Athan’s heart faltered when he saw Hades’s guard dog. Cerberus wasn’t the size of a dog. He wasn’t even the size of a horse. The three-headed beast stood as tall as an elephant, his thick heads each looking in a different direction. Any one of those heads could bite Athan in two.

By the gods, he hoped Isa was right. He whistled and all three heads turned to survey him. The animal took two steps before Athan barked out the first command. “Sit.”

The ground shook as the huge beast parked its butt.

“Stay.” Athan held his hand just as Isabel had shown.

All three heads swiveled to watch him cross the threshold of the lord of the Underworld’s castle. Athan held his breath until he was inside the dark walls.

The air felt different. Charged energy tingled about him. To the left he could hear a deep voice yelling, but the words were muffled. As he followed the din, he hoped this time his audience with Hades would prove more fruitful, because he needed the god’s help to find Hope.

With a deep breath, Athan pulled open one of the heavy doors to the throne room.

Hades, dressed in black, paced the floor, his frustration pulsing with every move.

On the steps of the dais, watching her husband, sat Persephone. The goddess of spring and handmaid to the lord of the Underworld twisted her hands in worry. Her wheat-colored hair was pulled back in a loose braid that hung over her shoulder almost to her waist. Her peaches-and-cream complexion was marred by the worry twisting her features. The front of her dress was grass-stained and dirty, and by the look of her hands, she’d been interrupted from her gardening.

“But you’re sure she is here?” Persephone asked. The words hung in the air as she met Athan’s gaze.

Hades turned to see what had caused his wife’s shock.

“You. Again?” Hades crossed the room and grabbed Athan by the shirt.

“Stop!” Persephone yelled as she ran toward them. “What’s wrong with you?”

She batted her husband’s hands away from Athan and smoothed his shirt. “Welcome to the Underworld, Son of Hermes.”

“Thank you, Lady.” Athan bowed.

Hades stepped back and looked at his wife, his voice flat when he stated, “He killed Darren.”

Persephone waved the words away. “I never liked Darren.”

Athan’s esteem for the goddess went up significantly.

“Why are you here?” Hades demanded with a glare. The air around him sizzled with his power.

Xan burst into the room. “What the hell are you thinking?” he asked, glaring at Athan. Xan froze as all eyes turned to him, and then he dropped to one knee. “Lord Hades, Lady Persephone.”

“Both of you are still alive?” Hades no longer seemed angry, but rather impressed as he looked back and forth between the two of them. “I’ve never had demigods escape Tartarus . . .” His eyes stopped on Xan’s belt. “Are those Moirai shears?” He took one step forward. “Where did you get those?”

Xan shifted, his hand covering the white handles. “Atropos gave them to me.”

Silence, much like reverence, descended upon the room.

“The Fates are involved,” Persephone breathed. Her face lit from within. She turned to Xan. “What do you need, Son of Ares?”

“Ah, I think you might want to send someone out to tend Cerberus. I was in a hurry to get through when I saw Athan. Sorry.” Xan pinched his lips.

Hades frowned. “Did you kill my guard-dog?”

“No. Just incapacitated. The wound should heal right up, if it’s tended to.” Xan shifted his gaze and glared at Athan. “You’re an arse.”

Athan grimaced. There was a lot of truth behind that statement. “What did I do this time?”

Xan looked around the room as if searching for someone. “Wait. Where’s Hope? Haven’t you found her yet? She disappeared—”

Athan’s heart stopped. “Have you seen her?”

Xan paled. “Aye. Have you not seen her yet?”

When Athan shook his head, Xan swore.

“Who’s Hope?” Persephone asked.

Xan pointed at Hades. “The Sphinx.” Xan pulled the scissors from his belt and pricked his finger. Bright red blood welled on the tip. “Thanatos has been keeping her away from you so you couldn’t use her as a tool. At least that’s what he told her.”

Hades looked like he’d been slapped.

Xan turned to Athan. “I came across her shortly after leaving you and Isa . . . doing whatever.” Xan grimaced. “We talked for a bit, but then she demanded to see you.” His grimace turned to a glare.

Oh gods. Had Hope seen him kissing Isa? “It wasn’t like that—”

“I don’t care how it was.”

“Stop!” Hades’s command was filled with his power. “You will stop, now.”

Athan said nothing, but his mind churned with what Xan had told him. Hope had seen Athan and Isa. Together. Kissing .

Persephone crossed the room and wiped the blood from Xan’s finger with her sleeve. “You knew what you carried?” She indicated the scissors.

“Aye. I’m the son of Ares. I know a bit about all weapons.” He raised his eyebrows at the goddess. “Even those of the gods.”

She nodded.

Athan had never heard of such a thing. And Xan had deliberately cut himself with the scissors . . . Oh, shears of the Moirai. If pricked by the scissors, god or mortal wouldn’t be able to speak false. “I thought you couldn’t lie in the Underworld?”

Hades regarded Athan a moment before answering. “The dead cannot lie. There is no reason to hide from what is or what was.”

But Hermes had lied.

“What happened?” Athan asked.

Xan explained it all. His meeting with Hope, what little she’d said about her parents, something about the curse and going to Olympus, and her excitement to see Athan. She’d all but demanded that Xan take her to Athan. He’d taken as long as he could to get there, wanting to give Athan and Isa time to say goodbye. But they’d shown up just as Athan kissed Isa. Hope ran off, and Xan had followed. Until the god of death appeared. Hope had been standing by the river with Thanatos, one minute there, the next gone. “I was hoping, somehow, that you’d come across her.”

Hades’s jaw tightened when Xan mentioned the other god of the Underworld, and the king’s eyes barely contained the fury boiling within. “You are quite sure it was Thanatos?”

Xan held up the shears. “Do you want me to bleed again to prove it?”

Persephone pushed the hand holding the sharp tool down, and Xan slid the scissors back into the leather sheath.

“Hope called him Thanatos. That’s all I know.”

Hades narrowed his eyes, and it was as if fire blazed within the dark god.