Daughter of the Earth and Sky by Kaitlin Bevis

materialized around me, and my feet planted firmly on the floor. I yelped, ankle folding under me, and grabbed the leather chair for support.
    Hades was beside me in an instant. “What happened?”
    “I fell down a hill.” I collapsed into the chair with a groan. “How come I’m the only accident-prone god?”
    “A mystery that eludes us all.” Hades knelt in front of the chair and examined the cut on my thigh, summoning a washcloth to dab at the blood. “Sharp hill.”
    “It was full of branches and thorns.” I felt a rush of warmth go through me as he healed the cut. “My friend saw the whole thing. He’s going to wonder how I healed so quickly.”
    “Is he?”
    Jealousy slashed through me, and it took a minute for me to place it as his. Hades’ face was carefully blank as he brushed the hair off my forehead. He brandished the washcloth, dabbing at a cut I hadn’t realized I’d gotten.
    “Just charm him if he asks any questions.”
    I stiffened at the suggestion. The idea of charming anyone, much less Joel, was abhorrent.
    “I told you before, there is nothing inherently wrong with using charm,” Hades said with a sigh.
    “It feels wrong.”
    “Use a glamour then. The souls aren’t accustomed to seeing injuries.”
    A year ago, the suggestion that the dead were squeamish enough to be bothered by cuts and bruises would have seemed ridiculous. Now I knew better. The souls weren’t used to seeing blood, no matter how mild the injury. They didn’t have to worry about stuff like that anymore.
    “Anywhere else?” Hades waved the washcloth in front of my face.
    “My ankle.”
    I drew in a sharp breath when his fingers made contact, but the warmth that spread from his fingers stopped the pulsing pain.
    Residual traces of his anxiety snaked through me. His heart beat just a little too fast in fear. “What’s wrong?” I asked him.
    “You worried me for a second, that’s all.” He straightened up and gave me a wry smile. “I didn’t know what had happened to you.”
    I flushed. “It was just a few bumps and bruises. I think I’d be worse off if Zeus had gotten hold of me.”
    “I know. It just took a second. That made it out unscathed?” He motioned to my necklace.
    “Lucky. Did you find out more about Zeus’ plan? Or his whereabouts?”
    Hades took the other seat. “No. I even tried asking Hera.”
    I kept my face neutral. “How did that go?”
    “Zeus didn’t tell her anything.”
    There was more. I could tell by the troubled look on his face, but I didn’t press him. He would tell me if it was important.
    “Is that what you run in?” His gaze lingered on my outfit.
    “Yes.”
    He made a disapproving sound, and I gave him a look. “Do you really think it’s appropriate for you to critique my wardrobe?”
    He held up his hands in surrender. “No, it’s not. I apologize for overstepping.”
    I winced. “Don’t do that. You don’t have to walk on eggshells around me.”
    Don’t I? His sardonic thought sliced through my consciousness before he could stop it. I gritted my teeth against the wave of frustration that washed through Hades. He didn’t know how to act around me anymore.
    I stared down at the floor hard, blinking back tears. I wanted to tell him about Thanatos’ secret. I wanted so badly to make everything okay again, but no matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t get around the promise. We just kept drifting further and further apart. I still saw him every day, but he acted different around me. Stiffer, more formal. I was losing him.
    What if it took me so long to find a way around my stupid promise that there was nothing left to fix?
    Hades sighed and ran his fingers through his hair. “Persephone…”
    I cleared my throat. “We should really get to court.”
    The muscles in his jaw tightened, and he motioned to the door. “After you.”

Chapter X
    After Hades and I finished orienting all the new souls, I dropped by Melissa’s. I was exhausted, but I always made