She frowns, her nails digging a little into my skin. I mentioned this in passing once before, but I didn’t elaborate.
Something that becomes apparent now as she asks, “Why not?”
“I refused to force her to choose between Hades and me, and I knew he wouldn’t share her.” Which is something else I commented on before, too. I think when I told her that Persephone loved him very much. And he adored her as well.
“Yet, you think he’ll share me, er, her… now?” Serapina asks, her incredulous tone telling me her own opinions on that question.
But I don’t let that stop me from speaking my truth. “He may choose not to share you, just as he did with Persephone, and there’s nothing I can do if that’s the case. But at least my soulmate will know how I feel about her—aboutyou—in this life. That’s what matters most to me.”
Her brow creases. “Persephone never knew…?”
I shake my head. “No. I didn’t want to hurt her by inserting myself into her life because I knew Hades would demand that she pick between us. So, I… I tried to protect her heart by not involving myself in her life. And I ended up losing her in the process.”
It was a mistake I would not be making again.
Hence the reason I’m currently standing naked in a body of water with Serapina.
“I’m not going to lose you, Serapina. Even if you don’t want me as a mate, I’ll still be here as your friend. Your protector. Whoever or whatever you desire, I’m yours. I always have been and always will be.”
She seems to freeze before me, her lips parting on a nonexistent breath.
Fuck. I’ve overwhelmed her.
She was raised human, not Mythos Fae. She doesn’t know that this intensity is just who we are, what we expect, how weexist.
“I’m sorry, Serapina,” I say with a sigh. “I don’t mean to upset you. It’s… it’s merely my truth. And it’s not one I can shy away from. Not again. Not if it means protecting you.”
“I’m not upset,” she whispers, her fingers sliding up my chest to my neck. “I’m… I’m in awe of everything you just said. A week ago, I would’ve said you were just another fae at the bar uttering a line. But I canfeelyour veracity. I can’t explain how or why; I just… I do.”
My lips curl as I cup her cheek. “Explanations are a human construct. And you, my heart, are a Goddess.” She just hasn’t embraced that part of herself yet. Not fully. However, this is a firm step forward.
Because I can see the trust in her gaze.
It warms me to know I put that there.
That I?—
“You have three seconds to release my mate before I drag you to the death world, Morpheus,” a deep voice says, the silky quality of it making me sigh.
Because of course Hades would choose now to return.
Just as I finally break through some of Serapina’s mortal walls and reach the Omega deep within.
“Three,” he begins to count. “Two…”
Chapter 14
Hades
A Few Minutes Earlier
Onyx stands in my palace,his expression holding a note of irritation, one he’s directing at me. “Thanks for the trip through the death world,” he says before executing a half bow. “My lord.”
“Your gratitude, or lack thereof, is duly noted,” I reply dryly. My hand rises when he looks ready to apologize. “Don’t, Onyx. You have every right to be irritated. I’m just glad you were able to be revived. Mostly, anyway.”
His once dark hair is a shock of permanent white, and his eyes are now a crimson red instead of the brown they were before. But he’s otherwise alive.
With maybe a few additional talents.
