CHAPTER XLIV
THESEUS
Theseus ushered Persephone out of Alexandria Tower and into a waiting SUV and climbed into the vehicle behind her. As soon as they were seated, he held out his hand.
“Your ring,” he said.
“My—why?”
“Your ring,” he said sharply. He did not like repeating himself. “Or I will cut your finger off too.”
It was not an empty threat. He was a man of his word.
She glared but pulled the ring off. He dropped it into the pocket of his jacket.
“Where are you taking me?” she asked.
He had expected his question. They always wanted to know, as if it the knowledge somehow mattered.
It didn’t.
It was not as if she could escape him. By the time they reached their destination and she saw what he was capable of, she would be too afraid to move against him.
“We will be going to the Diadem Hotel until I am ready to execute my plans with you.”
“And what are those?”
“I am not one to show my hand before I am ready, Queen Persephone.”
He’d hoped she would react a little more to the use of her title, but she ignored it. He didn’t like that and a wave of irritation rushed to his head, making his face burn.
“Is Sybil there? At the hotel?”
“Yes. You will get to see her. You will need to see her so you can remember why you must follow through on your mission.”
The mortal was in bad shape, but that was to be expected. She was the lamb—a sacrifice sent to slaughter. Without her, he had no compliance from Persephone. Demeter had been right about the goddess, she would do anything to save her friends, anything for the world.
Her righteousness would be the end of her—it would be the end of Hades.
She was finally quiet, at least for a moment, though there was a part of him that wanted her to continue preaching to him as if her values were not her weaknesses. He would use each of them against her later as he became Fate, weaving a tortuous existence for the Goddess of Spring until she begged for mercy at his feet.
That was what he wanted from her, what he wanted from the world—submission, obedience.
The thought made his cock swell and he glanced at Persephone. She had crammed herself into the corner of the vehicle as far away from him as possible, though she was angled toward him, as if she expected him to attack.
She was prepared to fight him. He liked that. It made his mouth water, it made his dick twitch.
But he knew self-control and understood his priorities. He had to execute a plan before he could break her.
And break her he would. He would shatter her so thoroughly she would never find all the pieces.
“You are working with my mother?”
He would not exactly call it working. He did not work with anyone. He used what they offered, and when he was done, he discarded what was left. It was simple. No waste.
“We have common goals,” he said.
“You both want to overthrow the gods,” she said.
“Not overthrow,” he said. “Destroy.”
“Why? What do you have against the gods? You were born from one.”
“I do not hate all gods,” he said. “Just the inflexible ones.”
There were plenty who were willing to concede to his desires to maintain their existence as they had done when the Olympians first overthrew the Titans. Unlike her, they did not care about humanity, only that they could continue to live in comfort upon the Earth.
“You mean the ones who will not let you have your way?”
“You make me sound selfish. Have I not always spoken of helping the greater good?”
And the greater good was of benefit to all, even those who did not realize it.
But it was just a matter of time before they understood—it was either his idea of the future or war—and who wouldn’t want what he had planned? He would bring about a golden age, much like when Cronos ruled. There would peace and prosperity. There would be no need for rules or laws outside of the expectations he had for the world, and his worshippers would listen because he would provide their every need.
And Persephone, whether she wanted to or not, would bring about eternal spring. He would use her as he used all gods—the ones he could force, of course.
“We both know you want power, Theseus. You are only playing at offering mortals what other gods will not grant.”
He played at nothing but she was soon to realize that.
Theseus grinned. “Ever the skeptic, Lady Persephone.”
His smile did not work on her the way it worked on others. She did not relax or stop scowling. She continued to glare, angry and defiant. Usually, he liked defiance because he could punish it, but right now, he needed her to obey so he could execute his plan.
She did not seem scared so much as angry, which annoyed him.
It did not matter, he supposed, because by the end of this, she would fear him and she would hate him.
Then she would be perfect.
When they arrived at the Diadem, he reached across and wrenched her face between his fingers, forcing her to look at him. She stiffened beneath his touch, and he knew no matter how he coaxed, she would never ease beneath him. That was fine. He only needed her willing to a point, beyond tonight, he did not care.
“We have a bit of a stroll to make. Just know I will be counting the number of times you misbehave, and for each offense, I will cut another finger from your friend. If I run out of fingers, I will move on to toes.” He released her with a jerk. “I trust you will obey.”
They left the vehicle, and as he came around the SUV, he offered his hand to Persephone. Her eyes were bright with hatred. Very few mortals knew the difference between that and passion.
Like a good girl, she accepted him, and they entered the hotel.
“Does Hera know you are using her facility for treasonous activities?”
She spoke quietly as they made their way through the bright lobby.
He laughed—genuinely. That was rare, but he found her question amusing. Clearly Hades did not tell her anything. Hera had offered several floors to him for his own private use. And use them he did—for sex, murder, hostages, whatever he wanted.
“Of all the gods, Hera has been on our side the longest,” he said.
It helped that she despised her husband and that he continued to forgive her despite her many betrayals—but that was the nature of love, the greatest weakness of all. It would be Zeus’s downfall just as much as it would be Hades’s.
“I assumed you would be more discreet,” Persephone said. “Since you are breaking the law.”
He leaned close, enjoying how she cringed as he neared.
“You broke the law,” he pointed out, his lips grazing her ear. “You engaged in battle with the gods.”
“You kidnapped my friend.”
“Is it a crime if no one knows?” Her jaw tightened, and he could feel her seething hatred. He wanted to taste it, and he would. Soon. “Do not waste your thoughts on how you will torture me when I die. Hades has already claimed that honor.”
She offered a bark of laugh. “Oh, I will not torture you when you die. I will torture you while you live.”
He hoped she did. He liked pain.
He dragged her upstairs, forcing her to keep pace with him. When they made it to the room, he held the door open for her. It was the least he could do—the absolute least.
She kept her eyes on him as she entered until she caught sight of her friend in the corner.
“Sybil!”