“You cannot mean that,” she said, her voice breaking.
“I mean it,” he said, and his tone was just as sad. “You’ll find out why soon enough.”
Because it was likely she would blame him for anything that happened to Lexa moving forward. He called up his glamour and straightened the sleeves and lapels of his jacket.
He looked at her one last time. She was a haunting image. Pale and sad and bleeding, and he knew he would regret leaving her like this, but he would regret it more if he stayed.
“You should know that your actions have condemned Lexa to a fate worse than death,” he said, then left Persephone behind in Nevernight.
Chapter XXII
A Desperate Plea
Hades tried to channel his aggression into a productive torture session, and while that usually helped lighten his dark mood, this time, it only succeeded in making him feel far more chaotic. He could not unsee Persephone’s pain, could not unhear her words.
You weren’t there.
The accusation tore through him as he considered what he would do differently, but did any of that matter now that they were here? On the other side of her decision to go to Apollo for help? She had explicitly broken the rules of his realm.
He wondered if she had been proud of herself when she’d discovered an alternative to healing Lexa in the God of Music. Had Apollo explained that his bow and arrow only healed bodily wounds? Had he been clear that it could not heal a broken soul? Had he been so mesmerized by Persephone’s offer of companionship that he’d failed to consider the consequences of his own actions?
Likely he had not cared at all.
And that was another thing— the companionship.
Hades gritted his teeth. Now he had to watch Persephone frolic about New Athens with the same god who had fucked his former lover, and while he felt that Persephone resented Apollo too much to fall victim to his wiles, he worried that the god would force her into situations that would harm her.
He’d have to think of a great enough threat to keep the god in line.
Otherwise, he’d never feel comfortable with that arrangement.
When Hades finally left Tartarus, he went in search of the Graeae, finding them nestled in a rocky, cave-like area at the edge of Asphodel that mimicked their home in the Upperworld. While he did not approach, he watched them from afar, sitting on a set of large rocks while a fire danced before them. They talked and cackled and passed a bowl from which each of them drank, and the only solace Hades took from their deaths was that at least here, they seemed at peace.
*
Eventually, Hades returned to the palace, though he felt a great sense of foreboding knowing Persephone would not be there. It was made worse when he found his way barred by Cerberus, Typhon, and Orthrus. They stood on all fours, lips curled back, showing their teeth as they growled.
“So you are betraying me too?”
“No one has betrayed you,” Hecate said, approaching. It was as if the goddess had formed from the darkness behind her.
Hades flattened his lips and glared. “I recognize Persephone is far better than me, but you cannot ignore her blatant disregard for the rules of my realm.”
“You sound like a child,” Hecate chided.
“Hecate, I am in no mood—”
“Likely not. You are rarely in a mood for anything other than sex, which, from what I have seen, will not happen anytime soon.”
Hades curled his fingers into fists and turned on his heels, but Hecate had teleported and blocked his way once more.
“As much as Persephone must deal with the consequences of her actions, so must you, and one of those is hearing what I have to say to you.”
“And what can you have to say to me that I don’t already know?” Hades snarled. “That I fucked up? That I should have been more present?”
“Maybe you should have been more present, but you weren’t, so what are you going to do now?”
Hades stared and Hecate repeated herself.
“What are you going to do now, Hades?”
“I…don’t know,” he admitted. He hadn’t thought beyond what had happened today, hadn’t even processed it completely, though he had taken a few key things from their interaction, and one of those was that Persephone wasn’t even certain about the future of their relationship.
“I heard that,” Hecate snapped, and Hades’s eyes flashed.
Hades grit his teeth. “We had an agreement, Hecate, that you would not read my mind.”
“And I respect it when you aren’t being a complete and utter idiot,” she replied. “You are just as uncertain about your future as Persephone.”