A Touch of Malice (Hades x Persephone #3)(122)

“You would face Divine Death?” Theseus asked, rising from his spot on the couch.

“Hades, no!” Persephone said, she clutched his robes, but he would not look at her, his gaze trained upon Theseus, his body tense and ready for battle. Horrible memories ravished her mind. They were false memories, drawn from her greatest fears when she’d battled Hades in her grove, but they’d felt real. She still remembered the weight of his head in her lap and the way his blood darkened as it dried.

“For Persephone?” Hades asked. “Yes.”

“I’m only asking to borrow her. You can have her back when I’m through.”

Disgust made Persephone’s stomach roil.

“Why me?” she asked.

“That is a conversation for another time. For now, you must leave here with me and Hades cannot follow. If you do not do as I say, I will murder your friend in front of you.”

Persephone’s eyes burned, and she turned to Hades, gripping his arm until he stared down at her.

“Persephone.” He said her name, desperate and pained.

“It’s going to be okay.”

“No, Persephone.”

“I have lost too many people. This way…I can keep you all.”

He held her, his fingers digging into her arms. She knew what he was thinking—this was the last time he would see her. She pressed her lips to his and they kissed softly. As she pulled away, she whispered.

“Trust me.”

“I trust you,” he said.

“Then let me go.”

And to her surprise, he did.

Behind them, Theseus chuckled and opened the door, waiting for her to pass though.

“You have made the right decision.”

She brushed passed Hades, and as much as she’d encouraged him to let her go, she felt the weight of his absence immediately. All she wanted was to return to him. She paused when she came to stand beside Theseus, which only seemed to make Hades grow more tense.

“Persephone,” Hades said her name again and her heart ached in a way it never had before, like it was wrapped in thread pulled so tight, it could barely beat.

“I love you,” she said. “And I know you.”

The second this door was closed, he would come after her and she could not risk it. Sybil would die, and Hades would face an eternity of being hunted by Nemesis.

She couldn’t let that happen.

His eyes widened at her words and then great, black vines sprouted from the ground, wrapping around his feet and wrists. Their weight anchored him to the ground, causing it to buckle beneath his feet. He struggled against the bindings, his muscles rippling, veins popping, but he could not break free of them.

“Persephone!” Hades bellowed as the door slammed closed, blocking him from her view. Guilt slammed into her and tears welled in her eyes. She was left facing Theseus whose lips were curled, eyes alight with amusement.

“Well done. He will never forgive you for that.”



PART III



“Men are so quick to blame the gods: they say

that we devise their misery. But they

themselves- in their depravity- design

grief greater than the griefs that fate assigns.”

― Homer, The Odyssey



CHAPTER XXXVI


– PERSEPHONE



Theseus ushered Persephone out of Alexandria Tower and into a waiting SUV. Inside, the windows were so dark, she couldn’t see out. Theseus climbed into the vehicle behind her and held out his hand.

“Your ring,” he demanded.

“My—why?”

“Your ring or I will cut your finger off, too.”

Persephone glared at him. She wanted so badly to use her magic against this half-god, but she couldn’t bring herself to do it, not without knowing if Sybil was okay.

She twisted her ring from her finger and handed it over, feeling as if she were giving away a piece of her heart. She watched as Theseus placed it in the inside pocket of his jacket.

“Where are you taking me?” she demanded.

“We will be going to the Diadem Hotel,” he said. “Until I am ready to execute my plans with you.”

“And what are those?” She couldn’t keep her voice from shaking.

He chuckled. “I am not one to show my hand before I am ready, Queen Persephone.”

She ignored his use of her title; it was likely not serious—just a way to get under her skin.

“Is Sybil there? At the hotel?”

“Yes,” he said. “You will get to see her—you will need to see her so you can remember why you must follow through on your mission.”

Persephone let the silence stretch for a moment before speaking again.

“You are working with my mother?”

“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.”

Even if Theseus had wanted to, he could not deny his parentage.

“I do not hate all gods, just the inflexible ones,” he said.

“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?”