together over her forehead. “What do you mean?”
“He was favored by Artemis, and she blessed him with the ability to create weapons that ensured their wearer could not be defeated in battle. He was killed for it.”
Favor could be a dangerous thing to bestow. It made targets of mortals in antiquity and today. Sometimes, the results were positive and the receiver was granted celebrity and status, then other times, they were killed.
Hades stared at the crown a moment longer. It was significant that she had accepted such an ornament from his people, even if she had done so to please them. It was a sign of her dedication to them, a quality in a true queen. He set it down atop her clothes and then rose to his feet, meeting Persephone’s gaze again. It was also significant that she had not moved to hide herself from him.
“Why didn’t you go?” she asked. “To the celebration in Asphodel. It was for you.”
“And you. They celebrated you,” he said. “As they should.”
“I am not their queen.”
“And I am not worthy of their celebration.”
“If they feel you’re worthy of celebration, don’t you think that’s enough?”
Hades did not respond. He did not wish to speak on this topic. In fact, the only words he wanted to share with her were erotic pleas and breathy moans. His cock throbbed, desperate for freedom and pleasure, which made his blood rush to his head and kept him from focusing on anything but sex.
“May I join you?”
He noted the way her throat constricted as she swallowed, nodding. Her invitation only encouraged the fire. He held her gaze as he stripped, almost groaning as he freed his jutting sex from the confines of his trousers. It felt swollen and taut to the point of pain. He needed release, and he was even more desperate for it as Persephone’s gaze traveled the length of his body, just as hungry as he felt.
He stepped into the pool and spoke as he approached. “I believe I owe you an apology.”
“For what, specifically?”
A smile touched his lips. He was aware she felt he owed her an apology for more than just the way he had left her yesterday. The problem was, an apology was offered when someone truly felt sorry for what they had done, and Hades didn’t think he’d ever be sorry for tricking her into their contract. It would mean her freedom, whether she realized that now or not.
He moved closer, towering over her, and touched her face, brushing his finger across her cheek.
“Last time we saw each other, I was unfair to you.”
She averted her eyes, and Hades’ hand fell from her face as she said in a quiet voice, “We were unfair to each other.”
She was talking about the article she had written, and the fact that she was acknowledging its unfairness made his breath catch in his chest. Was it too much to hope that she was changing her mind about him?
“You like your life in the mortal realm?” He had to ask, needed to assess her attachment to the Upperworld. Would she leave it to be his queen?
“Yes.” She pushed away from him, swimming backward, her breasts lifting above the water. Hades followed as if she were pulling him on a string. “I like my life. I have an apartment and friends and an internship. I’m going to graduate from university soon.”
“But you are Divine.”
He did not understand. Why was she building this mundane life in the Upperworld, when she could have anything? Everything?
She stopped wading away, and they stood centimeters apart. He could feel the brush of her nipples against his skin as she breathed.
“I have never lived that way, and you know it,” she replied, and she looked almost frustrated with him, a line appearing between her brows.
“You have no desire to understand what it is to be a goddess?”
“No.”
“I think you’re lying,” he said. He could taste it immediately, that bitter, metallic tang at the back of his mouth. The question was, why? If he were to guess, he would think it had something to do with her dormant power.
“You don’t know me.”
Her eyes ignited like souls ascending into the night sky.
Yes, he thought, build that fire.
He wanted her angry, wanted to feel her passion radiate from her body and vibrate through his own.
He narrowed his eyes, challenging. “I know you.”
He moved so that he was behind her, touching her only with the tips of his fingers, trailing along her collarbone and shoulder.
“I know