On Friday, Persephone and Lexa found themselves standing outside an upscale Penthouse in the Crysos District of New Athens. They’d rented a giant moving truck that Lexa had managed to park crookedly on the sidewalk and street.
“This isn’t what I had in mind when I said I wanted to party, Persephone,” Hermes pouted beside them. The god dazzled in gold, looking very much out of place beside Lexa and Persephone who wore yoga pants and sweatshirts.
Persephone had penciled him in for Friday after he’d helped her get into the Acropolis, but that was before Apollo had fired Sybil and took away her powers.
“No one said you had to come,” Persephone countered.
The God of Trickery had shown up at her apartment just as they were heading out to get the moving truck. He tried to argue that they had an agreement—a contract—and she couldn’t back out, but Persephone shut that down.
“One of my best friends was in an abusive relationship. She’s getting out and I’m going to be there for her. Now, you can either come with us or you can leave. Your choice.”
Hermes had chosen to come.
“We wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for your brother,” Lexa said. “Blame him.”
“I’m not responsible for Apollo’s choices,” Hermes argued. “And don’t pretend like this wouldn’t be more fun with alcohol.”
“Your right,” Lexa said. “Good thing I brought this.”
She withdrew a bottle of wine from inside a backpack she’d brought.
“Give me that,” Hermes snatched the bottle from her hands.
Persephone’s eyes widened. “Excuse me, aren’t you driving tonight?”
“Well yeah, but that’s for after.”
Except that somehow, Hermes had already managed to open the bottle.
“I hope you have more in that bag,” the god replied. “Because this one’s for the present.”
Lexa snorted, and the door in front of them finally clicked. Sybil’s voice echoed through the intercom.
“It’s open, come on up.”
Hermes started forward, but Persephone put her hand out to stop him. “You can get the dolly.”
“Why do I have to get the dolly? I’m carrying the wine.”
Persephone took the bottle. “Now I’m carrying the wine. Dolly. Now.”
Hermes shoulders slumped as he relented and trudged toward the moving truck. He returned wheeling the dolly.
Lexa giggled. “You look awfully mortal, Hermes.”
The god’s eyes darkened. “Careful, mortal. I’m not above turning you into a goat for my own enjoyment.”
“Your enjoyment?” Lexa cackled. “That would be the best thing that ever happened to me.”
The three went up the elevator and were let out in the middle of Apollo’s living room.
Persephone wasn’t sure how to feel at seeing the luxury Sybil had been living in the last few months since graduation. There was no denying being employed as an oracle was a lucrative job, and the goddess felt that seeing all this made Sybil’s situation even worse. It made it tangible. She would be going from living in a high-rise penthouse with floor to ceiling windows, wood floors, stainless steel appliances, and the fanciest coffee machine Persephone had ever seen, to occupying her and Lexa’s small apartment from now until the foreseeable future.
Despite the extreme change in lifestyle, Sybil seemed in good spirits, almost as if moving out of this space was lifting a burden from her shoulders. She popped her head out of an adjoining room. Her blond hair spilled over her shoulder in loose waves. Her pretty, make-up free face aglow.
“In here, guys.”
They filed into her room. Persephone expected to find that it had more personality than the rest of the house, but she’d been wrong. Sybil’s room was just as colorless.
“Why is everything grey?”
“Oh, well, Apollo doesn’t like color,” she said.
“Who doesn’t like color?” Lexa asked, plopping down on Sybil’s bed.
“Apollo, apparently,” said Hermes, falling on the bed beside Lexa. “We should trash the place before we leave. That would really piss him off.”
Sybil paled, eyed widening.
Persephone placed her hands on her hips. “You’re the only one who would think that was funny and the only one who would survive his wrath.”
“You would too, Sephy. Hades would cut off Apollo’s balls before he got within an inch of you. I’m tempted to do it just so I can watch.”
“Hermes,” Persephone said pointedly. “You are really not being helpful.”
The god pouted. “I brought the dolly, didn’t I?”
“And now you need to use it. Up! Take these boxes down.”
Hermes grumbled, but rolled off the bed and Lexa followed.
They stacked boxes on the dolly, and while Hermes took them down, Persephone and Lexa helped Sybil pack the rest of her life. Persephone enjoyed the task, each box was a new challenge, and she liked to see just how much she could place in one box. When she was finished, she wrote a quick inventory on the side of the box to make unpacking easier.
When Hermes realized what she was doing, he snorted, shaking his head.
“What?” Persephone demanded.
“You’re just as regimented as Apollo.”
Persephone didn’t like being compared to the god. “What do you mean?”
“Haven’t you been paying attention to this place?” he looked around. “Everything in this place is arranged by type and color.”
“I’m organized, Hermes, not neurotic.”
“Apollo is disciplined. Ever since I’ve known him, he’s been that way.”
“If he’s so disciplined, why is he so…emotional?”
“Because Apollo takes pride in his routine—in the things he can create and execute, which means when he loses control, it’s personal.” Apollo glanced at Sybil. “Same goes for how he handles humans.”
Once they were finished, Sybil left her key on the shiny granite countertop in Apollo’s state-of-the-art kitchen, and the four piled into the moving van and left for the apartment.
“You’re not staying in the lines,” Persephone said, holding onto the grab handle as Lexa drove down the street.
“I can’t see,” Lexa complained, sitting up higher in the driver’s seat.
“Maybe you shouldn’t be driving,” Hermes commented.
“Does someone else want to drive?” she asked.
Everyone in the cabin was silent because none of them could drive.
“Just keep a lookout for pedestrians,” Persephone said.
“I’ll give you ten points if you hit someone,” Hermes offered.
“Is that supposed to entice me?” Lexa asked.
“Uh yeah, they’re Divine points.”
“What do Divine points get me?” Lexa asked, as if she were seriously considering his offer.
“A chance to be a goat,” he answered.
Persephone and Sybil exchanged a look. “If you are wondering if I regret introducing them to each other, the answer is yes.”
Unloading Sybil’s things took less than thirty minutes. Finding a place to put it was another story. They lined boxes up in the hallway, part of the living room and Persephone’s room since she would probably spend most of her time in the Underworld.
Once they had everything moved, Hermes opened a bottle of champagne, grinning.
“Time to celebrate!”
“Oops,” Lexa said, snatching up the keys to the moving truck. “Before we start, I have to return this rental.”
“I’ll come with you,” Persephone said.
“You just want me to drop you off at Nevernight.”
Persephone’s cheeks turned crimson.
“You’re leaving us?” Hermes asked. “What happened to sisters before misters?”
Persephone rolled her eyes. “Hermes, in case you haven’t noticed, you’re a mister.”
“I can be a sister!” he argued, more vehemently than she expected. “If you don’t come back, can I sleep in your bed?” He called as she and Lexa left the apartment.
Sybil’s voice followed quickly. “No, you don’t! It’s mine!”
“I’ll share.”
“Sorry, Hermes, but I’ve had one too many gods try to sleep with me.”
Lexa’s driving was a little smoother on the way the Nevernight until she parked, pressing on the break so hard, Persephone’s body strained against the seatbelt. Outside, Persephone saw Mekonnen, an ogre Hades kept employed as a bouncer for Nevernight, engaged in an argument with a woman, which was nothing out of the ordinary. People often argued with Mekonnen and the other bouncers hoping for a chance to enter the club.
“That doesn’t look good,” Sybil commented, nodding toward the two.
“No, it doesn’t.”
The girl had her finger pointed at the creature’s chest. That was one of Mekonnen’s biggest pet peeves and a good way to get banned from the club forever.
Persephone sighed and reached over the console of the truck to hug Lexa. “I’ll see you tomorrow. Thanks for the ride.”
She climbed out of the moving van. As soon as her feet touched the sidewalk, a chorus of voices called her name and a couple of people broke from the line, ducking under red velvet ropes to approach her. Two ogres appeared from the shadowy entrance of Nevernight, flanking Persephone and creating a barrier between her and the crowd, and she smiled at them.
“Hi Adrian, Ezio.”
Their expressions were serious as they peered down at her and said, “Good evening, my lady.”
She realized she should have thought this through better, or at least called ahead to notify Hades’ staff that she would be arriving soon. She could just see tomorrow’s headline: Hades’ Lover Arrives at Nevernight in Rental Truck Dressed in Sweats!
As she approached the entrance of the club, she overheard the woman.
“I demand to see him this instance!”
Persephone remembered saying something very similar to another ogre when she’d first come to Nevernight. It did not go well—for the ogre, mostly. He’d put his hands on Persephone, an offense Hades could not overlook, and she never saw him again.
“My lady,” Mekonnen said, moving forward to block the woman arguing with him, but she pushed her way around him.
“My lady?” She demanded with her hands on her hips.
It was then Persephone noticed that the woman was a nymph. She had pale, milky skin, long white hair, and bright blue eyes that made her look ethereal. Even her lashes were white.
A Naiad, Persephone thought, which was a nymph associated with water. She was beautiful, but she also looked severe, angry, and exhausted.
“Who are you?” she demanded.
Persephone was surprised, but mostly because there were few people who didn’t know who she was.
“You dare speak to Lady Persephone in such a manner?” Mekonnen’s hands tightened into fists.
“It’s alright, Mekonnen,” Persephone held up her hand to calm the ogre, who looked like he might just grind this woman’s bones into paste at any moment.
“I am Persephone,” she said. “Am I correct in understanding that you wish to speak to Lord Hades?”
“I demand it!”
Persephone’s brow rose a little.
“What are your grievances?”
“My grievances? You want to hear my grievances? Where do I start? First, the apartment he put me in is a shithole.”
Now she was confused.
“Second, I won’t work another minute at that hellhole of a fucking nightclub—”
Persephone held up her hand to stop the nymph from talking. “I’m sorry. Who are you again?”
The woman lifted her chin, her chest rose as she spoke with misplaced pride. “I am Leuce, Hades’ lover.”
Persephone felt the color drain from her face and shock settled deep in her belly.
“Excuse me?”
The nymph chuckled like she had said something funny. Persephone’s fingers curled into fists.
“Sorry, ex-lover but it’s all the same.”
“Ex…lover?” She said through her teeth, tilting her head to the side.
“You have nothing to worry about,” Leuce said. “It was so long ago.”
“So long ago that you forgot and introduced yourself as Hades’ lover?” Persephone asked.
“Honest mistake.”
“You’ll forgive me if I believe there was nothing honest about it.”
She twisted toward Mekonnen. “Please show Leuce to Hades’ office. I’ll see that he’s along shortly.”
“Yes, my lady,” Mekonnen bowed, and added. “He’s in the lounge.”
“Thank you,” she replied warmly, though her whole body felt like ice.
Persephone made her way into Nevernight. She went right up the stairs to the lounge where Hades made wagers with mortals seeking more from life—love, money, health. It was these bargains that had both appalled and intrigued her. It led her to writing about the God of the Dead, and eventually landed her in a contract with him.
Euryale, a gorgon and gatekeeper to the lounge, waited outside. Persephone’s first interaction with the blind woman had been hostile, as the creature had correctly identified her as a goddess based on smell.
“Is Lord Hades in trouble?” Euryale asked. There was amusement in her voice, but also a hint of excitement as the goddess approached.
“More than you could ever know,” Persephone answered.
Euryale smiled, showing a set of blackened teeth. She opened the door without pause and bowed to Persephone as she passed.
“He is in the sapphire suite, my lady.”
Persephone stalked around the crowded card tables. The room was dark despite a large chandelier overhead and several intricate sconces lining the walls. Persephone’s first visit to the suite sealed her fate. She’d been enamored by the people and games, she’d reveled in watching the cards fly across the table, the ease with which men and women interacted and teased, and then she’d come to a poker table where she’d sat and met the King of the Underworld.
Even now, recalling how he’d looked up close for the first time made her stomach clench tight. He was a tangible shadow, built like a fortress, and he’d crashed into her life like a force of nature. She couldn’t shake him and, in truth, hadn’t wanted to. From the moment she’d laid eyes on him, he’d ignited something inside her. It felt like fire, but it was his darkness calling to hers.
She knew that now—felt it in her blood and bones—as she melded with the darkness in the room and found the passage that led to a series of suites where mortals waited to bargain with Hades. They were all named after precious stones—sapphire and emerald and diamond, each one decorated in the associated colors. They were beautiful rooms, offering a sense of grandeur, communicating to all who entered that if they played their cards right—literally—perhaps they, too, could obtain something just as extravagant.
Persephone found the sapphire lounge and when she entered, a man sat opposite Hades. The mortal looked to be in his early twenties. Persephone used to wonder how people so young could end up across from the God of the Dead, but disease of any kind did not discriminate. Whatever he was here for made him defensive, because he turned in his chair to see who had interrupted his game and said, “If it’s him you want, you’ll have to wait your turn. Took me three years to get this appointment.”
Hades gaze melded to her. Despite his elegant appearance, he was predatory. He sat with his back straight, fingers clasped around a glass of whiskey. To the untrained eye, he probably looked relaxed, but Persephone knew by his expression that he was on edge. Probably because of her. She didn’t have to say anything for him to understand she was angry. Her glamour was failing, she could feel it melting away, revealing holes in her mortal facade.
“Leave, mortal,” she said. The command must have shaken the man because he wasted no time raced out of the suite. Persephone slammed the door.
“I’ll have to erase his memory. Your eyes are glowing,” he smirked. “Who angered you?”
“Can you not guess?” She asked.
Hades raised a brow.
“I just had the pleasure of meeting your lover.”
Hades didn’t react, and that made her angrier. She felt more of her glamour slipping away. She imagined how ridiculous she looked—a goddess who stood before one so ancient, unable to hold onto her magic.
“I see.”
Persephone’s voice shook as she spoke. “You have seconds to explain before I turn her into a weed.”
She knew Hades would have laughed if he believed she were any less serious.
“Her name is Leuce,” he answered. “She was my lover a long time ago.”
She hated that she was relieved that he hadn’t named someone else.
“What is a long time?”
He stared at her for a moment, and there was something behind his eyes—a living thing full of rage and ruin and strife.
“Centuries, Persephone.”
“Then why did she introduce herself to me as your lover today?”
“Because to her, I was her lover up until Sunday.”
Persephone’s fists clenched, and suddenly, vines erupted from the floor and covered the walls. Hades didn’t even flinch.
“And why is that?”
“Because she’s been a poplar tree for over two thousand years.”
Persephone’s brows rose. She hadn’t expected that.
“Why was she a poplar tree?”
Hades’ hands rested on the tabletop, and they curled into fists as he answered, “She betrayed me.”
“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.”
“See,” he said very quietly. “You know me already—inside and out.”
His response made her sad because she knew it wasn’t true.
I don’t know you at all.
He went in for another kiss, but she stopped him.
“I just have one more question,” she said. “When you left Sunday night, where did you go?”
“Persephone—”
She took a step away. She knew. He didn’t even need to answer.
“That’s when she returned, wasn’t it?”
Her anger was once again renewed. He had wound her so tight she hadn’t been able to breathe and instead of releasing the tension he’d building inside her, he’d chosen to leave—to help a former lover.
“You chose her over me.”
“It isn’t like that at all, Persephone—” he reached for her.
“Don’t touch me!” Persephone stepped away, lifting her hands. Hades jaw tightened, but he didn’t approach. “You had your chance. You fucked it up.”
His reasons for keeping Leuce a secret didn’t matter right now. The fact was, he hadn’t told her. He’d done the opposite of what he’d asked of her—communicate—so the words she used against him next seemed more than fitting.
“Actions speak louder than words, Hades.”
She vanished from the lounge.
