The Passion of Hades - Eliza Raine Page 0,39

could. 'If they're going to trap you somewhere, we should probably try to work out what you might need to take with you. Are you claustrophobic?'

'No more than the next person,' I said, thinking. 'Like if you trap me in a burning room, I'll panic.' I smiled, but Hecate didn't. 'Oh. Are they going to trap me in a burning room?'

'I'm not going to lie to you, Persy, quite a lot of the Underworld is made up of burning rooms.'

'Shit.'

'Yeah. Take Faesforos, and use your vines. If it's an intelligence test then you'll need to solve some sort of puzzle or answer a riddle to get out.'

I groaned.

'If it's like the ball and it's all gods and stuff, I won't be able to do it.'

'Honestly, it could be anything.'

'Should we go over some basic god stuff now, just in case?' I asked her.

She raised one eyebrow at me doubtfully.

'Persy, do you have any idea how long it takes to learn the history of the gods? There are literally whole schools here to teach that.'

'Oh.' I thought about that. Schools in Olympus must be pretty different to the hell-hole I'd attended. 'What was your school like?' I asked her.

'I didn't go to school. I'm a Titan.'

I frowned.

'So?'

'So, up until recently, Zeus wouldn't let Titans be trained in the academies. Athena has since convinced him that us dangerous Titan offspring are safer under their supervision, but he still hates us. As do a lot of Olympus.'

'Why? I mean, I know about the war and stuff, but that was forever ago wasn't it?'

'Titans are strong. They are the original gods. So when they turn nasty, they're like, seriously nasty. And that scares people.'

'Aren't all the really bad ones in Tartarus though?'

'Yeah, and there hasn't been a genocidal Titan in thousands of years, but it doesn't stop stories being told to fuel the fear.' Her eyes were tight and frustrated, and I thought about what Hades had said. 'Hecate is much stronger than she lets on.'

'Do you hide your power so that people don't fear you?' I asked hesitantly. Her eyes locked on mine, and it took her a while to answer.

'I used to, yes. But over the time I've lived here with Hades I've come to trust him. And I've built up a reputation in Virgo. People don't fuck with me anymore.'

Any more? Was Hecate bullied too? The way Eris had spoken to her at the ball, mocking her Titan heritage, flashed into my memory. How in the hell could Hades and Hecate, two of the most badass people I'd ever met have been victims of bullying? Determination filled me, sending strength and courage coursing through my veins. If they had overcome their past and their enemies, and become as powerful as they had, then so could I. And I bet they had both put up with worse than Ted Hammond's groping hands and taunting jibes. Have they not gone too far though? The doubt constantly present inside me forced the question to the surface, but I shoved it back down again.

'I'm starving. What are we eating?'

Eighteen

Persephone

'So, is Skop right, are you sleeping with Hades?'

Hecate asked the question so casually I almost choked on my beef.

'No! Skop is not right!'

'You want to though,' she ginned.

'Hecate, what happens when Olympians get married? Hades said something about a bond, but he was infuriatingly vague.'

'I dunno,' she shrugged. 'I'm not an Olympian. They marry for life though. No divorces at the top.'

'Told ya,' said Skop, gnawing on a steak at my feet.

'You know, you two were a great couple.'

'He's kinda... intense,' I said carefully.

'No shit. You should have seen him when you left.'

A bolt of pain gripped my chest at the thought, and I was surprised by its strength.

'He said you helped him. With the thirteenth realm.'

Hecate's face changed slightly, a less sassy smile replacing her usual expression, something deeper peeking through.

'He told you about that?'

'Yes.'

'Good. I want you to win this, Persy. I don't know what happened before, or why you left, but I swear whatever it was can't be as bad as you leaving again. I've known Hades a long time. Like, a really long time. The few years you were together, he almost became his true self again.'

Her words seemed to physically pound into me, as though hearing them from someone other than him made them even more real, more undeniable. How was it possible that I could have had this much of an impact on someone's life, and up until now I