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CHAPTER I – THE NARCISSUS
Persephone sat in the sunlight
She’d chosen her usual spot at The Coffee House, an outdoor table in view of the crowded pedestrian street The as lined with shade trees and box gardens teeht breeze carried the scent of spring and the honeyed air was mild
It was a perfect day, and though Persephone had co it hard to concentrate because her eyes were drawn to a bunch of narcissus flowers that sat in a slender vase on her table The bouquet was sparse—only two or three slender ste like the fingers of a corpse
The narcissus were the flower and symbol of Hades, the God of the Dead They did not often decorate tables, but coffins Their presence at The Coffee House probablywhich was really the only time mortals worshipped the God of the Underworld
Persephone alondered how Hades felt about that, or if he cared He wasthe wealthiest of all the gods, he’d earned the title of Rich One, and had invested his money into some of the most popular clubs in New Greece—and these weren't just any clubs These were elite gaood bet, and rarely accepted a wager other than the human soul
Persephone had heard a lot about the clubs from other people while at University, and her mother, who often expressed her dislike for Hades, had also spoken out against his businesses
“He has taken on the role of puppetfates as if he were one of the Moirai himself He should be ashamed”
Persephone had never been to one of Hades' clubs, but she had to adod ned it What possessed people to bargain their soul? Was it a desire for money or love or wealth?
And what did it say about Hades? That he had all the wealth in the world and only sought to add to his domain rather than help people?
But those were questions for another time
Persephone had work to do
She dropped her gaze from the narcissus and focused on her laptop It was Thursday, and she had left school an hour ago She’d ordered her usual vanilla latte and needed to finish her research paper so she could concentrate on her internship at New Athens News, the leading news source in New Athens She started toraduated in six months
She was eager to prove herself
Her internship was located on the sixtieth floor of the Acropolis, a land in the city at one-hundred-and-one floors One of the first things Persephone had done when she’d moved here was take an elevator to the top floor observatory where she could see the city in its entirety and it had been everything she’d i Four years later, it was hard to believe she would be going there on an almost daily basis for work
Persephone’s phone buzzed on the table, drawing her attention She found a e from her best friend, Lexa Sideris Lexa was her first friend when she’d moved to New Athens She’d turned around to face Persephone in class and asked her if she wanted to pair up for their lab They’d been inseparable ever since Persephone was drawn to Lexa’s edginess—she had tattoos, hair as black as night, and a love of the Goddess of Witchcraft, Hecate
Where are you?
Persephone responded, The Coffee House
Why? We need to celebrate!
Persephone s her internship teeks ago, she’d been hounding her to go out for drinks Persephone hadout of excuses and Lexa knew it
I a Persephone texted With a vanilla latte