“I will.”
“On that note; we have a very upset visitor,” Odin announced.
“What? Who?” I sat up.
“Persephone,” Odin said grimly. “She's downstairs in the dining hall. Vervain, she's crying. There are a whole lot of confused men trying to comfort her, but none of us know what to do.”
“Fuck,” I hissed; too upset to worry about minding my tongue.
I ran to the elevator, and the men went with me. As we descended, I tapped my foot impatiently, and when we finally reached the bottom floor, I shoved the elevator doors open and ran into the dining hall. Sure enough, Sephy was sitting in an armchair before the fire, surrounded by the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, Toby, Re, and several Intare. All of the men wore matching expressions of dismay.
“Everyone with a penis needs to get out,” I said as I pushed through the wall of masculinity.
Persephone looked up at the sound of my voice and wailed, “Vervain!”
The men ran for the door as if the Abyss had opened.
“Sephy, what happened?”
I went forward, and she stood as I reached her; going straight into my hug.
“Hades,” she sobbed.
My heart sank.
“Is Hades okay?” I whispered.
“He's a fucking bastard, is what he is!” She pulled away to screech suddenly.
I gaped at her.
“He's cheating on me!”
My jaw fell even lower and my eyes widened. “No way.”
“With Mac's mom!”
“What the actual fuck?” I shouted.
“I know!” She shouted back.
“That lowlife, son of a baboon's ass!” I screamed.
“He's the filthiest scum that you find around the cracks of a toilet!” She added.
“And a complete moron to ever cheat on you,” I said and then simmered down. “Are you sure about this, Sephy? Did you actually see him with her?”
An image of Lilith popped into my head, and it suddenly occurred to me how strange it was that two amazing women—both within my sphere of friends—would suspect their husbands of adultery around the same time. What were the odds?
“Yes, V; I saw him.” Persephone fell to the floor and started sobbing brokenly again. “I saw him with her. I walked in on them together.”
“That fucking demon fart!” I shouted. “That piece of harpy shit!”
“I hate him,” she whispered. “I hate him so much.”
“I know.” I hugged her tightly. “I hate him too.”
“What am I going to do, V?”
“You're going to cry, honey,” I said gently. “And then you're going to scream, and then you're probably going to throw a few things. It's okay, I can fix whatever you break. After you break stuff, you'll eat a lot of ice cream, and then you'll start the process all over again until you get strong enough to get over him. And I'm going to be there with you for every step of it.”
“Thank you, Vervain.” She sniffed.
“I love you, Sephy.” I rocked her as she started to cry again. “You're not alone.”
“Persephone!” Hades' roar made the palace tremble.
Persephone froze.
“I can't see him right now,” she whispered.
“I got this,” I said as I helped her into a chair.
“Where is she?” Hades shouted.
“Ease down, Hades,” I heard Trevor say. “She's really upset.”
“She's my wife, Trevor,” Hades snarled. “Get the fuck out of my way.”
Persephone started to cry.
“I'll be right back,” I said to her. “Don't worry; I won't let him past me.”
I rushed out of the room and found Hades surrounded by my men and lions.
“Vervain”—Hades spotted me—“is she in there?”
“Hades, I know there are three sides to every story, but the side I just heard is making it hard for me to conceive of any other version,” I said. “So, I'm going to have to ask you to leave.”
“Whatever Persephone thinks she saw, it's not true, Vervain,” Hades said.
“She saw you with Macaria's mother,” I said with deadly calm. “You're saying that didn't happen?”
The men around Hades went tense; their expressions hardening into fury; everyone loved Persephone. It was nearly impossible not to.
“That's not what she saw,” Hades declared.
“Hades, you need to go home and let her come to terms with this,” I said. “Persephone is too hurt right now; she doesn't want to see you.”
“Vervain, I will tear down this palace before I let you keep me from my wife,” Hades yanked his sunglasses off, and the fires of the Underworld blazed out at me. “Don't make me do that.”
“Threaten our wife again, and you'll be the one torn apart,” Trevor growled.
“Fuck you, Trevor; you're interfering in something between spouses,” Hades spat. “You have no right.”
“Your wife came to us,” I said calmly. “So, we're not interfering. But even if she hadn't, I'd have her back. Now, get the fuck out of my house, Hades, or we will see whose fire burns hotter.”
“I wasn't with Nyx!” Hades shouted in frustration.
“The fuck you weren't!” Sephy shouted back as she stepped through the arch of the dining room entrance. “I saw you holding her!”
“You saw Nyx clinging to me as I tried to push her away!” Hades tried to get around me but I stepped in front of him. “Get the fuck out of my way, Vervain!”
“Don't you ever speak to her like that, you flaming asshole!” Sephy screamed. “Vervain actually loves me.”
“I love you more than anyone in all the realms!” Hades declared.
“Yeah; I saw how much you love me,” Persephone muttered.
“Bunny-Nose,” Hades gentled his tone. “I swear to you that I was defending myself against her advances. I don't want Nyx; that woman is insane. Not to mention the fact that she's already with Erebus.”
“Well, cheating doesn't seem to be an issue for either of you,” Sephy snapped.
“Persephone.” Hades paused and looked at me. “Please, Vervain; step
