A part of Hades wanted to take back what he'd said the moment he'd said it, but that part was drowned out by the rest of him. He walked up to the book case on the other side of the room, and tugged on the side of it until the books fell, bouncing open and crashing into each other as they hit the floor. Then he walked over the pile, and toppled the next one. Hades exhaled hard, and brought his hands up to his face for a moment, then he shook his head and walked back to his desk, where he pretended to focus on the paperwork.
An hour passed. Hades was furiously writing, stabbing the pen so hard into the paper as he went that it tore, when he heard Makaria's sobbing. He dropped the pen, rose with such force that the chair fell backward and briskly walked through his door, slamming it as he went.
Makaria was lying on the steps still sobbing when he arrived at the temple. He looked down at her for a second, and then bent down, and scooped her up into his arms. Without a word, Hades carried her home, her head buried in his shoulder. He set her down on her bed, and then sat down beside her.