Page 66 of Raising Hell
“One earthquake at a time. Shit. How many days do you have left?”
“Seven. Maybe six. It’s been hard to tell passing days without the sun.”
“It’s sunny now. Is that your doing?”
“Persephone put the sun in the lake; I canceled her deal with Hades to free it.”
“Okay. Then to be safe, we have five days to find a solution while keeping you alive and trying to figure out who’s attempting to kill you.”
“Yeah,” I said bleakly.
“Hey, we’re on it. Don’t worry about a thing.”
“Like the over two hundred thousand people who’ve died because of me?”
“Not you. Those idiot druids and the temperamental King of Hell. Are you going to be okay here? Should I get him to let me stay with you? Maybe as your bodyguard or something?”
I shook my head.
“If the resident god can’t keep me safe, I doubt anyone can.”
“I meant from him.”
“I’ll be fine. He’s not pushing for much, and if a few cuddles here and there keep more people from dying, I’m willing to do that.”
“Enough!” A low rumble punctuated Hades' command.
I spun around and hurried toward him, noting his sweeping glare. It softened when it fell on me, and I couldn’t be sure at this distance, but I could have sworn I saw a trace of guilt there too.
Jogging past the furies, I flew at him, wrapping my arms around his waist to hug him.
“What’s wrong?” I asked, tipping my head up to look at him.
“I tire of these games.”
I gave him a confused look and glanced back at Grace and Paxton. Both had their heads bowed. Megan, who joined them, crossed her arms and stared back at Hades, all attitude.
“What games?” I asked.
Megan shrugged, seemingly as clueless as I was, and Grace and Paxton exchanged a look that conveyed their uncertainty as well.
Hades’ hand closed over my wrist, dislodging my touch.
“Yours,” he growled.
“My games?” I asked, confusion giving way to annoyance. “You mean the one where I’m trying to prove I’m human and you’re not listening?”
“The one where you’re only touching me to save mortals on your precious Earth.”
My stomach sank to my toes.
“You heard us,” I said.
“I did.” His accusing glare helped dissolve some of my guilt.
“Good. Maybe now you’ll believe me. I’m human. Megan is my friend. I would never hurt her, and she would never hurt me.”
I jerked my hand from Hades' gentle hold and spun toward Megan. Hades made a pained sound when I ran at her, and I expected him to stop me. But he didn’t. I flew into her open arms, hugging her back.
