Page 48 of Hades and Persephone: Threads of Fate

Minthe’s shoulders bounce in a shrug. “We’ll just come back.” She pauses, scrunching her nose. “Well, you’ll come back after you find the Elysian Tree, that is. Me, I’m immortal thanks to a certainevil Goddess.” She lets out a giggle when I shoot her a gobsmacked stare.

“No wonder I fit in with you. You’re a whole other brand of nutty.”

“Come on, crazy girl.” She exits the car with the same kind of energy that she drives with, which is a lot. Still, my jaw is in my lap, so I don’t move. Leaning down to peer through the car at me, Minthe shoots me a wink. “Don’t be so surprised. You’re not the only one with a little crazy in you.”

I loose a sound that is somewhere between a laugh and a groan. Pushing open the car door, I mutter, “I can’t believe you’re calling me crazy after everything I just confessed to you.”

“Called myself crazy, too,” she sings as she loops her arm through mine. “But that’s why we’re here.” She waves her free hand toward the sign overhead. A sign that is in Greek, which I haven’t yet learned. “We’re going to prove, irrefutably, that there’s nothing at all wrong with that pretty brain of yours.”

I dig my heels, eyes never leaving the modern building. “Where are we, Minthe?”

“Don’t worry. No one is cutting into your brain today.”

“Today?” I wheeze. “Maybe youarethe crazy one.”

She flutters her lashes innocently. “I’ve been trying to tell you.”

“Seriously.” I can’t help my responding grin. It accompanies my tired chuckle. “Where are we?”

“This is a medical clinic and funeral home.”

“In one?” I can feel the scowl that forms on my face. “That’s weird.”

“Well, not technically in one.” She waves her finger between the two buildings. “They’re connected, though. Owned by the same man.”

As though called, a man in a suit appears behind the glass doors. I can’t fully see him through the glare of the sun on the glass, until I’m standing inside the building. As soon as I do see him, though, every inch of my body stiffens.

“You.”

Minthe’s brow arches. “You know him?” Her head twists, rather stiltedly for Minthe, to Herman. “You know Persephone?”

His eyes widen just a touch. “Persephone.” He breathes my name like the wind has been knocked out of him, recovering quite quickly. Herman nods, having the sense to look just a touch ashamed. “So, it’s true, then. I couldn’t be certain.” I don’t understand his bizarre words, but he doesn’t explain as he adds, “I’m sincerely sorry for the way I behaved when we met, Persephone.”

Hades had introduced me as Annie. For some reason, he hadn’t wanted this man—his family—to know my name.

I lift my chin. “Hades says you’re responsible for the death of his wife.”

Minthe gasps, crying, “That’s not true!” at thesame time Herman says, “It will forever be my greatest regret.”

Minthe’s head swings to Herman. She looks downright incensed. “Her death was not your fault.Shekilled her.”

Herman dips his head. I sense there are deep and great thoughts swirling in his mind before he lifts his head again, eyes sweeping over me thoughtfully. Without taking his eyes off me, he asks Minthe softly, “You trust me enough to bring her to me? To let me know her true identity, without question?”

She touches his arm. “You’re on our side. Even if Hades can’t see it yet.”

“How can you be so sure?” His words are a web that weaves wicked trickery in my mind. I can see all the ways this could go wrong, second-guessing every move I make when it comes to this man. I feel suddenly ill, as though the thoughts in my head aren’t my own. As though my hesitation is infused by another. My insecurity crafted outside of my own fears.

What is happening?

“Stop it.” Minthe whacks Herman in his broad chest with the back of her palm.

The thoughts simply stop.

I blink. He cocks his head. “She is unprotected. Entirely open to manipulation. Like—like a true human.”

“Sheishuman,” Minthe huffs.

What the heck?

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