Page 59 of Charmed By Apollo

“I can’t…you might not kill me, but Persephone will.”

“Well, if you won’t tell me what it is and continue to waste my time, I might just do it myself.”

“Fine.” Apollo placed his hands on the oak desk. “It’s about Geri.”

“Geri? The she-wolf? Persephone’s best friend?”

“Yes?”

“And what did you do?” Hades’s words held a knife-like edge.

“Something stupid.” He scrubbed a palm down his face. “I fell in love with her.”

Apollo never thought he’d see the day, but the god of the dead’s jaw nearly dropped to the floor.

“Explain,” Hades said. “Everything. From the beginning.”

With a deep breath, Apollo told Hades the entire story—from the moment they met, right until he left Geri in Mexico.

“I don’t know if she went through with it…I mean, she was so desperate.” He buried his face in his hands. “I don’t want to know…but at the same time, I can’t go on like this, not knowing. Taking a life is unforgivable, but…I still love her. But she also hates me because she thinks I never supported her.”

Hades didn’t say anything for a few moments, the tension in the air remaining thick as fog until he spoke. “Do you want to know the answer? Because I can tell you right now if she did or did not take a life.”

Apollo swallowed the lump growing in his throat. Did he want to know?

“But before you decide, ask yourself this: Do you think she is capable of doing such a deed? Do you truly believe she would kill anyone for any reason aside from defending herself or her loved ones?”

The other god’s words slowly sank into Apollo. While confusing at first, after some thought, Apollo understood what his friend was trying to say: did he trust Geri to do the right thing?

Geri saved my life.

She also loved her grandmother, the woman who raised her to be who she was.

And he knew his answer.

“No. She would never do that. I don’t believe she could kill anyone.”

Hades’s mouth spread into a smile. “You’re right. She did not.”

Relief poured through every vein in his body.

“Then why ask me?”

Hades blew out a breath. “If there’s anything I learned about loving someone, it is that trust must come first. You need to be able to trust your partner, and they should trust you, that you will always have their back and believe the best in you.”

“I…wow, that’s really deep, Hades.”

The king of the Underworld snorted. “Does she love you back?”

“I think…maybe? But she’s just so hurt over the whole thing with her grandmother, I don’t know if she’ll be able to move on. I think…she’s feeling guilty for leaving her grandmother and spending so much time away from her. She didn’t get enough time with her, to tell her everything she had to tell her. And also, maybe her grandmother didn’t prepare her enough for her death.”

“There is never enough time for that,” Hades said.

“Geri needs to accept her grandmother is dead, and that she has to move on. If only…” He scratched at his chin. “Hades, do you think?—”

“No, I already told you, I couldn’t do that,” Hades interrupted. “I can’t bring someone back from the dead, even temporarily.”

“No, but you can give someone permission to enter your realm and interact with the dead, right?”

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