Page 55 of The Queen & the King

Cerberus barks, mentally projecting to me, “Saw Mommy!”

I smile, petting his heads. “Yes, you did. You saw mommy, didn’t you?” I glance at Melinoë. “She was scared at first, but she adjusted quickly. I don’t know if it’s better that she remembers anything when it’s only for a moment.”

Fuck, I shouldn’t have said that.

“What do you mean?” Melinoë moves to Cerberus’s bed, leaning back against the dog as he stretches out.

I pause, not wanting to relive the pain of having the moments of hope crushed. “For a single moment, she’s back. She’s the Persephone we know. Then, a second later, it’s gone. It only reminds me of what I’ve lost. She cries but doesn’t know why.”

How I want to provide pain for each tear and revenge for each time her memory rescinds, but I can do nothing butdreamwalk. There are no plans I can put in place against this enemy, so I have to remain idle.

Beneath the glamor, the tattoos move over my jaw.

“I am going to tear that crop-loving bitch to pieces,” Mellie hisses, giving voice to my silent resolutions.

I nod and reach for my phone, dialing Aphrodite. She answers on the third ring. “Hades. How is she?”

Of course, she knows. Did everyone know my wife was taken and the details?

“Fine. I need to ask you about Adonis.”

I’m not going to discuss my dreams with Aphrodite. We don’t have that kind of relationship.

“I’ve spoken to Eros.” I hear Aphrodite’s clothes rustle through the phone as she stands.

My lips twitch downward. “I heard he visited Persephone. Interference is not normally his style.”

Carefully executed chaos is closer to his style.Eros is the type to laugh during torture and then give the torturers advice on how to perform better.

“Demeter summoned him,” Aphrodite says. “You know my son, he is not forthcoming with information, even with me. But the scent of lust dust lingered in the house.”

Fucking Adonis may exude lust and force those around him to lose inhibition, but toscentlust dust means he’s trying hard to break through Persephone’s natural defenses.

The tattoos cover my ears, and my jaw clicks. “He mentioned something aboutsamplingher. I will not allow that to happen.”

The tattoos continue to ascend, my glamor shattering beneath the power of my protective and possessive rage. My wings, horns, claws, and tail are all exposed, preparing me for battle and the execution of the man who would dare seek to claim my wife. Shadows slide from around my feet, the darkness I’ve struggled to contain, slipping from the leash.

“Chill out, rage issues,” Mellie admonishes, but her eyes are dull. Again, my darkness is pulling out her own. I’m pulling her off the cliff and into the abyss with me.

“If there was the scent lingering in the house, he must have used a large enough amount to turn Persephone into a rabid sexual animal,” Aphrodite continues. She has no idea how the darkness is swirling around the room and climbing the walls. “She must have immunity somehow.”

My jaw clenches, and the swirling black tattoos climb up my face, not stopping until they’re right below my eyes. I’m drowning in darkness and about to lose sight of everything. I am about to sink into the abyss and never resurface.

Aphrodite speaks into my ear, her words barely penetrating my mind. I hang up without saying anything, cutting her off mid-sentence.

“That was a dick move, demon daddy. Right, Berry?” Melinoë adds.

Cerberus barks in agreement.

I snarl, and that fragile leash I keep on myself, the one that keeps slipping out of my hand, vanishes completely. Darkness consumes the room, my powers unleashed.

Helios moves in front of Melinoë, throwing up his hands. His palms emit sunlight to keep the shadows back, but there is too much darkness spilling out of me. It eats away at the light he’s attempting to project. Even as a Titan, he’s in my realm and his powers are no match to the ones that come with being king.

Mellie’s departure from sanity is potent. Her maniacal laugh alerts both of us to her descent into madness. “Let’s torture some assholes,” she says, vanishing from the room.

1Good. Let’s feed the darkness, the never-ending abyss. What good has it done Melinoë or me to deny this part of us? It didn’t stop us from losing Persephone.

I shadow to the cells, my feet hitting the stone beneath me so hard it cracks. Melinoë lands at my side, her eyes glazed. The recaptured Titans sneer and call out, mocking and provoking us. They grow silent when the dust of my landing settles, and they see me clearly. The darkness clouds around my feet, the swirling tattoos surrounding my eyes. There’s a shift of realization, but it’s too late. I’m not the Hades they know. The one they taunt and call a coward. The darkness I pretend doesn’t fester inside me is completely unleashed.

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