Chapter 19—Persephone

Lush green grass covers the meadow like a blanket.

It’s absolutely beautiful, but then Brazil is always amazing at this time of year. And every other time of year I’ve been here.

Athena is off in the distance, walking toward the river.

Her hair lifts in the wind, and when she turns to face me, she smiles and beckons for me to follow.

I do, running toward her.

“Wait for me!” I call out.

“Always.”

I reach her, and she touches my face with cold, clammy hands.

They’re so cold I shiver.

“Where are we going today?” I ask as she takes both my hands and starts skipping in a circle.

“Anywhere you want. You just have to wake up.”

“I’m awake.”

“No. Wake up, Persephone. Don’t let him kill you.”

“Kill me?”

She stops, plants a kiss on my forehead, and when she pulls away, her head is covered with blood and a massive hole is blown into her skull. Her eyes are pale white and dead.

She’s dead.

Just like Maya.

“Wake up.”

My eyes snap open, but there’s nothing but darkness all around me.

Frantically, I look around and try to remember what happened.

I contemplate the possibility of death, but death doesn’t feel like this.

This is something else that’s just as sinister.

Where am I?

The coldness against my cheek suggests I’m on the floor. A stone floor like the basement at home.

I try to move, but all I can do is wiggle my body. My hands and feet are bound with something tight, like… rope?

Is that rope binding me?

I manage to shuffle until I’m sitting, and when I lean, my back hits a wall.

There’s a sliver of light piercing through a tiny hole across from me, and the sound of waves beyond the walls.

Where the hell am I?

Everything is so fuzzy, and the darkness doesn’t help.

Closing my eyes, I will myself to focus and try to remember.

What happened, Persephone? How’d you get here?

Where is here?

The dream comes back to me and, suddenly, the memory of Maya’s cold, dead, bleeding body ravages my mind.

The memory assaults my soul, then everything else follows in the same brutal malevolent manner.

Lukiyan.

Oh my God. He took me. I remember him grabbing me after I found Maya, then there was darkness.

Now I’m still in darkness and he’s locked me away from the light.

I am your Hades.

Those words come back to me again, like a wicked, evil taunt.

He kidnapped me.

Did he kill Maya?

Oh my God.

Maya. I’m so sorry. That shouldn’t have happened to you.

She deserved better than a death like that. I think she was shot.

What about me now?

I have no idea where I am and I’m helplessly bound, with no way of escape.

I can’t believe that I fought so hard to be free. Now look at me.

And Lukiyan, he’s going to kill my father. Has he done so already?

Please, God, no.

“Lukiyan!” I call out his name in anguish like a wild animal trapped in a snare.

I don’t know if it’s a good or bad idea to call for him, but he’s the only person who can give me answers. Even if it’s just to tell me whether my father is still alive.

“Lukiyan, let me go!” I scream.

There’s nothing but a deadly silence, and I wonder if I’m truly alone in this place, sitting on the floor with my hands and feet tied up.

“Lukiyan!”

This time, footsteps sound on a hard floor, then a door ahead opens, bringing in daylight.

An overhead light switches on, making the room a fraction brighter, then I see him.

“You monster!”

“Easy, tiger.”

I’m looking at the man I gave so much to, and I’m having a hard time believing he’s the same guy. He’s not, and that’s the point. He was never who I thought he was.

“Did you kill my father?”

“Not yet.”

My heart squeezes. “But you’re going to?”

“Let’s get this straight. You need to listen to me.” He speaks in a low, cool tone that makes my nerves scatter. “Can you listen to me?”

“I want you to let me go.” My glare intensifies.

“Baby, I can’t do that.”

Because I heard something I shouldn’t have.

“Did you kill Maya?” That had to be his doing.

“No. Those were different men. They were at the house for another reason.”

“What reason?”

“Let’s just say I’m not the only one who wants your father dead.”

He walks closer and crouches down next to me.

“Princess—”

“Don’t fucking call me that.” Tears stream out the corners of my eyes. When he touches my cheek to wipe them, I flinch and try to move away, but it’s fruitless. “Who the hell are you? You’re in the Bratva, aren’t you?”

A touch of a smile lifts his lips. “How did you guess?”

“Lucca Dyshekov. He’s your Pakhan.”

“Clever girl.”

“Who are you? And don’t give me any bullshit.”

“I am who I say I am, just not what I am.”

“You lying bastard.”

“I never lied to you. Not once.”

I don’t know why, but the admission makes my temper flare. He’s right. He didn’t lie to me, not once. Not even about being my Hades.

He just never said anything and avoided all the important questions.

I remember when I asked him about working for my father. I had a feeling something was off with his answer. This was fucking why.

I knew all along, but I didn’t want to believe it because of how I felt about him.

“We were never a coincidence, were we?” I challenge.

He sighs and lifts a lock of my hair. My heartbeat kicks up a notch.

“I think we were more like an anomaly. I didn’t know who you were in Brazil. That part just happened, and I can’t explain it any more than you can. I didn’t know who you were until a few weeks ago, but it didn’t matter. It wasn’t going to stop me from doing what I have to do.”

“You need to let me go. How can you treat me like this?” How can he when he saved me from Antonio?

“I don’t mean to, but letting you go is not an option when you could jeopardize my plans. You know why I’m here now and what I want to do.”

“Please don’t hurt my father. Please don’t. Don’t kill him. I beg of you.”

“Persephone. Your father is a very bad man.”

Don’t I know that? Look what happened to Mom, and Athena prior to her death. No matter how much help my father’s enemies had, what happened was his fault.

“What did he do to you?”

“He’s part of the reason why my sister is dead.”

“Your sister?”

“Her name was Melissa and she had a bright future ahead of her. We had a hard life growing up so that was a big deal for her. First your father turned her into a whore, then he hooked her up with the crazy motherfucker who killed her and her unborn baby. She was only seventeen when he ruined her.”

A shudder runs through me and my eyes widen.

My father did that?

“I’m sorry. I’m sorry about your sister.”

“It’s his price to pay. Men like him don’t care. They just sign up the next body who can fulfill a duty. So he’s as good as dead to me. I’m just biding time. He’ll lead me to my sister’s killer and I’ll kill them both.”

“What about me? Are you going to kill me too?”

Would he kill me?

Lukiyan stands and raw fear rips me apart. My throat works but it’s dry.

“Lucky for you, I still want you.”

More tears tip over my lids. “You can’t keep me here.”

“We will see about that.”

His long, athletic legs carry him away from me and as he proceeds up the stairs, doom settles in the pit of my stomach.