Goddess of the Underworld. Aimee Carter

one reminder was enough for me to breathe easier. It wouldn’t be just me and Hades down there. I had to remember that.

      Once Hermes walked off into the woods, Hades knelt beside me. His long, dark hair, usually so impeccable, was mussed, and his fingers dug into his thighs. “I owe you an apology.”

      Not this again. “You don’t owe me anything,” I mumbled, staring down at a lopsided blossom. “I’m sorry I ran up here.”

      “Do not be,” he said. Neither of us could look at the other. “What happened last night … I promise you it will not happen again, not unless we are both willing and prepared.”

      His words twisted something in my gut. I’d been willing last night. Nervous, but willing, and determined to get it over with. Had he not been? Had I taken that from him? Was that part of the reason why things were so terrible between us?

      “I don’t …” The words stuck in my throat, and I struggled to swallow them.

       Just tell him.

      Hermes’s voice echoed through my mind, gentle but unyielding, and finally I opened my mouth and blurted, “I want a separate bedroom.”

      Hades blinked, clearly startled. “Is there something wrong with—”

      “Yes,” I said before I lost my nerve. “I’m scared of you. I’m scared of this. And if I can’t stay up here, then I don’t want to stay with you down there.”