Page 13 of Queen of Shadows and Roses
‘Brother!’ Zeus stood and sauntered over to me.
‘Zeus.’ I offered a slight nod.
‘How’s the lovely Persephone?’ Zeus smiled mischievously at me. I entertained the brief fantasy of kicking him in the balls—either that or strangling the ever-loving crap out of him.
‘I don’t know.’ I held his stare, my jaw like granite. ‘I haven’t seen her yet. She is settling in with Hecate.’
‘Ah, Tee.’ A razor-sharp smile sliced across Zeus’s lips. ‘Quite the little trap you set to stake claim to your ex-wife.’
‘Wife,’ I snapped.
‘Well, Brother. That’s debatable, is it not? Persephone has no memory of being your wife. She is a new woman. A free woman, capable of making her own decisions this time. And I’m not so sure she will be happy about being kidnapped by you… again.’
My anger simmered beneath my skin, yet outwardly, I remained calm.
‘She’s still as feisty as she ever was. I can see why you like her so much,’ Zeus said, winking at me; my nostrils flared, but I stayed silent.
‘The gods have decided’—Zeus paused, a smug expression on his face—‘that any interested parties will host a dinner, a ball, or some other event for our new guest.’
I stepped towards my brother until we were toe to toe. ‘What do you mean…? Interested parties?’
‘Well, some of us wish to make Persephoneourwife this time. All’s fair in love and war, Hades. You ought to know that by now.’ Zeus narrowed his eyes and cocked his head. ‘No?’
Rage hit me like a sledgehammer, but after an aeon of being manipulated by Zeus, I had honed the ability of control.
‘You included?’
Zeus cut me off. ‘She’s a new woman, Brother.’
His words struck me like a speeding juggernaut. She wasstillmy wife… wasn’t she?
‘If any god lays a hand onmy wife,the full extent of my wrath will be unleashed upon them. And that includes you…Brother,’ I said in a dangerously low tone.
‘Then you must raise your game, Hades. Win her back the right way. Now Hera is gone’—Zeus swallowed, his face momentarily flickering with sorrow—‘I need a new consort as much as you do. May the best god win.’ Zeus grinned and slapped me on the back before vanishing.
‘Fucking Zeus,’ I snarled quietly as my shadows enveloped me.
This definitely complicated matters.
CHAPTER 5
PERSEPHONE
Tee brought a breakfast of poached eggs on sourdough toast, accompanied by coffee—lots of coffee—and my mind was mulling over everything she’d told me.
‘So, on the slim chance Iamthat Persephone, I must’ve had sex with the god of the dead?’ For the love of sweet baby alpacas everywhere—the thought made my insides shrivel.
‘Well, yeah, you shared a bedroom with him, so I think it’s probably a given.’
‘Ugh. I think I’m gonna vomit.’
Tee chuckled sexily. ‘He’s not so bad. Wait until you meet him.’
‘He’s how old? No way, Tee. He’s an ancient god. This is so not going to work. I’ll just grit my teeth and behave for three months, then I’m outta here.’ Tee cocked her head, but I focused on eating and ignored her, lost in my thoughts.
‘Come on, Sephy. Get showered.’ Tee tugged at my arm, interrupting my musings as I sipped my coffee.
I sighed and gave a wan smile when a loud knock on the door made me jump up. Was it Hades? My hand instinctively reached to my thigh—but of course, my dagger was gone. Panic swelled in my chest. ‘Tee,’ I squeaked nervously, ‘where’s my blade?’
