[This post is from Hecate’s point of view.]
“She asked for our help,” Matt said quietly, his brow furrowing as his gaze drifted between them, finally settling on Hecate.
“And she’ll get it,” Hecate said, swallowing hard and glancing at him. Her voice didn’t shake and she was shocked by that. “I owe her that much.”
Seamus swallowed hard. “I’m sorry, Hecate. I didn’t—”
“There was no way for you to realize anything,” she said, more acid to her tone than she intended. Hecate scrubbed a hand over her face again, leaning into Matt’s chest and trying to calm down. “Sorry. I—sorry.” She took another breath, then started again. “There were so many secrets then. There had to be—there wasn’t a choice. If people were going to stay safe, there had to be.”
Matt’s arms cocooned her and she closed her eyes for a few seconds. His touch helped her center, but it didn’t ease the old pain that had suddenly risen to the surface again.
She was so tired of hurting.
“It’s like you said, you made a devil’s bargain,” Hecate said, her voice quieter, closer to normal again. “It’s okay. You didn’t know what would happen. No one did. You didn’t know what the consequences would be.” She squeezed her eyes shut. “Besides, part of the blame for this is on me, if it is really Orcus and he has Persephone. I’m the one who killed Pluton. I know I didn’t have a choice but his blood is still on my hands. We all share some blame for this.”
Matt pressed a kiss to her neck through her hair. She sighed quietly.
“I violated the terms of the agreement,” she said in a whisper. “The bargain you made with him. I still went. I was still there from time to time. Never for long and usually not to do any harm. But I was still there.” Matt’s arms tightened around her a little more. Her voice was barely audible. “I was still there.”
