Her eyes widened, then she explained, “The park has an office for lost items. It’s by the entrance.”
“Next time, lead with that,” Dionysus snapped, storming off to the office, though when he arrived, he was disappointed to find no one had turned in his missing ring.
He grew anxious. A lot of time had passed and Ariadne, Acamus, and Medusa were likely already halfway through the garden.
Still, he wanted to find this ring—needed to find it.
He decided he’d leave the park and make the short walk back to the theater, thinking he may have dropped the box during the whole Janet debacle, but it wasn’t there either.
“Fuck,” he snapped, pausing in front of the darkened stage, pinching the bridge of his nose as he considered his next move.
He would have to buy another ring and that meant a longer wait. What if he couldn’t find the same ring? He’d have to settle for another, and what if it didn’t feel as perfect as the one he’d lost?
He needed to call Naia, but as he stepped out of the theater, he halted, surprised to see Hades across the street. His hands were deep in the pockets of his coat, and his head was down. He did not look particularly pleased, though that was not unusual.
“Hades?” Dionysus called, watching as the God of Death paused, head snapping in his direction.
That was how Dionysus knew Hades was distracted. He’d been able to surprise him.
“What are you doing here?” they asked at the same time.
“You first,” they said in unison again.
“I—” they each began and paused, their lips pressed flat, frustration tightening their jaws.
Hades scraped the ground with his boot. “I came above to hunt for screws.”
Dionysus tilted his head. “Screws?”
“Persephone has insisted we should use our hands to assemble everything for the babies. I am doing my best to honor her wishes, but last night I noticed I was missing screws for the crib.”
“And you decided to come to the hardware store?”
“Yes. Is there something funny about that, God of Madness?” Hades’s voice was gruff, a reflection of his frustration.
“No, I admire the commitment.” He paused and then added, “Would Persephone know if you just…manifested the screws?”
“I prefer to do as my wife has requested,” he said. “She is carrying my?—”
“If you say offspring?—”
“Offspring.”
Dionysus cringed while Hades eyes glittered with amusement. “If you really cared for Persephone, you wouldn’t use that word for your children.”
Hades eyes narrowed. “What are you doing?”
“Well, this is my theater,” Dionysus said, gesturing behind him.
Hades stared, able to see that he was lying. Dionysus sighed, scrubbing his face with his hand. He had yet to tell anyone other than Naia about his plans to propose.
“I lost something,” he said. “I was retracing my steps.”
“Did you lose something or was it taken?”
“It was in my pocket,” Dionysus said, defensive. “I think would know if someone stole it.”
“You were at the council meeting,” Hades said. “You heard Hermes let the Kallikantzaroi into the Upperworld.”
