A Game of Retribution (hades Saga, #2)

The second book in the Hades Saga is set in New Greece, a modern reimagining of ancient Greece where Olympian gods live openly among mortals. Told from the perspective of Hades, God of the Dead and ruler of the Underworld, the story follows his fight to protect his relationship with Persephone, Goddess of Spring, against rival gods, mortal enemies, and his own failures of honesty.

Hades investigates Acacius, a mortal relic dealer posing as an oracle. With Hecate, Goddess of Witchcraft and his trusted adviser, he discovers that Acacius possesses the eye of the Graeae, three ancient sisters who share a single eye. Acacius confesses he sold the sisters to Dionysus, God of the Vine. Hades confiscates the eye.

At Nevernight, his nightclub, Hera, Goddess of Marriage, asks Hades to help overthrow Zeus, King of the Gods. When he declines, she threatens to curse his marriage to Persephone and assigns him labors, beginning with killing Briareus, a hundred-armed giant who thwarted her previous coup. The Fates, three deities who weave the threads of destiny, warn that refusing Hera will drive Persephone to madness, but killing Briareus will cost "a soul for a soul": an immortal life in exchange.

Hades discovers that Leuce, an ocean nymph and his former lover, has been restored to human form after he turned her into a poplar tree over two thousand years ago for betraying him with Apollo, God of Music. Suspecting that Demeter, Persephone's controlling mother, arranged the restoration, he houses Leuce and decides not to tell Persephone.

In the Underworld, Persephone assumes queenly duties, greeting souls at the River Styx. Tensions escalate as Hades withholds information. She visits his charitable Cypress Foundation and is hurt to learn about his philanthropy from staff rather than from him. She wants to write an exposé on Apollo for firing her friend Sybil, his former oracle, after Sybil refused his advances. Hades warns that Apollo is vindictive, and she reluctantly agrees not to publish. Meanwhile, Ariadne Alexiou, a detective with the Hellenic Police Department, brings Hades files on women missing across New Greece, suspecting Dionysus's involvement.

Their conflict deepens when Leuce introduces herself to Persephone as Hades's current lover. Hades admits he never planned to tell Persephone about the nymph. Despite her earlier agreement, Persephone publishes her article on Apollo; the backlash targets her rather than the god. To protect her from Apollo's retribution, Hades teleports Persephone to the Underworld against her will. Her magic erupts violently. As he leaves, she screams that he will regret this, and he replies, "I already do."

Hades travels to Briareus's cottage on Euboea. The giant senses his time has come and invites Hades to share a final meal. Hades takes his soul by clasping his hand; the life thread burns into his skin as a black band. Hera declares the labor complete and summons Hades to an underground fight night, where he spots Theseus, a demigod who leads the anti-god organization Triad, beside Hera, confirming their alliance. Hades battles a hydra, Stymphalian birds, and Heracles, a son of Zeus whom Hera has struck with madness. He barely survives.

At Bakkheia, Dionysus's nightclub, Hades discovers the god has been rescuing women and training them as assassins called maenads. Dionysus hired the Graeae to locate Medusa, a gorgon, hoping to offer her sanctuary. The sisters have vanished.

After a frantic search that drains magic from his realm, Hades's Dobermans find Persephone asleep in a grove, her presence unconsciously shielded. Hecate advises him to teach Persephone to use her own power rather than fight her battles for her.

Apollo arrives demanding retribution for the article. Hades offers him a future favor in exchange for leaving Persephone unharmed. Persephone confronts Apollo and demands he restore Sybil's powers. Apollo agrees but warns he will use the favor to keep them apart if she writes about him again.

Hades guides Persephone in mastering her magic, teaching her that it requires a balance of control and passion. They reconcile, both admitting their failures. She offers to mentor Leuce. Later, Hades drops his glamour to show Persephone the black threads burned into his skin from lives he has bargained with the Fates to take. He proposes marriage, but she refuses, saying she does not know him well enough.

When Lexa Sideris, Persephone's best friend, is critically injured in a car accident, Persephone begs Hades to save her. He explains that Lexa's soul is in limbo and that interfering would cost another life. Desperate, Persephone bargains with Apollo: He will heal Lexa in exchange for Persephone spending time with him at his discretion. Hades summons the Furies, three winged goddesses of vengeance, to retrieve them. In their most painful argument, he warns that Apollo's healing mends only the body, not a broken soul.

Hades learns from Helios, God of the Sun, that war against the Olympians is imminent and that the Graeae are held at Lake Tritonis. Hera distracts Hades with a labor while Theseus's soldiers kill all three sisters with hydra venom, testing how much is needed to murder divine beings. Through another labor, Hades negotiates with Hippolyta, Queen of the Amazons, for Zofie, a warrior sentenced to death, to serve as Persephone's bodyguard; if Zofie brings honor, Hades will return her to Hippolyta in exchange for the queen's belt.

Persephone's magic grows unstable, thorns erupting from her skin. A tabloid photograph frames Hades and Leuce as lovers. When Apollo takes Persephone to his club as part of their bargain, Hades rescues her and reveals the truth behind his feud with the god: After Hades refused to let Apollo be cast into Tartarus, the deepest prison of the Underworld, Apollo retaliated by sleeping with Leuce. They begin rebuilding trust.

Persephone wanders into the Forest of Despair in Tartarus, which feeds on victims' deepest fears. A false vision of Hades and Leuce together triggers an explosion of Persephone's power that strips the Underworld bare. Hecate intervenes and reveals the vision was manufactured by an enchantment. Leuce confesses she lured Persephone into the forest under Demeter's orders. Persephone forgives Leuce, summons Demeter to the throne room, and uses her magic to force her mother to her knees. Demeter refuses to apologize, and Persephone banishes her.

Ariadne reveals that Theseus, married to her sister Phaedra, uses Phaedra as leverage to control the detective and intends to overthrow all the Olympians. Dionysus agrees to send maenads to scout Theseus's operations, choosing a side at last. Hades confronts Hera, refuses further labors, and demands her blessing for his marriage in exchange for keeping her alliance with Theseus secret from Zeus. Hera reluctantly agrees. Zeus dismisses the threat when Hades warns him.

Hades takes Persephone to a hidden waterfall and proposes again. She whispers, "Yes." Their joy shatters when Thanatos, the God of Death, delivers word that Lexa has died. At the Styx, Charon, the ferryman of souls, carries Lexa to them. Lexa tells Persephone her purpose was "to empower you" and that her choice to leave was her own. Lexa drinks from the River Lethe, which erases her memories, before entering Elysium, the peaceful afterlife realm. Persephone promises to visit every day until they are best friends again.

Persephone quits her job and launches The Advocate, an online platform for the voiceless. Hades retrieves her engagement ring from Hephaestus, God of Fire. A demigod named Pirithous, an associate of Theseus, abducts Persephone, but the Furies find her with Pirithous already dead, impaled by a stake she created with her magic. Hades revives Pirithous, who reveals that Theseus suggested the abduction as part of a bet to carry off goddesses, and sends him to Tartarus.

At the Cypress Foundation gala, Hades kneels on the hotel balcony and presents Persephone with the ring. She accepts: "Of course. Forever." But Ilias, his satyr aide, arrives with news that the ophiotaurus, a creature whose slain entrails grant the power to defeat the gods, has been resurrected as a consequence of the Fates' bargain for Briareus's life. Snow falls over New Athens in midsummer, a sign that Demeter has unleashed her power. Hades tells Persephone it is the start of a war.