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“My lord,” she said.“I have news.”
Hades focused on cleaning up, not meeting her gaze.
“And what news is that, Minthe?”
“It’s something you’ll want to see, my lord.”
He hung the last of the brushes on a post near the wash station before turning to look at her. The nymph held up a paper, a copy ofNew Athens News. His eyes were immediately drawn to the cover story, which included his name.
Hades, God of the Game
by Persephone Rosi
Hades snatched the paper from her hands, staring at those bold, black letters until they blurred across the page.
“It seems your precious Persephone has betrayed you,” Minthe was saying, but her voice sounded far away. He was too focused on the words his goddess had written to pay attention.
In my short encounter with the God of the Underworld, he can best be described as tense. He is cold and boorish, his eyes colorless chasms of judgement set within a callous face. He lurks in the shadows of his club, preying upon the vulnerable.
Hades felt a rush of embarrassment and shame and anger, and for a moment, all he could think was,So this is what she truly thinks of me?And yet he could not reconcile how she had acted in the library the night before, the way she had leaned into him, the way she had parted her lips, ready for his own. He had felt her passion just as acutely as he felt his own.
Could these really be her thoughts? Her words? Was she trying to cage her heart?
He continued reading.
Hades says the rules of Nevernight are clear. Lose against him, and you are obligated to fulfill a contract, one that exposes his debtors to shame, and while he has claimed success, he has yet to name a single soul who has benefited from his so-called charity.
So-called charity.
He gritted his teeth; he wasplentycharitable.
How is she supposed to know? I haven’t told her, he countered.
“I will visit Demetri today. Persephone will never write again,” Minthe said.
It was the usual avenue. Anyone who photographed or wrote about Hades usually found themselves out of a job and unable to be hired. No one wanted to incur the wrath of Hades, and despite how this article made him feel, he could not take away Persephone’s dream.
“No,” Hades said, and the word was harsh, a mix of alarm and frustration.
Minthe’s eyes widened.“But…this is defamation!”
“Persephone is mine to punish, Minthe.”
The nymph’s brows narrowed harshly over her burning eyes.“And what is your idea of punishment? Fucking her until she begs for release?”
“Fuck you, Minthe.”
“This isn’t you,” she argued.“If it were any other mortal, you would let me do my job!”
“She is no mortal,” Hades snapped.“She is to be my wife, and you will treat her as such.”
Silence followed, and after a moment, Minthe spoke, her voice shaking.
“Your wife?”
“Your queen,” Hades said.
Minthe’s jaw tensed.“When were you going to tell me?”
