Page 59 of Tempted By Hades

She had always been much too clever and observant than she let on. “You could say that.”

“Then why don’t you go find her and try to fix things?”

If she only knew… “I’m not sure there’s anything to fix.”

“You’ll never know if you don’t ask, now, will you?”

She was right.

I have to go find her.

“Hestia, I must?—”

“Go,” the goddess urged. “Don’t worry about me. I’ll find something to occupy my time.”

“Thank you.” he gave her a quick nod and set off to find Persephone. He first went to the courtyard, but she was nowhere in sight. He roamed the various stalls and the stage at least three times, but he didn’t find any sight of her.

“Excuse me,” he said to the man who was managing the performers behind the stage. “Have you seen Lady Persephone?”

“Lady Persephone?” The man paused thoughtfully. “Let me ask some of my guys…hey you! Dalton,” he called to the fellow by the wings, holding the curtain rope.

“Yeah?”

“You seen Lady Persephone?”

Dalton scratched at his temple. “I thought I did when I was taking a smoke break about fifteen minutes ago. I was talking to Jones about what we was going to eat?—”

“Where?” Hades interjected. “Where did you see her?”

“Saw her walking through the gates, heading down the south path,” Dalton said. “I thought it was strange because she was all by her lonesome.”

“She was alone?” Where were her friends? And her supposed lover?

“Yeah.”

A terrible feeling buried itself in his chest. He didn’t know where it came from, but Persephone leaving the gardens all by herself sent his alarm bells ringing.

I must find her.

Thanking them, he raced out of the gardens, glancing toward the direction of the southern path.

Toward Tartarus.

What in the world was she thinking, going there? Surely, she must have gotten lost.

Hades’s heart pounded with a mixture of fear and fury. He attempted to sense Persephone’s unique magical signature, but the chaotic energies of the Underworld thwarted his efforts. Knowing that he wouldn’t be able to find her quickly sent him into a panic. His mind raced, considering the vast expanse she could be vulnerable and hurt.

Hades summoned his power with a steely resolve, calling upon the shadows to cloak him as he began to walk down the path. The air crackled as he moved with an otherworldly speed, navigating the labyrinthine passages of the Underworld. As he ventured deeper, the Underworld’s eerie landscape unfolded. Feral spirits, drawn to the turmoil, lurked in the shadows, their hatred adding to the challenge.

“Persephone!” he called out, the resonance of his voice cutting through the oppressive silence. The dim glow of spectral lights cast an unsettling pallor, revealing glimpses of the desolate terrain.

He scanned the area around him, scrutinizing the landscape for anything out of the ordinary. A lump on the ground immediately caught his attention.

There.

Her magical signature was faint, but he could feel it. It was her.

He was there in an instant, kneeling beside her, and relief pulsed through him at finding her safe, yet anger simmered beneath the surface. Her once vibrant dress was now torn, and wounds on her hands and legs testified to the ordeal she had endured. Gently, he reached out, his fingertips brushing over her cheek, reassuring her that he was there.

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