Chapter 5
Over the course of the next four days, Dan, Elpis, and Persephone try to work out a plan to free Phil. There are only six days until Dan’s coronation and Phil’s mental and physical health is making a fast decline. The only thing keeping him alive is Persephone making sure he’s fed and healing the best he can.
“He’s just barely holding on, but I think he’ll make it another few days, hopefully. I think your father is planning to keep him alive long enough to see you and Elpis get married so he can… Well, you know what will happen if you marry her while you’re bonded. It’ll kill him.” Persephone sighs and runs a hand through her hair.
“That gives me an idea…” Elpis says, more to herself than the others as she starts thinking over a plan. “What if we get married the same day you take the throne, but we have someone pose as an officiant for the wedding that isn’t actually qualified or it. We tell Phil about this plan ahead of time, so he pretends that he’s going through the pain of the bond breaking while your father watches. It’s not exactly hard for a vampire to play dead, and your father is frankly not the brightest, so he’ll be none the wiser. That way everyone thinks we’re married and your father thinks Phil is dead and no longer a threat and then you’ll be crowned king and I’ll be crowned queen just long enough for us to free Phil. Once he’s out and safe, we announce our marriage was fake and I’ll obviously not truly be queen which leaves an empty throne for Phil to take once you get married,” she explains her idea, looking at Dan and Persephone and waiting for their reactions.
“That’s… That could actually work out. That’s actually an incredible idea. I’ll go visit Phil and tell him before Hades decides to take him to the fighting grounds again.” Persephone stands up, smiling at Elpis and ruffling Dan’s hair as she leaves.
“I can’t thank you enough for everything you’re doing, Elpis. You have no idea how much this means to me,” Dan says, giving an Elpis a small smile.
“It’s not a problem. I’ll do anything to make sure you and Phil get some sort of justice. Now, let’s work on fine tuning this plan so we can go tell Phil’s mothers about it,” Elpis says, getting a pen and a notebook.
They spend the afternoon working everything down to the very last detail, needing this plan to work without any form of failure. Once everything seems to be in order, they visit Adonis Kalliopeia. The two are grieving over their son’s imprisonment, hope in their eyes when they see Dan and Elpis.
“Please say he’s okay…” Adonis whispers, holding a completely silent Kalliopeia close. Kalliopeia was taking it harder than she was. She had been the one to carry and give birth to Phil, after all.
“He will make it out alive. We have a plan that should work and I’ll be able to get him out of there as soon as possible. We just have to wait until my coronation, then he’ll be free,” Dan promises them, trying to push away the guilt he felt as he looks at the once happy couple. Kalliopeia seems to notice Dan’s guilt, looking over at him.
“Please don’t blame yourself for this, Dan. We both know Phil knew what he was getting into and was aware this might happen. No one is to blame apart from your horrid father and his backwards ways,” she says, her voice going from soft and sad to stern and laced with bitterness. “Now, come here and give me a hug. We both need it.” Kalliopeia stands up, kissing Adonis’ forehead and opening her arms. Dan walks over to her, hugging her tightly and mumbling an apology.
“I tried my best for this not to affect him, but it didn’t work… I’m sorry,” he whispers, Kalliopeia shaking her head and holding him close.
“Don’t focus on that. Let’s just focus on the fact that Phil is alive and will continue to be because of you and Elpis and your mother.”
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Phil is bordering on the edge of insanity. Hades is subjecting him to mental and physical torture for hours upon hours on end. He takes advantage of the fact that Phil is close enough to being immortal that he won’t die easily.
“I have to admit, I had originally planned on just killing you, but this is so much better.” Hades chuckles, a smug look on his face. Phil growls, his chest heaving.
“You’re a sick twisted piece of shit. Just fucking wait for me to get free, asshole,” Phil says, his voice scratchy and hoarse from thirst and screaming almost non-stop for hours.
“As if,” Hades scoffs. “You’ll die as soon as Dan marries Elpis. I’ll be here to watch it happen, too. You’ll never see the light of day,” Hades says as he stands, smug smirk still on his face. “Enjoy your last few days alive, Philip.”
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The next day is filled with more preparations. Dan and Elpis have announced their “wedding” will be held after Dan’s coronation, so there is much more that needs to be done. Wedding dress fittings and more suit fittings fill up their schedule, leaving them unable to even think about their plans. Persephone stays in contact with Phil, deciding not to tell Dan of his declining mental and physical state.
Dan works hard on writing several speeches. One for when he accepts the crown, one explaining how he plans to rule, one for his fake wedding with Elpis, and one for the most important moment: when he announces that he and Elpis were never truly married and that he’s choosing Phil as his king.
The first two are honest and well thought out, the third is a fake proclamation of a romantic love that doesn’t exist, and the fourth is a speech that will change everything in his life. His hands shake as he writes draft after draft of the speech, only relaxing once he feels he perfected what he wants to say.
Elpis is enjoying her life in the castle, finding a mother figure in Persephone and forming an unbreakable bond with Dan. She wanders around the castle often, staying in the library or the gardens to read and find moments of peace in the hectic life she has been thrown into. She longs to meet Phil, wanting to meet the man she has been working to save for the sake of her friend. She listen as Dan tells stories of their times together when the castle has gone silent, smiling softly as Dan waxes poetic about some aspect of Phil or another. She finds herself craving for that kind of love and can’t help but hope and pray that once all of this is over, she can have it.
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Dan sits in his room alone, his thoughts racing as he thinks about these next five days. He wonders if Phil will be the same, if he’ll still love him after the hell he’s been forced to endure. At times he can feel Phil’s pain, having to hold back tears because he knows it’s pain that’s entirely unbearable. He sighs and lays in his bed, curling up and staring at the empty spot where Phil should be laying. He’s crying before he can even try to will the tears away, ugly sobs pushing passed his lips no matter how hard he clenches his jaw. Phil was stuck alone and in pain in the cold dark dungeon with nothing but the screams of the others to remind him he was alive. It was all Dan’s fault. If he had just let Phil go when he still had the chance he’d be free and not on the verge of death because of Dan. None of this would have happened if Dan hadn’t have been so selfish. Right?
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Five days until Dan’s coronation and tensions are running high. Between the public and the constant pressure of keeping Phil alive, Elpis, Dan, and Persephone are stressed beyond belief. Phil is miraculously surviving, but it’s looking bleak. One wrong move and he’ll be done for. Persephone keeps this hidden from Dan, though, knowing it would do more harm than good. She loves Dan, but he loves to act on impulse which usually led to failure at whatever he was trying to do. She visits as often as she can, treating Phil’s wounds and getting him food and water. That night she visits him in his cell, gently coaxing him to drink a glass of water. Once he finishes, he looks over at her offers her a weak smile.
“Do me a favor, please. I have a box hidden at my parents house with a ring in it. I was going to use it to propose to Dan, but I… I’d like him to have it now. My mothers know where it is, so just ask them,” Phil croaks out, coughing and whimpering in pain when his ribs start to ache again. He’s sure most of them are broken.
“Of course. I promise you I’ll get the ring to him. I still expect a proper proposal once you’re out of here, though,” she says with a weak smile on her face. Phil does his best to return it, barely clinging to the hope that he’ll survive.
Persephone leaves once Phil has eaten and fallen asleep, quietly leaving the castle and making her way to Adonis’ and Kalliopeia’s home. She is greeted with an uncharacteristically quiet house with dust building up everywhere.
“Phil told me you two know where he hid the ring he planned to propose to Dan with? He wants Dan to have it in case…” She trails off, unable to finish her sentence. Kalliopeia silently gets up and leaves the room, returning a few moments later with a ring box.
“He spent years planning out he wanted this to look. He went through three different silversmiths before he ended up with a ring he liked,” Kalliopeia says quietly, a barely there sad smile on her face. She hands it over to Persephone, sitting back down next to Adonis and grabbing her hand.
“I promise you that I will make sure your son lives. I’ll visit before Dan’s coronation and let you know how everything is going,” Persephone says as she stands up, clutching the ring box tightly in her hand. Adonis and Kalliopeia thank her as she leaves, hoping they can believe Persephone.
Persephone returns to the castle late at night, going to Dan’s room and gently waking him up.
“Dan, Phil had me get something for you,” she says softly as she shakes Dan’s shoulder. He sits up quickly at the mention of Phil’s name, seemingly wide awake.
“What is it?” he asks, his eyes widening when Persephone hands him the ring box.
“He was going to use this to propose to you, but he wanted to give it to you now. He felt like it was the right time,” Persephone explains, watching as Dan opens up the ring box and gasps quietly at the ring inside.
“It’s… It’s so beautiful,” Dan whispers, gently taking the ring out of the box and putting it on. He looks at it on his ring finger, pretending for just a moment that everything was okay and that he and Phil were okay. A few tears fall as he stares at the ring. Persephone pulling him and kissing the top of his head.
“He has to make it out of this alive. He can’t die and leave me alone after everything we’ve been through. He’s still got so much life left to live,” Dan sobs, clinging to Persephone. Persephone sighs softly and rubs his back soothingly.
“He will make it, Dan. As long as you keep believing that he’ll make it, he’ll have the strength to push through. Promise me you won’t let yourself think he’s not going to live through this,” Persephone says, looking down at Dan. Dan glances up at his mother, then at his ring before nodding, feeling more determined than before.
“I promise.”