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“Fucking Fates!” He lashed out, punching one of the glass walls. It cracked beneath his fist.

To her credit, Katerina did not even flinch, and after a moment, she said in a very quiet tone, “I’ll inform Ivy. She can have it fixed by the end of the day.”

Hades swallowed hard and nodded. “Thank you for the information, Katerina.”

A few tears streamed down her cheeks. She had obviously not liked giving him the news any more than he liked receiving it.

Hades left her office, returning to Persephone’s floor. What he needed right now was the comfort of her presence, but a sudden, strange smell filled his senses, halting him in his tracks. It was cooling and almost…medicinal.

It was laurel.

Hades froze.

Fuck.

He hurried down the hall to where he had manifested with Persephone earlier to find her gone and the smell of Apollo’s magic lingering in the air.

The God of Music had taken her.

Hades strolled into his office and snatched the phone from its cradle.

“Ivy,” he said.

“My lord!” she said cheerfully, oblivious to his frustration. “I did not know you were here!”

“Send Zofie up,” he snapped.

“Right away, my lord,” she said.

He had summoned Zofie to the tower this morning to act as security, but she had not seemed so necessary since he was near. He supposed he was wrong.

Hades paced in the room outside Persephone’s new set of offices, frustrated.

Despite giving her space to work here, he could not protect her from everything, and one of those things was Apollo.

Did the god realize how much danger threatened Persephone?

He should.

After all, he had been the one to perform Adonis’s autopsy. He had been the one to experience Harmonia’s attack secondhand. He had to understand that whisking her away to play companion at this time was not in her best interest.

While he could follow Apollo’s magic and snatch her away from the God of Music, Hades also knew that the two had a bargain, a contract in place that Persephone had to honor.

He hated it.

She should have gotten out when he’d given her the chance, and he could not understand why she hadn’t.

When would she learn she could not change people? Apollo would eventually disappoint her just as Hades would, he was certain.

The elevator announced its arrival with an annoying beep, and Hades looked up to see Zofie as the doors opened.

Before she could step onto the floor, Hades spoke.“Persephone’s at the Palaestra of Delphi with Apollo.” He knew because he could track the stones in her engagement ring. Each had a unique energy, and he could sense it no matter how far she went. “You must go and keep watch, even if you do not make yourself known to her.”

The Amazon’s eyes widened. “I…I did not know. I am so—”

“Don’t be sorry. Just go,” he ordered.

While Hades had hired Zofie to keep Persephone safe, he was starting to think he needed someone who had more than just battle skills. As an Amazon, Zofie had little to no ability to handle magic. He wasn’t even sure she realized she was no match for it and would probably die trying to go up against a god.