His jaw slowly fell open with every word she said. By the time she ran out of breath, he was stunned to silence.
Perhaps she had been correct. Or, rather, Hermes had been.
Persephone tried hard to not let any tears gather in her eyes. She refused to allow him to see her crying or weak. A goddess did not mourn the loss of an unfaithful man.
She still didn’t want to hurt him, though. Shrugging helplessly, she sniffed hard. “I don’t know what you want me to say, Hades. A nymph is just a nymph, I know that’s what your brothers would tell their wives. But I don’t want to be like them.”
He glanced back at the man in the false throne, then back to her. “Is that why you entertained him?”
“I was jealous,” she gritted through her teeth. “I would never have let him go any farther than a meaningless touch.”
Hades scrubbed a hand down his face. He planted the other firmly on his hip and appeared to be considering all his options. As she’d learned a long time ago about her husband, he rarely said anything without thinking it over.
Finally, he heaved a sigh. “Persephone, I thought I made it very clear that you are the only one I’ve ever wanted.”
“But that would be a lie.” She met his gaze head on, strong and sure of her words. “You wanted her.”
“And you expect me not to have past relationships?” He shook his head, taking a step closer. “You know there were others before you. I am thousands of years old. Ancient compared to you. Will I say they were meaningless? No. They were useful in their time and yes, I had feelings for them. But none of them made me feel the way you do. No other woman has ever made me feel as strong and as weak as you do. Persephone, you could bring me to my knees with a single look and yet every day I wrap myself in the armor of your adoration.”
“Pretty words,” she whispered. “But that doesn’t change what I saw.”
Hades caught her around the waist, dragging her close to him and pressing her hands against his heart. “Do you feel this?”
She could feel his heart thundering in his chest. The heavy beats lulled her into submission. She remembered laying against his chest in the middle of the night, after he’d loved her body, and made her feel like a real goddess. This heart had made her fall asleep countless times, so deeply that she hadn’t even noticed when he left to go back to his own chambers.
“Yes,” she whispered. “I feel it.”
“Good. Because it beats for you.” Hades drew her closer, settling her head against his shoulder so he could rest his chin in her hair. “Minthe is nothing. No one. Do you really think she could hold a candle to you? A past mistake remains in the past. I know what a lucky man I am.”
The knot in her chest eased. She turned beet red in admission that she was the one in the wrong here. Somehow, she’d made all this so much worse just because she’d listened to another god who knew nothing about their relationship.
Hades was a good man. He wasn’t like the other Olympians.
She had to trust that he would remain faithful, no matter what.
Persephone pressed her cheek against his shoulder and let out a soft sound of remorse. “I’m sorry,” she whispered. “This is all my fault.”
“I share some of the burden. I should have been upfront with you about Minthe from the start.” He drew back to make sure she was looking at him, and sincerity turned his eyes even darker. “I had no idea you had met her, or that she was speaking ill of you. Trust me when I say this will be handled accordingly. She won’t say a word about you ever again.”
That wasn’t what she wanted. The ugly side of her power, the dark goddess that wanted revenge, reared its head again. Persephone shook her head firmly. “No. If anyone is handling it, I don’t want it to be you. That’s exactly what she wants. More of your attention.”
Not a single fiber of her being thought Minthe wouldn’t take advantage of the situation if Hades tried to speak with her. Somehow, the entire argument would be twisted back on Persephone. She’d seem like the little girl once again, incapable of understanding adult relationships.