That was a lie. Well, part of it was, anyway. She wasn’t tired of him.
“Leave!” She pointed to the open doors of the elevator, but if she thought he would go without discussing this, she was wrong.
He drew his arm around her waist and hauled her into the elevator with him, choosing a floor at random just so the doors would close. Once they were alone, he sealed the lift with magic. It wouldn’t move and it wouldn’t open for anyone.
Hades placed Persephone on her feet, his hands on her waist, and he leaned into her, bracing one hand on the wall.
“Let me go, Hades! You’re embarrassing me,” she said. Hades felt a twinge in his chest at the sound of her tired and defeated voice. Her hands were on his chest as if she wanted to push him away, but she didn’t. “Why did you have to do this now?”
“Because I knew you’d jump to conclusions. I’m not fucking Leuce.”
She paled at his words and shoved against him. “There are other ways to cheat, Hades!”
“I’m not doing any of them!”
And a horrible sickness twisted through him, knowing that she thought he had. Though it seemed after hearing those words, she’d lost her energy to fight. She stood between him and the wall, her arms at her sides, staring at his chest.
“Persephone.” He closed his eyes against her name. “Persephone, please.”
“Let me go, Hades,” she said quietly.
He wanted to touch her, to lift her face so he could look into her eyes. So he could beg her not to think what she was thinking, but he realized she was not ready to hear anything right now, and while he hadn’t wanted to give her time to think, to agonize, to wonder what had really happened, this wasn’t how he’d wanted to have this conversation—not through force.
“If you won’t listen now, will you let me explain later?”
“I don’t know,” she whispered.
“Please, Persephone. Give me the chance to explain.”
“I’ll let you know,” she said, her voice thick with tears.
“Persephone.”
He moved to brush her cheek, but she turned away. There was a strangeness to this pain between them, and it went deeper than Leuce. His heart felt very broken, a shattered thing that moved about in his chest, puncturing whatever it came into contact with. After a moment, he stepped back, giving her space. She wouldn’t look at him, keeping her burning, glistening gaze on the elevator wall. Still, he studied her profile—the turn of her nose and the pout of her mouth and the way her hair curled around her ears and neck, like tendrils of his shadowy magic cupping her face.
He memorized her as if this were the last time he’d see her, and without another word, he left.
*
Hades found himself on the island of Lemnos, knocking on Aphrodite’s front door.
He hated what he was about to do, but Hecate had asked him over and over what he was going to do, and while Aphrodite never seemed to be able to handle her relationship with Hephaestus, she was still the Goddess of Love, and it was likely she could offer some insight.
Or at least tell him what to avoid.
He peered through the glass door of her home, looking for any sign of Aphrodite or Lucy, the animatronic maid Hephaestus had made who was far more lifelike than necessary in his opinion, but the hallway was empty.
He knocked again and sighed.
“I know you’re here,” he growled.
A loud yawn broke from behind him, and he turned to find Aphrodite stretching. She was dressed in peach, and her golden hair fell in waves down her back.
“What is it, Hades?” she asked. “I am tired.”
Now that he faced her, he suddenly felt very stupid and wanted to leave.
“This was a mistake,” he said. “I… Sorry.”
He started to leave when Aphrodite’s presence flashed as she teleported closer to prevent him from going.
“Did you just apologize, Hades?” she asked. He did not speak, and a smile curved her lips. “Something must be wrong,” she said. “Come.”
She led him down a walkway that ran parallel to her home and opened to a patio that overlooked the ocean. He had seen the water in all forms throughout his visits to this island—deep blue and green, golden and orange —but today it churned beneath the bright sun, making it gleam like millions of diamonds. It almost hurt to look at it.
Aphrodite made her way to a lounge where it was clear she had been resting before Hades interrupted her. A book lay facedown on a table beside a large hat and some kind of pink drink.