“Oh, forgive me, you are selective in the lives you destroy.”
His face hardened. “I do not destroy lives.”
“You only make the terms of your contract known after you’ve won! That is deception.”
“The terms are clear, the details are mine to determine. It is not deception, as you call it. It is a gamble.”
“You challenge their vice. You lay their darkest secrets bare—”
“I challenge what is destroying their life. It is their choice to conquer or succumb.”
She stared at him. He spoke so matter-of-fact, as if he’d had this conversation thousands of times.
“And how to do you know their vice?” she asked.
It was the answer she had been waiting for, and at the question, a wicked smile crossed Hades’ face. It transformed him, and hinted at the god beneath the glamour.
“I see to the soul,” he said. “What burdens it, what corrupts it, what destroys it—and challenge it.”
But what do you see when you look at me?
She hated to think he knew her secrets and she knew nothing about him.
And then she snapped.
“You are the worst sort of god!”
Hades flinched, but quickly recovered from his shock as it melted into anger.
“Persephone—” Adonis warned, but Hades warm baritone quickly drowned him out.
“I am helping these mortals,” he argued, taking a deliberate step toward her.
“How? By offering an impossible bargain? Abstain from addiction or lose your life? That’s absolutely ridiculous, Hades.”
“I have had success,” he argued.
“Oh? And what is your success? I suppose it doesn’t matter to you as you win either way, right? All souls come to you at some point.”
His gaze turns stony and he moved to close the distance between them, but before he could, Adonis stepped between the god and Persephone. Hades eyes ignited, and with a flick of his wrist, Adonis went limp and collapsed to the floor.
“What did you do?” She demanded, and started to reach for him, but Hades grabbed her wrists, keeping her on her feet and drawing her into him. She held her breath, not wanting to be this close, where she could feel his warmth and smell his scent. His breath caressed her lips as he spoke.
“I’m assuming you don’t want him to hear what I have to say to you—don’t worry, I won’t request a favor when I erase his memory.”
“Oh, how kind of you,” she mocked, craning her neck to meet his gaze. He was bent over her, his hold on her wrists the only thing keeping her from falling onto her back.
“What liberties you take with my favor, Lady Persephone.” His voice was low—too low for this kind of conversation. It was the voice of a lover—warm and impassioned.
“You never specified how I had to use your favor.”
His eyes narrowed a fraction.
“I didn’t, though I expected you to know better than to drag this mortal into my realm.”
It was her turn to narrow her eyes. “Do you know him?”
Hades ignored the question.
“You plan to write a story about me? Tell me, Lady Persephone, will you detail your experiences with me? How you recklessly invited me to your table, begged me to teach you cards—”
“I did not beg!”
“Will you speak of how you flush from your pretty head to your toes in my presence and how I make you lose your breath—”
“Shut up!”
As he spoke, he leaned closer.
“Will you speak of the favor I have given you or are you too ashamed?”
“Stop!”
She pulled away, and he released her but he was not through.
“You may blame me for the choices you made, but it changes nothing. You are mine for six months—and that means, if you write about me, I will ensure there are consequences.”
She tried hard to keep from shivering at his possessive words. He was calm as he spoke, and it unnerved her because she had the distinct impression that he was anything but calm on the inside.
“It is true what they say about you,” she said, her chest rising and falling. “You heed no prayer. You offer no mercy.”
Hades’ face remained blank. “No one prays to the God of the Dead, my lady, and when they do, it is already too late.”
Hades waved his hand, and Adonis awoke, inhaling sharply. He sat up quickly, and looked around when his eyes landed on Hades, he scrambled to his feet.
“S-sorry,” he said. He looked at the floor, and didn’t meet Hades’ gaze.