Free Persephone by Kaitlin Bevis Page A

“Why did you say this was my palace? I’m just visiting—”
    “Nope, you’re the queen,” Cassandra corrected cheerfully. She glanced at Hades. “You want Persephone to have lots of exposure. She needs to be seen by everyone.”
    “What did you see?” Hades sounded alarmed.
    “See?” I asked confused. My eyes widened as I made the connection. “Wait, you’re the Cassandra?”
    She gave me a tightlipped smile and nodded before turning back to Hades. “Nothing concrete yet. I just know Boreas is still looking for her.”
    Hades leaned against the wall, brow furrowed in thought. “Do you think he’ll give up if he finds out she’s here?”
    Cassandra shrugged. “I can’t be sure. But there’s no way he can get down here. As long as he doesn’t have reason to believe she’ll return to the surface, I don’t see why he would bother.”
    “But he may cause trouble on the surface to lure her up.”
    She shrugged. “Anything is possible at this point.”
    “What do you mean?” I demanded “And I am going back. In three months, remember?”
    “I’m already counting the days,” Hades replied dryly. “Unfortunately, you’ll be back next winter.” He looked at Cassandra. “I’ll contact Demeter and tell her to keep her guard up. She can warn her people.”
    “Boreas can’t be stupid enough to think we’d let the queen leave her realm,” Cassandra pointed out.
    Hades didn’t look convinced. “Well, Brumalia is coming up. That’s as good a time for a marriage announcement as any. If Boreas has spies here, they’ll see her.”
    “ She is standing right here!” I snapped. “I’m not sure I want to play queen. And spies? I thought I was safe here.”
    “You’re not playing queen,” Cassandra began.
    Hades cut in. “You are safe—”
    “Someone just tried to rip my soul out of my body!”
    “It was an accident, and your soul wasn’t going anywhere. You’re a goddess, remember? In a couple of years you’ll be able to shake hands—” he gave me an incredulous look “—with Reapers all day without any problems. You are safe from Boreas and his spies. It’s the rest of the surface I’m worried about. Boreas knows I intervened, but he’s not going to jump to the conclusion that my next step was marrying you and bringing you here.”
    “True,” Cassandra said. “Hades has gone millennia without getting married. Why would he choose to share power now? Boreas is probably looking all over Athens for you now, and your people aren’t exactly used to winter.”
    I blanched, thinking of everyone I knew up there. “What will he do when he can’t find me?”
    “He’ll go after people you know and make them tell him where you are.” Cassandra’s voice was gentle.
    “How does he know who I am? Or who I know?”
    “He knows,” Hades replied. “He’s never got along particularly well with your mother, so it’s only natural he’d keep close tabs on her whereabouts. I imagine he’s been watching you for quite some time, waiting for you to develop enough of your abilities to survive your abduction.”
    I sucked in my breath, realizing the paranoid sensation of being watched hadn’t been so crazy after all. How long had he been lingering in the shadows waiting for the right time to take me?
    “He’s been watching me?”
    My voice was shaking. Hades’ eyes went wide and he shot a look at Cassandra. She shook her head and stepped back, arms in the air in an “I surrender” motion. “I’m dead, remember? I don’t do comfort well.”
    Everything I thought I’d imagined was real. I shuddered, thinking of all the times it had felt like something was right behind me.
    A hand touched my shoulder and I jumped.
    “It’s okay.” Hades’ voice was reassuring. “He’s not going to find you here.”
    I swallowed hard. “If no gods can come down here—”
    “Most,” Cassandra interjected.
    I froze. Hades shot her an annoyed look. “You’re not helping.” He returned his