“Do I?” I ask, serious. “Hades didn’t tell me about the escape plan, and he’s certainly never mentioned the underworld to me before. So do I actually know him best? Because you knew where to goandyou knew about the maze.”
“I only knew where he took Serapina because of my link to her soul,” he informs me. “As for the underworld… it’s been a point of contention between us for nearly two thousand years. I sensed when he started to build it, and, well, I didn’t approve of the intention behind it.”
“Because you don’t want to punish Persephone.”
“No, I do not,” he says softly. “I don’t believe she intentionally hurt anyone. But Hades has been blinded by her perceived betrayal and refuses to see beyond it. Untilnow, anyway. Serapina, I believe, is going to change everything.”
I study him for a moment, then take the chair across from him. “That’s why you want them to talk.”
“Among other reasons, yes,” he admits, his gaze taking on a faraway look. “She’s the key to undoing millennia of wrongness. And potentially the one who will help us save the Mythos Fae Realm.”
My eyebrow inches upward. “That sounds like a prophecy.”
His lashes flutter, his blue-green eyes capturing mine. “Maybe it is.” He looks down at Fleur. “Sorry, pretty girl, but I need to check on something.” He glances back at me. “See if you can find that door. I’ll be back.”
He disappears before I can comment, leaving me growling an expletive in his wake.
“Bloody Alphas.” I don’t even know whatdoorto search for.
But as Fleur meows, I suddenly have an idea.
Maybe Howl and Mort can help me…
Pushing off the chair, I go to look for Hades’s beast. Maybe the three-headed creature followed Fleur back here.
If not, I’ll go trash Hades’s suite in search of the elusive door.
And raid his liquor cabinet.
Because that arse owes me a stiff drink. As well as a Styx-ton of answers…
Chapter 19
Sera
“AmI allowed to have Pip here?” I ask when Hades appears with two trays in his hands.
The question is one that’s been rolling around in my mind since I set the fire lily in the vase, which I assume Hades created for this purpose. However, seeing it there, all glowy and orange, made me think about Pip’s dead version.
And I… I miss him.
But I’m not sure if he can get through whatever wards Hades put up around his labyrinth.
“Pip is your familiar,” Hades replies as he sets the trays down on the table he manifested a bit ago. “He can go wherever you desire. Just call for him and he’ll appear.”
I frown. “Call for him?”
He settles onto the sofa beside me, his focus on the trays as he shifts them around on the table. “Yes. Via your mental bond.”
“My mental bond…?” I echo, phrasing it as a question.
He looks at me. “Do you not sense Pip?”
I blink. “No? I don’t think so, anyway. I…” My lips twist as I try to figure out what to say here. “Sorry, I don’t know what you mean.”
He leans back, seemingly surprised. “You essentially conjured him, so I’m surprised you can’t feel him. Maybe you’ll feel more connected after your estrus?”
“Maybe? I mean, I have no idea what to expect during my heat or after it. So why not add this to the list of uncertainties?” I don’t mean to sound so flippant about it, but I’m feeling just a tad overwhelmed. And exhausted.
