Neon Gods (Dark Olympus #1)(43)
“How scandalous of you.”
He looks out over the river. “I wanted to get the hell out of Olympus and never look back. Some days, it’s just all too much, you know?”
“I know,” I whisper. The desire to touch him rises, but I’m not sure he’ll accept comfort from me. “You got caught?”
“No.” He glares at the glass. “I got to the city limits and I couldn’t do it. I didn’t even try to cross the boundary out of the city. I just sat there in that idling car for a couple hours, cursing myself, my parents, Andreas.” At my questioning look, he clarifies. “He was my father’s right-hand man. After my parents died, he took care of me.” He drags a hand through his hair. “I drove back, returned the car, and told Andreas what I’d tried to do. I’m still not sure if the greenhouse was a punishment or his way of giving me a break for a little bit.”
My heart aches for the fourteen-year-old version of this man, who must have hurt so much. “It sounds like working here helped.”
“Yeah.” He shrugs as if it doesn’t mean anything, when it couldn’t be more obvious that it means everything. “I still come around and help sometimes, though since Matthew took over for his father, he’s as jumpy as a cat in a room full of rocking chairs every time I show up.”
I laugh a little. “He’s got some serious hero worship going on.”
“That’s not it. He’s afraid of me.”
I blink. “Hades, if he had a tail, it would have been wagging the second you walked through the door. That’s not what fear looks like. Trust me, I know.” He doesn’t look convinced. But then, it’s becoming startling clear that Hades holds himself apart from everyone else. It’s no wonder he doesn’t recognize the truth of how people look at him when he’s only searching for fear in their eyes.
I reach out and touch his arm. “Thank you for showing me this.”
“If you want to come back here at any point and I’m not available, I’ll send someone with you.” He shifts, almost like he’s uncomfortable. “I know the house can get stifling, and while it’s safe enough here, I don’t trust Zeus not to try something if his people find you walking alone.”
“I’m actually looking forward to exploring the house.” I look around the room. “But I will undoubtedly take you up on that invitation. This place is really soothing.” A yawn surprises me, and I press my hand to my mouth. “Sorry.”
“Let’s go back.”
“Okay.” I don’t know if it’s stress, my late night, or if Hades is right and I’m too good at ignoring my body’s signals. Surely not the latter. I take a step and then another, propelling myself forward from sheer stubbornness. But on the third step, the room goes sickeningly wavy and my knees turn to jelly. I’m falling, and I already know I won’t get my hands up in time to save myself.
“You stubborn little fool.” Hades curses and sweeps me into his arms before I have a chance to hit the floor. “Why didn’t you say you were feeling light-headed?”
It takes me a moment to reconcile the fact that I’m once again in Hades’s arms, that the harsh contact with the floor never came. “I’m fine.”
“You’re not fucking fine. You nearly took a dive.” He stalks through the greenhouse and takes the stairs down two at a time, his expression thunderous. “You and everyone else in your life might be willing to play fast and loose with your health, but I am not.”
I get a glimpse of a startled Matthew as Hades tosses back the keys, and then we’re out on the street. I shift in his arms. “I can walk.”
“You most assuredly cannot.” He covers the blocks between the flower shop and his home at a startling pace. He really was checking his stride when we strolled casually around earlier. Part of me wants to keep arguing, but the truth is that I’m still feeling a little dizzy.
He practically kicks down the front door. Instead of putting me down like I expect, he marches up the stairs, bypassing the second landing. As much as I resent being treated like a child—even if maybe I should have said something on the way to the greenhouse about not feeling well—he’s sparked my curiosity. Georgie caught me this morning before I had a chance to do any real exploring, so the only bits I’ve seen are the sex dungeon, my room, and the kitchen. The third floor is all new to me.
That perks me up a little. “Where are we going?”
“You obviously can’t be trusted to take care of yourself, so I have to keep a better eye on you.”
I give up and rest my cheek against his shoulder. I really shouldn’t enjoy being carried about by this man as much as I do. “I probably just have low blood sugar,” I murmur. “It’s no big deal. I just need to eat something.”
“No big deal,” he repeats, as if he doesn’t understand the words. “You ate breakfast only a few hours ago.”
My skin heats and I can’t quite meet his gaze. “I had a snack.”
“Persephone.” He makes a sound impressively like a growl. “When is the last time you had a full meal?”
I don’t want to be honest, but I know better than to lie to him when he’s like this. I examine my fingernails. “Maybe breakfast the day of the party.”