“Anyway. I got the sense that she’s…over-protective.”
That was the understatement of the year. Demeter was over-protective to the point that Persephone had virtually no contact with the outside world for eighteen years of her life.
“Yeah, she’s a bitch.”
Lexa raised her brows, looking amused.
“Your words not mine,” she paused and then hedged. “Wanna talk about it?”
“No,” she said. Talking about it wouldn’t make Persephone feel any better—but a trip to Nevernight might. She smiled. “But I’ll go with you tonight.”
She’d probably regret the decision tomorrow, especially if her mom found out, but right now, she was feeling rebellious and what better way to rebel than going to the club of her mother’s least favorite god?
“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 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 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 watched and she hated being followed. 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 and 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’s 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.