A Touch of Darkness (Hades x Persephone #1)(25)

“Mekonnen,” she repeated and smiled. “Call me Persephone, please.”

His eyes widened. “My lady—I couldn’t. Lord Hades, he would—”

“I will speak with Lord Hades,” she said, and placed her hand on the ogre’s arm. “Call me Persephone.”

Mekonnen offered a crooked smile and then swept his hand out in a dramatic fashion, bowing at the waist. “Persephone.”

She laughed and shook her head. She’d talk to him later about the bowing, but for now, if he never called her ‘my lady’ again, she’d see that as a victory.

She entered the club and made her way to the floor, but just as she came to the end of the steps, a Satyr approached her. He was handsome, and had shaggy, dark hair, a goatee, and dark horns that curled out of his head. He wore a black button up.

“Lady Persephone?” he asked.

“Just Persephone,” she said. “Please.”

“Apologies, Lady Persephone, I speak as Lord Hades commands.”

Was she going to have this conversation with everyone?

“Lord Hades has no say over how I am to be addressed,” she said and then smiled. “Persephone it is.”

The corners of his lips curled. “I like you already. I am Ilias. Lord Hades wishes me to apologize on his behalf. He is otherwise engaged and has advised me to show you to his office. He promises he will not be long.”

She wondered what was holding him up. Perhaps he was sealing another terrible contract with a mortal…or with Minthe.

“I’ll just wait at the bar, then.”

“I’m afraid that will not do.”

“Another command?” she asked.

Ilias offered an apologetic smile. “I’m afraid this one must be obeyed, Persephone.”

That annoyed her, but it wasn’t Ilias’ fault. She smiled at the Satyr. “Only for you, then. Lead the way.”

She followed the Satyr as he cut through the thickening crowd and along the familiar path to Hades’ office. She was surprised when he followed her inside. He walked to the bar where Hades had served himself earlier in the day.

“Can I get you anything? Wine, Perhaps?”

“Yes, please—a cab, if you have it.”

If she was going to spend the evening with Hades and in the Underworld, she wanted a drink in her hand.

“Coming right up!”

The Satyr was so cheerful, she found it hard to believe he worked for Hades. Then again, Antoni had seemed to revere the god. She wondered if Ilias felt the same. She watched as he selected a bottle of wine and began to uncork it. After a moment, she asked, “Why do you serve Hades?”

“I do not serve Lord Hades. I work for him. There is a difference.”

Fair enough.

“Why do you work for him, then?”

“Lord Hades is very generous,” the Satyr explained. “Don’t believe everything you hear about him. Most of it isn’t true.”

That piqued her interest. “Tell me something that isn’t true.”

The Satyr chuckled as he poured her wine and slid the glass across the table.

“Thank you.”

“My pleasure.”

He bowed his head a little, placing his hand against his chest. When he looked at her again, she was surprised by his seriousness.

“They say Hades is protective of his realm, and while that is true, it isn’t about power. He cares for his people, protects them, and he takes it personally if anyone is harmed. If you belong to him, he will tear the world apart to save you.”

She shivered.

“But I don’t belong to him.”

Ilias smiled. “Yes, you do, or I wouldn’t be serving you wine in his office.” The Satyr bowed. “If you require anything, you must simply speak my name.”

With that, Ilias was gone and Persephone was left in the silence. It was so quiet in Hades’ office—the fireplace didn’t even pop. She wondered if this was a form of punishment in Tartarus. It would definitely have driven her insane.

After a moment, she walked to the wall of windows that overlooked the main floor of the club. She had the strange feeling that this was how the Olympians once felt when they lived in the clouds and looked down upon the Earth.

She studied the mortals below. At first glance, she saw clusters of friends and couples, their worries banished by the drink in their hand. For them, this was a night of fun and euphoria. A night not too unlike the one she had on her first visit. For others, though, their visit to Nevernight meant hope.

She picked them out one-by-one. They gave themselves away by the way they glanced longingly at the spiral staircase that led to the second floor where Hades made his deals. She noted the slumped shoulders of the stressed, the glistening sweat on the brows of the anxious, the rigid posture of the desperate.

The sight made her sad, but they would be warned soon enough not to fall prey to Hades’ games. She would make sure of it.

She turned from the window, and her eyes fell on Hades’ desk. It was a huge piece of obsidian, and looked as if it had been cleaved from the earth and polished. Persephone wondered if it had come from the Underworld. She trailed her fingers along its smooth surface. Unlike her desk, which was already covered in sticky notes and personalized with photos, his was free of clutter. She was disappointed. She’d hoped to glean something useful from the contents, but this one didn’t even have drawers.