A Touch of Ruin (Hades & Persephone #2) - Scarlett St. Clair Page 0,99
argue you are responsible for all the world’s evil.” A smile pulled at Apollo’s lips. It was actually...charming.
“Who put evil in a box, anyway?” Persephone asked. “That seems stupid.”
The brothers exchange a look. “Our father.”
Persephone rolled her eyes.
Power wasn’t a replacement for intelligence.
After a couple shots, Hermes dragged Persephone and Zofie to the dance floor. The music had an electronic beat and vibrated through her. For a while, they all danced together—even Zofie who had been on edge, loosened up, letting herself get swept into the fold of bodies.
Persephone continued to move. She shook and shimmied, matching Hermes movements until his attention was taken by a handsome man who sidled up behind him.
Persephone cheered him on but found herself face to face with Apollo. He wasn’t dancing, just standing in the center of the crowd, staring at her.
“So, you were afraid to be alone with me?” Apollo asked.
“I am not afraid to be alone with you, I just didn’t want to be alone with you.”
“Why?”
“Why?” she asked, dumbfounded by the question. “Do you not understand what you put me through the other night? You almost killed a kid!”
“He spoke slander—”
“This isn’t the ancient world, Apollo. People are going to disagree with you and you’re going to have to deal with it. For fucks sake, I don’t even like your music.”
Persephone’s eyes widened. Had she just said that out loud?
Apollo pressed his lips together tightly, and after a moment, he said, “Wanna shot?”
“Are you going to poison it?”
Again, he offered that crooked smile.
They left the dance floor and headed for the bar, ordering a round.
Apollo downed his shot, slamming his glass on the counter and looked at Persephone.
“So, how did your lover take the news of our bargain?”
Persephone stared at the empty glass. “Not well. I guess I can’t blame him.”
She’d promised Hades a lot and had let him down.
“I think he hates me,” she said, so quietly she didn’t think Apollo could hear.
“Hades doesn’t hate you,” Apollo almost scoffed. “He doesn’t have it in him.”
“You didn’t see the way he looked at me.”
“You mean all broken?” Apollo asked. “I think I get it, Persephone.”
She blinked at him.
“He’s just hurt and frustrated. We all have things that are important to us—things we value above others. Hades values trust. He values the process of earning trust. He feels like he failed.”
Persephone frowned. “How do you know that?”
“The Olympians have had a long history. We know each other in ways that would make you cringe—inside and out.”
Persephone shivered.
“Hades doesn’t feel worthy without trust. He needs you to believe in him, to find strength in him.”
Persephone frowned. She knew Hades had a difficult time feeling worthy of his people’s worship, but she never thought he would have the same difficult feeling worthy of her love.
What had happened to him over his many lifetimes?
“What happened to you?” Persephone asked Apollo. “No one does what you do without…some sort of trauma.”
It took Apollo a long time to speak, but he finally answered.
“He was a Spartan Prince. Hyacinth. He was beautiful. Admired and pursued by many gods, but he chose me,” he swallowed. “He chose me.”
Apollo paused and then began again.
“We hunted and climbed mountains. I taught him to use a bow and the lyre. One day, I was teaching him quoit.” Quoit was one of the games played during the Panhellenic Games. It involved throwing a heavy metal disc. “Hyacinth liked to challenge me and wanted to compete. He knew I wouldn’t deny him—or a chance to win. I threw first. I didn’t think about the strength behind the toss. He went to catch the disc, but there was too much power behind my throw, and it bounced off the ground and hit him in the head.”
Apollo’s chest rose with a deep inhale. “I tried to save him. I’m the fucking God of Healing. I should have been able to heal him, but each time my magic worked to close his wound, it opened again. I held him until he died.”
His voice trembled now.
“I hated Hades for a long time after that. I blamed him for what the Fates had taken from me. I blamed him for refusing to let me see him. I…I did some unforgivable things in the aftermath of Hyacinth’s death. It’s why Hades hates me, and honestly, I don’t blame him.”
“Apollo,” Persephone whispered. Hesitantly, she placed a hand on his arm. “I’m so sorry for your loss.”