Page 201 of A Touch of Chaos

“Did you just say you have a new heart?” Hades asked.

“I did,” she said, a small smile on her face, adding, “Everyone knows not to kill a god before harvesting their organs.”

There was a beat of silence, and then Hermes spoke. “Everyone, keep Hecate away from my dead body.”

“Don’t worry, Hermes. I would never think of it,” she said.

“Well, that’s comforting—”

“I only harvest quality organs.”

“Hey!” Hermes put his hands on his hips. “I’m quality!”

The Goddess of Witchcraft looked him up and down and then shrugged. “Eh.”

“Don’t ‘eh’ me! You just called Zeus’s heart quality!”

Hades was about to teleport to the Underworld toescape the two when he felt Athena’s magic. It pressed on his own—a request to teleport into his territory, one he granted.

When the Goddess of Wisdom appeared, she was dressed in gold robes. He had not seen her since she’d refused to fight outside Thebes.Battle, she had said,should serve a purpose beyond bloodshed, and though he would have welcomed her help, he could not blame her for refusing. He knew the cost of war, and it was a high price to pay if the fight meant nothing to you.

“Hades,” she said.

“Athena,” he said.

She raised her head, proud.

“My priestesses were slaughtered this morning. They begged for me, and I could not save them. I would join your side and fight against the evil that prevented me from protecting my own.”

“It would be foolish of me to refuse,” Hades said.

Athena seemed to relax, head lowering and shoulders falling. Then she took a step forward.

“You must tell me everything about this enemy,” she said.

Hades glanced at Hecate, Artemis, and Hephaestus. While there was an element of urgency, they were also exhausted.

“We will rest,” he said, looking down at Persephone. “Then reconvene.”

“Are you really going to rest?” Hermes asked, suspicious. “Or are you just saying that so you can sneak away and fuck?”

“Do you ever just…notsay exactly what you are thinking?” Persephone asked.

“Curious minds want to know,” the god argued.

“I think you mean depraved,” said Artemis.

“You say that like it’s a bad thing.”

Hades did not wait to say goodbye. He drew Persephone near and teleported to the baths. He wanted to be alone with her, to purge the horror they had witnessed on the battlefield.

Her back was to him, and he touched her shoulder. The shadows of her armor peeled away from her body, leaving her bare, and he bent to press a kiss to the hollow of her neck. She shivered and then turned to face him. Then she slipped her arms around his waist and held him tight, her head resting against his chest.

“I heard your heart stop beating,” she said.

He held her tighter.

“So long as you live, it will never cease,” he said.

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