Title: A Touch Of Ruin
Series: Hades & Persephone
Author: Scarlett St. Clair
Genre: Adult, Paranormal, Romance
Release Date: 23rd April 2020
BLURB supplied by Xpresso Book Tours
Persephone’s relationship with Hades has gone public and the resulting
media storm disrupts her normal life and threatens to expose her as the Goddess
of Spring.
Hades, God of the Dead, is burdened by a hellish past that everyone’s eager to
expose in an effort to warn Persephone away.
Things only get worse when a horrible tragedy leaves Persephone’s heart in ruin
and Hades refusing to help. Desperate, she takes matters into her own hands,
striking bargains with severe consequences.
Faced with a side of Hades she never knew and crushing loss, Persephone wonders
if she can truly become Hades’ queen.
PURCHASE LINKS
EXCERPT
Demetri must
have felt her staring because he finally looked up from his tablet, the article
he was reading reflected off his black-framed glasses. She noted the title. It
was another piece about her.
“Persephone.
Please, come in. Close the door.”
That stone in
her stomach was suddenly heavier. Shutting herself in Demetri’s office was like
walking right back into her mother’s greenhouse—anxiety built, and she felt
fear at the thought of being punished. Her skin grew hot and uncomfortable, her
throat constricted, her tongue thickened...she was going to suffocate.
This is it. She
thought. He is going to fire me.
She found
herself frustrated that he was drawing it out. Why invite her to sit? Act like
it had to be a conversation?
She took a deep
breath and sat on the edge of her chair.
“What did you
do?” she asked, glancing at the pile of newspapers. “Pick one up on every
block?”
“Couldn’t help
it,” he said, smirking. “The story was fascinating.”
Persephone
glared.
“Did you need
something?” she asked finally, hoping to change the subject—hoping that the
reason he called her into his office had nothing to do with this morning’s
headlines.
“Persephone,”
Demetri said, and she cringed at the gentle tone his voice had taken. Whatever
was coming, it wasn’t good. “You have a lot of potential and you have proven
you’re willing to fight for the truth, which I appreciate.”
He paused and
her body stayed tense, preparing for the blow he was about to deliver.
“But,” she
said, guessing the direction of this conversation.
Demetri looked
even more sympathetic.
“You know I
wouldn’t ask if I didn’t have to,” he said.
She blinked,
brows furrowing. “Ask what?”
“For an
exclusive. On your relationship with Hades.”
The dread
crawled up her stomach, and spread, sizzling in her chest and lungs and she
felt the heat abruptly leave her face.
“Why do you
have to ask?” Her voice was tight, and she tried to stay calm, but her hands
were already shaking and squeezing her coffee cup.
“Per—”
“You said you
wouldn’t ask if you didn't have to,” she stopped him. She was tired of him
saying her name. Tired of how long it was taking him to get to the point. “So
why are you asking?”
“It came from
the top,” he answered. “It was very clear that you either offer us your story
or you don’t have a job here anymore.”
“The top?” she
echoed, and paused for a moment, searching for a name. After a moment, it came
to her. “Kal Stavros?”
Kal Stavros was
a mortal. He was the CEO of Epik Communications—which owned New Athens News.
Persephone didn’t know much about him except that he was a tabloid favorite.
Mostly, because he was beautiful—his name literally meant crowned the most
beautiful.
“Why would the
CEO request an exclusive?”
“It’s not every
day the girlfriend of the God of the Dead works for you,” Demetri said.
“Everything you touch will turn to gold.”
“Then let me
write something else,” she said. “I have a voicemail and an inbox full of
leads.”
It was true.
The messages had started pouring in the moment she published her first article
on Hades. She’d slowly been sorting through them, organizing them into folders
based on the god they criticized. She could write about any Olympian, even her
mother.
“You can write
something else,” Demetri said. “But I’m afraid we’ll still need that
exclusive.”
“You can’t be
serious,” was all she could think to say, but Demetri’s expression told her
otherwise. She tried again. “This is my personal life.”
Her boss’s eyes
dropped to the stack of papers on his desk.
“And it became
public.”
“I thought you
said you would understand if I wanted to cease writing about Hades?”
She noted that
Demetri’s shoulders fell, and it made her feel better that he was at least a
little defeated by this, too.
“My hands are
tied, Persephone,” he answered.
There was a
stretch of silence, and then she asked, “That’s it? I have no say in this?”
“You have your
choices. I need the article by next Friday.”
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Scarlett St. Clair lives in Oklahoma with her husband. She has a Master's degree in Library Science and Information Studies and spends a lot of time researching reincarnation, unsolved murders and Greek mythology-all of which made it into her debut novel, When Stars Come Out.
AUTHOR LINKS
GIVEAWAY
I love Greek Mythology! Can't wait to read this, thank you!
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