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My fingertips are a whisper against my belly. The new lives inside me are little more than a flicker, and yet I am entirely aware that they will change everything.

Hades’ hands move through the water in the motion of a breaststroke, but he does not come closer. He does not move to close the space that dares stand between us.

From across the bathing pool, he peers at me through dark eyes that dance with dim flames.

He's been tense since I left him in the night to visit Hydra. He’s been uneasy since I burst from the sinkhole on her back, bonded to her in a way that I am bonded to nothing else—not even to Hades.

My bond to Hydra isn't a soul bond: it is a love bond. A bond of friendship tethered by centuries alone together in darkness, unspooling the visions of fate and destiny.

“I remember,” I finally confirm his question.

“And?” he pushes gently for more.I think there's fear in his eyes.

“I thought it would change everything. I thought getting my memories back would be this big reveal…” My words drift off into thoughts I can’t make myself voice. They are too much. Too complex.

I’m still processing.

His voice is impossibly deep. It echoes in a low rumble off the walls of the cave, dripping incredulity. “It wasn't a big reveal?”

“No.” I shake my head. “It wasn't.”

His brows arch. “It felt pretty big to me, Persephone.”

“What do you mean?”

He blows a breath between puffed cheeks before he pulls another one deep. “You screamed like you were dying.” Discomfort edges his words. “I could do nothing to ease your pain. Even my arms around your body, my skin against yours, it seemed to cause you pain.”

“I'm sorry.”

“Don't apologize for what the Moirai have done,” he growls. It is a menacing sound, but I am not afraid. I could never be afraid of him. Of my mate.

“I'm sorry that you felt you weren't able to comfort me,” I say softly, holding his eyes. “But you did. Your arms were the only comfort that I had in that moment. When my past, when the memories came—” I shake my head. “You were my only comfort.”

“Little goddess.”

“They are so ugly, Hades.”

He looks pained to hear it, but I can't deny it. I can't deny that although there was beauty in our love, the foundation it stood on was hideous.

I close my eyes and lean my head back.

I can't look at him, can't see his hurt as I speak my truth. “I remember loving you. I loved you so much, so deeply, but I never felt lovedbyyou. I tried so hard, and I was so foolish.”

Hades stands. The water settles around his waist, droplets racing down the carved muscle in rivers. His chest is rising with sharp inhales he looses just as quickly. His hands curl into fists at his side, but otherwise, he does not move.

Softly, with centuries of rage seeping into his words, he tells me, “That is the way of narcissistic manipulation, little goddess. It is quiet and stealth. As the victim, you can’t see it. And anyone who can’t see that, who can’t find the compassion to understand the abuse you suffered and the impact that had on you and your life, your decisions, is a grossly misguided soul with a deeply cruel heart.” He inhales through his nose, releasing through his mouth. “Healing takes time. Many do not heal with alifetimeof time. For many, healing is a journey that is taken after death. I would know.”

“Hades…” I close my eyes against the emotion that threatens to fall. I feel so impossibly fragile right now.

“Doyoufeel changed?” he asks gently.

I open my eyes to find that he is studying me. He’s also moved closer, but he’s not close enough to touch. Not yet.

“Not really, no.” I frown, because I don’t know how to express how I feel. “I feel like me, just with more memories. Like they’re books I can pick from a shelf. They all have a story, a scene I can call to mind. They're there like any other memory, but I'm still me. I’m still the me I've always been.”

Hades knocks his head slightly to the side, still studying me. “But you have knowledge that you didn't have before.”

I dip my chin and admit hesitantly, “Yes…”