Page 114 of The Queen & the King

“She’ll say no,” I say, not to be cruel, but honest.

“The first time, definitely,” Helios says. “I think around the fiftieth time, I’ll have worn her down, and by the ninety-fifth time, she’ll say yes.”

That kind of determination is teetering on insanity.

“You’re confident that she truly cares for you?”

Helios pulls out his phone and clicks on a video. I hear Melinoë’s voice come through the speakers.

“Yes, I said I love you. Can you stop asking me to repeat it?” she snaps.

Helios turns off the video. “See? Proof.”

“Should I even ask how or why you have that on video?”

Helios laughs and starts toward the door. “Definitely not. Let me go make sure everything is set up. Can’t keep the wedding postponed.”

Postponed?

Helios leaves the guest room, and once again, I’m alone. I rub my arm, the Primordial power still present in my body. Erebus sacrificed all his power to resurrect me and give us a fighting chance in the battle. Yet, when I tried to contact the two Primordials, they ignored my calls. I didn’t go see them or force their summoning. I didn’t want to be away from Persephone for that long.

How much longer do I have to wait to marry her?

Sixty-Eight

Hades

AKNOCK SOUNDS ON THE DOOR BEFORE IT CREAKS OPEN.“Yo, demon daddy, you ready?”

I take one last look in the mirror, rubbing my hand down my suit. The formal black is emblazoned with silver skulls and vines around the collar and wrists. I glance over at Mellie. “I am. She’s… she’s ready? Can I see her?”

This short separation has been awful. Being apart feels unnatural. We spent so much time in forced separation that even a minute more we don’t need to endure is unbearable.

Melinoë leans against the door frame. “You’re terrible at this, my dude. You’re not allowed to see her until she’s walking down the aisle.”

Traditions? Fuck traditions. I cross my arms, frowning at her. “We’re not traditional.”

She rolls her eyes and holds out her hand to look at her manicure. “Obviously. But you both wanted a,” Mellie grimaces, “proper wedding. Ugh. And this is part of that. Plus, we both know you spent the night with her last night.”

Well. Wait, how did she know about that?

“Well… you spent the night with Helios!” I accuse.

She gives me a dry look. “We’re not talking about that ball of hot, festering plasma.”

Their relationship is odd.

“That’s better than calling him a cancer, I suppose,” I muse.

“Fucking carcinogenic fucker,” she mutters.

Very odd.

I fiddle with my cuffs. “He’s planning to propose.”

Melinoë moves in between breaths and appears in front of me, her dual -colored eyes wild.

“And you told him to shove his engagement ring up his urethra?” she demands.

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