The building started to shake again, and I quickly cradled Hades’ face in my hands.
“Zeus was cruel and lied to you,” I acknowledged. “How does that relate to the present? Why did you yell at Zayn?”
“Zayn?” Hades said, releasing his hair with a dry laugh. “You meanZeus.”
CHAPTERELEVEN
I stroked my fingers over Hades’jaw as I struggled with what he was saying.
“Zayn is Zeus?” I asked.
“I have forgotten many things, but I have not forgotten my brother’s face,” Hades said, capturing my wrists. “I cannot count the number of times he has tricked me into doing ashepleased. No more, Ashlyn. I will not go back to the scraps he gave me.”
Hades captured the back of my neck, and he touched his forehead to mine.
Shifting my hold to his shoulder, I closed my eyes and tried to think of a way to help reassure him. If Zayn was a god, Megan would know, wouldn’t she? And why would a god walk around pretending to be human when he could be a god? It didn’t make any sense.
“Do you understand now?” Hades asked gently.
I pulled back to meet his tormented gaze.
“I understand why you’ve doubted everything. It’s not easy to trust after you’ve been lied to. But you do trust, don’t you? Megan’s your daughter. Would your daughter ever work with Zeus against you?”
I saw the flicker of doubt in Hades’ gaze.
“She wouldn’t, right?” I coaxed. “Isn’t it possible that, if I look just like Persephone and Eliana looks just like Aphrodite, Zayn might be who he says he is but looks exactly like Zeus?”
Hades held my gaze, and I watched some of that burning rage fade.
“It is possible,” he considered. “But do not ask me to believe three mortals with godly images in one place is a mere coincidence.”
“You’re right. It’s suspicious, and we need answers. We haven’t had any luck finding Adira or Thanatos, and baiting them in didn’t work much better. We can try that again, or we can try working with Zayn to see if he can help us. I think I have less of a chance of getting shot or stabbed if we go with Zayn’s help.”
Hades closed his eyes again. I could see he didn’t want to trust Zayn, and I understood why. But I didn’t see any other choice. We were dealing with another god. One Hades couldn’t remember when he could remember Zeus, Persephone, and Aphrodite just fine. Why couldn’t he remember Thanatos?
“It will be as you will it,” Hades said.
“Okay. Then, I’d like to work with Zayn, but first…”
I glanced at Megan and the others, debating between tough love or gentle when it came to the Thanatos discussion we needed to have.
Everyone was right where they’d been, watching us. Tension radiated from Nicolette, Eliana, and Oanen. Fenris looked relaxed enough, but the way he kept glancing at Eliana said it was a lie.
Megan caught my eye. She was watching me closely but didn’t look upset or worried.
“You look like you’re debating,” she said. “Don’t. Go with your gut, and do whatever you think is best. You have more power over the situation than anyone else.”
I had power? I wanted to laugh at the thought that I, the human who had almost died half a dozen times, had any power over anything.
“Tell me what you desire,” Hades said, watching me closely and proving Megan right.
I did have a measure of power, but only with Hades. With an idea forming in my mind, I took his hand and led him to a sofa. He didn’t resist my nudge to sit or question when I seated myself on his lap. He simply wrapped his arms around me and dipped his head to brush his lips against my neck. I let him have a moment before I spoke.
“I want to have a conversation about Thanatos, the God of Death.”
Hades stilled, and I twisted in his arms to look at him. “I won’t distract you with affection—I know you don’t like that—but how do you feel about confessions? Every five minutes that pass without anything shaking, I’ll tell you something.”
He tipped his head, considering me.
