Page 96 of A Touch of Chaos

He couldn’t figure out what he hated most about having been a prisoner of Theseus. Was it that he was separated from Persephone or that separately, they had gone through unimaginable things and neither had been able to be there for the other?

When Persephone returned with the pitcher of water, he couldn’t help seeing her differently. The thought made his stomach turn, filling him with guilt beyond anything he’d ever felt, but knowing what she had experienced, he now felt like he could see the burden of it upon her, hardening her features.

In some ways, he recognized her on a deeper level.

Hecate got to work, cleansing his wound, which wasn’t necessarily painful but definitely uncomfortable.

“Sybil said you mentioned that we may need the Golden Fleece to heal Harmonia,” Persephone said.

“That is likely the only way either of you will heal now,” Hecate replied.

Fucking great, Hades thought, except that Hecate and Persephone both looked at him. He must have spoken aloud. “The fleece is in Ares’s territory, and in case you’ve forgotten, we are fighting on opposite sides. He won’t give up the wool without a fight.”

“Then we’ll fight him,” said Persephone. “He will be more than eager anyway if he thinks he can capture me. Zeus has offered his shield as a reward to anyone who brings me to him in chains.”

Rage erupted inside him.

“What?”

“Perhaps you should have saved that piece of information for later,” Hecate said, slathering a layer of something clear and sticky over his wound.

“Do not act so surprised,” Persephone said as if she were unbothered. “You knew he would retaliate.”

That hardly mattered, and besides, while he’d expected Zeus to retaliate, he had not exactly expected a competition between their opposing gods.

“I’ll kill him,” he said.

“Afteryou’re healed,” Persephone said.

He glared. He wasn’t sure he could promise that.

Hecate finished by bandaging his wound. It throbbed more now than it had before.

“Let’s hope by morning, you have managed to stave off infection.” She started to leave but paused, a stern look coming over her face. “Rest,” she said. “In case you need explicit instructions, that means you probably should avoid sex for now.”

“I could have gone my entire existence without ever hearing you say those words,” Hades said.

When she vanished, a strange tension filled theroom, but it had nothing to do with desire. It was a clash of anger and fear, heightened on both sides. Persephone stood at the end of the bed. He wasn’t sure what she was staring at or that she was really seeing at all.

“Persephone.”

He called to her, and that seemed to shake her from her thoughts.

“Come, lie beside me,” he said.

If he couldn’t have the comfort of being inside her, he would settle for holding her close.

She didn’t move, and he felt dread creep into his chest. Had he already fucked this up?

“Persephone, please,” he said.

Finally, she moved, the bed dipping with her weight. He watched her crawl toward him across their sprawling bed, and when she rested against him with her head on his chest, his anxiety vanished.

“I’m sorry,” he said, kissing her hair.

She did not speak, and he could feel her tears on his skin. He considered asking her to look at him so he could brush them away, but if he did, then he would have to fight the emotion welling in his throat, and he wasn’t certain he was capable of facing that battle.

So he didn’t.

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