His square jaw tightened. “That girl shouldn’t have touched my dog,” he said.
“What happened?” I asked.
“I thought we were talking about your love-life drama,” Hades said, finally looking up at my pacing figure.
I stopped walking, my eyes meeting his. “What do you know?”
Hades rubbed his head. “All I know is, you, being you, should never have taken her to Delphi of all places. What were you thinking?”
I wracked my brain for the memory of that day. “I’m not really sure,” I admitted. “Fuck, I can’t remember. Why? Do you think Apollo had something to do with it?”
“I think the two of you have a shit past,” he said. “I’m not saying he’s smart enough to pull something like that off or if he has enough courage to cross you. Nonetheless, he might be worth the ask.”
I scoffed. “I’m not sure I want to entertain him with the idea that he might have had the gall to do something so stupid. And I certainly don’t want to seek him out.”
“Are you going to Zeus’s little retreat?” Persephone asked, and Hades rolled his eyes. “I’m sure he’ll be invited.”
“I have no idea,” I confessed. “I have no idea about tomorrow, much less two months. Every day has revolved around Chloe and hoping I’ve done enough that she leaves her fiancé.”
Cerberus ran over to the couple, nearly falling into Hades’s lap as the mutt rolled over to reveal his belly. Persephone moved so she could pet him, and the beast began licking her.
“Did you hear from Chloe?” Persephone asked as she scratched Cerberus’s head.
“Nothing yet,” I said.
“But she was leaving him? Today?”
“Gods, I hope so,” I answered. “I—“
All thought left me as I spotted Chloe coming down the sidewalk.
She wore basic ripped jeans and a t-shirt, her straight black hair billowing behind her as she walked.
“Oh my gods,” I heard Persephone say. “Oh my—oh my gods—“
“Fucking me,” Hades muttered.
Stunned silence radiated between them. Only I was already on the move. I stepped out toward the cement, not wanting to shout her name unless I had to. Her eyes appeared swollen and pink like they’d been on the video chat the night before, and I wondered what had happened that morning to cause her such distress all over again. My fists tightened at the thought of her being hurt.
Bewilderment shone in her eyes. She was searching frantically for any sight of me. The moment I opened my mouth to whistle, she looked ahead, and she stopped in her tracks when our eyes met.
Relief spread over her face, her shoulders drooping.
I moved into a trot to meet her halfway, and when we were close, she threw herself in my arms.
I hugged her close and pulled her off the ground. Her face was red, eyes swollen and glistening. And the way she was hugging me… it made my chest hurt. She’d been so playful and more herself last night and this morning. I had to know what had changed—
Or if she’d broken up with him.
“Are you okay?” I whispered into her hair.
Her feet landed on the ground. She pulled back, and I kissed her forehead softly, her hands landing on my forearms and squeezing.
“Yeah,” she said with a sigh. “Just realizing some things that I hadn’t seen before. And now, seeing you... It just makes it all so much more real."
I held her cheek, my thumb brushing beneath her eye. I wanted to kiss her. I wanted to kiss her and ask if she’d done it, except I didn’t want that pressure to stagger between us.
A dog barked behind us. Chloe’s eyes widened, and I realized too late that Cerberus was bounding toward us. He reared up on his hind legs, his large paws flopping on her arms. Chloe released me and grabbed his feet. The beast was as tall as her standing upright.
