“I am well, Hades.” She shook her head, brushing his hands from her. “No… No I’m not. You have made me… angry.”
He could not help the smile that touched his lips. Angry or no, she was here, speaking his name.
“Angry?” he asked, moving cl
oser to her.
She scowled and stepped back. “Yes… very angry.”
“You came here? To tell me that?” He brushed her hair from her shoulders, caressing the curls slowly.
She nodded, her eyes upon his mouth. “You gave me up.”
His hand stilled, the hurt in her words more than he could bear. He had betrayed her time and again. And yet she was here. She was here.
“You left me,” she whispered.
He shook his head. “To protect you.”
Her face softened for an instant before she scowled again. “No, to protect you.”
Again, there was truth to her words.
“But I realized I was not as helpless as I thought. I have a say in this.” She stepped closer, her eyes flashing. “And I say you are wrong. You’ve no reason to harden your heart against me. No reason to turn away from the happiness that comes when we’re together. No matter how you would deny it, I know you care for me. I know I make you happy. And that, Hades, is why I am here.”
He shook his head, confused. But she spoke before he could.
“You cannot send me away now.” She held up her hand, the sweet smell of ripe fruit filling his nostrils.
He tore his eyes from hers and stared at her hand. A half eaten pomegranate lay upon her palm.
“What have you done?” he whispered. His hands gripped her shoulders, dragging her against his chest. He was torn between shaking her and kissing her. Did she realize the consequences?
“You cannot make me go back.” She lifted her chin and met his gaze.
“You are trapped,” he whispered, his joy overshadowed. His arrangement with the Fates had been determined by Persephone’s choice. He’d never meant for it to be permanent. When she’d tired of him, as he knew she would, he would ensure she was not beholden to him or bound to his realm. But now, now… “Why, Persephone? Why would you do this?”
“Because I love you.” Her voice broke. “And though I tried every day not to think of you or look for you… or miss you, I accept my fate. I cannot be without you.” Her sweet words hung in the air, demanding his response. “So I will not.”
He crushed her against him, her last words muffled against his chest. Burying his nose in her hair, he drew her scent deep within him. He could not deny his happiness, as misplaced as it was. “You act rashly–”
“No. Not rashly.” Her breath brushed across his chest, her silken arms wound about his bare back. “Desperately, perhaps.”
She did not know of his visit, that much was obvious. Would she regret her actions once she learned there was another way? One that would have afforded her freedom when she wanted it? He spoke softly, “I visited Olympus today–”
“And did not stay to see me.” Her hurt was obvious.
“I was told to leave,” he continued, “After I’d spoken with your mother.”
She looked up at him. “My mother?”
He spoke quickly, willing himself to voice all that he’d fought so long to keep from her. “I missed you,” he murmured. “Desperately. After I’d gained the Fates’ approval, I sought Demeter’s blessing–”
She silenced him, most effectively. With a startled gasp, she tangled her fingers in his hair and pulled his face, his lips, to hers. He would not fight her. And her lips… He shivered. Her mouth parted, catching his moan. His hands slid from her arms, caressing the line of her back, the flare of her waist, beneath the softness of her tunic. It was then that he felt the ripped hem. What had happened to her?
Her lips lifted from his, allowing him to draw in a ragged breath. But the question was lost. Her smile overwhelmed him once more. She expressed, openly, the joy that so completely filled him.
“I knew it,” she spoke clearly, still smiling.