Hades had promised never to use invisibility to spy on Persephone, but this did not feel so much like spying as it was waiting. He hadn’t intended to hide at all, but Ivy had warned him she wasn’t in a great mood—and then she’d thrown her tablet against the wall. Now Leuce was here, chatting about nothing when he had things to do.
Gods, he was so frustrated.
Finally, the nymph left, and he made a move before anyone else could interrupt. But for some reason, when he stood opposite her, he suddenly did not know what to say. His mouth was dry, his words gone.
Maybe it was because of the way she looked at him, hesitant and haunted, or maybe it was the way the room felt, awkward and thick with an unfamiliar tension.
“Do you need something?” she asked.
Needsomething? As if he had come to ask for a cup of sugar. He reached behind him and turned the lock into place.
“We need to talk.”
Persephone stared at him for a moment and then pushed away from her desk, folding her arms over her chest. “Talk.”
He held her gaze as he approached and lowered to his knees before her. He watched her chest rise sharply as he placed his hands on her knees.
“I am sorry. I went too far.”
It was almost like she could not handle the impact of his apology, because she lowered her gaze from his, staring at her fingers, which she twisted nervously.
“You never told me you had the power to summon fears,” she said.
“Was there ever a time to speak of it?”
She said nothing, though he still felt like he had failed her in some way. It wasn’t the first time she had asked him to share more of himself, but some things just seemed to come with time. Perhaps they were both impatient for forever.
“If you will let me, I’d like to train you differently. I’ll leave the magic to Hecate, and instead, I will help you study the powers of the gods.”
He would begin with himself, though the thought was uncomfortable, but he felt like it was the only way he could atone, given that he had used powers against her she did not know he had.
“You would do that?”
“I would do anything if it meant protecting you,” he said. “And since you will not agree to being locked away in the Underworld, this is the alternative.”
She gave him a small smile, and he wanted more.
“I’m sorry I left,” she said.
“I do not blame you,” he said, even if he hadn’t liked it. “It is not very different from what I did when I took you to Lampri. Sometimes, it’s very hard to exist in the place where you experience terror.”
She let her gaze fall, licking her lips.
“Are you angry with me?” he asked, leaning closer.
“No,” she said, looking at him. “I know what you were trying to do.”
His chest felt tight. “I would like to tell you that I will protect you from everyone and everything…and I would. I would keep you safe forever within the walls of my realm, but I know what you wish is to protect yourself.”
“Thank you.”
This time, he smiled. He wanted to kiss her, but she did not lean into him. Instead, her gaze shifted to her desk.
“I assume you have already read this,” she said.
“Ilias sent it this morning,” Hades said. “Theseus is playing with fire, and he knows it.”
“Do you think Zeus will act?”
“I do not know,” he said, frowning. There was a part of him that hoped he wouldn’t, given that Theseus had killed the ophiotaurus. “I do not think my brother sees Triad as a threat. He does, however, see your mother’s association as dangerous, which is why he shifted his focus to her.”
“What will become of her if Zeus can find her?”
“If she ceases her attack upon the Upperworld? Probably nothing.”
“You mean she will get away with the murder of Tyche?”
Given that Zeus seemed to believe in survival of the fittest, he likely believed Tyche just wasn’t powerful enough.
“She must be punished, Hades.”
“She will be. Eventually.”
“Not only in Tartarus, Hades,” she insisted, leaning forward her in chair.
“In time, Persephone,” he said, covering her hands with his own. “No one—not the gods, certainly not me—will keep you from retribution.”
That was a promise he could keep.
They stared at one another for a moment, and then he rose to his feet.
“Come,” he said, bringing her with him.
She hesitated. “Where are we going?”
“I just wanted to kiss you,” he said, claiming her lips with his. He felt relief pour over him now that she was in his arms again.
He called on his magic and teleported them to the site where Halcyon was being built. She had only seen models and sketches of the future rehabilitation center, but he had never brought her here in person.
There had been a lot of progress on the project, even with the snow, and as she pulled away from him, he heard her breath catch.
“Oh.”
“I cannot wait for you to see it in the spring,” Hades said. “You will love the gardens.”
They were only plans now, but they would be extensive.
“I love it all. I love it now.” Then she looked at him. “I love you.”
He smiled at her and kissed her again, then led her inside. It was far easier to visualize what it would look like when it was finished because most of the walls were up, though there was still so much work to do.
He took her into each section of the facility.
“My hope is it feels less like a hospital and more like…a place where people can really heal,” he said. He frowned at himself because he wasn’t sure if those were exactly the right words, but it was important to him that when they were ready to receive patients, it wasn’t a place that felt sterile and inflexible. He associated those things with judgment, not acceptance or even hope.
“It will be everything it needs to be, Hades,” Persephone said, and her assurance eased the anxiety he’d started to feel over the whole thing. He felt a little ridiculous, but he was personally invested in the success of this project. It had been inspired by her, and for some reason, if it was not everything he intended, he would feel like he failed.
He was getting used to that feeling, and he didn’t like it.
He took her upstairs, which were just hollow wood that creaked beneath their feet, bringing her into a large room that had floor-to-ceiling windows making up most of the walls, just like his office in Alexandria Tower. The purpose was to give her a view of the gardens—specifically Lexa’s garden—but it also overlooked the woods surrounding the property and New Athens’s dreary and misty skyline.
He hung back near the entrance and watched her cross the room to stare out at the landscape. She took a breath, as if it brought her peace.
“What room is this?”
“Your office,” he said.
She whirled to face him.
“Mine? But I—”
“I have an office at every business I own. Why shouldn’t you?” he said, his lips curling. “And even if you do not work here often, we’ll put it to use.”
She laughed and her eyes were so bright, they burned in this muted weather. She looked beautiful, and for a moment, all he could think about was how he was grateful she could continue to look at him like this—like she loved him no matter what would come. And more would come. In some ways, this felt silly—the planning, knowing that Theseus had killed the ophiotaurus, knowing that Zeus had yet to approve their marriage, that Demeter’s storm still raged.
And yet he still hoped.
She shivered and brought her arms over her chest to try and contain it. He hadn’t noticed the cold.
“We should return,” he said.
Except she didn’t move, and he didn’t call his magic.
Persephone licked her lips, and his eyes fell there as she whispered his name.
He was on her the next second, and as he kissed her, he pressed her into the unfinished wall, his hips grinding into hers. He was highly aware that he was insatiable, his desire for her never-ending. His need for sex went beyond anything that was normal, and he used it for everything—to avoid, to process, to heal—but Persephone was no different.
“I need you,” he groaned as his mouth left hers to trail down the column of her neck, his hands smoothing down her back to her ass. Persephone was already fumbling with the buttons on his shirt, and for a moment, he considered stripping them both with his magic, but there was something alluring about being undressed by her, and he wanted that today.
Hades had a second of warning before he smelled laurel, and then Apollo appeared and snapped at them.
“Stop that!”
“Go away, Apollo,” Hades barked.
He was not in the mood to be interrupted or to have Persephone pulled away from him because of their ridiculous bargain.
“Hades,” Persephone said, a note of reprimand in her voice.
She was far more modest than him and was never inclined to continue what they’d started with an audience. Hades, while possessive, had no shame. He could fuck her in a crowded room—that was what illusion was for.
“No can do, Lord of the Underworld,” Apollo said. “We have an event.”
Hades pulled away with a frustrated sigh.
“What do you mean we have an event?” Persephone asked. Hades wanted to know the same.
“Today’s the first of the Panhellenic Games,” Apollo said.
Hades had definitely forgotten that, though to be fair, he had been very distracted and not at all with anything pleasant.
“That isn’t until tonight,” she said.
“So? I need you now.”
“For what?” Persephone countered.
Hades watched the exchange, looking between the two. He felt like he was moderating an argument between two siblings.
“Does it matter?” Apollo asked. “We have a—”
“Don’t.” Hades said. “She asked you a question, Apollo. Answer it.”
Apollo’s mouth tightened, and he crossed his arms as if he were pouting. “I fucked up. I need your help,” he said, glaring at Hades as if to ask if he was happy now.
The answer was no.
“You needed help and yet you wish to command it from her?” Hades said.
“Hades—” Persephone tried, but he wasn’t interested in her defense.
“He demands your attention, Persephone, has your friendship only because of a bargain, and when you needed him before all those Olympians, he was silent.”
It was probably that last thing that frustrated him the most. The one person who had defended them the most was Hermes, and that was even in the aftermath of his broken oath. Where had Apollo been?
“That’s enough, Hades,” Persephone said. “Apollo is my friend, bargain or not. I will speak to him about what bothers me.”
He stared at her, wishing she would do it right now, because he’d really like to witness her reprimanding Apollo, but he knew she wouldn’t.
He swallowed his frustration and then kissed her, his tongue pushing past her lips and into her mouth. He gripped her face, her jaw widening to accommodate the deep thrusts of his tongue, and when he pulled away, her face was flushed.
She swallowed, holding his gaze, and he hoped that all she thought about while she was with Apollo was what he’d interrupted.
“I will join you at the games later.” Then he vanished.
CHAPTER XXXV
DIONYSUS
Dionysus sat in his usual place in his darkened suite at Bakkheia. It was crowded with people who were drinking and dancing and fucking. He usually watched the revelry or at least was far more present for it—it was essentially how he received worship—but today, he was distracted.
He could not think of anything beyond what had happened over the last few days—his confrontation with Poseidon and everything that had occurred on that island, from fucking Ariadne to the death of the ophiotaurus. He was also very much aware that he had left the cyclops he’d promised to murder alive, albeit with a severe hangover.
He wondered what consequences would come from not fulfilling that debt.
“Are you ever going to tell me what happened on that island?” Silenus asked.
“There’s nothing to tell,” Dionysus replied.
Nothing he wanted to tell.
“It changed you,” his foster father said. “You’re different, and I’m not sure how.”
“I’m not sure how either,” Dionysus said, which was true.
He had never wanted to face off with Poseidon, but doing so had left him feeling incapable of protecting Ariadne and very aware of the inferiority of his powers.
“Dionysus,” said a sensual voice, and his attention was brought to the present as a woman with dark hair and eyes knelt before him, hands on his knees. “You seem on edge. Can I not ease you?”
Normally, he would indulge her, but as her palms slid up his thighs, he stopped her and leaned forward. Just as he did, the door to his suite opened, and Ariadne stepped inside. Her eyes went right to him and the woman at his feet.
His throat tightened. He could just imagine how this looked.
“Ari—” he said as she approached.
“Don’t get up,” she said, and he wondered which of them she was talking to. “I need to talk to you.”
“Of course,” he said, his eyes falling to the woman. “Go.”
When he looked at Ariadne, her gaze was hard.
“It wasn’t what you think,” he said.
“Do you know what I think?” she countered.
Dionysus started to respond, but Silenus interrupted. “You must be Ariadne,” he said, leaning over the arm of his chair into Dionysus as he extended his hand. “I am Silenus, Dionysus’s father.”
“Adopted father,” Dionysus felt the need to clarify.
Ariadne took his hand, though she didn’t seem completely comfortable.
“Aye, I can see why my son is smitten,” Silenus said.
Dionysus shoved him back into his own chair. “Shut up,” he seethed and then looked at Ariadne again.
“I want to go back to the island,” she said.
“What?” That was not what he expected to hear.
“I want to bury Bully,” she said.
“Ari, it isn’t safe.”
“It’s not right to just leave him there to rot,” she said. “He deserved better than that.”
“Did you ignore the part where he is in a cave with a fucking monster?”
“A monster you were supposed to kill,” she pointed out.