A Touch of Ruin (Hades x Persephone #2)(111)

Seeing the site fueled Persephone’s excitement. Now all she had to do was focus on her welcome article.

It was strange to revisit the start of her relationship with Hades because her mindset had been so different then. She’d been insecure and suspicious, and yet, she’d wanted adventure. Little did she know her yearning would lead to an inescapable contract with the God of the Dead—a bargain that became love.

He helped me understand that power comes from confidence, from belief in your own worth. To him, I am a goddess.

She felt those words deep in her soul.

***

On Monday morning Persephone sat between Leuce and Sybil at The Coffee House as she pressed publish on her article. She smiled when she read the bold lettering on the landing page of her website: My Journey toward Loving the God of the Dead.

The two squealed and hugged Persephone.

“This is just the beginning,” she said. She felt proud, she felt empowered, and she felt free.

Persephone left Leuce with a to-do list while she and Sybil gathered their things and headed to their respective workplaces. For Persephone, it was the most excited she’d been in a long time to return to the Acropolis because she would never be going there again.

“Good morning, Helen!”

The young woman seemed surprised and stammered. “Good morning, Persephone!”

The goddess walked straight into Demetri’s office. He looked up at her, his tablet glared off his glasses, obscuring his expression.

For a moment, neither spoke.

“You quit.”

“I quit.”

They spoke at the same time.

Demetri smiled, and that alarmed her.

“Can’t say that I am surprised. I saw your announcement. You recruited every single news outlet,” he said and sat back in his chair. He seemed sincere when he said, “Congrats.”

“Thank you,” she replied.

“The Advocate,” he said. “Fitting. Will you continue to write about gods?”

She lifted her chin. She knew what he wanted to ask: Will you write about me?

“If it’s an injustice, I will expose it,” she said.

He nodded. “Then I wish you all the best.”

She didn’t but it didn’t matter. She had promised she would dismantle Kal and unravel Demetri and gods were bound to keep promises.

Persephone left Demetri’s office and walked straight to her desk, emptying everything she’d brought into a box.

“Where are you going?” Helen asked, looking up from the desk as she headed to the elevator.

She smiled at the young blonde. “I quit, Helen.”

“Take me with you.”

Persephone’s eyes widened. “Helen—”

“I’ll work for you for free,” she said. “Please, Persephone. I don’t want to stay without you.”

When the elevator doors, opened, she smiled. “Come on.”

Helen squealed, grabbed her purse, and joined Persephone in the elevator. When they made it to the first floor, Persephone handed the box to Helen.

“Will you wait for me? I have to say goodbye to someone.”

“Oh, sure,” she said.

Persephone headed to the basement in search of Pirithous. She found his office empty. Glancing over his desk, amid stacks of work orders and tools, she spotted a notebook. She recalled the day she’d startled him in his office to ask if he could help her escape again and how protective he’d seemed of the information inside, and yet, it lay open, tiny handwriting was scribbled across the pages.

She might have left it unread had she not spotted her name on the page.

Curiosity overwhelmed her, and she began to read.

Date: 7/2

She wore a white shirt and a black and white striped skirt today. Hair up. The shirt was cut low and I could see the swell of her breasts as she breathed.

Persephone’s blood ran cold.

What the fuck was this?

She turned a page. There was a new description of her outfit for the next day—a pink, fitted dress and white heels. Her legs are shapely. I found myself wanting to lift her skirt, spread her wide and fuck her. She would let me.

Further down, he wrote: There was another report about her and Hades in the news today. Every single fucking day someone is reminding me she is with him. She won’t love him long. He is a god and they destroy everything they love. I will make sure of that.

Then she found the list:

Duct tape, rope, sleeping pills, condoms.

Persephone felt something sour in the back of her throat. That day she’d interrupted Pirithous, when he’d seemed so nervous, he’d been working on a list.

“What are you doing?”

Persephone jerked her hand away from the journal, as her head snapped toward the door where Pirithous now stood, blocking her exit. His eyes were steely and made her blood run cold.

She opened her mouth to speak but couldn’t find words. Her heart was beating out of her chest, and a thin sheen of sweat beaded on her forehead.

“Pirithous,” she breathed. “I came to say goodbye.”

“Really?” he asked. “Because it looked like you were snooping.”

“No,” she whispered, shaking her head. There was a brief moment where neither of them spoke and then Persephone reached for the closest, heaviest object—a flashlight sitting on Pirithous’ desk. She threw it at his head, and as he dodged the blow, she attempted to rush past him, but he reached for her, his nails digging into her skin.