“I’m not Persephone. I’m not a goddess. How am I supposed to prove to you that I’m human?”
Hades reached up and carefully removed my hands from my hair.
“You don’t need to prove anything. I have found the soul you demanded. Now, you will join with me. I will find pleasure in your arms, and in return, you will have your freedom from Hell.”
I groaned and started reaching for my head again. Hades intercepted. His hands closed over mine, and the world shifted again. I stumbled and gagged, but the instant his arms closed around me, the world around me solidified, and all the side effects disappeared.
Still, I held tightly to his chest. My breathing became rapid as I struggled to come to terms with what had just happened. My uncle had been my only hope. If Hades didn’t believe him, what was left?
Hades’ hand smoothed over my shoulder in answer, and I jerked out of his hold.
The tenderness faded from his expression, but not his hunger.
“Take your due, Goddess,” Hades said, stepping back from me and holding his arms out from his sides.
If I weren’t so frustrated and afraid, the view would have tripped up my thoughts. Instead, it fueled them.
“My due? What I’m due is a one-way ticket home, not a free trip to—” I noticed where he’d taken us. “The bedroom? Seriously?”
I threw my hands up and paced to the tub and back again, my mind racing. In all the possible outcomes, I hadn’t imagined we would find my uncle and Hades wouldn’t believe a word he’d said. I’d been trying to brace myself for the possibility that my uncle wouldn’t remember me or his life on Earth. Or that we couldn’t find him at all. I’d even acknowledged there was a chance Hades would kill me in a fit of rage once my uncle confirmed everything and Hades realized that I wasn’t his long-dead wife.
But I hadn’t even considered Hades wouldn’t believe a single word my uncle uttered. And why not, when he didn’t believe a damn thing I said?
Another frustrated groan escaped me as I continued pacing. What was I supposed to do now? Giving up wasn’t an option. Depending on the furies was pointless when Hades could make them disappear with a thought. How was I supposed to prove that I was human in a way that he would actually believe?
“Take your payment,” Hades said, stepping in front of me.
I looked up and met his gaze, feeling rather mutinous until he looked down between us. The sight of a knife, leather wrapped handle toward me, killed any hint of rebellion and had me retreating a step.
“Payment for what?” I asked, finally realizing that he wasn’t talking about having sex with me.
“For moving you without your permission when you were attempting to hurt yourself.”
“Hurt myself?”
He brushed a knuckle over my loose hair. It took a second to understand. He’d thought I’d been trying to hurt myself when I pulled my dumb hair.
“That wasn’t—you know what? Never mind. It’s not like you’d believe anything I try to say anyway.”
I turned away from him and the knife. There had to be a way to convince him I was telling the truth.
His hand caught my arm, and he spun me around to face him.
“Have I not played your game? Offered to bleed for your pleasure? Deny me my due no further. Recline on that bed and welcome me between your sweet thighs.”
The words spoken with menace and an underlying plea set my heart racing. Fear and something else curled in my belly, as dangerous as the god before me.
I couldn’t give him what he wanted, but I knew I needed to tread carefully with my answer.
“I can see the denial in your eyes. Know this. I have been lenient with each violation to our contract, preferring your willingness over your hate. And yet your loathing does not fade with my continued consideration. Payment is due, and I will bury myself in the welcoming heat of your body before this day is done.”
“You want to have sex with me? Even after telling you that I’m not who you think I am?”
He released his hold on my arm and brushed the backs of his fingers against my cheek.
“I know you, Goddess. I know you like I know no other. You are my other half. My soul. My reason for existence.”
I felt so sorry for him just then. He wanted what I couldn’t give. I couldn’t be her even if I wanted to, but it was pointless telling him that.
