Page 86 of A Touch of Chaos

“No,” said Hades. He set the glass down and turned to face them. “Hermes is more than capable of seeing her home.”

Persephone’s gaze was hard.

“Zeus stripped him of his powers—him, Apollo, and Aphrodite—for fighting alongsideus,” she said. “So no, he isn’t.”

Hades clenched his jaw. He had suspected Zeus would retaliate for what had happened outside Thebes. His rule had been challenged, and the other gods had watched as Persephone turned his magic against him and shot him from the sky.

Now Zeus had to remind everyone of his power and strength, but he could only strip his offspring of powers, not Hades or Persephone.

He wondered what the King of the Skies had planned for them.

Fuck.

He looked at Ariadne, who was covered in blood. She had scratches on every exposed part of her body and a large gash on her chest.

“I’ll take her,” he said. “But she must be healed first. I don’t want to hear Dionysusfret.”

“You mean the same way you fret over me?” Persephone asked, arching a brow.

He could feel her disapproval. He was definitely going to hear about this when he returned. Except that he didn’t really care so long as they were alone.

Persephone turned away from him and placed her hands on Ariadne’s shoulders. She was new to healing, and he wasn’t aware that she had ever healed anyone but herself, so he was curious to watch her now.

When her magic ignited, it felt like the warm rays of the spring sun, and beneath it, he let go of the anger and tension that had tightened his muscles and fueled his frustration. Ariadne too seemed to relax as Persephone’s power took effect, healing the gash on her chest, the scratches on her arms, and whatever unseen injuries she’d sustained while in the labyrinth.

When Persephone was finished, she dropped her hands and held the detective’s gaze.

“Thank you for leading me through the labyrinth,” she said. “I couldn’t have done that on my own.”

Ariadne offered her a small smile. “Yeah, you could have,” she said, glancing darkly at Hades even as she added, “Sometimes our love forces us to do extraordinary things.”

That was the first time he’d ever agreed with anything the mortal said.

Hades approached Persephone, and he was glad when she turned to him. He framed her face with his hands, threading his fingers into her hair.

“I will not be long,” he said and kissed her hard and deep. His heart raced as she responded beneath him, her fingers digging into his skin. It felt dramatic to say, buthe did not wish to let her go even if it was only for a few minutes.

When he released her, he was warm and aroused.

He considered teleporting Ariadne away without escort, but he knew Persephone would not approve. Besides, it was likely not the safest thing, especially in the aftermath of their escape from the labyrinth.

Or, apparently, Phaedra’s rescue.

“Wait here,” he said.

He did not want to have to go looking for her when he returned. He stepped away, holding her gaze as he turned toward Ariadne and reached for her with his magic. Simultaneously, he sought Dionysus and found him in his suite at Bakkheia.

Hades wasn’t sure what he expected when they arrived, but it certainly wasn’t Dionysus passed out in a chair wearing the skin of some old white man dressed like a doctor—except that was exactly what they found.

Ariadne’s brows lowered.

“Are you sure you brought us to the right place?” she asked, looking around, but it was definitely the right place, and this was definitely the right god.

He kicked Dionysus’s foot, and the god startled awake.

“What?” he snapped as he sat up in the chair, glaring at Hades, but his anger quickly melted into a strange mix of anticipation and fear. He gripped the arms of his chair and stood, pulling off the net covering his hair. He didn’t seem to realize he wasn’t his usual self. “Where is Ariadne?”

“She’s here,” Hades said, stepping aside so that the God of the Vine had a clear view of his beloved mortal.

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