Chapter 40
HADES
Fates, the way Persephone handled Demeter was awe-inspiring.
She was stronger than anyone I knew—the goddess of my heart. When I declared my undying love for her in front of everyone, something I had never done before, the smile she gave me was like a thousand suns. I was a lucky fucker.
We’d split up again, but I kept a watchful eye on her from a distance, never wanting her too far away.
As she chatted with the other gods, I felt a sense of ease within me this time, even as she laughed and smiled with Apollo.
She was mine, and they all knew it. They also understood that I would tear them to pieces and bury them in Tartarus if any of them touched her in a way only I could.
This time, the deceit would not go unpunished.
I knew that Eros had beguiled Persephone the last time.
Adonis was not beguiled—but I couldn't prove it.
When Aphrodite finally revealed this to me in an effort to ease my pain over Persephone's loss, I lost my shit. The bastard Eros had slipped from my grasp, but the gods forbade me from killing either him or Adonis. We never discovered who was behind the duplicity, and as the war raged on, time passed, but I’d never forgotten.
‘Hello, my love.’ Persephone’s arms snaked around my waist from behind, and I smiled. Poseidon quirked a brow, shaking his head.
‘Fucking whipped,’ he grumbled, and I smirked at the grumpy bastard as I pulled Persephone around to face me. When she burrowed into my chest, my cock twitched, and she sighed.
‘Get a room, you two,’ Hecate grunted, nudging Persephone while handing her another glass of fizzy wine.
My queen accepted it with a smile, slipping an arm around my waist as we chatted.
‘I’ll be back shortly. I need the powder room.’ I began to walk with her, but she shook her head. ‘I do not need an escort, Hades.’
‘Quit being overbearing,’ Hecate whispered. ‘She’s fine and probably more powerful than most gods here.’ None were aware her shadow magic had already returned and she could wield it flawlessly.
I chatted with Poseidon and Zeus, but my eyes kept scanning the area for her. I couldn’t lose her again. Panic gnawed in my gut at the thought. After ten minutes, Hecate frowned and wandered off, causing the panic within me to simmer like an almost boiling pot.
‘Stop fretting, Brother,’ Poseidon muttered. ‘She’s probably chatting with someone inside.’ I exhaled deeply and nodded, but that unease wouldn’t abate. The bond was still pulsing in my chest, so I knew she was still somewhere in Olympus. Most probably in Zeus’s palace.
‘Gods, you’re turning into a worrywart.’ Poseidon shook his head, his face wrinkling in disgust.
After another few minutes, I stormed off to find Hecate and, hopefully, Persephone, feeling Zeus and Poseidon at my heels.
Taking the broad marble steps two at a time, I burst through the wide, ornate doors and found Hecate in the expansive entrance hall.
The haunted look in her eyes and her ashen face told me everything I needed to know.
‘Can you still feel your bond?’ Hecate’s ragged voice whispered. I nodded, and she blew out a relieved breath. ‘We’ll get her back, Hades.’ Hecate wrung her hands together, her lips trembling.
The familiar pain of loss in my chest dropped me to my knees… and I exploded.
It took both Zeus and Poseidon to restrain me. A vortex of swirling mist, sea foam, spiralling clouds, and lightning encompassed me as my shadows ran rampant around me. I lost control entirely—I was like a rabid animal.
‘We will find her, Hades!’ Zeus yelled at me, and Poseidon looked like he was about to commit bloody murder.
‘Whoever has her will die by my hand,’ I vowed with an animalistic roar.