“I’m glad you told me,” she replied, and Persephone couldn’t help thinking she was too nice, too understanding.
“Do you remember at the Gala, when you told me my colors and Hades colors were all...?”
Her voice faltered; the question poised on her tongue. Sybil’s eyes were searching, and she pressed her lips together. Persephone wasn’t sure if it was because she was trying to keep from saying something she would regret, or if she was trying not to smile, either way, Persephone had to ask.
“Are they still...tangled up?”
“They are,” she said quietly. “I wish you could see it. It is beautiful, sensual and chaotic.”
Persephone offered a humorless laugh. “Chaotic is right.”
She smiled. “Well, I did say it was a tangle.”
Persephone gave her a questioning look.
“It is what happens when two powerful people meet.”
“Discord?” Persephone asked.
“And passion and bliss,” Sybil was smiling completely now.
Persephone looked away. She and Hades definitely had all of those things, but were they possible to reclaim? After all she had done?
Sybil placed a hand on Persephone’s.
“You were always meant for greatness, Persephone, but getting there will be war.”
She shivered.
“Not literal war, right?”
Sybil didn’t say.
They left, walking in opposite directions, Persephone to work and Sybil to the hospital to visit Lexa. Persephone hadn’t heard from Eliska so assumed Lexa had yet to wake up. The thought made her anxious. Did that mean Apollo’s magic hadn’t worked? She pushed those thoughts aside. Apollo was an ancient god, his magic well-practiced.
Lexa is still healing. She is tired, Persephone told herself. She needs her rest.
She took a shortcut back to the Acropolis. She was getting used to avoiding the attention of journalists and rabid fans of the Divine, and that meant avoiding the main roads in favor of narrow alleyways. While they weren’t as pleasant as the well landscaped sidewalks of New Athens, she’d learned it was the easiest way to get where she needed in the least amount of time because there were fewer people, and those she did encounter didn’t seem to care that she was there. Which was probably why she noticed a snowy cat with large, green eyes following her.
She knew by its mannerisms—strangely human and attentive—that the creature was a shapeshifter. Shapeshifters didn’t use glamour to mask appearances, their biology allowed them to change forms, which meant Persephone couldn’t see what they were beneath their animal form.
Persephone continued walking for a while, pretending that she hadn’t noticed the cat wandering the allies with her. When she was sufficiently out of sight of any onlookers, she stopped. The cat seemed surprised and halted, too.
Then, as if remembering it was supposed to be a cat, the creature began to lick its paw.
Gross, Persephone thought. This stone is not clean.
“Shift,” she ordered.
If it was sent, as she suspected, by Hades, the shifter would have no choice but to expose itself. Despite this, the cat attempted to run away. Clearly, it hadn’t expected Persephone to confront it.
Mid-run, its body straightened and grew, transforming into a slender female woman. She was tall and dressed in gold armor. Her dark hair was braided and fell over her shoulder to her waist. Persephone noted several weapons attached to her body—a long sword at her hip, a set of knives crossed on her back, a dagger around her bare thigh.
She was an Aegis and an Amazon—a daughter of Ares bred for brutality and war.
She knelt on one knee, pressing a hand to her chest as she did and said, “My Lady.”
“Don’t,” Persephone’s voice was sharp, and the warrior met her gaze, standing. “Hades sent you?”
“It is an honor to serve you, my lady.”
“I didn’t ask for this,” Persephone said.
“Lord Hades worries for you. I will keep you safe.”
She really hated the way those words made hope bloom in her chest.
“I don’t need you to keep me safe. I can take care of myself. I’ve lived in the mortal world for years and trust me, if an Amazon comes to my rescue, it’ll only make things harder for me.”
The woman raised her head, defiant. “I will do as Lord Hades commands.”
“Then I will speak with Lord Hades,” she replied, twisting on her heels.
“Please.”
Persephone was stopped by the shakiness in the Amazon’s voice. She faced the woman.
“I shouldn’t expect you to care, but I need this. I need this charge. I need this honor.”
“Why?”
Persephone was genuinely curious, but she didn’t like the change it inspired in the Amazon. The woman looked at her feet, her shoulders fell. Whatever her reasoning, it was a burden. Then she said, “I do not wish to expose my shame.”
A strained silence followed, and after a moment, Persephone asked, “What’s your name?”
The woman looked bewildered.
“You may call me Aegis, my lady.”
“I prefer to call you by your name,” Persephone answered. “Just as I prefer you call me Persephone.”
“Lord Hades—”
“I really wish Lord Hades’ staff would stop telling me what he dislikes or likes. Clearly, he hasn’t made that consideration for me.”
She regretted the outburst, because she was essentially, referring to the Aegis.
But the woman smiled. “It’s okay,” she paused. “I’m Zofie.”
“Zofie,” Persephone said her name. “If it is that important to you, I will not dismiss you.”
But she would have words with Hades…when she decided to talk to him again.
“Thank you...Persephone.”
“I’m running late,” she said, and began to back away, and then she pointed at what the woman was wearing. “We’ll talk about the armor later.”
Zofie advanced. “Lord Hades said not to let you out of my sight.”
Persephone rolled her eyes. “You’re a cat, Zofie. I can’t bring you into my office.”
“I’m content to wait for you outside,” she offered.
Persephone sighed. “Fine. We’ll talk about that later, too.”
Persephone left the alleyway, and her new Aegis followed. She had a lot of questions for the woman—namely, where was she from and why was it so important for her to keep this position? Persephone couldn’t refuse when she’d seen the look in her eyes because she had recognized it in herself. It was hopelessness.
She wondered if the God of the Dead had chosen her Aegis strategically, knowing Persephone wouldn’t be able to deprive someone of their dream.
CHAPTER XX - COMPETITION
Persephone decided to deal with Zofie’s armor quickly.
Upon leaving work, the Amazon trotted alongside her toward Hades’ Lexus and hopped inside.
“To The Pearl, Antoni.”
She wondered if Aphrodite would be in the boutique. Since Zofie was Hades’ employee, and she had been appointed to guard Persephone in the Upperworld, surely he wouldn’t mind if she charged clothing, shoes, and accessories to his account.