Page 12 of Hades

A gate made from her blood this time.

The only one in existence.

She stepped forwards, passing through the glowing rings of the great vertical disc.

Heading from darkness into light.

Behind her, the gate closed, the power of it dimming as she continued forwards, towards a stable that mirrored the one on the other side of the portal. Only this one was made of oak beams and terracotta tiles, and the paddock was a lush green field. Around her, great snow-capped mountains rose, their tan faces spotted with pockets of green scrub. They stretched down into the valley, where the rich dirt gave life to a forest of trees. It covered most of the basin, but gave way to fields in places, long stretches of grass where Cerberus had room to run.

Relief was swift to pour through Persephone to lighten the weight on her heart when she spotted the crimson cloak draped over the wooden fence of the paddock and the discarded pieces of armour set on the grass below it.

“Hades,” she breathed, her heart beating more steadily for the first time that day.

Her husband had taken Cerberus out for a walk, something he often did when he was troubled.

Persephone hurried past the stable, sure he was out there in the fields or the forest.

She stilled when she heard his deep voice behind her.

“I do not think Eris knows anything,” Hades muttered in hushed tones and then sighed. “But what other leads do we have?”

She pivoted to face the stable and smiled slowly when she spotted him standing with his bare back to her. He stroked the great black three-headed hound’s front right leg, sweeping a brush down it.

He murmured, “How do you get so dirty when we were only in the field?”

Hades angled his head upwards, turning his noble profile to her, and all three of Cerberus’s heads swivelled towards him, his ears pricking. The gargantuan wolf-like beast stood at least twice as tall as Hades, was fierce and powerful, and had torn many foes apart in the past. It was vicious towards most people.

But the look in its glowing blue eyes was pure adoration as it gazed at Hades.

Persephone remained very still, wanting to absorb this moment. Hades would bolt if she revealed her presence. He never had been good at showing his softer side, not even to her at times. She supposed it made sense. He ruled an entire realm and had a reputation to maintain, one that helped him keep the peace in his lands and kept his subjects loyal and obedient.

For the most part, anyway.

There would always be those who thought they could take his crown.

She pushed those thoughts aside and focused on him instead.

He wasn’t a god-king as he stood there brushing Cerberus down, talking to him in hushed tones.

He was a man.

One who made her blood heat and pulse race.

His bare back and arms were all sinful perfection, corded muscles that shifted in a delightful symphony beneath his pale skin. The black cloth trousers he still wore were tight against his firm buttocks and thighs, revealing them to her hungry eyes. And his black hair was wild and tousled around the pointed spikes of his onyx crown that rose in height from the smallest above his temples to the largest above the line of his spine.

He turned his profile to her again, his pale blue eyes fixed on his work. While he stroked Cerberus’s flank, her gaze stroked the elegant line of his straight nose to his wicked lips and the strong angle of his jaw.

That heat flared hotter.

His hand paused, his dark eyebrows knitting hard, and then he slowly turned his head towards her. The moment he spotted her, his hand lowered and he twisted fully to face her.

“My love?” His deep voice rolled over her, concern tinging it, and his blue gaze seared her as he searched her eyes.

He discarded the brush and came to her, his bare feet devouring the distance between them in only a handful of strides. Rather than waiting for her to respond, he swept her into his arms, and her hands landed against the hard muscles of his bare chest as he crushed her against him.

“You feel worried. Is something wrong?” he murmured roughly into her ear.

Persephone closed her eyes, wrapped her arms around his waist, and feathered her fingers along his spine, warmth curling through her. “I was worried about you.”

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