A Game of Retribution (Hades Saga, #2)

by Scarlett St. Clair

“I won’t lose her.” “You haven’t. Lexa still lives.” She was so afraid, it was like she already considered her dead. “You must give her soul time to decide.” “Decide? What do you mean?” He sighed, unable to contain the dread he felt at this oncoming conversation. He answered as he pinched the bridge of his nose, an ache forming at the front of his head for the second time today. “Lexa’s in limbo.” “Then you can bring her back,” she reasoned. That was not how limbo worked. “I can’t.” “You did it before. You said when a soul is in limbo, you can bargain with the Fates to bring it back.” “In exchange for the life of another. A soul for a soul, Persephone.” “You can’t say you won’t save her, Hades.” He was saying that, as hard as it was to admit. This was a situation of choice on Lexa’s behalf. To interfere, to bring her back when she was not ready, or worse, did not want to come, would mean a harrowing return to the world of the living. The consequences were endless. “I’m not saying I don’t want to, Persephone. It is best that I do not interfere with this. Trust me. If you care for Lexa at all—if you care for me at all—you will drop this.” “I’m doing this because I care!” “That’s what all mortals think—but who are you really trying to save? Lexa or yourself?” She wanted to escape the loss and the grief. She didn’t want to think of a life without Lexa, and while he could not blame her, it was never for the living to decide, though they tried often. “I don’t need a philosophy l...