A Touch of Ruin (Hades & Persephone Book 2) Read online

  PUBLISHER’S NOTE: This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

  ISBN: 979-8-6372991-2-6 (Paperback)

  ISBN: (ebook)

  Copyright © 2020 Scarlett St. Clair

  Cover Design by: Regina Wamba of MaeIDesign.com

  All right reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise) without the prior written permission of the author.

  For more information visit www.ScarlettStClair.com

  DEDICATION

  To the readers of A Touch of Darkness.

  Thank you for your enthusiasm and your love of Hades x Persephone.

  MORE BOOKS BY SCARLETT ST. CLAIR

  A Touch of Darkness

  When Stars Come Out

  COMING SOON

  A Touch of Malice

  A Game of Fate

  Contents

  DEDICATION

  MORE BOOKS BY SCARLETT ST. CLAIR

  PART I

  CHAPTER I - A TOUCH OF DOUBT

  CHAPTER II - A TOUCH OF DUPLICITY

  CHAPTER III - A TOUCH OF INJUSTICE

  CHAPTER IV - A TOUCH OF WARNING

  CHAPTER V - ROYAL TREATMENT

  CHAPTER VI - LOVER’S QUARREL

  CHAPTER VII - TRUCE

  CHAPTER VIII - ABDUCTION

  CHAPTER IX - A TOUCH OF POISON

  CHAPTER X - GOD OF MUSIC

  CHAPTER XI - UNRAVELING

  PART II

  CHAPTER XII - THE DESCENT INTO HELL

  CHAPTER XIII - A TOUCH OF PANIC

  CHAPTER XIV - INIQUITY

  CHAPTER XV - A NETWORK OF SECRETS

  CHAPTER XVI - BREAKING POINT

  CHAPTER XVII - THE PLEASURE DISTRICT

  CHAPTER XVIII - THE FURIES

  CHAPTER XIX - GODDESS OF SPRING

  CHAPTER XX - COMPETITION

  CHAPTER XXI - A TOUCH OF BETRAYAL

  CHAPTER XXII - THE SEVEN MUSES

  CHAPTER XXIII - THE SOLSTICE CELEBRATION

  PART III

  CHAPTER XXIV - A TOUCH OF MADNESS

  CHAPTER XXV - COLLECTING PIECES

  CHAPTER XXVI - A TOUCH OF SERENITY

  CHAPTER XXVII - EMPOWERMENT

  CHAPTER XXVIII - A TOUCH OF RUIN

  THANK YOU FOR READING!

  AUTHOR’S NOTE

  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  PART I

  “Fate's arrow, when expected, travels slow.”

  ― Dante Alighieri, Paradiso

  CHAPTER I - A TOUCH OF DOUBT

  Persephone walked along the bank of the river Styx. Jagged waves broke the dark surface and her skin tightened as she recalled her first visit to the Underworld. She’d attempted to traverse the wide body of water, unaware of the dead inhabiting the depths below. They’d taken her under, their fleshless fingers cutting into her skin, their wish to destroy life provoking their attack.

  She thought she would drown—and then Hermes had come to her rescue.

  Hades had not been pleased about any of it, but he’d taken her to his palace and healed her wounds. Later, she would learn the dead in the river were ancient corpses who had come to the Underworld without coin to pay Charon’s toll. Sentenced to an eternity in the river, they were just one of many ways Hades protected the borders of his realm from the living who wished to enter and the dead who wished to escape.

  Despite Persephone’s unease near the waterway, the landscape was beautiful. The Styx stretched for miles, soldering to a horizon shadowed by sable mountains. White narcissus grew in clusters along its banks, ignited like white fire against the dark surface. Opposite the mountains, Hades’ palace haunted the horizon, rising like the jagged edges of his obsidian crown.

  Yuri, a young soul with a thick mane of cascading curls and olive skin, walked beside her. She wore pink robes and leather sandals—an ensemble that stood out against the shadowy mountains and black water. The soul and Persephone had become fast friends, and often went on walks together in the Asphodel Valley but today, Persephone had convinced Yuri to stray from their usual path.

  She glanced at her companion now, whose arm was looped through hers, and asked, “How long have you been here, Yuri?”

  Persephone guessed that the soul had been in the Underworld for a while based on the traditional peplos she wore.

  Yuri’s delicate brows drew together over her grey eyes. “I do not know. A long time.”

  “Do you remember what the Underworld was like when you arrived?”

  Persephone had a lot of questions about the Underworld from antiquity—it was that version that still had its claws in Hades, that version which made him feel ashamed, that version which made him feel unworthy of his peoples’ worship and praise.

  “Yes. I don’t know that I’ll ever forget.” She offered an awkward laugh. “It was not as it is now.”

  “Tell me more,” Persephone encouraged. Despite being curious about Hades’ past and the history of the Underworld, she couldn’t deny that part of her feared uncovering the truth.

  What if she didn’t like what she found?

  “The Underworld was…bleak. There was nothing. We were all colorless and crowded. There were no days and no nights, just a monotone of grey and we existed in it.”

  So, they really had been shades—shadows of themselves.

  Persephone recalled when she’d first visited the Underworld. Hades had taken her into his garden. She’d been so angry with him. He had challenged her to create life, but his realm was beautiful and lush, full of colorful flowers and lively willows. Then he had revealed it was all an illusion. Beneath the glamour he maintained was a land of ash and fire.

  “That sounds like punishment,” Persephone said, thinking it terrifying to exist without purpose.

  Yuri offered a faint smile and she shrugged. “It was our sentence for living mundane lives.”

  Persephone frowned. She knew that in ancient times heroes were usually the only ones who could expect a euphoric existence in the Underworld.

  “What changed?”

  “I do not know for sure. There were rumors, of course—some said that a mortal Lord Hades loved died and came to exist here.”

  Persephone knit her brows. She wondered if there was some truth to that considering Hades had a similar change in perspective after she’d written about his ineffective bargains with mortals. He’d been so motivated by her critique, he’d started The Halcyon Project, a plan that included the construction of a state-of-the-art rehabilitation center that specialized in free care to mortals.

  An ugly feeling crept up her spine and through her body, spreading like a plague. Maybe she hadn’t been the only lover who inspired Hades.

  Yuri continued, “Of course, I tend to think he just…decided to change. Lord Hades watches the world. As it became less chaotic, so did the Underworld.”

  Persephone didn’t think it was that simple. She had tried to make Hades talk about this, but he avoided the subject. Now she wondered if his silence was less about shame and more about keeping the details of his past lovers a secret. She spiraled quickly, her thoughts became turbulent, a whirlwind picking up uncertainty and doubt. How many women had Hades loved? Did he still have feelings for any of them? Had he brought them to the bed he now shared with her?

  The thought made her stomach feel sour. Luckily, she was pulled from her thoughts when she
spotted a group of souls standing on a pier near the river.

  Persephone halted and nodded toward the crowd. “Who are they, Yuri?”

  “New souls.”

  “Why do they cower on the banks of the Styx?”

  Of all the souls Persephone had encountered, these looked the most...dead. Their faces were drawn, and their skin ashy and pale. They clustered together, backs bent, arms cross over their chests, shivering.

  “Because they are afraid,” Yuri said, her tone implied that their fear should be obvious.

  “I don’t understand.”

  “Most have been told the Underworld and its King are dreadful, so when they die, they do so in fear.”

  Persephone hated that for a lot of reasons—mainly because the Underworld wasn’t a place to be feared, but she also found that she was frustrated with Hades, who did nothing to change the perception of his realm or himself.

  “No one comforts them once they reach the gates?”

  Yuri gave her a strange look, as if she didn’t understand why someone would attempt to ease or welcome newly arrived souls.

  “Charon takes them across the Styx and now they must walk the road to judgement.” Yuri said. “After that, they are deposited in a place of rest or eternal torture. It is how it has always been.”

  Persephone pressed her lips together, her jaw tightening with irritation. It amazed her that in one breath, they could talk about how much the Underworld had evolved, and yet still implement archaic practices. There was no reason to leave these souls without welcome or comfort. She broke free of Yuri’s hold and strolled toward the waiting group, hesitating when they continued to tremble and shrink away from her.

  She smiled, hoping it might ease their anxiety.

  “Hello. My name is Persephone.”

  Still, the souls quaked. She should have known her name would bring no comfort. Her mother, Demeter, the Olympian Goddess of Harvest, had ensured that. Out of fear, she had kept Persephone locked in a glass prison most of her life, barring her from worship, and inevitably, from her powers.

  A jumble of emotions tangled in her stomach—frustration that she could not help, sadness that she was weak, and anger that her mother had tried defying fate.

  “You should show them your Divinity,” Yuri suggested. She had followed Persephone as she approached the souls.

  “Why?”

  “It would comfort them. Right now, you are no different than any soul in the Underworld. As a goddess, you are someone they hold in high regard.”

  Persephone started to protest. These people did not know her name—how would her Divine form ease their fears?

  Then Yuri added, “We worship the Divine. You will bring them hope.”

  Persephone did not like her Divine form. She had a hard time feeling like a goddess before she had powers, and that hadn’t changed even when her magic flared to life, encouraged by Hades’ worship. She quickly learned it was one thing to have magic, another to use it properly. Still, it was important to her that these new souls felt welcomed in the Underworld, that they see Hades’ realm as another beginning, and most of all, she wanted to ensure they knew their king cared.

  Persephone release the hold she had on her human glamour. The magic felt like silk slipping from her skin and she stood in an ethereal glow before the souls. The weight of her white kudu horns somehow felt heavier now that she was exposed in her true form. Her curly hair was brightened from a brassy gold to a pale yellow and her eyes burned an unearthly bottle-green.

  She smiled at the souls again. “I am Persephone, Goddess of Spring. I am so pleased you are here.”

  Their reaction to her radiance was immediate. They moved from trembling to worshipping on their knees at her feet. Persephone’s stomach hardened, and her heartbeat quickened as she shot forward.

  “Oh no, please,” she knelt before one of the souls—an older woman with short, white hair and paper-thin skin. She touched her cheek and watery-blue eyes met hers.

  “Please, stand with me,” she said, and helped the woman to her feet.

  The other souls remained on the ground, heads lifted, eyes transfixed.

  “What is your name?”

  “Elenor,” she rasped.

  “Elenor.” Persephone said the name with a smile on her lips. “I hope you will find the Underworld as peaceful as I do.”

  Her words were like a string, straightening the woman’s sagging shoulders. Persephone moved to the next soul and the next. Until she has spoken to each one and they all stood on their feet again.

  “Perhaps we should all walk to the Field of Judgement,” she suggested.

  “Oh, that won’t be necessary,” Yuri interrupted. “Thanatos!”

  The winged God of Death appeared instantly. He was beautiful in a dark way, with pale skin, blood-red lips, and white-blonde hair that fell over his shoulders. His blue eyes were as striking as a flash of lightning in the night sky. His presence inspired a sense of calm that Persephone felt deep in her chest. It was almost as if she were weightless.

  “My lady,” he bowed, his voice melodic and rich.

  “Thanatos,” Persephone couldn’t help the wide smile that crossed her face.

  Thanatos had been the first to offer her insight into Hades’ precarious role as the God of the Dead during a tour of Elysium. It was his perspective that helped her understand the Underworld a little better, and if she were being honest, provided what she needed to fully give herself to Hades.

  She gestured to the souls gathered and introduced them to the god.

  His smile was slight, but sincere as he said, “We’ve met.”

  “Oh.” She cheeks flushed. “I’m so sorry. I forgot.”

  As the reaper of souls, Thanatos was the last face mortals saw before they landed on the shores of the Styx.

  “I was just about to escort the new souls to the Field of Judgement.”

  She noted that Thanatos’ eyes widened slightly, and he looked at Yuri who spoke quickly. “Lady Persephone is needed back at the palace. Could you take them for her, Thanatos?”

  “Of course,” he replied, bringing his hand to his chest. “I would be delighted.”

  Persephone waived goodbye to the souls as Thanatos turned toward the crowd, stretched his wings wide, and vanished.

  Yuri wound her arm through Persephone’s, tugging her away from the banks of the Styx, but Persephone didn’t budge.

  “Why did you do that?” she asked.

  “Do what?”

  “I am not needed at the palace, Yuri. I could have taken the souls to the field.”

  “I am sorry, Persephone. I feared they would make requests.”

  “Requests?” her brows drew together. “What might they request?”

  “Favors,” she explained.

  Persephone giggled at the thought. “I am hardly in a position to grant favors.”

  “They don’t know that,” she said. “All they see is a goddess who might help them get an audience with Hades or return to the living world.”

  Persephone frowned. “Why do you think that?”

  “Because I was one of them.”

  Yuri tugged on her arm again, and this time, Persephone followed. Strained silence filled the space between them, and Persephone frowned.

  “I’m sorry, Yuri. Sometimes I forget—”

  “That I’m dead?” She smiled, but Persephone felt small and silly. “It’s okay. That’s one of the reasons I like you so much,” she paused a moment, and added. “Hades chose his consort well.”

  “His consort?” Persephone’s brows rose.

  “Isn’t it obvious that Hades intends to marry you?”

  Persephone laughed. “You are being very presumptive, Yuri.”

  Except that Hades had made his intentions clear. You will be my queen. I do not need the Fates to tell me that. Her chest tightened, the words forming knots in her stomach.

  Those words should have made her heart melt and the fact that they didn’t disturbed her. Maybe i
t had something to do with their recent breakup. Why did she feel such apprehension when Hades seemed so certain about their future?

  Yuri, oblivious to Persephone’s internal war, said, “Why wouldn’t Lord Hades choose you as queen? You are an unwed goddess and you haven’t taken a vow of chastity.”

  The soul gave her a knowing look that made Persephone blush.

  “Being a goddess does not qualify me to be Queen of the Underworld.”

  “No, but it’s a start. Hades would never choose a mortal or a nymph as his queen. Trust me, he has had plenty of opportunities.”

  A shock of jealousy shot down Persephone’s spine. It was like a match landing in a pool of kerosene. Her magic surged, demanding an exit. It was a defense mechanism, and it took her a moment to tamp it down.

  Get a hold of yourself, she commanded.

  She wasn’t ignorant to the fact that Hades had other lovers throughout his lifetime—one being the red-headed nymph, Minthe who she’d transformed into a mint plant. Still, she had never considered that Hades’ interest in her might be, in part, due to her Divine blood. Something dark wound its way around her heart. How could she let herself think this way about Hades? He encouraged her to embrace her Divinity, worshipped her so that she might claim her freedom and power, and he’d told her he loved her. If he was to make her his queen, it would be because he cared for her, not because she was a goddess.

  Right?

  Persephone soon distracted from her thoughts as she and Yuri returned to the Asphodel Valley where she was swarmed by children who begged her to play. After a short game of hide-and-seek, she was dragged away by Ophelia, Elara, and Anastasia who wanted her opinion on wines, cakes, and flowers for the upcoming Summer Solstice Celebration.

  The solstice marked the beginning of the new year and signified the one-month countdown to the Panhellenic Games—something even death couldn’t quell the souls’ excitement for. With such an important celebration at hand, Persephone had asked Hades if they could host a party at the palace, to which he had agreed. She was looking forward to having the souls in the halls again, just as much as they were looking forward to being there.