Page 11 of Hades and Persephone: Keeper of Sins

She is the seed of nourishment to all life, once worshiped by God and man alike. I, however, never stopped worshipping her.

“Annie! Oh my god, girl, I’ve been looking everywhere for you!” A girl Persephone’s age with dark skin and sleek hair hurries toward us. “You ran off like hellhounds chased you. What happened?”

I scowl. Cerberus would never chase her. Well, maybe to lick, but…

Persephone’s skin tints with a pretty blush. She shifts nervously. “I just—I needed a moment. There was a lot of people and I—well, I really came for the art.”

“Of course, you did.” The girl rolls her eyes as she loops her arm through Persephone’s, tugging her back in her unconscious quest to put space between us. This is something I am used to. People, from the beginning of time, have given me a wide berth. They sense, not unfairly, that I am a dangerous being they should be wary of. But with her—with Persephone—after all this time longing for her, searching for her,achingfor her—watching someone attempt to pull her away from me has something sharp snapping inside me.

I move swiftly, blocking the single exit. Her friend looks at me like the predator I am, and have always been to this inferior species.

The girl narrows dark eyes on me, butPersephone’s emerald eyes widen. They are filled with such sweet, alarmed innocence. It reminds me of the way she’d once looked at me. That first time as I appeared in the garden where she gathered flowers with her friends in the moments before I stole her away.

Irritatingly, it is the girl who speaks. “Who’s this?”

“Willa, this is…”I haven’t told her my name.

I extend my hand to Persephone, folding her small one in mine as I introduce, “Hades.”

The shock of electricity as I touch her for the first time rivals the bolts Zeus throws around. Her bright emerald eyes widen in a moment of alarmed shock that is interrupted by her friend, Willa.

“Hades? Hades as in Hades Pluton? The owner of this club?” Without releasing Persephone’s hand, I nod. Willa throws her arm wide to indicate the art on the walls. “Artist of allthis?”

I reply, my voice darkly low. “One and the same.”

Persephone looks truly horrified. “I—I called you crazy.”

I smirk. “You called yourself crazy, as well. I take no offense.”

“Oh, my God.” An embarrassed flush taints her pale skin. I want to taste every inch of it, soaking the burn of her emotion into myself through my lips on her skin. “I’m so sorry.”

“You called him crazy?” Willa interrupts, and Persephone tears her eyes from mine.

I have to swallow the dark violence that bubbles inside me.I want her gaze on me, only me.

I am an obsessive God.

“I’m—I’m so sorry.” Her eyes flicker to mine and away again. “We should go.”

No.

“Right.” Willa nods. I feel something deadly building inside me. The restraint I cling to shatters, the desperate need to abduct her to the Underworld—to the safety of my domain—rages under the calm control of my surface.

The fear I feel that I might lose her before I really have her is colossal.

Willa speaks again. “Gotta get you home so you can look for that job tomorrow.”

Electricity hums over the surface of my skin, stirring the ancient God that hovers under the surface of my flesh.He is ready to slay all that comes between us.“You’re looking for a job?”

Persephone nods again. “I spent most of my savings on the program and flights. I—I need a job if I’m going to survive the stay.”

“How convenient.” I flash her a grin that has her eyes falling to my mouth. I wonder if she feels this connection the way I do, despite the brutal attempts Demeter fell to in order to make her forget. “I’m looking to hire.”

Her brows rise, big green eyes widening. “You want me to work for you?”

“Why not?”

“Um—” She glances around us before she sucks in a shuddering breath. “I don’t know that I’m suited to this work.”

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