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“What progress?” he seethed. “She nearly tore herself apart.”

“She is afraid she will destroy the world with her magic, and you brought that to life for her.”

Hades averted his eyes, frustrated with himself. “I don’t know what else to do, Hecate. We are headed for darker times, and she is not learning fast enough.”

“You cannot force this, Hades, just because you are afraid.”

He ground his teeth.

“The best thing you can be for her is a safe space. You are where she heals from trauma, not where it seethes.”

“Do you really think that’s still true?”

“Yes,” Hecate said. “So go apologize to your queen.”

Hades had promised never to use invisibility to spy on Persephone, but this did not feel so much like spying as it was waiting. He hadn’t intended to hide at all, but Ivy had warned him she wasn’t in a great mood—and then she’d thrown her tablet against the wall. Now Leuce was here,chattingabout nothing when he had things to do.

Gods, he was sofrustrated.

Finally, the nymph left, and he made a move before anyone else could interrupt. But for some reason, when he stood opposite her, he suddenly did not know what to say. His mouth was dry, his words gone.

Maybe it was because of the way she looked at him, hesitant and haunted, or maybe it was the way the room felt, awkward and thick with an unfamiliar tension.

“Do you need something?” she asked.

Needsomething? As if he had come to ask for a cup of sugar. He reached behind him and turned the lock into place.

“We need to talk.”

Persephone stared at him for a moment and then pushed away from her desk, folding her arms over her chest. “Talk.”

He held her gaze as he approached and lowered to his knees before her. He watched her chest rise sharply as he placed his hands on her knees.

“I am sorry. I went too far.”

It was almost like she could not handle the impact of his apology, because she lowered her gaze from his, staring at her fingers, which she twisted nervously.

“You never told me you had the power to summon fears,” she said.

“Was there ever a time to speak of it?”

She said nothing, though he still felt like he had failed her in some way. It wasn’t the first time she had asked him to share more of himself, but some things just seemed to come with time. Perhaps they were both impatient for forever.

“If you will let me, I’d like to train you differently. I’ll leave the magic to Hecate, and instead, I will help you study the powers of the gods.”

He would begin with himself, though the thought was uncomfortable, but he felt like it was the only way he could atone, given that he had used powers against her she did not know he had.

“You would do that?”

“I would do anything if it meant protecting you,” hesaid. “And since you will not agree to being locked away in the Underworld, this is the alternative.”

She gave him a small smile, and he wanted more.

“I’m sorry I left,” she said.

“I do not blame you,” he said, even if he hadn’t liked it. “It is not very different from what I did when I took you to Lampri. Sometimes, it’s very hard to exist in the place where you experience terror.”

She let her gaze fall, licking her lips.