Total pages in book: 90
Estimated words: 83786 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 419(@200wpm)___ 335(@250wpm)___ 279(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 83786 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 419(@200wpm)___ 335(@250wpm)___ 279(@300wpm)
Except that’s not all that’s left. As soon as he ties the wrap, he nudges me back to sit and sinks down to put on my boots. I clear my throat uncomfortably. “I really can do this.”
“I’m faster.” That’s almost logical, but how would he know if he’s faster? This almost feels like care. But that can’t be it. Our marriage is two comets crashing into each other, the devastation intense enough to end worlds. There’s no space for quiet tenderness. I don’t know how to deal with it, so I ignore it.
I clear my throat. “Imbros, please find out where my sister’s room is.”
“That won’t be necessary.” Perseus rises and takes my hand. “I have all the information. We can go there now. Orpheus was in surgery last I heard, but I think he should be out soon. We will find out more when we talk to Persephone.”
My heart gives a strange sort of wobble. I don’t understand this. He should be furious with me for meeting with my sister without the proper protections in place. If something happens to Persephone, Hades will rampage and his fury will be a thousand times worse than Circe or Hermes can gather. For that alone, my husband is deeply invested in keeping Persephone safe and alive. But keeping her safe and alive doesn’t have to include sharing this information with me just because he knows I want it.
I am so confused. I even forget to take my hand from his as we walk out of the room and down the busy hallway to another, mostly identical room. One that contains my sister and a furious-looking Medusa. Persephone starts to sit up when she sees me, but Medusa plants a hand in the center of her chest and gently but firmly holds her in place. “Absolutely not. The doctor said you need to stay still.”
“Medusa—”
“No. We’re not doing this again. This is the second fucking time my general good nature has been used against me by the person I’m supposed to be protecting—which resulted in that person getting hurt. In you getting hurt this time. I let you sweet-talk me into attending this meeting, Persephone. And now I have to explain to my boss—your husband—why I allowed his pregnant wife to get shot. Lie still or I’m going to tie you to that bed until Hades gets here.”
My sister’s brows wing up and her chin lifts, a sure sign that she’s about to lose her cool. I step forward before she can go nuclear. “Are you okay? I’m so sorry. I should have had better security. No one knew about our meeting but us, so I didn’t think—”
“I’m okay.” Persephone gives one last glance at Medusa and then reaches out for me. I have to slip free from Perseus to take her hand, but I do so without hesitation. She glances over my shoulder at him but wisely doesn’t comment on his presence. “I know what we talked about, but surely these events prove that bending to our enemy’s demands just means more people get hurt.”
“No.” I shake my head sharply. “That’s not what today’s events prove. If anything, they prove that you being the queen of the lower city and me being the queen of the upper city just put us further in danger.” I almost keep speaking, but even in my strange state of mind, I’m aware of my husband listening in. If he knows I talked to Circe… If he knows I made a deal with her even after everything… he’ll never forgive me.
Later, I’ll worry about why I’m so concerned with my husband’s forgiveness.
The door slams open before Persephone can formulate a response. The man who walks through is a personified storm cloud. Hades is a white man with shoulder-length dark hair, a closely trimmed beard, and a perpetual glare on his handsome face. That glare passes right over Perseus and lands on me. “You.”
“Hades, I think—”
He points a harsh finger at Persephone. “No, little siren, I don’t want to hear from you right now. We will talk about your propensity for putting yourself in danger for no damned reason as soon as we’re safely back in the lower city.” He turns back to the door and lifts his voice. “Let’s get moving.”
A team of three nurses come through the door with a rolling bed. I watch in something like awe as they transfer Persephone over despite her protests. It takes seconds. They even strap her down over her hips, careful of her stomach. “This is absolutely unnecessary, Hades,” she snaps, batting at their hands.
“You. Were. Shot.” With every word he speaks, it becomes more readily apparent that the Hades I’ve come to know is nowhere in evidence. This is the king of the lower city, and he is not satisfied. “So help me, Wife, if I have to gag you to get you out of the upper city and to safety, I will. Do not test me right now.”