My Life From Hell (The Blooming Goddess #3)

Gods And Other Misunderstood Beings (Part 2)

I forced myself to relax the granite glower carved into my face. Uncurled the talons that my fingers had become. I blinked up at Kai with a pleasant smile and hoped he wouldn't see how fast I was breathing.

I caught sight of the steaming mug that Kai was still holding and felt an irrational surge of hope—maybe it was hot chocolate. I hated feeling like I was losing myself to Persephone, as evidenced by my hesitation before reaching for the coffee I loved so much.

"Here." As he prompted me to take the cup, there was a flash in his eyes for the briefest of seconds. A glint.

I stared but his now-affable expression didn't change. And that's when I realized he knew. The bastard knew Persephone hated coffee, and he gave it to her every day anyway.

Why?

I took the cup from him with a pleasant smile. Just like I always did.

His expression hardened. He threw me a rakish grin and bent briefly to kiss my brow. "Come to me soon," he said. And then he left.

The sheets fell away as I awkwardly struggled up, with the cup cradled close. The astoundingly passive-aggressive dynamic between these two took a back seat to whatever had just happened with the vision.

I'd been the freaking pomegranate tree, for crying out loud. And it hadn't felt like dying. Well, yeah, it had, but it wasn't a gentle go-out-with-a-whimper ending. I'd been fueling the destruction.

Was this my confirmation that I ended the world? Was I the instrument of destruction? And if so, in the end, was it me or Persephone who would ultimately be in charge? Was the vision hard proof that the past repeated itself? That this enchantment didn't end, and Sophie Bloom ultimately failed to exist?

Was I going to lose all awareness, leaving Persephone and her destructive impulses to take over? Would the volatile combination of Persephone, Zeus, and Hades end humanity?

I took a sip of the coffee, my head spinning. Persephone may have hated coffee, but funnily enough, it was exactly the way I liked it. It was drip, not espresso, which would have been better, but it had the right amount of milk and sugar. Maybe Kai did recognize me on some unconscious level?

Don't get stupidly hopeful.

I closed my eyes, savoring the taste, turning my anxiety about the the vision into a chance to sift through memories and understand why Persephone had never spoken up about the coffee. It was obviously part of something much bigger.

Demeter and Zeus had fueled Persephone's sense of very conditional love. Instilling her desire to please, to be told what a delight she was. There was my answer. As was remembering her anxiety to always live up to that label. In my experience, most gods didn't follow the "nothing you can do will ever make me love you less" school of parenting. All of this had brought her into a passive-aggressive standoff with Kai, where she couldn't speak up and he wouldn't ask.

Just because I always give in doesn't mean I always want to. Her long-ago thought echoed up to me now. I remembered Persephone in a way I hadn't before. And all it seemed to do was accentuate the differences between us.

I would have spoken up had it been me. Yeah, like you did about your situation with Kai these past few months.

That was different. At least I'd tried. Not very hard.

I put a smackdown on the negativity. I was different and this proved it. Persephone and I were never going to be aligned. Couldn't even understand how the other moved through the world. Hekate's decree to get in sync with my goddess self seemed impossible.

I set the cup down on the bedside table, the coffee off-putting. This morning's events were just more extremely pressing reasons to find Prometheus and get Aletheia here. I swung my legs onto the ground and stood.

Then I went to her closet, doubtful about finding something to wear that wasn't totally unacceptable. Surprisingly, the selection wasn't horrible. Just predictable.

Flip ... long flowy gown ... Flip ... long flowy gown ... Flip ... somewhat shorter flowy gown ...

I scrambled into the most bearable choice: a light blue dress that was—wait for it—flowy, hitting about mid-thigh. I paired it with black, flat sandals, and headed out.

My priorities: find Prometheus, get Aletheia to reveal Kiki's enchantment, take Theo and Kai to the exit, and make sure it was in exitable condition, in order to stop Hades and Zeus.

See where things stand with Hannah. Say good-bye to Theo.

One thing at a time.

I pulled my hand away from my cuff, not wanting the reminder of Hannah. I forced myself to stick to "find Prometheus" before I curled into a ball of dejection.

I marched down the stairs, hoping I'd find Prometheus in the breakfast room. I had no idea which bedroom belonged to him. But I had memories of seeing him at breakfast, so that's where I started. Also, it was no hardship to follow the smell of bacon.

I swept into the bright room and skidded to a stop at the sight of Hades hunched over a plate of food at a massive wooden table. He was dressed much like Kai had been yesterday, in dark linen pants and button up shirt. The effect was nowhere near as fabulous, but he did have a compelling charm of his own.

The way Hades' eyes burned into me, I was positive he'd realized I was actually Sophie.

"Yes?" His voice gave away nothing.

He was still waiting for an answer so I said the first thing that came into my head. "I'm hungry." My stomach rumbled and I blushed beet red.

To my shock, Hades actually laughed. "Even the Goddess of Spring suffers the same base needs as the rest of us."

He flung an arm out toward the full buffet, where silver chafing dishes promised breakfasty delights.

I sighed happily. "Bacon."

Hades raised an eyebrow. "Are you actually going to eat swine?"

I should have declined. I had no memory of Persephone eating anything other than the lightest of meals. Like fruit.

Screw that. "Nope. I'm going to feast on it."

He dug into his own breakfast. "Help yourself."

I intended to. I picked up a plate and began the joyous journey to discover what lay under each silver lid. Oh bliss! Oh taste bud heaven. Not only did I find bacon, but also eggs and light-as-air waffles. Sausages and tiny pan fried potatoes tossed with salt and oregano. I piled my plate high.

"You can get seconds," Hades said in disbelief as I set everything down precariously on the table, willing my leaning Tower of Breakfast not to fall.

"I could. But that would be greedy."

He laughed again. I did too. We blinked at each other in surprise.

Seriously. This was uncharted territory for me, Persephone, and Hades. We hastily returned to our breakfasts.