Leuce’s shoulders fell and Persephone suddenly realized she could relate to her more than she had wanted to admit. She’d been in a similar situation four years ago. She sighed and checked her watch. She couldn’t believe what she was about to say.

“Look, I have a few more hours of work left. You can hang out in the lounge until I’m off. I can’t...promise I’ll talk to Hades today, but...eventually. Until then...you can stay with me.”

Leuce’s eyes widened. “A-are you sure?”

“You’ll have to sleep on the couch,” she said. “But...yeah.”

“Thank you. Thank you, Persephone.”

The goddess stiffened as the nymph threw her arms around her. After a moment, she pulled away.

“You won’t regret this, I promise.”

She sure hoped not.

Persephone didn’t return to working on the exclusive. Instead, she continued to research Apollo. At the end of the day, she copied everything she found into a word document and emailed it to herself before gathering her things and retrieving Leuce from the lounge. Together, they left the Acropolis through the front, braving the waiting crowd to find Antoni waiting outside Hades’ black Lexus. He opened the door as they approached, smiling.

“My lady,” he said.

Antoni’s eye become menacing as his gaze fell upon her Leuce.

“What’s she doing with you?”

Persephone’s brows rose and she looked from the cyclops to the nymph. “You know Leuce?”

“Yes,” he hissed. “Once a traitor always a traitor.”

Leuce rolled her eyes. “Don’t be dramatic.”

“It’s alright, Antoni,” Persephone interrupted. “I’m helping her.”

The cyclops pressed his lips tight and said nothing as the two women slid into the backseat. Once the door was shut, Leuce looked at Persephone.

“Does that crowd wait for you every day?”

“Yes.”

“All because of Hades?”

“Yes.”

The nymph looked out the window. “That’s insane.”

“It is insane,” Persephone agreed. “I hate it.”

“When I was...alive,” Leuce said. “In ancient times, the gods were feared and revered. Their worshippers were serious about honoring their gods. It wasn’t...this...false obsession.”

Persephone grimaced. “Welcome to the modern world.”

Antoni dropped them off at Persephone’s apartment. Before he left, the cyclops took Persephone aside, “I’ll have to tell him Leuce is with you. He will want to know.”

She shrugged. “Tell him.”

Antoni frowned. “You’ll talk to him soon, won’t you, my lady?”

Persephone was surprised by his question. She wondered how much Antoni knew about her fight with Hades.

Her frown matched his. “I don’t know,” she said. “Probably. Right now, I am angry.”

He nodded. “I’ll see you tomorrow, my lady.”

She didn’t say anything, and turned to lead Leuce into the apartment, finding Sybil at the kitchen bar. She drew her forearm across her nose and started wiping at her face as soon as they entered.

“Sybil, what’s wrong?”