A Touch of Ruin (Hades & Persephone 2)

“It’s alright, Antoni,” Persephone interrupted. “I’m helping her.”

The cyclops pressed his lips tight and said nothing as the two women slid into the backseat. Once the door was shut, Leuce looked at Persephone.

“Does that crowd wait for you every day?”

“Yes.”

“All because of Hades?”

“Yes.”

The nymph looked out the window. “That’s insane.”

“It is insane,” Persephone agreed. “I hate it.”

“When I was...alive,” Leuce said. “In ancient times, the gods were feared and revered. Their worshippers were serious about honoring their gods. It wasn’t...this...false obsession.”

Persephone grimaced. “Welcome to the modern world.”

Antoni dropped them off at Persephone’s apartment. Before he left, the cyclops took Persephone aside, “I’ll have to tell him Leuce is with you. He will want to know.”

She shrugged. “Tell him.”

Antoni frowned. “You’ll talk to him soon, won’t you, my lady?”

Persephone was surprised by his question. She wondered how much Antoni knew about her fight with Hades.

Her frown matched his. “I don’t know,” she said. “Probably. Right now, I am angry.”

He nodded. “I’ll see you tomorrow, my lady.”

She didn’t say anything, and turned to lead Leuce into the apartment, finding Sybil at the kitchen bar. She drew her forearm across her nose and started wiping at her face as soon as they entered.

“Sybil, what’s wrong?”

“Nothing. Everything’s fine.”

But it was obvious she was lying. Her voice was thick, and her eyes were red. Persephone peered over her shoulder to find a rejection email for a job.

“Sybil,” Persephone said gently, placing a hand on her arm.

“I knew it would be hard, but I don’t think I realized how difficult. No one wants a god’s discarded...plaything.”

“You are no such thing, Sybil,” Persephone said quickly.

“That’s not how the world sees it,” she said. “My worth is equal to the desire a god had for me. It has been since my powers manifested. Now I don’t even have those.”

Sybil turned into Persephone and sobbed against her chest. The goddess stood there, soothing her friend.

“It’s going to be okay,” Persephone said. “I’ll help in any way I can. Let me talk to Hades. I’m sure they need more help at The Cypress Foundation.”

She’d been so angry about Leuce, she’d forgotten to ask about openings.

“I can’t ask that of you, Persephone,” Sybil said, pulling away.

“You’re not asking.” She offered what she hoped was a comforting smile.

Persephone introduced Leuce to Sybil and poured three glasses of wine. Persephone was starting to feel like she was running a home for displaced women. They sat in the living room, watching Titans After Dark and talking about life. At some point, the inevitable topic of Apollo made its way into their conversation, and the longer they spoke, the angrier they became.