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“And you have no idea where your mistress might be?”

The five of them shook their heads.

Hades studied them. “I need you to find her.”

Their eyes widened and they paled.

“My lord, she will know!” This one who spoke had red hair like two others. All three were crowned with white lilies.

“We will already be punished for this,” said the one with dark hair. “You ask us to die for you!”

Hades tilted his head, narrowing his eyes. “You will already die for me, Hercyna,” he said. “The only uncertainty is how.”

“Do not scare her!” the blond one snapped, wrapping her arms around Hercyna’s head, crushing her to her breast.

“I cannot help it if you fear death,” said Hades. “It is the truth of any existence.”

“Lady Demeter was right about you,” she seethed. “You have no care for anyone save yourself!”

“If you knew what drove me to this meadow, you would choke on your words,” Hades said. “Imagine ifI had brought Persephone here to witness your loyalty wither in the face of her abusive mother.”

“You don’t know what it’s like!” one of the three redheads—Peisinoe, Hades remembered—said. “Persephone knew! She would understand!”

“Perhaps she would,” Hades replied. “But I am not Persephone, and I need to know where Demeter is hiding.”

Their anger reminded him of Persephone’s when they’d first met, their opinion of him colored by the way Demeter had painted him.

“Let me give you an idea of what you are about to face if you do not help me,” said Hades. “Your fountains and wells, lakes and springs, rivers and wetlands will all freeze. You will be driven from your homes—you and all your sisters and friends. You will attempt to find reprieve from the cold but will discover that the whole world is frozen, and in that state of despair, you will know what it is to beg for death.” He paused and let his words linger in the air between them. “That is your fate, brought about by none other than the goddess you protect now.”

The five exchanged looks, a different kind of fear present on their faces. It was the acknowledgment he needed, that what he said was already coming to pass.

“I will do it,” said Hercyna.

“No!” the other four said in unison.

“We will all do it,” said Cyane. She looked from her companions to Hades, her eyes alight with anger. “Even if it is only to inform her that you are looking for her.”

“I imagine she already knows,” said Hades. “I’ll be waiting.”

Hades returned to the Underworld.

He found Persephone asleep, so he undressed and poured himself a glass of whiskey, hoping it would ease his anxious thoughts.

Katerina’s prophecy was still at the forefront of his mind but so was Demeter. He thought of the task he had assigned to the five nymphs, biting back the guilt. He knew it was dangerous to send them searching for Demeter. The nymphs were likely to be punished just for speaking to him, which made it even less likely they would return with any news on Persephone’s mother.

It was not as if he thought he could appeal to the goddess either. He only wished to know where to find her when Zeus became involved and either demanded an end to the snowstorm or his engagement to Persephone.

He felt the air stir. Glancing over his shoulder, he found Persephone had risen, and she gazed at him from their bed, sleepy and flushed, her beautiful body half concealed by the robe she wore. He’d have liked to rouse her from sleep with a kiss between her thighs, but he no longer felt that was possible given the last few weeks, so he had waited, wondering if she might rise before sunup.

“You’re awake,” he murmured.

He faced her fully, and her eyes fell to his cock, which was hard and tight. He needed some sort of release, because the longer he went on like this, the more uncomfortable he would be, but with the way Persephone was looking at him, he did not think he’d have to agonize much longer.

He downed what remained in his glass before approaching her, and as he sat, he cradled her face in hishand and brought her mouth to his. She let him lead, and he plied her mouth with his tongue until he could no longer taste the whiskey on his breath. The longer he kissed her, the more his cock throbbed. He might have guided her hand to his length or pushed her to the bed so he could cover her body with his, but now he feared exerting too much control.

When he pulled away, her lips were lush and her eyes bright with lust.

“How was your day?” he asked in a hushed tone. He could not bring himself to speak louder. There was something about this night that required quiet.