Page 86 of Queen of the Underworld

That she cared about him.

“You owe your life to the goddess whose one you tried to so callously take,” he growled from between clenched teeth. “You would be dead already if I had my way.”

His shadows tightened further, turning her face red and then purple, and then he shoved to his feet and released her. Nyx gasped, choking as she pulled down great gulps of air and bent forwards to clutch at the blood-slicked stone floor beneath her. Her dark hair fell in matted ribbons to cover her face as she struggled to recover.

She whispered something he didn’t quite catch.

“Repeat yourself,” he demanded.

Her arms shook as she pushed herself up and her voice was still faint. “I know of her mother… of her.”

Hades shot a dark look at the male. “Leave us.”

He waited for the door to close and the male to move to a distance before he crouched before Nyx again.

“Speak,” he growled, impatient to learn of his goddess.

“She is… daughter of Demeter,” Nyx wheezed and struggled to sit up. Her head tipped back when she managed it, lolling before she found the strength to keep it upright.

“Demeter,” he murmured with a frown. “Her power over nature makes sense now.”

Nyx gingerly touched her throat. “Compared with her mother, she is nothing. The mortals pray to Demeter, not her. She is a mere shadow of her dame.”

Hades refused to believe that. He brushed his thumb across his lower lip as he mulled it over, and muttered, “Or she is being held within the shadow of her.”

He had met Demeter once, many centuries ago at a feast in Olympus, back when Hades had been invited to them on occasion. She was a cold sort of female, a haughty one with too much pride, and she had looked upon him with obvious disdain. He couldn’t imagine such a warm, caring female like Persephone coming from her loins. There was nothing warm about Demeter. Or caring. In fact, Hades felt sure the only person Demeter cared about was herself.

Which had something else making sense to him.

Something which made the ground beneath his boots crack as he balled his hands into fists.

Demeter was the reason Persephone lacked confidence. She had inflicted those invisible scars on her own daughter, and he had no doubt she had done it to hold her daughter back, fearing Persephone would surpass her and take her place.

“Olympians,” he snarled, his mood taking a sharp, dark turn as he compared Demeter’s behaviour to that of Zeus’s towards him. His brother had sought to keep him in the shadows too, and had sown doubt in his mind many times over their centuries together, keeping him down so he wouldn’t rise up and take his place. He glared at Nyx. “What else did you discover?”

“Very little. Your future queen is difficult to learn about. As far as I can tell, she does not have any close companions among the gods and goddesses of Olympus.” Nyx relaxed a little, which would have been the perfect time for Hades to strike her down had Persephone not spared her. “I learned only that she apparently does not socialise much and is often not at the feasts with her mother. She is overlooked, it seems. I am sure she attends many feasts where she goes unnoticed among the louder, more audacious Olympians, who presume she did not attend.”

So his little queen was overlooked by all. How did that make her feel? Did she feel like an outcast? He frowned at his knees. Did she feel as he did?

Demeter wasn’t solely responsible for her scars then. Everyone in Olympus had ignored and shunned Persephone, stripping away her confidence and making her feel inferior to them. He flexed his fingers and gripped his knees, digging his talons into the top of his boots. He would need to show her that she wasn’t inferior, that she was strong and courageous.

He needed to make her see herself as he did. She was beautiful, and warm, and brave, and powerful. She was a ray of light that drove back the darkness of this world. A gift that brought it to life.

Nyx’s gaze boring into him had him scowling at her, but it didn’t wipe the knowing look from her face, the one that said she had seen the path of his thoughts and she knew.

She knew he was a sentimental fool where Persephone was concerned.

That he was madly in love with her.

“What else?” he growled, keeping his scowl in place.

“She governs the earth, and has a kind temperament, which the Olympians mistake for weakness.” Nyx gave him a regretful look. Because she had mistaken it for weakness too. “Not many in the city talk about her, but they talk about Demeter. She is seeking her daughter. It is only a matter of time before someone discovers she is here, Hades.”

“Let them come.” He pushed to his feet, the shadows gathering around them as he willed Demeter to be the one to come for her daughter. He would show her the error of her ways too. “Olympus cannot take Persephone from me. She is mine.”

“I will speak with Thanatos and Hypnos about increasing security around—”

“You will speak to no one,” Hades interjected. “Your time in Tartarus is not done. You will remain here and receive a thousand lashes a day until you convince me you believe Persephone is fit to be my queen.”

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