A Touch of Ruin (Hades & Persephone 2)

Once she was ready, he insisted she accept a ride from his driver, which was how she ended up in the back of Hades’ black Lexus. Antoni, a cyclops and a servant to the God of the Dead, was in the driver’s seat whistling a song Persephone recognized from Apollo’s White Raven album. Despite not being a fan of the god’s music, she’d spent Friday night celebrating her best friend, Lexa Sideris’ birthday at the god’s club where his songs were on a constant rotation. She now felt she knew them all by heart, which only made her distaste for them stronger.

She did her best to ignore Apollo’s incessant falsetto and was soon distracted by a series of messages from Lexa. The first one read:

You’re officially famous.

A tidal wave of anxiety gripped her as her best friend sent several links to ‘breaking news’ from outlets all over New Greece, and they were all about her and Hades.

She clicked on the first link, then the next, and the next. Most of the articles rehashed details of her public reunion with Hades, including incriminating photos. She blushed seeing reminders of that day. She hadn’t expected the King of the Dead to appear in the Upperworld, and when she’d seen him, she thought her heart would explode. She ran to him, jumped into his arms and coiled around him like she belonged there. Hades’ hands pressed into her bottom and their lips locked in a kiss she could still feel.

She should have seen the media storm coming, but after Lexa’s birthday party, she’d spent the weekend in the Underworld, sequestered to Hades’ bedchamber, exploring, teasing, submitting. She hadn’t thought twice about the state of the Upperworld once she’d left. With images like these, it was hard to deny speculation about their relationship.

It was the last message she received that scared her the most:

EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT HADES’ LOVER.

It was her worst nightmare.

She scanned the article, relieved to discover there wasn’t any information that would reveal her as the daughter of Demeter or a goddess, but it was still creepy. It said that she was from Olympia, that she had started attending New Athens University four years ago, began with a major in botany and ended with a major in journalism. There were a few quotes from students who claimed to her ‘know her’—gems like, “You could tell she was really smart” and “She was always really quiet” and “She read a lot.”

The article also detailed a timeline of her life that included her internship at New Athens News, her articles about Hades, and their reconciliation outside The Coffee House.

“Onlookers say they weren’t sure of Hades’ motives when he materialized in the Upperworld, but it appeared he was there to make amends with the journalist, Persephone Rosi, which begs the question: when did their romance begin?”

Persephone recognized the irony of her situation—she was an investigative journalist. She loved research. She loved getting to the bottom of an issue, exposing facts, and saving mortals from the wrath of gods, demi-gods, and themselves.

But this was different.

This was her personal life.

She knew how the media worked—she was now a mystery to be solved, and those who investigated her background were a threat to everything she’d worked so hard for.

A threat to her freedom.

I know you’re freaking out

right now, Lexa texted. Don’t.

That’s easy for you to say. Your name isn’t plastered across headlines.

She responded with: Technically, it isn’t your name—it’s Hades’.

She rolled her eyes. She didn’t want to be someone’s possession. She wanted her own identity, to be credited for her hard work, but dating a god took that away.

Another thought occurred to her—what would her boss say?

Demetri Aetos was a great supervisor. He believed in the truth and reporting on it no matter the consequences. He’d fired Adonis for calling Persephone a bitch and stealing her work. He’d recognized the stress she was under when it came to writing about Hades, and he’d told her she didn’t have to keep writing about him if she didn’t want to...but that was before he knew she was dating the God of the Dead.

Would there be consequences?

Gods, she had to stop thinking about this.

She focused on her phone and texted Lexa back.

Stop trying to avoid the BEST news of the day. Congrats on your first day!

Lexa had been hired to plan events for The Cypress Foundation, Hades non-profit organization. She’d learned about it shortly after the announcement of the Halcyon Project.

Lexa had been offered the job on her birthday.