Persephone: A love of ancient Greek lore, and a passion for archaeology brought me to Greece. I should have known better than to work for Hades Pluton. He is magnetic, and dark, and dangerous. He is a painter of torment, and his touch promises the most delicious sin. He is everything my mother warned me about men. And yet my heart is a prisoner to his. Ancient lore brought me here, but my love for him threatens to keep me. If I could trust my slipping mind, I might not fight it so hard—this love. But my mind is slipping. It's been fragile since I was a child, but now that I'm seeing things, visions, dreams—none of it is real. I can't help but question the reality of us, too. He doesn't deserve someone like me. Someone who sees things that aren't there . . . So, I'll leave him. Eventually. But I'll love him first.

Hades: I am trying to do it right this time. Her and I. The story of Hades and Persephone. I vowed I would not steal her. Would not plunder her body, her heart, her mind. Vowed I would not force her loyalty. I will earn her love. I will worship the body she gifts me, and protect the soul she offers me to keep. I am trying to maintain patience, to honor my vows—but there are darker forces at play. The story of love is rarely told without tragedy. And this is ours. For the war has already begun.

Contains mature themes.