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He had to know if the ophiotaurus had reincarnated with a prophecy.

“I will make it up to you,” he said.

She did not respond, and there was something about her silence that made him feel like he had hurt her. She sat up and swung her legs off the bed. He kept his eyes on her bare back, mesmerized by the way her hair caught the light, glinting like spun gold.

“I will visit Lexa,” she said, answering his earlier question.

At the mention of her best friend, guilt and pain lanced through Hades’s chest. He had always liked Lexa, but he had to admit, he’d had no understanding of the depth of their relationship until Persephone was faced with her death.

It went beyond being friends. They were soul mates, and he had failed to understand that Persephone would need more from him in the face of her death than he had managed to give her.

That was something he would never forgive himself for, because it had led Persephone to seek help elsewhere, the worst of it coming from Apollo, whose arrow had healed Lexa’s wounds but not her psyche, which had effectively sentenced her to a different existence in the Underworld, one that ensured Persephone suffered just as much as Lexa.

Her best friend would never be the same, and Hades did not know how many visits it would take to Elysium before Persephone realized she wasn’t coming back.

The version of Lexa she had loved was dead.

“How long?” he asked, because he did not know what else to say.

“Until she gets tired,” she said, and he knew she was trying to keep the sadness from her voice. “Which will not be long…she tires easily. Is that usual for souls in Elysium?”

“Yes,” he replied. “It is usual.”

He did not wish to tell her that Lexa probably tired faster because Persephone challenged her. Though she’d been given instruction not to talk about their past together or speak long on the mortal world, it was something she likely could not help, which meant Lexa’s mind was working hard to process or relearn what it had forgotten. Even emotions were a new experience in Elysium.

Persephone was quiet, and after a moment, she rose, naked and beautiful, and entered the bathroom. The sound of the shower followed. Hades considered joining her, but he had the distinct feeling that she wanted to be alone, so he got up and dressed.

This day felt strange, contrary to his usual routine.

He hated it.

He considered just staying with Persephone, but there were greater things at work, and it made him anxious to delay. The ophiotaurus was not something that could exist for long in the world without consequence. It was not only a threat to his happiness but a threat to all gods, and while some deserved to die, he’d rather that power not fall into the wrong hands.

A cloud of steam wafted into the room as Persephone left the bathroom, wrapped only in a towel.

“You’re still here,” she said.

He frowned. “Since when do I leave without saying goodbye?”

She did not answer, and he approached, touching her chin.

“I know you are upset with me.”

“I am not upset. I just thought this day would be different,” she said and paused to take a breath. “Yuri and Hecate want to meet about the wedding.”

“Is that a bad thing?”

“No,” she said and hesitated. “I…just don’t know what you want.”

He studied her, and when she tried to look away, he brought his other hand up to cup her face.

“I want you,” he said. “You are all that matters.”

He did not like the way she looked at him, as if she were searching for the truth of his words in his eyes, but he likely only felt that way because of his own fears.

Fuck, he had issues.

“I love you,” he said and kissed her, drawing away quickly before he changed his mind and stayed.