blessing and a curse,” she whispered. “We’re able to see the end of the world, but in that comes so much heartbreak that love is almost impossible.”
“Love?” He tilted his head to the side, cheek nearly pressed against the stone of her home. Those eyes searched hers as if she’d said something equally beautiful and terrifying. “Who said anything about love, Maiden?”
Her cheeks burned. “No one did. I’m merely saying that immortality comes with limitations, and the idea of you being interested in me lacks any reason.”
“You’re the only other god or goddess I’ve ever seen have a connection to the grave. You brought those creatures back from the dead and traded their souls for the men. You are more interesting than any goddess who has ever lived.” He shifted closer until his breath fanned over her lips. “The Olympians are made of ambrosia and greed. But you, my dear, you’re made of shadows and vice.”
No, she wasn’t that person. No one had ever seen the darkness in her and recognized it as anything but the girlish desire to rebel. Not that her magic wanted to devour and feast upon the souls it saw. Kore wanted to punish those who wronged her, and that desire for revenge had burned from the inside out since she was just a child.
Swallowing hard, she clutched the windowsill so he wouldn’t see her hands shaking. “I’m not that person.”
“You are.”
“No.” She spat the word. “I’m a green maiden. A nymph made goddess. The daughter of Demeter who is meant to help the word grow and bloom.”
She blinked and Hades was no longer leaning against the stone wall. He was right in front of her, dark eyes staring into hers, hands on her windowsill. Slowly, he shifted his thumb until it pressed against hers. “What if you could be more than that?”
The siren song of his words called out to her very soul. What if she could be more than just the daughter? She would sell her very soul to be more than what she was now.
Against all her training, against her mother’s wishes, and going against the very fiber of the world, Kore leaned closer. “How?”
His eyes flashed with desire. He glanced down at her lips then back up to her eyes and she knew what he was thinking. It was the same thing she was thinking.
Though his lips were thin, she wondered if they were soft. Would they be forgiving if she kissed him? Or would he take charge of the kiss and devour her soul? Kore wanted to know where the gentle god disappeared and the Lord of the Underworld began.
She leaned forward slightly, ever so slightly. Pausing only when his breath caught in his throat.
He whispered, “Are you sure you want this?”
More than anything.
Kore stood on her tiptoes and pressed her lips to his. She was just a girl, and kissing was a foreign concept. Did she move? Did she do anything other than absorb the heat from his breath?
Hades remained still for a heartbeat before he released the windowsill. His hands rose, one tunneling into the hair at the back of her head and the other cupping her throat. Not squeezing, not tight enough to make her afraid. Only tight enough to hold her still.
He kissed her with a passion that stole her breath away. Hot breath poured into her own lungs, igniting a fire within. She burned. She ached. And Kore suddenly knew what it meant to be a woman.
She surged forward, bracing her hands on his shoulders to hold him in place. Her lips clung to his, then she flicked out her tongue to taste him. Would the flavor of the grave await her?
His guttural groan shook through her and sent an aching pulse to her toes. He twisted his hand in her hair, tilting her head back until she could do nothing other than cling to him and take whatever he gave her. And Hades gave.
He exhaled a tempest into her very soul. He fanned a storm to life and suddenly, she knew life would never be the same. His kiss had branded her forever. More than branded.
The poison of his touch spread through her veins. When he finally drew back and she opened her eyes, Kore was no longer the girl who knew nothing about passion. He’d planted it within her soul and the roots tangled through her fingers. Already she wanted to kiss him again. To bury her fingers in his hair and touch the