A Game of Retribution (Hades Saga, #2)

by Scarlett St. Clair

He hated feeling like he had no control, and when he’d returned to the Underworld to find Persephone missing, he had lost it in more than one way. He returned to where he’d found her. This time, she had been far from the dangers of Tartarus, nearer to Hecate’s meadow and the palace. “She must have gone for a walk,” Hecate said, appearing in the meadow beside him. “Perhaps she got tired and sat down to rest.” “I find myself wishing to destroy everything that poses a threat to her,” he admitted. “If you only try to insulate her, she will grow to resent you.” He knew Persephone well enough to know that Hecate was right. She would grow to hate him if she felt caged, and wasn’t that the opposite of what he’d wanted for her? He looked away. “I am afraid for her.” In the short time they’d been together, she had become collateral for Hera’s whims and the focus of Apollo’s soon-to-be wrath. Not to mention her mother, Demeter, was likely still plotting ways to keep them apart, and he suspected that Leuce may be part of that scheme. Worst of all, he knew this was only the beginning. Persephone was a relatively new god, her powers untested, and in the end, she possessed a code of ethics that would never allow her to overlook injustice. “So teach her,” Hecate said. Hades met the goddess’s gaze. “You want a queen,” she said. “So teach her to live within your realm. Teach her to use her magic. Teach her to be a goddess, and stop trying to fight all her battles.” Hecate was right, and he ...