He sat beside her on the floor and stared into the oven window for a few seconds before looking down at her and finding her watching him.
“You know I can help you sleep,” he said, voice low.
“The cake isn’t finished,” she whispered in reply.
He could tell she was exhausted, that she wanted to sleep.
“I would never let it burn,” he promised and placed his arm around her shoulder as her head rested against his chest. It wasn’t long before she was asleep, and he drew her into his arms and carried her back to bed before returning to the kitchen just in time to have an alarm go off.
The sound startled him, and he turned swiftly toward a small white timer Persephone had left on top of the oven. It was still ringing when he picked
it up and tried to silence it, except that the knob came off in his hand.
“What the fuck?” he said and set it back down, covering it with a bowl to try to muffle the sound, but as soon as he did, everything went quiet.
“Fucking Fates,” he muttered, turning his attention to the cake and then shifting his gaze around the kitchen, realizing he had no idea where anything was stored.
If I were oven mitts, where would I be? he thought, opening cabinet doors and drawers until he found a pair…except that they did not fit his hands.
“Gods-dammit,” he cursed.
Why was this so fucking difficult?
He searched the drawer for another option but did not find one. He supposed he would have to make do with what he had.
He opened the oven, and a wave of heat accosted his face, causing his eyes to sting. He reached inside in an attempt to pull the cake forward on the rack, but his knuckles hit the top, instantly burning them.
“Ouch!” He pulled back and growled.
This time, he tried shoving his hand inside the mitt, but only his thumb and forefinger fit. Still, it was better than nothing. As he reached in once more, he pinched the edge of the pan, dragging it off the rack, when it slipped. Without a second thought, he reached to catch it between his bare hands.
“Motherfucker!” he yelled, managing to toss the cake onto the oven.
He stood there for a moment while the pain throbbed in his hands before sending a shock of magic to heal his blisters.
“Fucking cake,” he said, glaring at it. “You better be delicious.”
Chapter XIX
Helios Is an Asshole
It had felt like an age since Hades had managed to handle anything related to the Graeae and Medusa, between Hera’s tasks and Persephone’s struggle with losing Lexa. He needed to make plans to lure Helios into helping him locate the sisters, but before he did that, he wanted a moment with Leuce.
The next day, he manifested outside the nymph’s apartment door and knocked furiously until the door cracked open. He knew he had just woken her from sleep. She was bleary-eyed, and her white hair was a tangled mess.
“Good morning, Leuce,” Hades said, pushing open the door.
The nymph stumbled back, tugging her robe around her.
“Ha-Hades,” she said. “What can I do for you?”
“You can tell me truthfully,” he said. “Did you give Persephone the password to Iniquity?”
She was silent.
“Tell me!” Hades yelled.
“What else was I supposed to do?” she demanded. “You weren’t there.
You didn’t see her crumble!”
Hades blanched. “What are you talking about?”
Leuce huffed a sigh. “She had a panic attack while we were out because of something that happened to her friend. The one in the hospital. It scared her, Hades. I don’t have much, but I wanted to help, so excuse me for trying!”
“You sent her to Iniquity for help,” he said.
Despite the fact that Leuce had not been in the modern world long, she understood the purpose of Iniquity and knew it was not a place he’d want Persephone to know about. It was hard for him to believe that she thought sending her there was a sound decision, rather than believing it might create a divide. “You could have had coffee!”
“We did, you idiot bastard!” Leuce seethed. “How dare you think a hot drink will cure what she’s going through!”
There was no curing this, he wanted to yell. Therein lay the problem—
Persephone was grieving.
“You expect me to believe you sent Persephone to a Magi because you wanted to help?”
“What are you suggesting?”
“That you sent her into a trap!”
“Because I could never do something nice for someone, is that it?”