The goddess walked straight into Demetri’s office. He looked up at her, his tablet glared off his glasses, obscuring his expression.

For a moment, neither spoke.

“You quit.”

“I quit.”

They spoke at the same time.

Demetri smiled, and that alarmed her.

“Can’t say that I am surprised. I saw your announcement. You recruited every single news outlet,” he said and sat back in his chair. He seemed sincere when he said, “Congrats.”

“Thank you,” she replied.

“The Advocate,” he said. “Fitting. Will you continue to write about gods?”

She lifted her chin. She knew what he wanted to ask: Will you write about me?

“If it’s an injustice, I will expose it,” she said.

He nodded. “Then I wish you all the best.”

She didn’t but it didn’t matter. She had promised she would dismantle Kal and unravel Demetri and gods were bound to keep promises.

Persephone left Demetri’s office and walked straight to her desk, emptying everything she’d brought into a box.

“Where are you going?” Helen asked, looking up from the desk as she headed to the elevator.

She smiled at the young blonde. “I quit, Helen.”

“Take me with you.”

Persephone’s eyes widened. “Helen—”

“I’ll work for you for free,” she said. “Please, Persephone. I don’t want to stay without you.”

When the elevator doors, opened, she smiled. “Come on.”

Helen squealed, grabbed her purse, and joined Persephone in the elevator. When they made it to the first floor, Persephone handed the box to Helen.

“Will you wait for me? I have to say goodbye to someone.”

“Oh, sure,” she said.

Persephone headed to the basement in search of Pirithous. She found his office empty. Glancing over his desk, amid stacks of work orders and tools, she spotted a notebook. She recalled the day she’d startled him in his office to ask if he could help her escape again and how protective he’d seemed of the information inside, and yet, it lay open, tiny handwriting was scribbled across the pages.

She might have left it unread had she not spotted her name on the page.

Curiosity overwhelmed her, and she began to read.

Date: 7/2

She wore a white shirt and a black and white striped skirt today. Hair up. The shirt was cut low and I could see the swell of her breasts as she breathed.

Persephone’s blood ran cold.

What the fuck was this?

She turned a page. There was a new description of her outfit for the next day—a pink, fitted dress and white heels. Her legs are shapely. I found myself wanting to lift her skirt, spread her wide and fuck her. She would let me.