QUEEN OF SHADOWS AND ROSES

  BROTHERS OF OLYMPUS

  BOOK ONE

  HELENA M CRAGGS

  Copyright © 2025 by Helena M Craggs.

  All rights reserved.

  ISBN: 9781919636559

  The right of Helena M Craggs to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted by her under the Copyright, Design and Patents Act 1988.

  This is a work of fiction. All characters and events in this publication, other than those in the public domain, are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used in a fictitious manner.

  No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means without the author’s written permission, except for brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and specific other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law. For permission or requests, contact the author.

  Cover design and map by Emily’s World of Design

  Edited by Jennifer Kay Davies (IG @jkdavieseditor)

  Proofread by author, Liana Valerian (IG @liana.valaerain)

  Character art by Tony Viento (IG @tonyviento)

  Formatted with Vellum

  NO AI TRAINING:

  Without limiting Helena M. Craggs’ exclusive rights under copyright, any use of this publication for the purpose of training generative artificial intelligence (AI) technologies or machine learning language models is expressly prohibited. Helena M. Craggs reserves all rights to license this work for such purposes at her sole discretion. No generative AI was used in the creation, writing, editing, or production of this book.

  CONTENTS

  Dedication

  Author’s Note

  Play list

  The Gods in this book:

  A Twisted Fate

  A Cruel Curse

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  Chapter 29

  Chapter 30

  Chapter 31

  Chapter 32

  Chapter 33

  Chapter 34

  Chapter 35

  Chapter 36

  Chapter 37

  Chapter 38

  Chapter 39

  Chapter 40

  Chapter 41

  Chapter 42

  Serendipity

  Thank you for reading

  Acknowledgments

  The Brothers of Olympus series

  About the Author

  Also by Helena M Craggs

  Trigger warnings

  DEDICATION

  “To my family, this book is for you. I love you all. But maybe skip chapters 9, 16, 20, 23, 25, 27, 35, 38, 39 or 42, and if you do read them, let’s never talk about it.”

  AUTHOR’S NOTE

  Queen of Shadows and Roses is a sizzling New Adult fantasy romance rooted in the Hades and Persephone myth. Expect slow-burn intensity, enemies-to-lovers tension, mature themes, and a growing heat level that builds with every chapter. The spark starts slow—but the fire will consume you. You’ve been warned.

  Queen of Shadows and Roses includes several TW/CWs. For more information, please check the book's trigger warning page in the table of contents.

  PLAY LIST

  MY TOP 10 SONGS

  “Let the World Burn” — Chris Grey

  “Don’t Blame Me”— Taylor Swift

  “Anxiety” — Sleepy Hallow

  “Chains” — Tina Arena

  “I Hate U, I Love U” — gnash

  “A Thousand Years” — James Arthur (cover)

  “You Should See me in a Crown” — Billie Eilish

  “Tornado Warnings” — Sabrina Carpenter

  “All of Me ” — John Legend

  “One More Night”— Maroon 5

  THE GODS IN THIS BOOK:

  HADES: (hay-deez) God of the dead. King of the underworld.

  ZEUS: (zyoos) God of sky, lightning, and thunder. King of the gods.

  POSEIDON: (puh-sai-dn) god of, storms, earthquakes and horses. King of the sea.

  PERSEPHONE: (pur-seh-fuh-nee) goddess of spring; associated with growth, fertility and love.

  HECATE: (heca-tee) goddess of magic, witchcraft, the night, light, ghosts, necromancy, and the moon.

  HERMES: (huh-meez) the messenger of the gods, the protector of travellers, thieves, and the conductor of the dead to the underworld.

  DIONYSUS: (dai-uh-nai-suhs) god of wine and pleasure.

  APHRODITE: (a-fruh-dai-tee) goddess of love, beauty, and fertility, pleasure, passion, and procreation.

  APOLLO: god of the sun and light, archery, music and dance, truth and prophecy, poetry, healing and diseases.

  ARES: (air-eez) god of war or, more properly, the spirit of battle.

  ADONIS: god of beauty and desire.

  THANATOS: (than-uh-tos) god of death. Collector of souls.

  CHARON: (cha-ruhn) conductor of souls; guide to the dead.

  HEDONE: (hey-doh-nee) goddess of pleasure, enjoyment, and delight.

  EREBUS: (eh-ruh-buhs) God, and the personification of darkness.

  DEMETER: (duh-mee-tuh) Goddess of the harvest. Persephone’s mother.

  A TWISTED FATE

  Cry, oh god of death,

  For your one true love.

  A soul reborn from a single flame.

  A flower needs sunlight,

  Like a shadow needs light.

  Memories that weep—anguish runs deep.

  Her loss reduces flames

  To embers that no longer burn bright.

  The tragic loss of abandoned brokenness.

  The gods shall reap havoc.

  Then, mankind will suffer.

  All for the sins of witchery.

  Witchcraft will be banished, and a war will rage.

  The gods will again rule the mortal plane.

  A CRUEL CURSE

  THE UNDERWORLD.

  We are all slaves to fate, even the gods.

  Hades, the god of the Underworld, never believed in destiny until it led him to Persephone—his soulmate—and his dreams became reality.

  Hades and his best friend Hecate, the goddess of witchcraft, had been called upon to judge a Dunamis mage—the most powerful of magical beings.

  That day, once again, destiny was afoot, and sometimes fate tests our strength and determination...

  ‘You are here to be judged.’ Hades’ icy voice slithered like venom through the mage’s bloodstream, yet she did not flinch. A small smile twisted on her lips as she regarded the god of the Underworld.

  ‘Hecate will not allow you harm me.’ The woman’s eyes shifted towards her goddess.

  ‘Hecate has no choice. I am the god of the Underworld, and I see into your dark soul, old crone. I see your crimes and malevolence. You will be vanquished… by Hecate.’

  The mage’s eyes widened, and, for the first time in a long while, she felt fear. They’d ensnared her in a bubble of pure magic—Hecate’s magic—from which she could not escape even if she tried. But her words could maim—she was a more powerful being than they realised. The mage laughed softly, then pointed at Hades.

  ‘The pain of losing her

  Will consume and maim.

  Your dark heart will perish before

  You find her again.

  The thing of beauty will be such a sweet foe.

  She did not feel.

  She will not know.’

  A crack of lightning blinded the room, and the mage’s laughter echoed off the walls.

  Hades felt a tug in his chest, and suddenly, it seemed hollow—a void of darkness. The dark sensation morphed into agony, yet he gritted his teeth and endured the onslaught.

  ‘What the…’ He turned to Hecate, whose eyes glowed white, her mouth twisting into a snarl. With a flick of her wrist, the crone fragmented like smoke in the wind, and particles of her were sucked towards the small golden box in Hecate’s hand. Hecate snapped the lid shut.

  ‘She is dangerous—immensely dangerous, Hades. This box must never be opened. We need to bury it in Tartarus.’ Hecate’s eyes widened as she whipped her head around to meet Hades’ gaze, mentally recounting the nonsensical, cryptic words of the curse. ‘Persephone… we need to check on her.’

  ‘My wife,’ Hades muttered. ‘I shall return soon.’ Shadows enveloped Hades, and with a loud pop, he vanished. Hades materialised in Zeus’s kingdom to discover a party in full swing—typical of Zeus. Persephone loathed these gatherings.

  Zeus swaggered towards his brother wearing his trademark conceited smirk. ‘Hades, to what do we owe the pleasure? I can’t recall the last time you graced us with your presence.'

  Hades ground his back teeth.

  Zeus… King of the gods.

  King of deceit.

  King of
vengeance.

  King of infidelity.

  The manipulative king who had underhandedly bound Hades to the underworld aeons ago after Titanomachy, the ten-year war between the Olympian gods and the Titans. The only place Hades was permitted to visit was Zeus’s kingdom of Naxos, which was filled with sycophants. No. Thank. You.

  Hades' hatred for his brother was as consuming as wildfire, but now was not the time for bickering; he needed to find Persephone. Before her, Hades merely existed. Since Persephone, he had discovered what it meant to truly live.

  At Hades’ silence, tense jaw, and darting eyes, Zeus’s face paled as he tilted his head. ‘Brother?’

  ‘I need to know that Persephone is safe,’ Hades hissed through clenched teeth. He felt panicked; that warm glow in his chest—their soul bond—was missing. The notion of his love being no more tasted bitter on his tongue. Daggers of pain and turmoil tore at his heart.

  ‘Of course she is.’ Demeter, Persephone’s mother, strode towards the man she loathed. ‘She is with the gods of Olympus, where she belongs.’ With a haughty smile, she raised her brow; oblivious to the mage’s curse, she was typically contemptuous towards him. ‘I still have three months with her, Hades,’ Demeter spat.

  Persephone, stifled by her mother, still loved her and had agreed to spend half of the year with each of them following Demeter’s meltdown over her bonding with Hades.

  ‘So, where is she?’ Hades ground out.

  They scoured and turned Zeus’ kingdom in Olympus inside and out, but Persephone had disappeared—vanished—along with their bond. Hades knew he had lost her.

  ‘What have you done?’ Demeter screamed at Hades, who looked at her from between his hands. His movements were listless, and he sank to the ground, his heart in shreds.

  ‘I judged a mage. She cursed me,’ he uttered as he closed his eyes.

  ‘Tell me everything, Brother.’ Zeus placed a hand on Hades’ shoulder.

  Hades explained how he had judged the malevolent old crone and the curse she had placed upon him: the curse to lose his one true love… Persephone.

  ‘Magic is a threat to us all,’ Zeus bellowed as multiple forks of lightning shot through the sky. ‘I decree that we, once again, take control of the mortal realm. We shall go to war! Any being with witchcraft will be destroyed,’ the god of the sky yelled as Demeter sat beside Hades, both a shell of their former godly selves.

  ‘It’s all your fault,’ Demeter growled through her sobs.

  ‘I know,’ he whispered, holding his bowed head.

  CHAPTER 1

  TWENTY-TWO YEARS LATER, LONDON.

  PERSEPHONE

  There was a Lamia demon at Starbucks.

  Of course there was.

  I sipped my extra-shot latte and sighed. She was glamoured, looking like a regular businesswoman heading home. Dressed in a black trouser suit, her red hair piled atop her head, she wore sunglasses—a bit out of place in the evening, but a necessity. Their crimson pupils were a bit of a giveaway and tended to freak the hell out of humans. As a witch, I could sense her true essence, and it made my skin crawl.

  Double crap on a cracker. So much for a quiet evening.

  The demon had eyes on a couple of youngsters—perhaps around fifteen years old. She was clearly sussing out her next meal. Lamias didn’t need to feed often, but when they did, it was grim.

  Fucking demons.

  After the war, everything changed.

  The gods reclaimed control of the mortal world, and the battle between them and humanity was catastrophic. It raged for nearly a year—bloody, ruthless, and always tilted in their favour. Sure, some gods fell. Or maybe a few were conveniently eliminated by their own kind. I wasn’t there, and honestly, I didn’t care.

  What mattered was the aftermath.

  The chaos cracked something open, and things that should’ve stayed locked in the dark slipped through. Demons. Nightmares. Creatures born of shadow and blood. The Underworld had spilled over, and the world never quite healed.

  This Lamia was one of them.

  But her time was almost up… I was going to make damn sure of it.

  Humans stayed blissfully unaware of the monsters lurking in their cities. Most attacks were blamed on deranged people—and to be fair, there were plenty of those too. The rest of the magical community—shifters, fae, and the like—had learned to blend in, carving out hidden enclaves within human society and playing nice under the watchful eye of the Council of Magic.

  My brethren, witches and mages, worked tirelessly to rid cities of the problem ghouls, but we had to lie low since the gods had returned to our world. We had to be careful. The gods banished witchcraft, and the Council of Magic, along with witches, mages, and covens, went underground. And the slaughter of my people? It was history repeating itself—just like the old witch trials, only bloodier.

  If you possessed magic, it equated to a death sentence. The gods were our enemies. My enemy.

  The Lamia rose to her feet and followed the youngsters. It was time for me to play the role of bait. I may have been twenty-two, but I looked younger, and I was on my own. I maintained my distance as I trailed her past the British Museum and headed towards Russell Square. I walked breezily past the demon and shoulder-bumped her. I heard her hiss.

  ‘Oh, I’m so sorry.’ I flashed a broad smile and turned down a dark alleyway. She followed, about thirty paces behind. Bingo.

  ‘Young girl,’ she hummed.

  I slowed, every muscle tensing. Suddenly, she was only feet away from me. I could feel her breath lifting my hair—it reeked of rotting flesh. My heart jackhammered against my ribs as I reached down, slow and silent, unclipping the thigh sheath beneath my leather duster. Nestled against my leg, my divine blade waited—sleek and deadly. Its double-edged black blade gleamed, set into a hilt of rich golden metal with a smooth grip carved from blue crystal. Ancient runes shimmered along its length, pulsing faintly with magic.

  It was priceless. Beautiful. My most treasured possession.

  ‘May I help you?’ I turned slowly. My gag reflex triggered and my latte almost reappeared. She had taken her true form, and man, she was fugly. A human torso and, from the waist down, a snake—a big-ass snake. Lamias have sharp, pointed, retractable teeth that extend beyond the human teeth, as well as razor-sharp claws that could inject lethal poison. They were not to be messed with.

  ‘You can,’ her voice hissed, a smile revealing her fangs.

  ‘Look, Medusa. I’m so not in the mood for this. I just need to get home. So I’m gonna kick your ass.’ As I slipped out the divine blade, I smiled back at her. The dagger was all I needed; it could harm and kill anything supernatural, including gods, which was why so few blades remained. Most had been destroyed, along with my brethren.

  She lurched forward and grasped a handful of my hair, wrenching my head to the side, but instinct propelled me into action. I was like a ninja—quick and agile. I twisted and delivered a spinning kick, which connected with her jaw, snapping her head back. She grunted and jerked backwards, ripping out several strands of hair, and pain flared across my scalp.

  ‘Bitch!’ I snarled.

  I rushed at her, but her tail snapped into action as my blade arced upward, knocking it from my grasp. It went skittering across the ground.

  Mother-tucker.

  My eyes popped wide, and she laughed, licking her lips. ‘I can’t wait to get you to my lair. You’re a feisty one,’ her voice slithered.

  I eyed my dagger—I wasn’t going down without a fight, and there was no cat in hell’s chance of me returning to her place. It definitely wouldn’t be a wine-and-movie girly night. When people inexplicably vanished into thin air, it was usually due to a demon attack. Demons were integrated into our community, and this one was cunning. Unease spread through me like a choking vine.

  I sprang forward and used a teep—a brutal kick to the head—which caused her to howl, her head snapping back with enough force to break a neck. As she lunged at me, I flipped over her and dove for my dagger, but that tail whipped me like a bitch. It lifted me off my feet, and I collided with a wall, cracking my skull. Fiery pain exploded along my nerve endings, black spots darkening my vision.