Page 68 of Queen of the Underworld

“There you go again.” Persephone sighed, her voice far too light given the graveness of the situation. She should have been angry that Nyx had hit her, not quick to forgive her and let it go. Instead of slipping into a rage as he had, she had accepted it and moved on, refusing to punish Nyx. Persephone inched closer to him, her emerald eyes bright as she tilted her head upright again, causing his hand to slip to her throat. “Tell me what you are saying and I will not mind that you speak that language around me knowing full well I do not understand it.”

“And if I tell you and you discover I speak of killing Nyx, what would you do?” He canted his head, holding her soft and steady gaze.

She rolled her shoulders in a small shrug. “Ask you not to do that? I meant it, Hades. I do not want blood on my hands.”

Hades didn’t catch what she said after she uttered his name. It was a blur, lost in the warm haze that swept through him and bathed his soul in light that chased the darkness from it. She wielded such power with his name, and the glimmer in her eyes said she knew it. She knew how deeply the sound of his name on her lips affected him.

“I do not want to talk about it anymore. Come. I want to explore.” She pirouetted away from him, the layers of her soft green dress swirling outwards with the sudden action.

His gaze tracked her as she moved away from him, her bright green eyes darting over the uniform lines of the dark trees that covered a large area between his temple and the stable block.

He glanced at their surroundings, making sure no other male was in the vicinity, close to his precious Persephone, and breathed a little easier when he discovered they were alone, the dark possessiveness she provoked in him settling and freeing him of its grip.

As it fell away, his mind locked onto something else. He struggled to believe she had been—was—jealous of Nyx.

But even just the thought she might be was a balm for his weary soul, giving him hope that he could change the course of things between them and win her heart. He wanted her as his queen—a loving queen and not one who despised him and merely put up with him. He wanted all of her. Body. Heart. Soul.

He wouldn’t settle for anything less than her love.

And that meant he needed to win her heart, and to do that he intended to seduce her and draw those feelings he saw in her eyes from time to time to the surface, making her accept them.

And him.

Which meant he needed to be charming and not frightening, and that felt like a monumental task, one he might have said was impossible before their moment mere minutes ago. She had liked his possessive, growled words. She had liked how he had come to her rescue. She had liked his hands on her. It had been there in her eyes.

Followed by fear.

Not fear.

Nerves.

He was no stranger to them himself. They gripped him as he watched her approaching the orchard and fought to find his balance, seeking things to say that would please her. What if he only aggravated her again? Or provoked a defensive response? She was quick to shield herself with harsh words whenever she felt vulnerable.

He needed to be careful with her.

Gentle.

Hades pulled down a fortifying breath and set his mind to work, forming a strategy that would ensure he was the victor in this battle of hearts. His first play? He removed his gauntlets and tucked them into the leather belt that encircled his waist just below the hard plate of his chest piece. Going to his chambers to change into something less formidable wasn’t an option, but he could still soften his appearance.

Persephone glided through the trees, her luminous emerald gaze drifting over their canopies that reached together to tangle into one dark green roof spotted with bright red fruit. She was as graceful as she had been in her forest, her bare feet unerringly avoiding the pebbles to land on the smooth ground even though her eyes remained away from it, and her scarlet hair matched the colour of the pomegranates she inspected. Her gaze landed on him, bright with the excitement she failed to conceal, and her rosy lips curled into a faint smile.

A dazzling ray of sunshine in his dark world.

One that drew him to her.

“They are incredible. I am surprised you can grow such fertile trees in this black soil.” Her voice tapered off at the end and her smile faltered.

Hades tried to let that remark bounce off him without hitting its mark. The way she clammed up and her shoulders stiffened spoke to him, telling him that she hadn’t meant her observation to come out sounding as if she believed his realm was dead and devoid of life. The same way she had reacted back in the tower, when she had lashed at him and called him a monster. He hoped the similar reaction meant she hadn’t meant that either.

“Pomegranates.” There was a hint of accusation in her tone that matched her expression as she looked from the fruit to him.

Hades reached up, plucked one from a branch, and closed the distance between them as he opened the ripe round fruit and offered half to her. She pulled a face and pushed his hand away, her fingers brushing his, and a thrill chased through him, stealing the breath from his lungs and making his gaze leap to meet hers. Her wide eyes locked with his, her startled look telling him she had felt that too.

She was quick to snatch her hands away and tuck them behind her back, and as she turned away from him, he was struck by an urge to take hold of her arm and make her face him again, to make her let him brush his fingers against hers to steal another taste of that thrill that had gone through them both. He tamped it down rather than acting on it, maintaining his distance and his calm, and unsure how he managed either when need was a rampaging beast inside him.

Be charming.

Gentle.

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