Page 27 of Hades and Persephone: Threads of Fate

Hades’ eyes bounce to mine. “They are real. That being said, I suppose, in theory, possession is possible.”

“If there’s any credence to what you’re saying, possession has to come from somewhere.”

Hades nods thoughtfully. I can’t miss the fact that he continues to ignore that I’m clearly not subscribing to his belief that the ancient Gods were—and still are—real. He flips a few pages, scans ancient text that I still can’t believe he has on a boat, and frowns. I watch the lines appear between his brows as he reads, waiting.

I can’t help myself. “So?”

Hades’ eyes drift from the page to me. There’s a smile toying at his mouth. He asks lazily, “So…what?”

“So? Have you found anything in that big book?”

“You’re awfully interested for a girl who doesn’t believe in the Gods.”

“It’s my nature.” I force my head back to the shirt only to pop back up again with a sigh. “Well, have you found your answers?”

“No.” Hades closes the book with a thud. “I doubt I will.”

“Why?”

“Because I’m not looking for what happens to the soul of a God who finds his way into the body of another. I’m looking for whathappens when the immortal soul of a God or Goddess finds their way to the Tree of Life. What happens when they pick a leaf, agreeing to be born again? New. What contains the Godly power their soul possesses, if the human flesh they wear can’t?”

I shake my head, trying and failing to comprehend all that he is saying. I settle on, “There is no form but the human form, Hades. As neat as it might be to believe in more…” I sigh, almost sadly. “It’s just us on this planet. Everything else is myth. Legend. Something the ancient people used to give themselves answers for the things they couldn’t explain. Stories to keep their children in line.”

“Is that really what you believe?”

There is something about the way he asks that question. Something in his tone or the look in his eyes, that calls gooseflesh to the surface of my skin. Still, I force myself to say, “It’s the only thing that makes sense.”

Chapter

Thirteen

Persephone

My feet hangover the back of the yacht to drift in calm blue water, and I sigh. With the sun dipping into the horizon, the azure sky darkens. I shiver as I yawn, but I’m not ready for bed. I’ve slept enough. Still, even as I ignore it, sleep calls to my body.

But I have work tomorrow that I can’t miss, as much as I want to banish life as I know it for the peace I’ve found here on Hades’ boat. I can’t, and I won’t.

Still, this view…

Hades lowers beside me, still wearing the black swim shorts he’d donned when he’d swam earlier, diving deeper than any man should be able to divewithout gear. I’d nearly lost my head when I stood at the edge of the boat, watching with bated breath as his form dived lower and lower, growing smaller and smaller, until he disappeared entirely into the darkness of the deep.

I can still recall the way my heart thundered between my ears as panic surged in my veins. He’d been gone so long…

Too long.

When he reappeared minutes later—I didn’t have my phone or a clock to confirm it had actually been minutes—but it felt like at least ten—I’d been a wreck of a woman.

Hades had laughed, brushing off my worry with a, “It was only a minute. I’m fine.”

I’ve been second-guessing the validity of my mind since, wondering if I’ve begun losing time as well as hearing voices and seeing visions that aren’t there—and aren’t real.

Inside my chest, my heart aches. Maybe the doctors of my childhood were right to present a personality disorder. Or maybe there is something more medically wrong with my brain. A tumor, perhaps, pressing on the part of my brain that—what?What kind of tumor could cause these symptoms?

Or maybe I’m just crazy. Maybe my sanity straw was cut shorter than all the others, because I’m clearly missing a good chunk of it.

I take the wine Hades hands me, but I don’t sip it. Idon’t want to muddle my muddled brain any more than it already is. I hate that I’m sitting in one of the most beautiful places I’ve ever been, with the most extraordinary view of the deep blue sea, and I’m stuck in such a state of gloom and doom.

“You’ve been quiet.”

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