Neon Gods (Dark Olympus #1)(60)

The thought leaves me cold. Psyche knows well enough to play the game. Eurydice is all flavors of distracted by her boyfriend. Callisto? If Callisto and our mother go head-to-head, I’m not sure the city will survive it. If she goes after Zeus… “I’ll call them.”

“Good girl.” She pats me on the shoulder and walks out of the room, presumably off to torment some other unsuspecting soul. Despite that, I like her. Hermes might play at deeper games than I can begin to guess at, but she’s at least interesting. And I think she and Dionysus actually care about Hades. I’m not sure it’s enough to prevent them from siding with the other Thirteen if it comes to that, but that’s a worry for another day.

I take one last bite, grab the phone Hades gave me earlier, and head out of the kitchen and down the hall to the room I found during a cursory exploration of the first floor. I suppose it’s a living room, but it feels like a cozy little reading nook with two comfortable chairs, a giant fireplace, and several bookshelves filled with everything from nonfiction to fantasy.

I sink into the deep-purple chair and turn on the phone. It’s already got my sisters’ contact information in it and the video chat app installed. I take a deep breath and call Psyche.

She answers immediately. “Oh, thank the gods.” She leans back. “She’s here!”

Callisto and Eurydice appear behind her. Anyone looking at the four of us wouldn’t assume we’re siblings. Technically, we’re all half siblings. My mother went through four marriages before she achieved her goal to become one of the Thirteen and ceased needing men to further her ambitions. We all have our mother’s hazel eyes, but that’s where the similarities stop.

Eurydice looks ready to cry, her light-brown skin already blotchy. “You’re alive.”

“Yes, I’m alive.” Guilt threads through me. I was too worried about getting as close to Hades as possible to remember to contact my sisters. Selfish. So selfish of me. But then, what else do you call my plan to leave Olympus forever? I push the thought away.

Callisto leans forward and runs a critical eye over me. “You look…good.”

“I am good.” As tempting as it is to downplay the situation, being perfectly honest with them is the only way to go. “Hades and I made a deal. He’s going to keep me safe until I’m able to get out of Olympus.”

Callisto narrows her eyes. “At what cost?”

Here’s the crux of it. I hold her gaze. “If Zeus considers me less desirable because I’ve been sleeping with Hades, he won’t try to pursue me when I leave.” When my sisters just stare at me, I sigh. “And yes, I’m furious at Mother and furious at Zeus and I wanted to prove a point.”

Psyche frowns. “There’s a rumor circulating this morning that you and Hades were, well, having sex in front of half the lower city. I thought it was just people gossiping nonsense, but…”

“It’s true.” I can feel my face getting red. “Our plan won’t work if it’s just pretend. It has to be real.”

It’s Eurydice, my sweet and innocent sister, who speaks next, her voice low and furious. “We’re coming to get you right now. If he thinks he can force you—”

“No one is forcing me to do anything.” I hold up a hand. I have to get ahead of this. I should have known that trying to be vague would only incite every single one of their protective instincts. “I’ll tell you the full truth, but you have to stop reacting and listen.”

Psyche puts her hand on Eurydice’s shoulder. “Tell us and then we’ll decide how to react.”

That’s about as good an offer as I’m going to get. I sigh and then tell them everything. How I pushed the bargain. Hades’s constant mothering. How good the sex is.

I leave out Hades’s history with Zeus, the scars wrapping his body that no doubt came from the fire that killed his parents. The fire Zeus caused. I trust my sisters implicitly, but something in me rebels at sharing that story. It’s not exactly a secret, but it feels like one, like a piece of knowledge that Hades and I share, that bonds us together further.

And…

I hesitate, but in the end, who else can I talk to about this? “I feel like I can breathe here. I don’t have to pretend with Hades, don’t have to be perfect and bright all the time. I feel like… Like I’m finally starting to figure out who I am behind the mask.”

Eurydice has hearts in her eyes. “Only you could manage to run away and fall into bed with a sexy man determined to do anything to protect you. You’re truly gods-blessed, Persephone.”

“It didn’t feel like it when they announced the engagement.”

Eurydice’s happiness dims. “No, I suppose it didn’t.”

Psyche is looking at me like she’s never seen me before. “Are you sure it’s not all an elaborate trap? You’ve developed those defenses for a reason.”

I bite down on my instinctive denial and force myself to think about it. “No, it’s not an elaborate trap. He hates Zeus just as much as I do; he has no reason to think breaking me would hurt anyone but me. He’s not like that anyway. He’s not like the rest of the Thirteen at all.” That, I know for truth. I’ve survived moving through Olympus’s circle of power and influence this long by trusting my instincts and lying through my teeth. I don’t have to lie with Hades. More, my instincts mark him as safe.