Page 54 of A Touch of Chaos

She took a deep breath and exhaled slowly, but the tension in her chest did not ease. She had come here to escape dread, but all she’d managed was to create more.

As the sky brightened, Persephone caught movement in the distance. It was Lexa.

She straightened at the soul’s approach. All the times she had come to Elysium, she had been the one to seek Lexa out. It had never been the opposite. Persephone’s heart hammered in her chest the closer her friend came, wondering if something was wrong or if this was merely a sign of her improvement.

Lexa filled the empty space beside Persephone, and she turned to watch as Lexa pulled her knees to her chest, matching her pose.

“Is everything okay?” Persephone asked after they had sat in silence for a few moments.

Lexa’s dark brows lowered, and then she restedher head against her knees, angling her face toward Persephone.

She still did not meet her gaze.

“I think I have made Thanatos mad,” Lexa said.

Persephone jerked her head back in surprise, which was probably an overreaction, but that was honestly the last thing she’d expected her to say.

“Why would he be mad?”

Persephone had only seen Thanatos angry a few times. She was not even sure she would call it angry so much as frustrated, but both times, it had been over Lexa.

“Because I kissed him.”

“YoukissedThanatos?”

Persephone could not help her giddiness. It shot through her, warm and steady, a welcome distraction from the darkness of her thoughts.

Despite Persephone’s excitement, Lexa was subdued. Clearly whatever had happened in the aftermath had made her feel uncertain.

“I doubt that made him mad,” Persephone said gently.

“He told me it shouldn’t have happened,” Lexa said. “Does that sound mad enough?”

Persephone hesitated a moment, caught off guard by how much that last sentence sounded like something the old Lexa would say but also frustrated with Thanatos for being one ofthoseidiots.

Everyone who was anyone knew he cared for Lexa in a way that was different from other souls. From the day she arrived in the Underworld, he had been protective of her, to the point that he had even tried to keep her from Persephone.

“Hold on,” Persephone said, shifting on the grass to face Lexa. “Tell me everything.”

“I…don’t know where to start,” Lexa said, cheeks flushed.

It was strange watching Lexa blush, because it was something the old Lexa would never have done. Just when Persephone thought she recognized her best friend, she didn’t.

“Start from the beginning.”

“I…don’t know how it began,” Lexa said.

“Where were you when you kissed?” Persephone asked instead.

“We were lying under a tree,” Lexa said.

Well, that sounded intimate.

“Sometimes we sit together at night, and Thanatos tells me about his day. Usually, conversation is easy, but last night, it wasn’t. I don’t even know why. Nothing happened. I was just frustrated.”

“So you kissed him?” Persephone asked.

“Yes,” Lexa said.

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