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He swung toward me, his eyes searching the darkness.
“Elyse,” he said, even though there was no way he could see me. It made me feel like an idiot, like I was a stalker hiding in the bushes. Like a teenage girl spying on a guy I’d crushed on, and my cheeks fired up with heat. I considered running away, but that would be worse. He knew I was here; plus, my car was a couple of houses down and he’d eventually see it.
When I stepped out, his face softened. “I can feel your power.” His voice was low, and something was different about him. He wasn’t as closed off or aggressive, as usual. Something about him was almost forthcoming. “You’ve become so strong.”
I walked toward him, my chin up, refusing to look as silly as I felt. “I need to talk to you.” My palms started to sweat, so I tucked them into my pockets.
Hades nodded. “And I have to chat with you too. I’m glad you came.”
Really? At this time of night? His words shouldn’t have made me feel as warm as they did, but I was searing like a goddamn sun on the inside. He stood back and let me walk into the house first, and my skin sizzled as I passed him. We hadn’t even touched, and I’d already reacted to him. He followed me, closing the door behind us.
“Coffee?” he asked.
Look at him, hosting me as if he were a regular human. It was endearing. But I shook my head. “Just water, please.”
I didn’t feel like anything, but now I was in Hades’s presence, my throat grew dry. Something about him got to me. I couldn’t figure out what it was, but butterflies swarmed in my stomach, and I kept studying the way he stood so tall, how well he filled out his black shirt. Hell, I’d missed his company. But I had to remind myself I was here to find a way to help Catina as Hades might know something.
He poured water from the tap, not the fridge, so I assumed he didn’t have filtered water. And I was fine with that. The glass he handed me was crystal, the kitchen countertops marble, and I was sure the embellishments were pure gold. This place only looked like a dump from the outside.
On the inside, it truly was the residence of a god. Everything was pristine and could easily be at home on Mount Olympus.
“I’m curious. Why’d you come over now?” he questioned after I took a few sips of my water, and I leaned against the counter.
I stared at the glass in my hand. “I want to know the truth.”
“About what?”
This new side of him surprised me. He was raw and vulnerable. I’d never seen him like this. What was happening between us? Or was this something that had taken place between him and Persephone? I expected him to flip his switch at any moment, to be angry, to shout at me.
Or to fuck me.
With him, it could go either way, though the latter thought only fueled the flames engulfing me, and I cursed myself for placing that image in my mind. Who was I kidding? It was there already because anything to do with Hades left me powerless, no matter how much I fought him.
“About X,” I finally responded, meeting his bright eyes missed nothing. And they were so filled with emotion, they always showed exactly what he thought.
But tonight, he was difficult to read, as if he’d mastered hiding his emotions, or was he just playing aloof around me? And yet here I was thinking about sex with him—while he was the calm one for a change.
“Let’s sit down,” Hades said, heading out of the kitchen, expecting me to follow. This brusqueness was a little closer to what I knew about him.
I followed him to the living room. He sat on the edge of a chaise lounge, then shifted several times as if unable to find a comfortable spot. I took the couch opposite him, still clutching my water. It was crazy how much distance was between us now, after everything we’d done together. I half-preferred it when he was demanding, taking what he wanted. I understood it better.
This careful version of Hades was a stranger to me, and in a weird way, I craved the way he used to be for more than familiarity. Hell, this distance shit made me crave him because I was like that spying schoolgirl outside hiding in the bush. And my cheeks heated once more.
“I just heard about Catina,” he murmured softly. “Your friend.”
So that was what Persephone had been doing here…but no one else had told Hades about the kidnapping? Well, I’d been so lost in my own sorrow, it hadn’t occurred to me to contact him, either. Maybe if I had, he might have been able to help Catina more somehow, but in all honesty, part of me figured if he was going to do something about X, he’d have done it already. Yet knowing he and Persephone had talked about something important made me feel better. It was no indication they hadn’t slept together afterward, but Hades wasn’t wearing the sheen of a satisfied man.
“I only found out tonight. I didn’t know.” Hades really did look apologetic, the corners of his mouth turned downward, shadows shifted beneath his eyes.
“How could you let this happen?” I blurted out. I hadn’t meant to come across as accusing, but I was, all the frustration and grief pushing the words out. “How could you let any of it happen? My friend is in mortal danger because of X.”
He sighed. “Look, I realize he’s a problem. I’ve known it for a while, especially once the souls he consumed didn’t go to the Underworld. But I hoped if I pretended that everything was fine, it would be.”
“You thought it’d just go away? And now my friend is in danger! Where the hell is he hiding her?” My voice climbed.
He paused for a long time, the corners of his mouth tightening, and when he let out a long exhale, I sighed, well aware he didn’t like the answer. Which meant I wouldn’t either.
“I can occasionally sense him but not his precise location. He’s somehow shielded himself from me. And I have no idea where he’d hide on Earth, or even what his interests are. We rarely talked back in the Underworld. Even the Fates couldn’t tell me anything about his whereabouts.”
