Page 19 of Winning Back Persephone

Hades watched me with a slightly sad smile on his face. "I can get drinks and check on dinner."

I nodded, still fussing Cebby and trying to ignore the sting of tears at the corners of my eyes. I'd missed the dog more than I expected to, and being here was already reminding me of everything I'd lost when Hades and I had called it quits.

"Come on, Cebby," I said. "Let's go to the living room."

The dog cocked his head to the side as if trying to work out what I meant. It seemed to click, and he bounced off, his bum in the air and a playfulness that was undeniable and very different from the way he protected.

I sucked in a breath as I stepped into the living room, finding it almost exactly the same as it had been when I left. Including the bonsai tree that I'd left because I knew Hades liked it, even if he never said as much.

And it was thriving. He'd clearly been taking care of it even though I knew gardening didn't come particularly easy to him.

Cebby barked, breaking through my thoughts.

"All right, I'll give you scratches," I promised, sitting on the sofa and patting it.

He wasted no time jumping up and rolling onto his back. I gave him the tummy scratches that I knew he loved. He let out a rumble of contentment, filling me with warmth and sadness all at the same time.

Sounds came from the door, and I looked up to see Hades entering with two glasses of wine in his hands. Cebby reacted too, turning so he could put his head on my knee.

"He really has missed you," Hades said as he handed me my glass.

Our fingers brushed as I took it and the reaction was instant within me, but I ignored it. "I've missed him too," I admitted.

He gave me a weak smile and sat on the other side of the sofa, with too much space between us, and yet not enough at the same time.

"I suppose it's a good thing that he didn't greet me with growling and all three of his heads," I mused as I stroked the silky soft head on my lap.

Hades chuckled. "You know the extra two heads can't do any damage."

"Of course. I'm not about to forget that two of Cebby's heads are just some kind of illusion. You've never even told me how that came to be."

"I don't know," he answered. "That's why I never told you."

I stopped stroking Cebby. "You don't know?" The dog reshuffled himself in a way that I suspected meant that I was supposed to keep giving him attention.

He nodded. "I always assumed that Typhon had something to do with it, considering that legend says that Cerberus is his child. He came to be with me after the disagreement with the Titans."

I laughed. "You're going to call a war a disagreement?"

"That's what they tried to pass off Troy as, and that involved the destruction of an entire city."

"Mmm, fair point." I scratched Cebby behind his ears.

"After thewarwith the Titans, I found him at the entrance to the god realm, and then he kind of followed me. It wasn't until Leuce visited for the first time that I saw his ability. He didn't like her at first."

"Mmm." Even after all this time, it was difficult for me to hear of Hades' first love, even if she'd been dead for a very long time, and his dog hadn't liked her.

Except that I shouldn't be givinganythought to my former husband's love life. It was none of my business.

"He didn't like Minthe very much either," Hades said.

I tensed. "He knew you should have been with me, not her."

Hades chuckled. "We were separated," he pointed out. "You can't get angry at me for trying to move on."

"Is that what you're doing now?" My heart raced as I waited for the response.

He shrugged. "It's what you told me to do."

---