push myself up slowly, my heart racing so hard it hurts. 

My hands tremble at my sides and I curl my fingers into my palms, trying to force the power back down, trying to remind myself how to breathe but the magic has more control over me than I do it

Gasps ripple through the hall as we all turn to a groan at the edge of the room. “Shit.” I mutter to myself, “What did I do now?”

I follow their stares.

Persephone is sprawled across the floor near one of the pillars, her body stiff, her chest rising too fast as she sucks in panicked breaths. Her dress is torn at the side, her hair fallen loose around her shoulders. 

Of course it's her, I turn to look to her, she is not physically hurt but she definitely looks shaken, very badly in fact.

Hades is already moving to her before anyone can say a word.

He crosses the room in seconds, dropping to his knees beside her, his hands hovering over her like he’s afraid to touch her too hard.

“Persephone,” he says sharply. “Look at me. Are you hurt?”

She shakes her head, still breathing fast, eyes wide taking advantage of his attention now. “I..I don’t know. I didn’t expect–”

Before she can finish, someone grabs my wrist.

“Aria,” Aphrodite says urgently, pulling me back. “You need to step away.”

I stumble, barely catching myself, my pulse roaring in my ears. I open my mouth to speak, to explain, to apologize, to say something that makes sense, when thunder crashes overhead.

The sound is deafening.

Lightning cracks across the ceiling, the floor vibrating under the force of it. Every god and goddess freezes instantly.

Zeus stands at the far end of the hall, his hand raised, electricity dancing between his fingers, his expression carved from fury.

“Enough,” he booms. “Aria Hale, walk forward. Now.”
My stomach twists and I glance back at Hades.

He looks up at me, confusion etched deep into his face. He looks just as lost as I feel, like the ground vanished beneath both of us at the same time and he has no idea what or why this is happening.

I swallow, I know why but I can't say anything, I made a promise to the shadow man, I can't reveal his secret in the middle of Olympus.

I take a shaky breath and step forward. My heels echo loudly with each step, the silence swallowing every sound until it feels like the entire room is holding its breath.

“I don’t know what just happened,” I say before Zeus can speak. My voice wavers, but I force myself to keep going. “I didn’t mean to hurt anyone.”

Zeus’s eyes narrow. “You appear in the middle of Olympus without warning,” he says coldly, “and release magic powerful enough to throw a goddess across the room.”

“I didn’t feel it coming,” I insist. “I stepped into a portal and then I was here. That’s it.”

His gaze shifts to Hades. “Explain.”

Hades rises to his feet slowly. “We teleported from the underworld together,” he says. “One second she was beside me. The next, she vanished. I arrived moments lateras you saw.”

A murmur spreads through the hall.

“A glitch?” someone whispers.

Zeus’s jaw tightens. “Your magic has never glitched Hades.”

“I know,” Hades replies, his voice tight.

A soft laugh cuts through the tension.

Persephone pushes herself upright with help,
brushing dust from her dress. Her lips curve into a smile that makes my skin crawl.

“How convenient,” she says lightly. “Centuries without error, and suddenly everything goes wrong because of her.”

I clench my jaw.

“Maybe,” Persephone continues, turning her gaze fully on me, “she’s the problem. Maybe she’s draining your power, Hades. Maybe she doesn’t belong here at all.”
Anger flares hot in my chest.

“I didn’t ask for this,” I say, my hands shaking now. “I didn’t even know I could do that.”

Zeus raises his hand again. “Silence.”

I flinch.

“The underworld is one of the pillars holding this world together,” he says. “If it’s magic is unstable, the balance is at risk. Souls. Tartarus. Everything.”
My breath catches.

I turn toward Hades, searching his face for reassurance, for denial, for something. But his expression darkens. Is what they are saying true? Are they going to banish me out of the underworld? How long would I survive alone or without any anchor?

Persephone steps closer to me then, her movements sharp, deliberate. She grabs my wrist, her nails digging into my skin.

“You’re a freak,” she hisses under her breath. “You don’t belong among gods dear Aria.” she laughs
“Let go of her,” Hades snaps, already moving.

Magic pulses from Persephone’s grip, invasive and cold, crawling up my arm and something inside of me snaps.

I shove her away. “Don’t touch me.”

The second blast is nothing like the first one when I teleported

It’s darker and larger. The shadows explode outward, swallowing the room in a wave of black energy. Plants shrivel instantly, vines curling into ash, flowers collapsing in seconds. gods stagger back. Demigods are thrown across the hall screaming.

Persephone screams again, feeling the most of the blast but this time, she doesn’t get back up immediately.

Golden blood spills across the marble as she collapses, clutching her side, her scream ripping through the chaos.

My vision blurs.

“I..I didn’t…” My voice breaks. “I didn’t mean–” the words hand in my throat as the magic fills my veins again, ready for the third blast

“Aria!” Hades shouts.

He reaches me before the magic can surge again, grabbing my arms hard, forcing my attention to him.

“Look at me,” he commands. “Breathe. Now.”

I gasp, dragging air into my lungs.

The power falters and the shadows retreat.

The room goes still, I look down at my hands, horrified.

“I made a goddess bleed,” I whisper. “I hurt her.”

Behind me, Persephone cries out in pain and shockingly Hades’s face drains of color.

“Persephone,” he breathes.

He releases me instantly and runs to her side, dropping to his knees, his focus entirely on her as golden light floods his hands.

I stand there alone watching the man that told me he had nothing for her, tend to my enemy first before me.