A Touch of Darkness (Hades & Persephone #1) Read online

  “Really?” Lexa clapped her hands. “Oh, my gods, we’ll have so much fun, Persephone!” Lexa jumped to her feet. “We have to start getting ready!”

  “It’s only three.”

  “Uh, yeah.” Lexa pulled at her long, dark hair. “This hair is gross. Plus, it takes forever to style and now I have to do your hair and makeup, too. We need to start now!”

  Persephone didn’t make any move to leave.

  “I’ll catch up with you in a moment,” she said. “Promise.”

  Lexa smiled. “Thank you, Persephone. This will be great. You’ll see.”

  Lexa hugged her before practically dancing down the street.

  Persephone smiled, watching Lexa go. At that moment, the waitress from earlier returned and reached to take Persephone’s mug away. The goddess’s hand shot out, holding the girl’s wrist tight.

  “If you report to my mother anything but what I tell you, I will kill you.”

  It was the same girl from earlier with her cute braids and dark eyes, but beneath the young college girl glamour, a nymph’s features rang true—small nose, vibrant eyes and angled features. Persephone had noticed earlier when the girl had delivered her drink but hadn’t felt the need to call her out. She was just doing what Demeter told her to do—spying. But after the conversation with Lexa, Persephone wasn’t taking any chances.

  The girl cleared her throat and didn’t meet Persephone’s gaze. “If your mother discovers I lied, she’ll kill me.”

  “Who do you fear most?” Persephone had learned long ago that words were her most powerful weapon.

  She tightened her hold on the girl’s wrist before releasing her. The nymph cleaned up quickly and ran away. Persephone had to admit, she felt bad for the threat, but she hated being followed and she hated being watched. The nymphs were like Demeter’s claws, and they were lodged in Persephone’s skin.

  Her eyes fell to the dying narcissus and she caressed the wilted petals with the tips of her fingers. At Demeter’s touch, it would have swelled with life, but at her touch, it curled and crumbled.

  Persephone might be the Daughter of Demeter and the Goddess of Spring, but she couldn’t grow a damn thing.

  CHAPTER II – NEVERNIGHT

  Nevernight was a slender obsidian pyramid with no windows. It was taller than the bright buildings around it, and from a distance, looked like a disruption in the fabric of the city. The tower could be seen from anywhere in New Athens. Demeter believed and often said that the only reason Hades built the tower so tall was to remind mortals of their finite life.

  Persephone was beginning to grow anxious the longer she stood in the shadow of Hades’ club. Lexa had gone to talk to a couple of girls she recognized from school up the line, leaving her to hold their place alone. She was out of her element, surrounded by strangers, preparing to enter another god’s territory, and wearing a sexy yet revealing dress. She found herself folding and unfolding her arms, unable to decide if she wanted to hide the low cut of the outfit or embrace it. She’d borrowed the pink sparkly number from Lexa who was far less shapely. Her hair fell in loose curls around her face, and Lexa had applied minimal makeup to show off Persephone’s natural beauty.

  If her mother saw her now, she’d send her right back to the greenhouse, or as Persephone had come to refer to it, the glass prison.

  That thought sent her stomach into a spiral. She looked around, wondering if Demeter’s spies were about. Had her threat to the waitress at The Coffee House been enough to keep the girl silent about her plans with Lexa? Since she’d told her best friend she’d come tonight, her imagination had run wild with all the ways Demeter might punish her if she were caught. Despite her mother’s nurturing ways, she was a vengeful punisher. In fact, Demeter had a whole plot in the greenhouse dedicated to punishment—every flower that grew there had been a nymph, a king, a creature that had incurred her wrath.

  It was that wrath that made her paranoid and had her checking every mirror in her house when she’d returned to the apartment earlier.

  “Oh, my gods!” Lexa was a vision in red, and eyes tracked her as she returned to Persephone’s side. “Isn’t it gorgeous?”

  Persephone almost laughed. She wasn’t as impressed with the grandeur of the gods. She felt that if they could flaunt their wealth, immortality and power, the least they could do was help humanity. Instead, the gods spent their time pitting mortal against mortal, destroying and reforming the world for fun.

  Persephone looked up at the tower again and frowned. “Black’s not really my color.”

  “You’ll sing a different tune when you lay eyes on Hades,” Lexa said.

  Persephone glared at her roommate. “You told me he wasn’t here!”

  Lexa placed her hands on Persephone’s shoulders and looked her in the eyes. “Persephone. Don’t get me wrong, you’re hot and all, but…what are the actual odds you’ll catch Hades’ attention? This place is packed.”

  Lexa had a point—and yet, what if her glamour failed? Her horns would catch Hades’ attention. There was no way he’d pass up the chance to confront another god on his premises, especially one he’d never met.

  Persephone’s stomach knotted, and she fidgeted with her hair and smoothed her dress. She wasn’t aware that Lexa was watching her until she said,

  “You know, you can just be honest and admit you’d like to meet him.”

  Persephone’s laughter was shaky. “I don’t want to meet Hades.”

  She wasn’t sure why it was so hard to say she was interested, but she couldn’t bring herself to admit that she might actually want to meet the god.

  Lexa gave her a knowing look, but before her best friend could say anything, shouts came from the front of the line. Persephone peeked around to get a look at what was going on. A man tried to take a swing at a large ogre guarding the entrance to the club. It was a terrible idea. Of course, Hades employed the creatures to guard his fortress. They were notoriously ruthless and brutal. The ogre didn’t even blink as his hand closed down on the man’s wrist. Out of the shadows, two more ogres emerged. They were large and dressed in black. They grabbed the man and dragged him away, down the sidewalk.

  “No! Wait! Please! I just want—I just need her back!”

  It was a long while before Persephone could no longer hear his voice.

  Beside her, Lexa sighed. “There’s always one.”

  Persephone looked at her, questioningly.

  Lexa shrugged. “What? There’s always a story in the Delphi Divine about some mortal trying to break into the Underworld to rescue their loved ones.”

  The Delphi Divine was Lexa’s favorite gossip magazine. There were few things that rivaled Lexa’s obsession with the gods—except maybe fashion.

  “But that’s impossible.”

  Everyone knew Hades was notorious for enforcing the borders of his realm—no soul in and no soul out without his knowledge.

  Persephone had a feeling it was the same for his club.

  And that thought sent shivers down her spine.

  “Doesn’t keep people from trying,” Lexa said.

  When she and Lexa came under the gaze of the ogre, Persephone felt exposed. One glance at the creature’s beady eyes, and she almost called it quits. Instead, she crossed her arms over her chest and tried to avoid looking at the monster’s misshapen face for too long. It was covered in boils and it had an underbite that exposed razor sharp, yellow teeth. She wasn’t worried if the creature could see through her glamour. Her mother’s magic surpassed that of the ogres.

  Lexa gave her name, and the ogre paused as he spoke into a mic. After a moment, he reached forward and pulled open the door to Nevernight.

  Persephone was surprised to find that the small space they entered was dim and silent and filled with two more ogres. She recognized them from earlier when they’d dragged the man away from the club.

  The ogres raked their gazes over Lexa and Persephone and then asked, “Purses?”

  They opened their clutches
so the two could check for prohibited materials, including phones and cameras.

  The one rule at Nevernight was that photos were forbidden. In fact, Hades had this rule for any event he attended.

  “How would Hades even know if some curious mortal snapped a photo?” Persephone had asked Lexa earlier when she’d explained the rule.

  “I have no idea how he knows,” Lexa admitted. “I just know that he does, and the consequences aren’t worth it.”

  “What are the consequences?”

  “A broken phone, blackballed from Nevernight, and a write up in a gossip magazine.”

  Persephone cringed. Hades was serious, and she guessed that made sense. The god was notoriously private. He hadn’t even been linked to a lover. Persephone doubted Hades had taken a vow of chastity like Artemis and Athena, and yet he managed to stay out of the public eye.

  She sort of admired that about him.

  Once they were cleared, the ogres opened another set of doors. Lexa grabbed Persephone’s hand and pulled her through.

  A blast of cool air hit her, carrying the scent of spirits, sweat, and something akin to bitter oranges.

  Narcissus, Persephone recognized the scent.

  The Goddess of Spring found herself on a balcony overlooking the floor of the club. There were people everywhere—crowded around tables playing cards and drinking, at the bar shoulder to shoulder, their silhouettes ignited by a red backlight. Several plush booths were arranged in cozy settings and packed with people, but it was the center of the club that drew Persephone’s attention. A sunken dance floor held bodies like water in a basin. People moved against each other in a mesmerizing rhythm under a stream of red light. Overhead, the ceiling was lined with crystal and wrought-iron chandeliers.

  “Come on!” Lexa pulled Persephone down a set of stairs that led to the ground floor. She held on tight to Lexa’s hand, afraid she would lose her as they wove through the crowd.

  It took her a moment to figure out which direction her friend was going, but they soon found themselves at the bar. They squeezed into a space only big enough for one person.

  “Two manhattans,” Lexa ordered. Just as she reached for her clutch, an arm snaked between them and threw down a few dollars.

  A voice followed, “Drinks on me.”

  Lexa and Persephone turned to find a man standing behind them. He had a jawline as sharp as a diamond and a head of thick, curly hair. It was as dark as his eyes, and his skin was a beautiful, burnished brown. He was one of the most handsome men Persephone had ever seen.

  “Thanks,” Lexa breathed.

  “No problem,” he said, flashing a set of pretty, white teeth—a welcome sight compared to the ogre’s grisly fangs.

  “First time at Nevernight?”

  Lexa answered quickly, “Yes. You?”

  “Oh…I’m a regular here,” he said.

  Persephone glanced at Lexa, who blurted exactly what Persephone was thinking.

  “How?”

  The man offered a warm laugh. “Just lucky, I guess,” he said and extended his hand. “Adonis.”

  He shook Lexa’s hand and then Persephone’s.

  “Would you like to join my table?” Adonis asked.

  “Sure,” they said in unison, feeling giddy.

  With their drinks in hand, Persephone and Lexa followed Adonis to one of the booths they had seen from the balcony. Each area had two crescent-shaped, velvet couches with a table between them. There were already several people there—six guys and five girls—but they shifted so Lexa and Persephone could have a seat.

  “All, this is Lexa and Persephone.” Adonis pointed to his group of friends, saying names, but Persephone only caught those who were closest to her—Aro, Xeres, and Sybil. Aro and Xeres looked like siblings. They both had ginger hair, a spray of freckles, pretty blue eyes, and the same willow-thin body. She soon found out they were twins. Sybil was blond and beautiful. She had long legs and wore a simple white dress. She sat between the twins and leaned over Aro to speak to them.

  “Where are you all from?” she asked.

  “Ionia,” Lexa said.

  “Olympia,” Persephone said.

  The girl’s eyes widened. “You lived in Olympia? I bet it was beautiful!”

  Persephone had lived far, far away from the city proper in her mother’s glass greenhouse and hadn’t seen much of Olympia. It was one of the most popular tourist destinations in New Greece. It was where the gods held Council and had sprawling estates. When the Divine were away, many of the mansions and surrounding gardens were open to tour.

  “It was beautiful,” Persephone said. “But New Athens is beautiful, too. I…didn’t really have much freedom there.”

  Sybil seemed to understand. “Parents?”

  Persephone nodded.

  She learned the boys and Sybil were from New Delphi and also attended New Athens University like she and Lexa.

  “What are you studying?” Persephone asked.

  “Architecture,” the boys said in unison, which meant they were in the College of Hestia.

  “I’m in the College of the Divine.” Sybil said.

  “Sybil is an Oracle,” Aro said, pointing to her with his thumb.

  The girl blushed and averted her eyes.

  “That means you will serve a god!” Lexa said, eyes wide.

  Oracles were coveted positions among mortals, and to become one, they had to be born with certain prophetic gifts. Oracles acted as messengers for the gods. In ancient times, that meant serving in temples. Now it meant serving as their press manager. Oracles gave statements and organized press circuits, especially when a god had something prophetic to communicate.

  “Apollo’s already got his eye on her,” said Xeres.

  Sybil rolled her eyes. “It’s not as wonderful as it sounds. My family was not happy.”

  Sybil didn’t need to say it for Persephone to understand. Her parents were what the Faithful and the god-fearing called Impious.

  The Impious were a group of mortals who rejected the gods when they came to Earth. Having already felt abandoned by them, they were not eager to obey. There was a revolt and two sides were born. Even the gods who supported the Impious used mortals like puppets, dragging them across battlefields. There was destruction, and chaos reigned. After a year of fighting, the battle was over.

  The gods had promised a new life, something better than Elysium (apparently, Hades didn’t like that too well), but the gods delivered—they threaded together continents and dubbed the new landmass New Greece, splicing it into territories with great, gleaming cities.

  “My parents would have been ecstatic,” Lexa said.

  Persephone met Sybil’s gaze. “I’m sorry they weren’t excited for you.”

  She shrugged. “It’s better now that I’m here.”

  The goddess got the feeling that she and Sybil had a lot in common when it came to their parents.

  Several shots later, the conversation lapsed into hilarious stories of the trio’s friendship and Persephone became distracted by her surroundings. She noticed small details like strands of tiny lights overhead that looked like stars in the dark above, single-stemmed narcissus on the tables at each booth, and the wrought-iron rails of the second story balcony where a lone figure loomed.

  That’s where her gaze stayed, meeting a pair of shadowy eyes. Had she thought earlier that Adonis was the most handsome man she’d ever seen?

  She’d been wrong.

  That man was now staring at her.

  She couldn’t tell the color of his eyes, but they ignited a fire under her skin, and it was like he knew because his full lips curved into a harsh smile, drawing attention to his strong jaw, covered in dark stubble. He was big, well over six and a half feet tall and dressed in darkness from his inky hair to his black suit.

  Her throat went dry and she was suddenly uncomfortable. She fidgeted and crossed her legs, instantly regretting the move, because the man’s gaze fell there and held for a moment before sliding back
up her frame, snagging on her curves. The fire he’d ignited under her skin pooled low in her stomach, reminding her of how empty she felt, how desperately she needed to be filled up.

  Who was this man, and how could she possibly feel this way about a stranger? She needed to break this connection that had created this tangible, suffocating energy between them.

  All it took was seeing a pair of delicate hands slip around the man’s waist. She didn’t wait to see the woman’s face. She turned toward Lexa and cleared her throat.

  The group had moved on to talking about the Pentathlon—an annual athleticism competition with five different sporting events, including a long jump, javelin throw, discus throw, a wrestling match, and a series of short races. It was hugely popular, and the cities of New Greece were very competitive.

  Persephone wasn’t really a sports fan, but she did love the spirit of the Pentathlon, and enjoyed cheering for New Athens in the tournament. She tried to follow the conversation, but her body was charged, and her mind was on other things—like how it would feel to be taken by the man on the balcony. He could fill this emptiness, feed this fire, end her suffering.

  Except that he was obviously taken—and if not taken, otherwise engaged with another woman.

  She resisted looking over her shoulder to see if he remained on the balcony until her curiosity won out, but when Persephone looked, the balcony was empty. She frowned, disappointed, and craned her neck, searching the crowd.

  “Looking for Hades?” Adonis joked, and Persephone’s gaze snapped to his.

  “Oh, no—”

  “I heard he was here tonight,” Lexa interrupted.

  Adonis laughed. “Yeah, he’s usually upstairs.”

  “What’s upstairs?” Persephone asked.

  “A lounge. It’s quieter. More intimate. I guess he prefers the peace when he’s negotiating his terms.”

  “Terms?” Persephone asked.

  “Yeah, you know, for his contracts. Mortals come here to play him for things—money or love or whatever. The fucked up part is, if the mortal loses, he gets to pick the stakes and he’ll usually ask them to do something impossible.”