You aren’t his wife, she corrected herself. You are his...girlfriend.
Maybe.
She couldn’t be sure. She hadn’t seen Hades since he left her here yesterday. She had attempted to go in search of him earlier and hadn’t found him anywhere in the palace. She assumed that must mean he was at Nevernight or dealing with Leuce.
Her mood darkened further, and she found herself outside again, exploring the Underworld in the fading light. Her frustration caused the flowers around her to bloom and the grass to grow taller. She hated it. She was literally leaving a path for anyone to follow.
She traveled far, over rocky hills and mossy valleys until she found herself on the edge of a cliff, face-to-face with a grey ocean.
The wind whipped her face, cooling her heated face. Her insides were still raging. She felt so angry—angry with Apollo and with Hades and being stuck in that gods-forsaken suite. Was this his form of punishment? Leaving her in the Underworld and avoiding her at all costs? He didn’t seem at all sorry for his part in this.
She decided she needed to calm down when a rose sprouted from her arm. The bud was painful as it grew, and when she pulled it free, she screamed from the burn, and blood poured from the wound.
This is torture, she thought.
She tore off a piece of her gown and wrapped it around her arm as tight as she could before settling on the ground. First, she focused on the sound of the sea rushing the shore below, the feel of the wind against her face, the smell of ash and salt in the air. Then she closed her eyes and breathed deep—filling her lungs with the same smells, with the same wind, with the same sounds until she felt like she was in the ocean herself, rocking back and forth, cradled in warm waves.
The anger and tension and pain broke apart.
For the first time today, she felt calm, collected, clear-headed.
When she opened her eyes, it was dark, and she knew she should head back to the palace before anyone started worrying, but as she got up to leave, she found the path her magic had created was gone.
Still, she thought she could manage on her own, and started in the direction she thought she’d come. She walked for a while before she realized she was lost. Exhausted and unable to teleport, she found a spot beneath a tree and sat, sliding to the ground where she fell asleep.
She was roused by Hades’ warmth. His scent filled her nose as he cradled her close to his chest. She knew when they teleported because the air changed. If she wasn’t so exhausted—so groggy—she would have opened her eyes to see his expression. In fact, she wanted to open her eyes, because her heart needed to see how he was looking at her—but she found she couldn’t.
She was so damn tired.
Why was she so tired?
Hades held her close for a long time before shifting and settled her in a heap of blankets. He pressed a kiss to her forehead, and warmth seeped into her skin.
She remembered nothing else.
CHAPTER X - GOD OF MUSIC
When Persephone opened her eyes, the first thing she noticed were black silk sheets. She caressed them, brows knitting together. How had she gotten in Hades’ room? She rolled over, thinking she might find him beside her, but the bed was empty. Then she heard the clink of a glass and her eyes shifted to Hades’ bar.
Hermes was standing in front of it and he had frozen at the sound, looking to see if he’d woken her.
“Hermes?” she asked.
The God of Trickery turned fully holding a decanter of amber liquid and a glass. “Sorry, Sephy. I needed a drink.”
“What are you doing here?” she asked, sitting up in bed.
“What am I doing here? What were you doing last night?”
Persephone’s brows drew together. “What do you mean?”
Hermes’ cocked his head to the side. “You really don’t remember?”
“I went for a walk,” she said and shrugged.
“That was some walk,” Hermes scoffed. “Hades freaked the fuck out. He couldn’t find you or sense you anywhere. I’ve never seen him so...”
“Angry?”
Hermes looked at her like she was crazy.
“No, distraught. This is the Underworld. His territory. He thought something bad had happened. He summoned every deity in the Underworld to look for you...and me.”
“I just...got lost. I wanted to clear my head. I meditated for a little while like Hecate told me to do, and when I was finished, it was dark. I couldn’t find my way back. I didn’t mean to make anyone worry. I just wanted to be alone.”
“Well, enjoy that because I don’t think Hades will let you out of his sight for the foreseeable future.”
She raised a brow. “You mean like now?”
“I’m babysitting,” he said, almost proudly and Persephone rolled his eyes.
“And why are you babysitting?”
“Because Apollo’s here.”
Persephone froze, and Hermes face drained of color as the god realized his mistake.
“What?”
“Did I say Apollo was here? I meant that he’s on his way. He’s most definitely not here. Hades is not meeting with Apollo in the throne room without you....fuck.”
Persephone was already out of bed.
“Persephone!” Hermes called as she left the room. “Sephy! Get back here! No one will take you seriously with that hair!”
She ignored him taking off toward the throne room, her feet slipping on the marble as she went. She burst inside where she found Hades and Apollo standing opposite each other. They really were quite the pair—shadow and light meeting on a marble battlefield.
Apollo was beautiful in his mortal form. He was boyish, athletic, and smaller than Hades. He had a crown of dark curls, a square jaw, and dimples that added to what might be youthful charm if he didn’t appear so angry.
Hades, on the other hand, was raw, primal masculinity. He towered over Hermes, his hair a halo of darkness. There was a maturity to Hades’ features that had nothing to do with his well-manicured beard or tailored suit—it was in his eyes—black, endless eyes that had seen lifetimes of strife.
When she entered, the two gods turned to her.
“So, the mortal has come to play,” Apollo remarked.
Hades glared over Persephone’s shoulder at Hermes who had followed her. The god held up his hands to stave off Hades’ anger.
“What? She guessed!”
Hades turned back to Apollo. “The deal is done. You will not touch her.”
“What deal?” Persephone demanded.
The two gods looked at her again, Apollo amused, Hades, angry, but she didn’t care. While she understood Hades wanted to keep her safe from Apollo, he couldn’t just exclude her from this conversation. She had started it, she had things to say, and Apollo would hear her out.
“Your lover has struck a deal,” Apollo said. The way he said lover slithered across her skin in all the wrong ways. It made her dislike it more, but maybe that was because she felt there was a certain amount of disrespect associated with it—that she was fleeting, temporary. She felt that way now with this meeting having gone on without her.
“I have agreed not to punish you for your...slanderous article...and in turn, Hades has offered me a favor…to be collected at a future time.”
Hermes whistled. “Damn. He really does love you, Sephy.”