A Touch of Ruin (Hades x Persephone #2)(59)

He chuckled. It was villainous—a sound contrary to his beauty.

“I’m so glad you asked,” he said. “But you first—what brings you to Iniquity, the heart of sin?”

She hesitated. What was she still doing in this room? She turned to leave, but instead of finding the door she had entered, she faced a wall of mirrors.

“Going somewhere?”

She twisted toward him.

“Are you holding me prisoner?”

“These are the rules of Iniquity. Once you enter the chamber of a dealer, you don’t leave until a bargain is struck.”

That isn’t what Leuce had said.

“What if I don’t want to bargain with you?”

“You don’t know what I’m offering.”

“If it isn’t a way out of this room, I don’t want it.”

“Even if it means saving your friend?”

Silence followed his question, and Persephone swallowed. “What do you know about that?”

Kal smiled, and it made the words that came out of his mouth next more callous. “I know she will die unless you can find a way to heal her.”

“She isn’t dying,” Persephone said through her teeth. It wasn’t true—it couldn’t be. Neither Hades or Sybil had said so…and wouldn’t they say so?

“That is not what I see.”

Persephone shifted slightly on her feet. She was uncomfortable in this dark room, closed up with a man who had already bargained with her—an exclusive in exchange for her job.

“Why should I trust you?”

“Because deep down, you know I’m right. If you thought Lexa was going to live, would you have come?”

She hated him.

“What do you want?”

He showed his teeth when he smiled this time.

“I have a deal for you. I’ll give you the spell you need to heal your friend if you give me everything.”

“Everything?”

“I want every detail of your relationship with Hades. I want to know how you met him, when he first kissed you, and all the scandalous details from the first time he fucked you.”

“You’re sick.”

“I’m a businessman, Persephone. Sex sells,” he sat back in the chair. “Sex with gods sells better, and you, my sweet—you’re a goldmine.”

“I’m not the only one who’s slept with Hades.” She hated that she said the words at all, but it was true.

“But you’re the first he’s committed to and that’s worth more than the words of a fuck buddy. He’s invested in you which means he’ll do anything to protect you and the details of your private life.”

Persephone suddenly understood. “You want to blackmail Hades?”

“Well, he is the Rich One.”

“But you’re rich,” Persephone argued.

“Not like him,” Kal said. “But that’s what you’re going to help me with, and in exchange, you get to save your friend from certain death.”

As Kal was speaking, Persephone noticed something black glimmering at the man’s feet—snakes. They wound their way around his feet and his wrists. Kal only noticed when the serpents scaly body curled over his neck. He screamed, but froze when the creatures tightened their hold, hissing near his ear.

Hades materialized out of the darkness, surprising Persephone. She hadn’t felt him at all.

His voice sounded calm and collected, but she felt his rage.

“Are you threatening me, Kal?” he asked.

“No…never!” The pitch of Kal’s voice changed, rising with his fear.

Persephone turned to look at Hades. He was angry—it was present in his eyes and the press of his lips against hers as he bent to kiss her. His tongue demanded entrance, twining with her own. One of his hands cupped her neck and chin, the other knotting into her hair, tightening around the strands. He forced her mouth open wider, lapping at the back of her throat. When he pulled away, it was with her bottom lip between his teeth.

“Are you well?” His voice was rough.

She nodded, dazed.

Hades turned his attention to Kal and stalked toward him. The mortal began defending himself, still frozen beneath the white light. His hands dug into the arms of the chair, his body rigid as the snakes hissed and slithered over his body.

“I-I was following your rules! She summoned me!”

“My rules? Are you insinuating I would approve of a contract between you and my lover?”

“That would be making an exception,” Kal replied. “There are no exceptions in Iniquity.”

“Let me be clear,” Hades said, and black spikes sprouted from his fingertips. He grasped Kal’s face. The man cried out as blood bubbled beneath the spears digging into his skin. “Anyone who belongs to me is an exception to the rules of this club.”

Hades lifted Kal out of the chair and tossed him to the ground. He landed with a loud thud, and the snakes went with him. They lashed out, their fangs sinking deep into his skin. Kal screamed and Persephone watched, unflinching, as the man who had threatened her was tortured by her lover.

“You bastard!” he groaned, lying in a fetal position, his hands shook as he attempted to cover his wounds.

“Careful, mortal,” Hades moved like smoke and came to stand beside Kal.