A Touch of Darkness (Hades x Persephone #1)(85)

Since that night, everything had been hectic. School was busy, work was stressful. Plus, she had been accosted by strangers in person and via email. People stopped and questioned her about her relationship with Hades on the bus, during walks, and while writing at The Coffee House. Journalists emailed to ask if they could interview her for their newspapers—others offered jobs. She had gotten into a habit of checking her inbox once a day and mass deleting the majority of the emails she received without reading them, but this time, when she logged in, she noticed a disturbing subject line: I know you’re fucking him.

Journalists were a little more professional than that.

Dread pooled in her stomach as she clicked on the email and found a string of photos. They were images of her with Hades, all taken in the Underworld while they were on the balcony during the Ascension Ball. At the end of the email words were written: I want my job back or I’ll release these to the media.

The email was from Adonis. She pulled out her phone. She hadn’t deleted his number yet, and she figured this was the best way to reach him.

She could tell he picked up the phone, but he didn’t offer a greeting, just waited for her to speak.

“What the hell, Adonis?” she demanded. “Where did you get the photos?”

“I’m sure you’d like to know.”

“Hades will crush you,” she said.

“He can try, but then he probably doesn’t want to face Aphrodite’s wrath.”

“You are a bastard.”

“You have three weeks,” he said.

“How am I supposed to get your job back for you?” She snapped.

“You’ll think of something. You did get me fired.”

“You got yourself fire, Adonis,” she hissed. “You shouldn’t have stolen my article.”

“I made you famous,” he argued.

“You didn’t make me anything but a victim and I’m not interested in continuing that trend.

There was a long pause on the other side, before Adonis spoke again. “Time is running out, Persephone.”

He hung up, and she put the phone down. She thought for a moment. The easiest thing to do was to ask Demetri if he’d consider hiring Adonis back, so she rose from her seat and knocked on Demetri’s door.

“Do you have a moment?”

Her boss looked up from his computer. Today he had chosen to wear a blue shirt and a yellow tie. The color reflected off his glasses, and made it almost impossible to make eye contact with him.

“Yes, come in,” Demetri answered.

Persephone only took a few steps into the room. “What are the chances Adonis could...come back?” she asked.

“He was dishonest, Persephone. I have no interest in employing him again.”

She nodded and he asked, “Why?”

“Just feeling...a little bad for him is all,” she managed, though the words were completely untrue and tasted like blood in her mouth.

Demetri took his glasses off. She could now see his eyes, full of concern and a little suspicious.

“Is everything alright?” he asked.

She nodded. “Yes. Yeah. Excuse me.”

She left Demetri’s office, packed her things, and left. The images in her email were damning, and if released to the public, they would prove everything in the gossip magazines true.

Well, not everything.

Persephone really couldn’t say that she and Hades were dating. As before, she was hesitant to assign any label to their current status given their contract. Not to mention the fact that if those photos were released, her mother would see them, and that would mean the end of her time in New Athens—she wouldn’t even have to worry about the media storm that would ensue as a result, because she wouldn’t be here for it. Demeter would lock her back up forever.

Persephone went home to get ready for her date. She took her time, her mind on Adonis’s threat. She considered how she should handle the situation. It occurred to her that she could tell Hades and everything would be over as quick as it began, but she didn’t want the God of the Dead fighting her battles for her. She wanted to solve this problem herself.

She decided Hades would be the last resort, a card she would pull if she couldn’t find a solution.

She must have looked troubled when Hades arrived to pick her up, because the God of the Underworld asked as she approached, “Is everything okay?”

“Yes,” she managed in her cheeriest voice possible. He had been asking that a lot and she wondered if he was paranoid. “It was just a busy day.”

He smiled. “Then let’s get you off your feet.”

He helped her into the limo and followed close behind. Antoni was in the driver’s seat.

“My lady,” he bowed his head.

“It is good to see you, Antoni.”

The cyclops smiled and instructed, “Just press the com if you need anything.”

Then he rolled up a tinted window that kept his cabin separate from theirs.

She and Hades sat side-by-side, close enough so that their arms and legs touched. The friction ignited a fever beneath her skin. Suddenly, she couldn’t get comfortable, and shifted, crossing and uncrossing her legs. It drew Hades attention, and after a moment, he placed a hand on her thigh.

She wasn’t sure what possessed her to say it—maybe it was the stress of the day or the tension in the cabin, but right now, all she wanted was to lose herself in him.