“It’s my assignment,” Persephone argued. “I can’t just stop.”
“It wouldn’t have been your assignment if you had heeded my request.”
Persephone crossed her arms over her chest. “You never request anything, Hades. Everything is an order. You ordered me not to write about you. You said there would be consequences.”
His face changed then, and the look he gave her was more endearing than angry. It made her heart flutter. “And yet you went through with it anyway.”
She opened her mouth to deny it because the reality was that she hadn’t—Adonis had, and despite the fact that she really disliked the creep of a mortal, she didn’t want Hades to know he was responsible. In truth, she’d rather deal with Adonis herself.
“I should have expected it,” he said, drawing his finger along her jaw, tipping her head back. “You are defiant and angry with me.”
“I’m not...” She started to say, but then Hades’ hands cupped her face. “Shall I remind you that I can taste lies, darling?”
He brushed her bottom lip with his thumb.
“I could spend all day kissing you.”
“No one’s stopping you,” she said, surprised by the words that came out of her mouth. Where was this boldness coming from?
But Hades only chuckled and pressed his lips to hers.
CHAPTER XX – ELYSIUM
It was an hour or so later when Hades walked Persephone outside. He held her hand, fingers laced, and called a name into the air.
“Thanatos!”
Persephone was surprised when a god dressed in black appeared before them. He was young and his hair was white, which made the rest of his feature stand out in vivid color—sapphire eyes and blood-red lips. Two black gayal horns stuck out on the side of his head. They were short, with a slight curve and came to sharp points. Large black wings sprouted from his back. They looked heavy and ominous.
“My lord, my lady,” Thanatos said, bowing to them.
“Thanatos, Lady Persephone has a list of souls she’d like to meet. Would you mind escorting her?”
“I would be honored, my lord.”
Hades looked at her then. “I will leave you in Thanatos’s care.”
“Will I see you later?” she asked.
“If you wish,” he said, and lifted her hand to his lips. She blushed when Hades kissed her knuckles, which seemed so silly considering all the places those lips had been.
Hades must have thought the same thing because he laughed quietly and vanished.
Persephone turned to face Thanatos, meeting those striking blue eyes.
“So, you are Thanatos.”
The god smiled. “The very one.”
She was struck by how kind and soothing his voice sounded. She instantly felt comfortable with him and there was a part of her brain that realized it must be one of his gifts—to comfort the mortals whose souls he was about to harvest.
“I confess, I have been eager to meet you. The souls speak well of you.”
She smiled. “I enjoy being with them. Until I visited Asphodel, I did not have a very peaceful view of the Underworld.”
He looked sympathetic, as if he understood. “I imagine so. The Upperworld has made death evil, and I suppose I cannot blame them.”
“You are very understanding,” she observed.