Page 71 of The Queen & the King

I grab her upper arms, hissing, “I can’t have you in danger anymore.”

The darkness starts to move on my skin, and she snarls at me, “Control. It.”

I roll my neck, trying to get a handle on it, but there is no effect.

“Fight. It.”

I grind my teeth and focus on her face, panting out, “For you.”

She shakes her head, putting her hand on my chest. “No. Not for me. For you. For your realm.”

I pant, sweat beading on my skin even inside the dream as I struggle against the darkness.

“You let this go too far, Hades.” She watches me. “You gave up.”

I flush and look away. “I didn’t see a way through.”

A tear slides down her cheek. “I have to go. Can you ask Helios to bring me a cell phone?”

I kiss her softly. “I’ll fight it.”

She keeps her eyes on me, her eyes flashing with challenge. “Prove it.”

A moment later, I’m opening my eyes in bed, my face buried into the pillow. Nyx’s words echo in my mind,“Darkness is not inherently evil, just as light is not inherently good.”1

1 The Nightmare & The Daydream Chapter 37 & 38

Forty-Four

Hades

HELIOS NOTIFIES ME THAT HE MANAGED TO SLIP PERSEPHONE A CELLPHONE.After an exhausting day of sparring and torturing Titans for information, the only thing I want to do is talk to my wife. Instead, I’m sitting in my office, surrounded by other gods who are decidedly not Persephone.

My phone rings, and I answer, my heart leaping at her new number. The camera takes a second to connect, showing her sitting on her bed on the small screen. “My spring? Are you all right?”

She nods, scanning my face. “Are you?”

I nod. Since the dream, I’ve managed to pull the darkness from my eyes, and my glamor is covering them again. “I missed you.”

Mellie grabs the phone from my hand. “We have so much to catch up on. Okay, so you know how Helios is a major asshole? Well, he’s like basically stalking me and?—”

Helios grabs her from behind, wrapping his arms around her. “And she said she loves me. We’re also expecting triplets!”

She elbows him hard in the stomach. “Don’t touch me, dick brain.” Her dual-colored eyes are focused on Persephone. “None of that is true. I once told him I’d love it if he imploded and turned into a black hole.”

Helios smirks. “It’s all true. I have the ultrasound.”

Cerberus barks, trying to get attention, and Mellie shoves away from Helios to show Cerberus sitting. I can hear the tears in Persephone’s voice as she speaks to him. “Is that my Berry boy? Hi, Berry! Mama misses you so much.”

He barks loudly, running to his toy basket and returning to show her the toy he chose. I smother a smile when I see the toy he’s holding is a stuffed version of Zeus.

“Look at that toy!” Persephone gasps. “I can’t wait to play with it with you.”

I stand and snatch the phone back from Melinoë, catching Persephone wiping the tears from her face.

“He misses you so much,” I say.

So do I.

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