A Touch of Darkness (Hades & Persephone 1)

“What news?” Persephone asked.

“I got us into Nevernight!” Lexa could barely keep a handle on her voice, and at the mention of the famous club, several people turned to stare.

“Shh!” Persephone commanded. “Do you want to get us killed?”

“Don’t be ridiculous.” Lexa rolled her eyes, but she lowered her voice. Nevernight was impossible to get into. There was a three-month waiting list, and Persephone knew why.

Nevernight was owned by Hades.

Most businesses owned by the gods were insanely popular. Dionysus’ line of wines sold out in seconds and were rumored to contain ambrosia. It was also exceedingly common for mortals to find themselves in the Underworld after drinking too much of the nectar.

Aphrodite’s couture gowns were so coveted, a girl killed for one just a few months ago. There was a trial and everything.

Nevernight was no different.

“How did you manage to get on the list?” Persephone asked.

“A guy at my internship can’t make it. He’s been on the waiting list for two years. Can you believe how lucky? You. Me. Nevernight. Tonight!”

“I can’t go.”

Lexa’s shoulders fell. “Come on, Persephone. I got us into Nevernight! I don’t want to go alone!”

“Take Iris.”

“I want to take you. We’re supposed to be celebrating. Besides, this is part of your college experience!”

Persephone was pretty sure Demeter would disagree. She had promised her mother several things before coming to New Athens to attend university, among them that she would stay away from the gods.

Granted, she hadn’t kept many of her promises. She’d changed her major halfway through her first semester from botany to journalism. She would never forget her mother’s tight smile or the way she’d said, ‘how nice’ between gritted teeth when she’d discovered the truth. Persephone had won the battle, but Demeter declared war. The day after, everywhere she went, one of Demeter’s nymphs went, too.

Still, majoring in botany was not as important as staying away from the gods because the gods didn’t know Persephone existed.

Well, they knew Demeter had a daughter, but she had never been introduced at court in Olympia. They definitely didn’t know she was masquerading as a mortal. Persephone wasn’t sure how the gods would react to discovering her, but she knew how the entire world would react, and it wouldn’t be good. They would have a new god to learn and to scrutinize. She wouldn’t be able to exist—she would lose the freedom she had just gained, and she wasn’t interested in that.

Persephone didn’t often agree with her mother, but even she knew it was best she led a normal, mortal life. She wasn’t like other gods and goddesses.

“I really need to study and write a paper, Lexa. Plus, I start my internship tomorrow.”

She was determined to make a good impression and showing up hungover or sleep-deprived on her first day wasn’t the way to go about it.

“You’ve studied!”

Lexa gestured to her laptop and stack of notes on the table. But what Persephone had really been doing is studying a flower and thinking about the God of the Dead.

“And we both know you’ve already written that paper, you’re just a perfectionist.”

Persephone’s cheeks flushed. So what if it was true? School was the first and only thing she was good at.

“Please, Persephone! We’ll leave early so you can get some rest.”

“What am I going to do at Nevernight, Lex?”

“Dance! Drink! Kiss! Maybe gamble a little? I don’t know, but isn’t that the fun of it?”

Persephone blushed again and looked away. The narcissus seemed to glare back at her, reflecting all her failures. She had never kissed a boy. She had never been around men until she’d come to college, and even then she kept her distance, mostly out of fear her mother would materialize and smite them.

That was not an exaggeration. Demeter had always warned her against men.