AllFreeNovel
Share Us
She posed the question with a hint of hesitance, likely because she knew the answer.
“No,” he said, dropping his gaze again. He could not maintain it, staring into her lively eyes, which conveyed a desperation to comfort him, though he knew what she would say. It was what they all said when he had faced her loss—I’m here. I am well. She is here. She is well.Her body screamed it, and he ached for her warmth.
His hands tightened, one around the glass he was holding.
He had forgotten about it but was glad for the distraction and swallowed a mouthful of whiskey, frowning when it tasted like ash.
Persephone neared and took the glass from him.
“Hades,” she said again, and he closed his eyes as her voice shuddered through him. He waited to feel like he had some sort of control over his emotions before finally meeting her gaze.
“I love you,” she said.
He ground his teeth against the feeling clawing up the back of his throat, burning the backs of his eyes. It was the first time he’d let himself think of the possibility of never hearing her voice again.
It was the first time he understood her desperation to keep Lexa alive. It did not matter that he was the God of the Dead and that she would come to reside in his realm forever. What mattered was that she was warm and well and whole, that her heart could beat in tandem with his, that she could go between their worlds, because that was what made her happiest.
She shifted toward him, and he leaned back as she settled in his lap and took his face between her hands. Her eyes were searching, observing.
“Will you tell me how you’re feeling?”
He gripped the arms of the chair.
“I don’t know that there is anything to say.”
She was quiet, her hands still framing his face. “Are you angry with me?”
Her question made his chest ache. He hated that the consequences of his behavior left her feeling like she had done something wrong.
“I am angry with myself for letting you go, for trusting another to take care of you.”
“I ordered Hermes—”
“He swore anoath.”
He felt her tense.
“Hades, I hurt myself. I failed. I couldn’t heal.”
It did not matter. Hermes had been bound by magic to protect her. If Hades had been there, perhaps he could have helped her heal faster.
She leaned closer, tilting his head higher.
“I’m okay,” she whispered. “I’m here.”
“Barely.”
Her words were no comfort. She had not been awake to know the struggle.
She slid from his lap and backed away. He recognized the look in her eyes because he felt the same pain.
“I don’t know what to do,” she said.
“You can stop,” he said. “You can decide not to get involved. You can stop trying to change people’s minds and save a world. Let people make their decisions and face the consequences. It is how the world worked before you, and it is how the world will continue.”
She glared.
“This is different, Hades, and you know it. This isa group of people who have managed to capture and subdue gods.”
