Page 68 of His in the Dark

Sheis what makes me more. She is what keeps my back straight and my mind focused. Together we will rule. The Fates told me so, if only I allow fate to be.

I clear my throat and pull a chair back, taking a seat across from where he was. My own crown of celestial bronze doesn’t slip as I lift my chin in gesture of him retaining his seat.

The silence stays heavy between us for some time before Zeus lowers his chin just slightly and he retakes his seat. He was already looking into my eyes, but now his gaze has a different intent.

“You have her,” he says. It is not quite a question.

“How is it that you come to ask?” I ask, my tone just as light.

Something flashes in his eyes, and he spreads his hands in front of him. “I did not know, but I was hopeful she was in your hands.”

“Wereyou?” A glimmer of hope lights within.

“It will be easy to acquire her back.” The glimmer is quickly vanquished by his statement. I rub my forefingers against my thumb, watching him, waiting for more but he does not offer it.

There are no words to express the rage I feel at his easy words, but I let nothing show. I let it burn inside me.

“I will not return her,” I answer and all air leaves my lungs.

There is a pause while Zeus takes this in, reacting only with a blink.

“I do not wish to be on opposite sides of a war with you,” he says.

“There is, perhaps, a deal to be made here,” I offer. There is no deal that will include me handing Persephone over. One does nothand overa queen.”

Zeus shakes his head. “You stole her. The terms have changed.”

“Have they?”

“What of Demeter?” Zeus questions, his brow furrowing. “What of the loss she has suffered?”

Ah—that is the change in the terms, then. Demeter’s sadness. Her demands. She has impressed her wishes upon Zeus.

Whatever Demeter feels, it will not sway me.

“Inform her of what you must. I will not live without Persephone.”

Zeus lets out a short scoff, a break in his usual control. “War is what it will come to.” His voice rises in disbelief. “War, Hades. I cannot stop her! You have not seen what terrors she’s already unleashed!”

“I will suffer the losses of war then,” I say simply. And the warnings of the Fates hiss at me. Consuming me. Demanding my words to be taken back.

“The losses of war could be beyond?—”

“It would benothing,” I interject, cutting him off with more feeling than I had intended to show. It is difficult not to showmore, but I resolve to keep a tight leash on my voice. “Nothing at all compared to the loss of my Queen. We do not need to fight. Do not take her from me. She is at peace in my realm. She is a Queen. She must stay.”

Zeus’s expression shifts. It is a slight change, but I am watching for it. His eyes widen subtly and his lips part as if he cannot decide what to say. He controls it within a heartbeat, but I have already seen.

It’s fear. That’s what is written on his face. A small part of me wants to gloat at this small victory. Zeusshouldhave known he was fucked from the moment he entered this room. He should have known what Persephone meant to the realms of the Gods and the Underworld—and to me.

But of course he didnotsee, did he? So often, it is his habit to dismiss what is right in front of him, only to be shocked when it slips out of his grasp.

Zeus takes a heavy breath, his expression slipping back into calm even as his hands tighten around his scepter.

“Hades,” he begins, as if dealing with a stubborn child. “You can choose from any and all. There are multitudes, if only you would?—”

“I chose her.” My own control is fraying. I wish to end this discussion and return to Persephone. I wish to let out the frustration I carry locked deep inside, near all the wounds that have not healed from the past. Thatmayheal from the past, if Zeus would stop trying to take my queen from me. “Ichooseher. It is done. She is mine.”

Another moment of silence, this one heavier than every silence before. Zeus’s eyes burn into mine. The fire in my chest has nothing to do with Zeus.

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