Page 77 of Bride of Death

One of my eyebrows wings upward. “First of all, how very human of you to use that ridiculous phrase. Perhaps you should consider cutting back on the assassin flicks; they’re not meant to be educational. Secondly, how I speak to my mate isn’t your concern.”

“It is when you put me in charge of protecting her,” he counters, grabbing a rag to dry his hands. “It’s also my concern because you tasked me with convincing her to marry you. And you’re making my job that much fucking harder.”

He stalks toward me, his height rivaling my own.

But my gaze is on my wife.

Her eyes widened with the latter half of Maliki’s commentary. “You’re trying to convince me to marry him?” she asks, sounding… well, I’m not quite sure. She sounds surprised, but also a bit upset. “I don’t…” She trails off, her shoulders falling. “Oh.”

She looks defeated somehow, and I have no idea why.

This meek side of her—which I first witnessed upon her return from our home realm and again now—is much more like the Persephone I know. Except I don’t remember her ever being this sad.

I don’t care for it.

“Why are you upset?” I demand, needing to fix it.

She simply huffs in response.

“That’s not an answer, Persephone. Tell me what’s troubling you so I can solve it.”

The look she gives me is equal parts confused and annoyed. “What?”

Maliki steps between us, cutting off my view and irritating me greatly.

But his expression is dark as he says, “I know I suggested that you talk to Sera, but I didn’t mean like this. You should knock and let her invite you in, not just show up unannounced. And do not spout that bullshit again about having free access to her space because she’s yours. That is not going to fly with me in my current mood.”

“But she is my mate.”

“Her soul mated yours over two thousand years ago, yes. However,Sera,thehuman,is not yours.”

I take a step back, mostly because his words are delivered like a blow to the chest. “They are the same.”

“Yeah?” He folds his arms across his chest. “Then why is Sera asking me about how to access her memories? Oh, and would you like to know why she asked me how to do that?” He doesn’teven give me a second to reply before saying, “Because she wants tohelp.”

“I can speak for myself,” my mate says quietly.

“Oh, I’m aware that you can,” Maliki replies. “I’m just trying to help Hades keep his foot out of his mouth this time.”

“He put his foot in his mouth?” she asks, sounding confused.

Despite the irritation pouring off Maliki, his lips twitch in amusement. “It’s a saying, trouble.”

“I don’t understand it,” she tells him.

“It means he’s trying to prevent me from saying things I shouldn’t,” I explain, still looking at Maliki. “You’ve completely fallen for her game, haven’t you?” My question is obviously for my enforcer.

He sighs and runs his hand over his face. “If she’s playing a game, then why is she asking about how to awaken her memories?”

“To trick you into a false state of comfort.” That’s exactly what she did to me with her innocence and soft coos of affection. None of it was real. Yet she snagged my heart for eternity and still owns it today. “She’s very clever.”

“I wish I could take that as a compliment,” my mate mutters. “However, I’m not nearly ascleveras you want to believe. I don’t know what Persephone did in a past life outside of what Morpheus and Maliki explained yesterday. But I’m willing to do whatever you need me to do to unlock the memories inside me. If you really think that’s possible.”

She’s standing now, her blonde head barely reaching Maliki’s shoulder as she steps around him and into view.

The resignation in her features sends a pang through my chest. I’m not fond of this side of my mate. It’s new. And so very different from the feisty emotions I saw yesterday. While that was arousing, this is… upsetting.

“Maliki says I need to embrace my inner Omega. So. How do I do that?” Her direct stare is at odds with her defeated posture.