Page 41 of Hades

Wanting Zeus to free them.

Zeus had, and together they had fought their father and made this world a better place by putting a halt to the titans’ madness.

“You should be on your knees, thanking Hades for sparing you,” Persephone snarled, unable to keep the anger from her voice as she thought about how merciful Hades had been to the female titans since they hadn’t been involved in the Titanomachy.

She was beginning to get the impression they might not have been involved in a visible way, but they had been fighting on the side of their male counterparts in secret.

Mnemosyne smiled coldly. “The little viper has bite.”

The surprise that lit the titaness’s silver eyes rankled Persephone.

“More bite than a gorgon,” Persephone countered, standing her ground when Mnemosyne advanced another step.

Rage blazed hotter inside Persephone as the titaness’s words spun around her mind, together with the look the bitch was giving her, one that said she believed Persephone to be a weak female, one incapable of violence or fighting. One who relied on males to do that for her and to shield her from the dangers of this world.

She wasn’t fragile. She wasn’t weak. She would fight to the death for her family and for Hades. She would fight to the death to protect their realm and all in it.

“Unbind my powers and we will see how capable of violence I am.” Persephone took a step towards her, her chest heaving as she reached for her powers and felt nothing, the feeling of impotence that sent sweeping through her only stoking her anger.

Surprise flashed across Mnemosyne’s face.

And then she threw her head back and laughed.

That feeling worsened, becoming a gnawing beast in Persephone’s chest that devoured her strength, because as she was now, she wasn’t a threat. Mnemosyne was right about that. She wasn’t strong physically—certainly not strong enough to best Mnemosyne when she was wielding a knife. It cut at her soul and she forced herself to hold her ground and conceal it from the titaness, so she wouldn’t see how deeply she had affected her by laughing at her.

Pointing out her weakness.

Mnemosyne stopped laughing and brandished the blade at her as she wiped tears from her eyes.

Her tone was mocking when she said, “Come along then, little lamb. Show me what you’ve got. Take this blade from me. End this war with your own… delicate…soft… hands.”

Persephone’s fists shook as she clenched her jaw, weathering Mnemosyne’s verbal blows. Her hands might be without calluses, but that didn’t mean she wasn’t a fighter. That didn’t mean she was weak.

“Ah.” Mnemosyne canted her head, her eyes flashing with satisfaction and pity that grated on Persephone. “Not going to take it? How about I make it even easier on you, to give you a chance?”

The goddess turned the black dagger so she held it by the blade and offered the hilt to Persephone, her gaze daring Persephone to try to take it.

Adrenaline flooded Persephone’s veins as she looked at the weapon Mnemosyne held out to her, one that was only a short lunge from her, the thought of grabbing it and using it making her tremble and her heart race. She could do it. She could reach the hilt and take the weapon from Mnemosyne before the female could react.

And then what?

She plunged it into Mnemosyne’s chest?

Did she really think it would be that easy?

The only reason Mnemosyne was offering her the blade was because she knew Persephone wasn’t quick enough to take it from her. She was mocking her again. Pointing out that she wasn’t a warrior. Playing mind games with her. This was just an attempt to weaken her.

Mnemosyne wanted her to suffer. She wanted to tear her down and watch her hurt, and fear. She wanted to break her. It was there in her eyes as she stared at her, as she shrugged and took hold of the blade by the grip again, and as she chuckled.

As she mockingly said, “I did not think so.”

She was enjoying this. She oozed satisfaction as she twirled the blade in her hand and teasingly offered it again, her lips curling in a grin that flashed straight white teeth. When Persephone lowered her gaze to the blade, Mnemosyne waggled it.

Taunting her.

This time, something inside Persephone snapped and she lunged for the blade.

Mnemosyne was beyond her reach in a flash, back near the door, laughing at her. The mocking sound echoed around the semi-circular room and frustration rolled through Persephone.

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