Hades smile grew, showing his teeth. It was one of her favorite smiles, the one she liked to imagine was only for her. He slipped the ring on her finger, and rose to his feet, capturing her mouth in a kiss that she felt in her soul.

“You wouldn’t have happened to overhear Hermes demand a rock, would you?” she asked when he pulled away.

Hades chuckled. “He might have been talking loud enough for me to hear,” he said. “But if you must know, I have had that ring for a while.”

“How long?” she demanded.

“Embarrassingly long,” he said and then admitted, “Since the night of the Olympian Gala.”

Persephone swallowed a lump that had risen in her throat.

How had she gotten so lucky?

“I love you,” he said, pressing his forehead to hers.

“I love you, too.”

They kissed again, and when he pulled away, she noticed something white swirling around them. It took her a moment to realize that it was snow.

Despite its beauty, there was something sinister to the way it fell from the sky.

Not to mention, it was August.

Persephone looked at Hades, the happiness that had lit his face a moment before was suddenly gone. Now he looked concerned, his dark brows drew together over severe eyes.

“Hades, why is it snowing?” Persephone whispered.

He looked down at her, his eyes an endless void, and answered in a solemn tone, “It’s the start of a war.”

THANK YOU FOR READING!

THANK YOU FOR READING!

I sincerely hope you enjoyed reading this book as much as I enjoyed writing it. If you did, I would appreciate a short review on Amazon or your favorite book website. Reviews are crucial for any author, and even just a line or two can make a huge difference.

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AUTHOR’S NOTE

AUTHOR’S NOTE

First, THANK YOU to all my wonderful readers. I am so thankful for each and every one of you.

When I wrote A Touch of Darkness, I wrote the book of my heart. A Touch of Ruin is no different. Writing this sequel was just as difficult as writing the first book, but I knew there were a few things I wanted to touch on in ATOR, namely myths surrounding Apollo and his lovers.

I looked at several myths, but settled on highlighting Apollo x Daphne, Apollo x Cassandra, and Apollo x Hyacinth. Obviously these are the most well-known and two really illustrate Apollo’s horrible treatment of his lovers. He relentlessly pursued Daphne until she begged to be turned into a tree, and cursed Cassandra when she wouldn’t sleep with him. This is a modern problem and so I wanted to challenge Persephone to handle it.