“I did not think you would be awake,” he said.
He had expected her to be asleep, exhausted after celebrating with the souls. Instead, she looked bright-eyed, almost lustful, and there was an excitement that curled in the bottom of his stomach.
“Where were you?” she asked.
“I had a few things to take care of,” he said. Explaining what had happened with Dionysus and Ariadne needed too much context. It also opened up a whole new part of his world that, while he’d eventually be glad to share, was too uncertain.
Luckily, she did not seem interested in pursuing his whereabouts.
“Were these things more important than your realm?”
“You are angry that I was not at your party.”
He frowned, in part because she knew why he did not often attend celebrations. He made people uncomfortable, as much as she believed otherwise.
“Yes, I am angry,” she said. “You should have been there.”
“The dead celebrate everything, Persephone. I won’t miss the next one.”
“If that is your view, I’d rather you not come at all,” she snapped.
His brows lowered. Obviously, she was searching for an answer he could not give. “Then what do you want from me?”
“I don’t fucking care how much they celebrate. What’s important to them should be important to you. What’s important to me should be important to you.”
“Persephone…”
“Don’t,” she snapped, and he pressed his lips together, repressing the surge of frustration that erupted at her command. “I understand you don’t know what I don’t tell you, but I expect you to be aware of what I am planning and show interest—not only for me but for your people. You never once asked about the solstice celebration, not even after I asked you for permission to host it in the courtyard.”
He stared at her in silence for a long moment. It was true he hadn’t taken it seriously. Even after Hecate’s reminder, he had dismissed the importance of attending, and for that, he felt ashamed.
“I’m sorry,” he said at last.
“You aren’t. You are only saying that to appease me, and I hate it. Is this why you want a queen? So you don’t have to attend these events?”
“No, I wanted you, and because of that, I wished to make you my queen.
There are no ulterior motives.”
Did he respect her more because she loved his realm and his people? Yes, but those characteristics came from her compassion and her kindness, and that was why he loved her.
After a moment, she took a breath and closed her eyes. “Look, Hades. If you don’t…want this anymore, I need to know.”
He stared at her, confused, and waited for her to look at him again.
“What?”
“If you don’t want me, if you don’t think you can forgive me, I don’t think we should be in a relationship, the Fates be damned.”
The words were out, and they lingered in the air between them. Hades spent a few moments processing them before making his way toward her.
“I never said I didn’t want you,” he said. “I thought I made that clear yesterday.”
“So you want to fuck me? That doesn’t mean you want an actual relationship. It doesn’t mean you will trust me again.”
He paused before her, towering over her small frame, and despite the difference in their statures, she held her own, glaring furiously back at him.
“Let me be perfectly clear,” he said, leaning close as he spoke. “I do want to fuck you. More importantly, I love you—deeply, endlessly. If you walked away from me today, I would love you still. I will love you forever. That’s what Fate is, Persephone. Fuck threads and colors…and fuck your uncertainty.”
“I’m not uncertain,” she said between her teeth, her eyes searching his.
“I’m afraid, you idiot!”
“Of what?” he demanded. “What have I done?”
“This isn’t about you! Gods, Hades.” She turned her head. “I’d think you of all people would understand.”
He studied her profile for a moment—her angry, glistening eyes and the hard set of her mouth.
“Tell me,” he begged.
It took her a few tries, a few deep swallows before she managed, “I’ve longed for love all my life. Longed for acceptance because my mother dangled it in front of me like something I had to earn. If I adhered to her expectations, she would grant it; if I didn’t, she’d take it away. You want a queen, a goddess, a lover. I can’t be what you want. I can’t… adhere to these…expectations you have of me!”