Page 95 of Hades

“Then we handle the vote.”

My head turned slowly toward him.

The shift was instant. The Colette suspicion didn’t disappear. It didn’t settle. It didn’t hurt less. But I compartmentalized it. Locked it away in a box I’d deal with later. Right now, there was only one thing that mattered, and that was Lettie. My woman. My queen. The vote that would make her officially mine.

Zeus looked at Apollo. “You still have hesitation?”

Apollo shook his head. “No.”

My eyes narrowed. I studied his face, looking for doubt. For any hint of reservation. Any sign that he would fuck this up for me.

Apollo met my gaze. “If she’s my sister, there isn’t a man in this room I’d trust more to protect her.”

Something flashed through my chest. Not gratitude. Not exactly. Respect, maybe. Recognition. He was giving me his sister. If Lettie was Colette, then Apollo’s first act as her brother would be handing her to me. Trusting me to keep her safe. To protect her. To love her the way she deserved.

I gave him one hard nod.

Zeus looked to Rykard. “Rykard?”

Rykard’s voice was rough when he answered. “No hesitation.”

“Then vote on the floor,” Zeus said. “Violet ‘Lettie’ Foster as Hades’ old lady.”

Apollo lifted his hand first.

I stared at him. Let him see exactly what that meant to me. Let him see the promise I was making. If Lettie was his sister, I’d protect her with my life. I’d kill for her. Die for her. Burn the world down for her. And if she wasn’t his sister? I’d do the same fucking thing.

Hands lifted around the table. Unanimous.

My chair scraped back as I stood. For a second, I thought about saying something. Thanking them. Acknowledging what this meant. But the words wouldn’t come. There was only one thing in my head. Lettie. I needed to find her. Needed to tell her. Needed to make this official before anything else could go wrong.

The church doors swung open, and I pushed through them with Zeus at my back. The hallway was quiet, the clubhouse settling into that strange lull between chaos and nightfall. My blood was still running hot from the vote, from Apollo’s revelation, from the weight of what I’d just claimed in front of every member of this club. Lettie was mine. Officially. Unanimously. And I was going to find her and make sure she understood exactly what that meant.

We hit the main room, and that was when I saw them. Rhea and Lettie stood near the entrance with Cerberus padding behind them like some massive, four-legged guardian. The dog’s eyes swept the room, cataloging threats, before settling on me with what looked like approval. But it was Rhea who stopped me cold. Her eyes were red-rimmed, cheeks streaked with tears that hadn’t fully dried. Her face was blotchy and raw, like she’d been crying hard enough to shake her entire body. Like she’d finally let herself break. Finally let herself feel the grief she’d been holding back since Kronos died.

Lettie had her arm linked through Rhea’s, her body angled toward the older woman in a way that was deliberate. Protective. Like she was holding her up, or maybe just holding her together.

The tenderness of it hit me like a fist to the gut.

Zeus moved toward his mother immediately, pulling her into his arms. I watched him hug her, watched the way she stiffened slightly before melting into him. My chest tightened, something warm and unfamiliar spreading through my ribs. Something that felt dangerously close to pride. But when he pulled back and got a good look at her tear-stained face, something shifted in his expression. His eyes narrowed. Suspicion flickered. Control reasserted itself.

“Mom, why are you crying?” Zeus’ voice was sharp, edged with suspicion. He shot a brief glare at Lettie before turning back to Rhea. “What happened?”

Rhea straightened, pulling herself together with visible effort. “I’m grieving the death of my husband, son. I’m allowed to cry.”

“Of course you are. I just haven’t seen you do it since the funeral.” Zeus’ tone was careful now, but there was an edge underneath it. A need to understand. To control.

“Have you looked?” Rhea snapped back, and I felt something shift in her. Some steel that had been buried under decades of compliance suddenly surfacing.

“What?” Zeus asked.

“I’m drowning, Kane. I need to get away for a while.” Rhea’s voice was steady now, but there was a tremor underneath it. A woman who’d finally reached her breaking point and decided to do something about it.

I watched Lettie’s hand tighten on Rhea’s arm. Just slightly. Just enough to say I’m here. I’ve got you.

And I understood then what had happened. Lettie had done something I hadn’t thought possible. She’d broken through Rhea’s walls. She’d given her permission to grieve. To want something for herself. To acknowledge that she was drowning and that it wasn’t acceptable anymore. My queen had done that. She’d walked into this clubhouse, into this woman’s life, and given her something no one else had been able to. Permission. Understanding. The knowledge that wanting to escape wasn’t selfish, it was survival.

The power of it made my chest swell. Made my throat burn. Made me realize that Lettie wasn’t just mine. She was something more. Something better. Something that could heal wounds I didn’t even know existed.