Page 84 of For the Love of the Gods

It was a ring. A beautiful, stunning, blinding ring that had no place on my hand.

But it was so, so pretty.

There was a large diamond in the center, a perfect stone the shape of a elongated circle. On either side stood three stones, shaped like an oval that ended in a point. They were set so that two touched the center stone and one connected to the band, creating the illusion of a flower. The stones were set in a yellow gold that brightened the entire ring into something that sent my heart clenching.

“Don’t swoon, Rose,” Dominic drawled, humor thick in his tone. “Just don’t need a repeat of last time.”

I curled my hand in protectively, then looked at him. When we made eye contact, his jaw ticked, moving just slightly to the side before resetting, the joint tensing.

“I don’t see how a ring would prevent someone shoulder checking me.”

Dominic’s nostrils flared a little. “They’d know someone exists who would punch them in the face for that.”

“I think you standing behind me like a shadow does that job well enough.”

“Call it reinforcements, then,” Dominic said, grabbing my shoulders and pushing me lightly toward the gates. “Jupiter knows I need them, dealing with you.”

“Baby, Jupiter won’t protect you,” I said, before taking off towards the entrance. It was a short walk, but if we stopped every two seconds to bicker it would take an hour.

Realizing I didn’t have my shadow, I looked back at Dominic. He was standing in the same spot I left him, staring at me.

Something in that statement, the docile tone, the endearment,somethinghad him sucking in air through his nose, then breathing out slowly. Like he was trying to remove the breath carefully from his body.

“What? Let’s go,” I said, lifting my eyebrows at him.

Dominic snapped out of it, then met me in two long strides. When we made it through the gates with polite nods at the guards, he bent down and spoke low by my ear. “You know, I much preferbabyto all the other names you call me.”

A small laugh buzzed in the back of my throat. “I bet you keep track of them. Write them down in a diary to pour over at night.”

“Sweetheart, you have no idea,” Dominic said, placing a hand on my neck to direct me around the corner. The casual affection might have seemed like a step in the right direction, but it didn’t feel like it, now that I knew what his hands could do.

All those weeks ago, back in Purgatory, when he’d placed his hand in the same spot, I thought I knew desire, knew torture. But this was worse.

And Dominic just looked completely unruffled. Because of course he did. If he kept looking so fucking unaffected around me, I was not liable for what I did to make him snap.

Dominic squeezed the back of my neck lightly when we got to the treasury. It was a small building, with limestone walls and a tiled, copper colored roof. Behind a strong wooden door, stood our treasurer, Plutus.

Not to be confused with our House, Plutus was another immortal being. He came to the underworld with my ancestor, Persephone, and took on the role of warding over any money that came into the Underworld.

Originally, his duties were confined to counting the passage paid to Charon, but now expanded, to his eternal glee, to regulating taxes for Purgatory.

Dominic opened the door for me, and I stepped through to find Plutus already waiting in the front room, clutching an envelope in his hands.

“I triple checked everything as you requested, Lord Pluto. No problems here. Or with me. I’m just so happy for you two,” Plutus rushed out, his stout form practically bouncing with glee.

“I’m glad you agree,” Dominic said, reaching over my shoulder to grab the envelope, surely filled with a note for the taxes, from him.

“Everyone does,” Plutus said. I almost laughed. I could name one person, a middle-aged shop owner in particular, who would not agree with that statement.

And there was the guilt and the fear creeping into my stomach. I pinched my shoulder blades together, standing up a little straighter.

“How do you know?” Dominic asked, voicing my own concerns.

Plutus looked at me as he responded, “Purgatory has been shared for years. And in your tenure, Lady Pluto, nothing has gone wrong. Trade is stable, souls find easy passage, Tartarus is well-guarded. There is no room for complaint without coming across ungrateful.”

“And what about my tenure, Plutus?” Dominic asked sarcastically. I barely heard him, though. I was too busy fighting tears at the relief flooding my chest. Maybe, maybe Purgatory was fine. That was a win.

I had only ever cared about keeping the realm healthy, anyway. Keeping it healthy for Pine and for my people. I was protective over it, cradling it in my hands. Even the thought of handing it over to Pine one day filled me with dread rather than hope, like it once did.

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