Chapter IX

Chapter IX

Overprotective

With Persephone gone, Ilias entered the room.

“Tell me Leuce has been detained,” Hades gritted out, and when the satyr nodded, he teleported to her holding room. This time, he did not need to think about how he would approach her. His anger would decide.

When he appeared, she whirled to face him. Whatever warmth was left in her face drained away, and she staggered back until she hit the wall.

He imagined he looked a lot like a monster, because he felt like one.

“Did I not instruct that you were never to contact me again?” Hades seethed.

Despite her fear, Leuce rocked onto the tips of her toes and glared angrily. “I wouldn’t have had to contact you if the people you pawned me off on had listened to my requests!”

“Your requests? What requests could you possibly imagine you are entitled to?”

“An agreeable apartment for one.”

“Are you saying I was not charitable?” Hades asked, his words heavy with barely contained anger.

“ Charitable? ” Leuce asked. “I spent years as a tree, and the best you can do is a shitty apartment and a serving job?”

He had no idea what sort of lodging Ilias had secured for the nymph, but he doubted it was shitty. Likely it was just nothing compared to the finery of his palace.

“If your accommodations and work are not to your liking, then perhaps you do not need them at all.”

“You would leave me without a home?”

“I have done much worse, would you not agree?”

He knew his words were hateful, but his anger and fear had manifested as an ache in his throat that made him feel like he couldn’t breathe.

Leuce moved to slap him, but Hades caught her hand.

“Looks like I am not the only one who hasn’t changed,” he shot back, and she jerked free.

“This is about her , isn’t it? That woman you’re seeing?”

Seeing? It was such a minor word to describe the love of his life—a love that she had disrupted with her careless words. Now Hades had to hope he could rebuild trust between him and Persephone.

“Is that why you claimed to be my lover?” Hades asked. “Jealousy?”

“Hardly,” she scoffed. “I was over you long before I slept with Apollo.”

If she thought that would injure him, she was wrong. It did, however, make him feel particularly vengeful.

“What a timely admission,” he replied. “It makes this next part much easier.”

Leuce’s eyes widened, and Hades gathered his magic. “I couldn’t care less about your life and what you make it, but if it wasn’t for that woman , you’d be a tree once more. She is your salvation.”

And with that, Hades deposited her in a park, far from Nevernight, and cursed her to never set foot in his territory again.

* * *

Days passed, and Persephone had not returned to Nevernight.

It was strange to feel so uncomfortable in his own realm, but all he could think about was her absence. It was like his magic searched for her, and when it could not find her, it pulsed beneath his skin, a constant reminder that she had put distance between them.

Not just her.

Him . He was responsible too, as Hecate had so eloquently reminded him last night when she’d found him wandering the palace halls.

“What did you do?” she’d asked, already looking dour.

“That’s very presumptuous of you,” he replied mildly.

She arched her brow and pointed out, “You only get this angry with yourself.”

He scrubbed his face, frustrated. “I fucked up. Persephone found out about Leuce. Of course the nymph would introduce herself as my lover. Current , not former.”

“You say that as if one is better than the other.”

“To Persephone, it might have been.”

“Neither is better when they’re both secret, Hades,” Hecate replied.

He scowled at her. “I realize that now.”

“I think you need to consider why you did not wish to tell her, and if the answer is because you were afraid…maybe you do not trust her as much as you think.”

Now, her words tumbled through his head.

Did he trust Persephone?

He supposed he did not trust that her love for him meant she could overlook his past, and admitting that was both painful and embarrassing. In the end, he hadn’t given her a chance.

He should never have kept Leuce a secret—which was what he wanted to tell Persephone. He had debated going to her, but he wasn’t certain she was ready to hear his explanation, and when he’d finally decided to go to her, he was diverted by Ilias, who informed him that Acacius’s shop had blown up with the relic dealer and his men inside.

Before he could even speculate about that information, Hermes arrived at Nevernight with a message from Dionysus.

“Well?” Hades prompted impatiently.

“I just really need you to understand, I’m only the messenger.”

Hades waited, and after a moment, Hermes closed his eyes and lifted his middle finger.

“That’s it?” Hades asked. “That’s all he had to say?”

“He didn’t even say anything. He just flipped me off.”

Hades took a deep breath, and upon his exhale, he snatched a vase full of red flowers and threw it across the room. He was not surprised by Dionysus’s reaction. The god did not like being told what to do, and he probably liked it even less that Hades was aware of his exploits.

“What will you do now?” Hermes asked.

“I’m not going to do anything…yet,” Hades said. If Dionysus wanted to play childish games, Hades would too. “But you will.”

“What? Nuh-uh,” Hermes said. “Not this time. I always help you, and what does it get me in return? Nothing. I haven’t even gotten a thank-you for today.”

“Fine,” Hades said. “I suppose I’ll have to find someone else to plague Dionysus with dreams of bloody castration.”

Hermes pursed his lips as if considering.

“I suppose I can ask Morpheus or Epiales,” Hades said. “He is the personification of nightmares after all, and he would do a fine job.”

“Fine?” Hermes scoffed. “Let me do it. I’ll show you bloody castration.”

“But you have already declined,” Hades said.

“I take it back,” Hermes said. “And you know what? Thank you, Hades.”

“For what?”

“For being you,” Hermes said. “Now, can I set Dionysus’s dick on fire?”

“I wouldn’t give the task to anyone else,” Hades replied.

“Yes!” Hermes hissed, pumping his fist in the air. “I’m off to make plans.”

“How much planning can possibly go into castration?”

“It’s an art,” Hermes replied before vanishing, and while there was an initial satisfaction to the errand Hades had sent Hermes on, he soon felt the exhaustion of it all and found himself on the empty floor of Nevernight in the early morning, nursing a glass of whiskey until Ilias arrived.

“Did you sleep?” the satyr asked as he approached, rounding the bar so he stood opposite Hades.

“No,” he replied, taking a sip of his whiskey.

“You sure you don’t want something else? Coffee, perhaps?”

“No.”

“Well, I would ask you if you were all right, but I think I know the answer.”

Hades met Ilias’s gaze. “Are you here to judge, or do you have something to tell me?”

“I’m not one to judge,” Ilias replied. “But I do have something to tell you. I spoke with Katerina this morning about these missing women.”

The satyr placed Ariadne’s folder on the table.

“They are all running from something—a partner, parents, all kinds of trauma. Our detective probably missed it because their families all claimed they were happy and they had all made plans for their future. She’s not wrong about how they went missing, though. None of them could be traced to a specific location aside from Megara, who, as you know, seems to have never left Dionysus’s club, which cannot actually be confirmed.”

“And none of them went to Hemlock Grove?” Hades asked.

Ilias shook his head. “No one named in this folder.”

It seemed Hades was going to have to begin with the only lead he had—Dionysus.

“Now for the bad news,” Ilias said, and Hades’s brows rose. Was this not bad enough? “This was left at the doors this morning.”

Hades could very much say he was not prepared for what the satyr had to share. He placed a folded newspaper on the counter in front of him so that the title glared at him in bold black.

APOLLO CASTS A GRIM SHADOW ON PAST AND PRESENT LOVERS

His heart beat unevenly in his chest as he picked up the paper and read:

Apollo, known for his charm and beauty, has a secret—he cannot stand rejection.

The evidence is overwhelming. I would have his many ex-lovers vouch for me, but they either begged to be saved from his wily pursuits and were turned into trees or died horrible deaths as a result of his punishment.

You are familiar with a few of these lovers. Daphne, the river nymph who Apollo pursued relentlessly until she begged her father to turn her into a tree. Cassandra, Princess of Troy, who cried that Greeks were hidden in the Trojan Horse but was ignored. Which begs the question, how noble can Apollo truly be when he fought on the side of Troy yet compromised their victory, all because he was given the cold shoulder?

Perhaps the greater issue at hand is that the public is very much aware of these transgressions yet continues to elevate a god who should instead be held accountable for his actions. Apollo is an abuser—he has a need to control and dominate. It’s not about communication or listening; it’s about winning. Is this who we really want representing New Greece?

Hades read the article once more, his fingers curling into the paper. All he could think was that she’d promised not to write about Apollo. Except that he knew she’d never actually promised.

“ Trust me on this, Persephone. ”

“ I trust you ,” she’d said.

But she didn’t, or at least if she did, she’d disregarded his warning. Was this her way of seeking revenge because of Leuce? The irony was, she had no idea why he’d turned the nymph into a tree or that it had been because of Apollo.

“If that makes you angry, you won’t want to see what else is in the news today.”

The satyr was likely right, but Hades wanted to know anyway. He had a feeling it had everything to do with Persephone.

Ilias pulled out his phone to show Hades a video. It was a news report from earlier, and a red banner at the bottom of the screen drew his eye.

HADES’S LOVER ATTACKS BELOVED GOD

He grimaced, his anger growing the longer the reporter talked about Persephone as if they did not fear his retaliation.

“Guess she didn’t gain enough fame by sleeping with Hades. She had to go after Apollo too?” the reporter said.

Those words went right through him, and he pushed the phone back toward Ilias. After a moment of silence, he asked, “Is she safe?”

“She made it to work,” he replied.

He didn’t like that he’d had to ask that question, did not like that Ilias had to qualify his answer, knowing that she’d now have to make it home.

“If she’d known this would be the response, I doubt she’d have done this,” Ilias said.

“She knew,” Hades said curtly. “I warned her.”

Ilias did not respond, though Hades could tell the satyr was holding back.

“What is it?” he snapped.

Ilias shrugged. “I don’t know. I just think she probably thought you were being overprotective.”

Hades bristled at those words.

Overprotective.

It almost made him sound controlling, and he hated that.

“ You can’t tell me who to write about, Hades ,” she’d said, and while he’d have liked for her to have been able to write about anyone and anything she wished, the reality was, it wasn’t possible without fallout. She was about to learn the hard way.

“When it comes to Apollo, there is no such thing,” Hades replied.

Ilias did not disagree. “He will hunt her.”

Hades did not need to be told. He knew what the god was capable of. He’d pursue Persephone until she paid for her alleged slander, but Hades wasn’t willing to lose another love to the God of Music.

“That’s not all I have for you,” Ilias said. “This came pinned to the newspaper.”

Ilias handed him a piece of white parchment. The top of the page was embossed with a gold peacock. Beneath the icon was printed From the desk of Hera, Goddess of Marriage and below that was a handwritten message.

I see your lover has caused quite a stir. With your allies growing fewer and fewer among the Olympians, it will be no easy task to convince Zeus to agree to your hopeful matrimony.

It was as much a threat as it was a reminder of the labors Hera had sentenced Hades to. He knew he was running out of time. He would have to kill Briareus soon.

Hades crushed the note in his palm and set it ablaze with black flame. It curled into solid ashes that dissipated into a fine dust, leaving behind a sharp, clean smell and pale-white smoke.

“Anything else?” Hades asked.

“I think that’s enough for today, don’t you?”

Hades rose from his chair, drained his glass, and left the club.

* * *

Hades waited for Persephone in the darkness of her room. He wondered if she had dreaded this encounter. Had the thought of facing him invaded every part of her day? While he would have preferred to occupy her thoughts for a different reason, she had to know he was coming for her, yet she did not hesitate as she entered her room, did not pause to scan the area for signs of his presence. She walked straight to her bedside table, turned on the light, and stepped into the bathroom. She turned on the faucet and returned to her room, arms tangled behind her back as she managed to unzip her dress.

They had not been apart long, but the anger and betrayal between them made it feel like months. His fingers itched to touch her, to help her out of her dress, to ignore the past few days of fury and frustration in favor of something far more pleasurable, but even he knew that was foolish, because all those feelings would be waiting on the other side of that intimate high.

Her dress puddled around her feet, and her skin glowed softly, bathed in the warmth of her lamplight. She straightened, dressed only in black lace, but before she could remove that too, she must have caught sight of him, because she glanced his way and startled.

“Please continue,” he implored, leaning against the wall opposite her. Despite his frustration with her, he’d happily watch her strip, especially knowing he was soon to be the recipient of her anger, given what he’d come here to do.

She stared, speechless, and he wondered what she was thinking as her eyes roved over his body, but there came a time, all too quickly, when she met his gaze, narrowed her eyes, pressed her lips tight, and bent to pull her dress up, holding it to her chest as if they were not lovers at all but strangers.

That simple act made him feel many things but mostly hopeless.

He offered a humorless laugh. “Come now, darling. We are beyond that, are we not? I have seen every inch of you— touched every part of you.”

A tremor shook her, but at least she did not cringe.

“That doesn’t mean you will tonight,” she snapped. “What are you doing here?”

Hades’s impatience made his body vibrate. Why did she feel entitled to anger? She had defied him .

“You are avoiding me.”

He wondered how long it would have taken her to return to the Underworld if he had not sought her out tonight.

“I’m avoiding you ? It’s a two-way street, Hades. You’ve been just as absent.”

“I gave you space,” he argued, because he’d assumed that was what was best, yet Persephone rolled her eyes. “Clearly that was a bad idea.”

“You know what you should have given me? An apology.”

She tossed her dress aside and whirled around, heading into the bathroom, where she removed the rest of her clothes. Hades followed as she stepped into the bath and sank into the steaming water. She didn’t seem to mind the heat, though it had already turned her pale skin a bright red. She kept her knees pressed to her chest, and as he spoke, her arms tightened around her knees.

“I told you I loved you.”

It wasn’t as if he had hoped to keep Leuce a secret for malicious reasons. As selfish as it may have been, he hadn’t wanted to admit to turning her into a tree. It was abhorrent behavior and something she had criticized Apollo for.

“That’s not an apology.”

“Are you telling me those words mean nothing to you?”

She tilted her chin, anger flashing in her eyes. “ Actions , Hades. You weren’t going to tell me about Leuce.”

“If we are going to speak of actions, then let us speak of yours. Did you not promise me you wouldn’t write about Apollo?”

He knew he was being a little unfair, but of the two things they were discussing, Apollo took precedence. He was a god with power and a taste for blood.

“I had to do it—”

“ Had to? Were you offered an ultimatum?”

He couldn’t keep the bite from his voice, and his tone drowned out the part of him that was actually concerned she might have faced some kind of demand from her job. New Athens News was owned by Kal Stavros. At his question, Persephone looked away, setting her jaw.

“Were you threatened?” he continued.

She did not respond. She was digging her heels in against his anger.

“Did any of it have anything to do with you?”

She stood from the bath without warning, water rippling off her body, and clutched a towel to her chest.

“Sybil is my friend, and her life was ruined by Apollo,” she said, standing so close he could feel the heat coming off her body. “His behavior had to be exposed.”

Hades inched closer, tilting his head as he did.

“Do you know what I think?” he whispered furiously, letting his arms fall to his sides, fingers curling into fists to keep from touching her. “I think this is all a game to you. I pissed you off, so you wanted to piss me off, is that it? One for one—now we’re even.”

She scowled. “Not everything’s about you, Hades.”

He gripped her hips and drew her close, voice rough. “You promised me you wouldn’t write about Apollo. Is your word worth nothing?”

She flinched, and he felt it in her whole body, a desire to create distance between them.

“Fuck you,” she spat with tears in her eyes, and as much as he hated to see it, he smiled.

“I’d rather fuck you, darling, but if I did right now, you wouldn’t walk for a week.”

He snapped his fingers and teleported to the queen’s suite. It was where she usually got ready for events in the Underworld, and it would be her home for however long it took to end Apollo’s hunt.

As soon as they had appeared, Persephone pushed away from him.

“Did you just abduct me?”

“Yes. Apollo will come after you, and the only way he will have an audience with you is if I am present.”

“I can take care of this, Hades.”

“You can’t and you won’t.” He hated to say it, but in this instance, it was true. She couldn’t go up against a god—not one as seasoned as Apollo.

Her eyes glinted, lifting her chin in defiance as she tried to teleport. When it didn’t work, she stomped her foot, and from there, a mass of vines erupted from the floor and crawled toward him.

“You can’t keep me here.”

Hades’s responding chuckle only seemed to infuriate her more. “Darling, you are in my realm. You’re here until I say otherwise.”

He turned and headed for the door.

“I have to work, Hades. I have a life up there. Hades!”

He kept walking, though with each step, her magic surged, and in seconds, the harmless vines she’d sent his way earlier became thick thorns, rising from the broken floor to attack.

Hades turned quickly, dismissing her magic with a wave of his hand.

She stared, mouth ajar. After a moment, she swallowed, and there was a flash of something in her eyes that hurt his chest, a pain he did not understand but had seen in many mortals. It was the shock of suddenly understanding just how powerless she really was.

He let his hand fall, and despite everything inside him that wanted to go to her, to comfort her, he turned to leave once more.

As he did, she yelled after him, her voice breaking with a distinct crack he could feel in his heart. “You will regret this!”

At the door, he turned his head a fraction and answered, “I already do.”

When he stepped out of her room, he found Hecate waiting. The goddess’s eyes were glassy with anger. Hades wasn’t certain what had summoned her, but he had a feeling it had something do with the surge in Persephone’s magic.

“Don’t,” he warned, and while his voice did not waver, his insides shook.

He didn’t want to hear what Hecate would say, because he already knew he had fucked up. He knew it with every beat of his heart, but if he hadn’t gotten her out of the Upperworld and into his realm, there was no end to the list of the things Apollo might do.

At least here, she was safe—and he’d take that in the end, because the one thing he wouldn’t live without in this world was her, even if she hated him.

To her credit, Hecate said nothing, and Hades made a wide arc around her, leaving the palace altogether.