The Power of Hades (The Hades Trials, #1)

by Eliza Raine

'In my experience, the prettiest men are the best ones to avoid,' I told her.

What were the chances of there being a laundromat at the bottom of these steps, I wondered?

'Harm a single hair on her body and we'll find out once and for all which king is strongest,' hissed a voice, at the same time as my skin felt like it was being covered in ice.

'Right,' I said, flexing my fingers. 'Well, in that case, I would like to take this opportunity to inform you that you are a colossal prick.'

'Oh, brother Hades. I see why you liked this one. And I can see why it was so hard to let her go.'

'You'll see him soon enough,' Skop said, trotting about in a little circle on the covers, then settling down in a tight ball. 'I doubt that. He just told me never to talk to him again.' 'Which is angry-man-god-speak for: I'd very much like to have sex with you.'

'People only see smoke,' I said. 'He wasn't always like that,' she answered quietly. Something in my stomach tightened. 'What happened?' I asked, but deep in my gut, I already knew the answer. 'You.'

He loved me. I could see it in his face, hear it in his broken voice, feel it in his electrifying touch. All this time, all those years alone in New York, and someone, somewhere, loved me this much. And I never knew.