A Touch of Ruin (Hades x Persephone #2)(29)

“You turned her into a tree?” Persephone asked.

Sometimes she forgot the extent of Hades’ powers. He was one of the Three most powerful gods in existence, and while each of his brothers became king of a respective realm—Zeus the sky, Poseidon the sea and Hades the dead, they shared power over the earthly realm, which meant there was the potential that she and Hades shared powers.

Apparently, one was turning people into plants.

“Why?”

“I caught her fucking someone else. I was blind with anger. I turned her into a poplar tree.”

“She must not remember that, or she wouldn’t introduce herself as your lover.”

Hades stared at her for a moment. He hadn’t moved from his spot at the table.

“It is possible she has repressed the memory.”

Persephone started to pace.

“How many lovers have you taken?”

“Persephone,” Hades voice was gentle, but there was an undercurrent that said that’s not a path you want to go down.

“I just want to be prepared in case they start coming out of the woodwork.”

Hades was silent, staring. After a moment he said, “I won’t apologize for living before you existed.”

“I’m not asking you to, but I’d like to know when I’m about to meet a woman who fucked you.”

“I was hoping you’d never meet Leuce,” Hades said. “She wasn’t supposed to be around this long. I agreed to help her get on her feet in the modern world. Normally, I’d pass the responsibility on to Minthe, but seeing as how she’s indisposed—” He glanced at the ivy on the walls. “It’s taken me longer to find someone suitable to mentor her.”

Persephone stopped pacing and faced Hades. “You weren’t planning to tell me about her?”

Hades shrugged. “I saw no need until now.”

“No need?” Persephone echoed, and the ivy on the walls thickened and bloomed. The room felt infinitely smaller.

“You gave this woman a place to stay, you gave her a job, and you used to fuck her—”

“Stop saying that,” Hades said through his teeth.

“I deserved to know about her, Hades!”

“Do you doubt my loyalty?”

“You’re supposed to say you’re sorry,” she snapped.

“You’re supposed to trust me.”

“And you’re supposed to communicate with me.” That’s what he had asked of her, why shouldn’t he be held to the same standard?

There was silence and Persephone took a breath, feeling the need to brace herself for this question.

“Do you still love her?”

“No, Persephone.” Hades’ response was immediate, but he sounded annoyed that she would even ask.

Persephone wasn’t sure where to go from here. She was angry and she didn’t understand why Hades had chosen to hide his previous lover from her. It wasn’t that she believed he had been unfaithful; it was that this was just one of several things that had taken her off-guard this week when it came to Hades’ life.

She was starting to feel like she truly knew nothing about him.

After another minute of tense silence, Hades sighed and suddenly looked exhausted. He came around the table and reached for her, his fingers twined into her hair at the base of her head.

“I hoped to keep all of this from you,” he said. “Not to protect Leuce, but to protect you from my past.”

“I don’t want to be protected from you,” Persephone whispered. The air between them growing thick with a different kind of tension. “I want to know you—all of you, from the inside out.”

He offered a small smile and cupped her face, the pad of his thumb brushing her lips.

“Let’s start with the inside,” he said, and their mouths collided, his tongue twined with hers. He tasted like smoke and ice. His hands moved down her back and over her bottom, and he drew her to him so that she was cradled between his legs as he leaned against the table. Each flick of his tongue hypnotized her. The hard press of his erection against her stomach made her dizzy with lust. She held onto him, fingers digging into his tight muscles. She would be lying if she said she didn’t need this. Not only had he left her aching and empty nights ago, but the stress of work was putting her on edge. She needed release, but she also needed Hades to understand, so she pressed her hands against his chest and pulled away.

“Hades, I am serious. I want to know your greatest weakness, your deepest fear, your most treasured possession.”

His expression grew serious then, and he stared at her with an intensity that made her insides shudder.

“You,” he answered, the pad of his thumb passed over her kiss-swollen lips.

“Me?” For a moment she was confused, and then she realized what he was saying. “I cannot be all of those things.”

“You are my weakness, losing you is my greatest fear, your love is my most treasured possession.”

“Hades,” she said gently. “I am a second in your vast life. How can I be all of those things?”

“You doubt me?”

She pressed her palm to his cheek. “No, but I believe you have other weaknesses, fears, and treasures. Your people, for one. Your realm for another.”