CHAPTER XIV: A BATTLE OF WILLS

CHAPTER XIV – A BATTLE OF WILLS

As Hades made his way to the Underworld, guilt pressed in on his chest. It was akin to having stones stacked upon his body, and he thought of Hermes’ words. You could have handled that better. But as he considered his actions, he saw no other way. He was asking Hermes to steal, and he would rather not explain himself to Persephone, even if he felt he had good reasons.

But he agonized. Was this a time when he should have communicated? Should he have told her the whole history behind the mission he had assigned Hermes? That he wanted the God of Mischief to intercept all of Sisyphus’ shipments? In effect, Hades was dismantling his empire. Or would it have merely sufficed to ask her to give them a moment of privacy?

And at that thought, he suddenly understood why he had not extended such an offer—she had essentially spied on him, and he had reacted with anger instead of calm rational.

He groaned.

He was a fucking disaster at this.

Still, he went in search of her and found her in the library. She stood on the tips of her toes, hands braced on the side of a basin in which was contained a map of the Underworld. She bent closer and closer to the watery surface, and the movement made Hades anxious because the basin doubled as a portal. One touch, and she would be transported to another location in the Underworld. Normally, it would not worry him so much because he could quickly retrieve her, except he knew how her mind worked and chances were that she would end up dropping herself into the flaming waters of the Phlegethon.

He chose that moment to make himself known.

“Curiosity is a dangerous quality, my lady.”

Dangerous. Infuriating. Exciting. It was multifaceted and had its place, but he’d rather she was curious about other things, like him.

She whirled to face him, her pretty, green eyes growing wide. Her hand went to her heart, and Hades’ eyes dropped to her perfect breasts. For a moment, all he could focus on was the hardening of her nipples, straining against her white top.

“Don’t call me my lady,” she snapped, and then glanced back at the basin. “I… This map of your world is not complete.”

Hades advanced. He liked the way she had to tip her head back just to keep his gaze. He paused inches from her, wishing to close the distance even more, wishing to lift her into his arms and make love to her against this basin. Perhaps they would fall in and find themselves among the flora of the Underworld. Gods, how he ached to take her beneath his sky.

Her sharp breath drew him from his carnal thoughts, and his gaze moved to the water. She turned to face it, her back to him now. This position was no better. From here, he could draw his arm around her waist and seal her back to his chest, press kisses to her neck while his other hand explored, roving her breasts, down her stomach, and between her thighs.

He shook those thoughts from his head.

“What do you see?”

“Your palace, Asphodel, the River Styx and the Lethe… That’s it. Where is Elysium? Tartarus?”

He smiled at her eagerness to understand the Underworld, even if a part of him felt uneasy. If he had it his way, she would never explore the mountains and caverns of Tartarus. That part of his realm was a manifestation of his soul—dark and harrowing.

“The map will reveal them when you’ve earned the right to know.”

“What do you mean earned?”

“Only those I trust most may view this map in its entirety.” The map was a true weapon, and Hades let few have access to it, among them, Thanatos and Hecate.

“Who can see the whole map?” Then her voice tightened, and her eyes narrowed suspiciously. “Can Minthe see it?”

Her jealousy interested him, and he could not help goading her. “Would that bother you, Lady Persephone?”

“No,” she said quickly, and let her eyes fall to where her hands rested on the basin.

She was lying. He could hear it in the inflection of her voice, see it in the language of her body, taste it in the air between them. He should challenge her, much as he’d done the day she’d come to Nevernight to demand answers for his bargains. Will you speak of how you flush from your pretty head to your toes in my presence and how I make you lose your breath? He could point out that she had not put space between them since he approached, that she had been leaning closer to him the longer they spoke, arching her back in a way that drew attention to her curves.

It made him want her even more, and he knew if he kissed her now, she would let him take her. Their coupling would be hard and fast and desperate, and it would be full of regret.

He could not love her and have her lie, so he turned, needing distance, and retreated into the stacks, but she followed him, suffocating him with her heat and her smell.

She struggled to match his stride, panting out, “Why did you revoke my favor?”

“To teach you a lesson,” he replied, not looking at her.

“To not bring mortals into your realm?” He thought it was odd that her thoughts went to Adonis and not Orpheus. He was not sure what to make of that.

“To not leave when you are angry with me,” he said.

“Excuse me?”

She halted, setting aside the books she carried, and Hades turned to face her. His heart raced, and he questioned whether he could have this conversation.

“You strike me as someone who has a lot of emotions and has never quite been taught how to deal with it all, but I can assure you, running away is not the solution.”

I’m really one to talk, he thought. He was giving this speech for his own sake as much as hers.

“I had nothing more to say to you.”

“It’s not about words,” he said, frustrated, and then paused to take a few breaths before explaining, “I’d rather help you understand my motivations than have you spy on me.”

“It was not my intention to spy,” she said. “Hermes—”

“I know it was Hermes who pulled you into that mirror,” he said gently. This was not about the mirror at all. It was about changing her opinion of him. “I do not wish for you leave and be angry with me.”

She shook her head slightly, brows furrowing, and asked, “Why?”

“Because…” He felt stupid. In all his lifetimes, he had never had to explain himself. “It is important to me. I would rather explore your anger. I would hear your advice. I wish to understand your perspective.”

She started to speak again, and he knew what she would ask. Why? So, he answered, “Because you have lived among mortals. You understand them better than I. Because you are compassionate.”

She looked away, a faint color in her cheeks. After a moment, she asked in a quiet tone, “Why did you help the mother tonight?”

“Because I wished to,” he said, and he could practically feel Hecate’s eyes rolling. You can do better than that. I said communicate!

“And Orpheus?”

Hades offered a raspy sigh, rubbing his eyes with his forefinger and thumb. Hecate was right—he had to do better with his explanations.

“It isn’t so simple. Yes, I have the ability to resurrect the dead, but it does not work with everyone, especially where the Fates are involved. Eurydice’s life was cut short by the Fates for a reason. I cannot touch her.”

“But the girl?”

“She wasn’t dead, just in limbo. I can bargain with the Fates for lives in limbo.”

“What do you mean, bargain with the Fates?”

“It is a fragile thing,” he said. “If I ask the Fates to spare one soul, I do not get a say in the life of another.”

It meant that another life in limbo would be taken, something Hades tried hard not to think about in this moment.

“But…you are the God of the Underworld!”

He was, but that did not mean he would overrule decisions. Even if he could, he’d learned long ago there are consequences for such actions, and some burdens he was unwilling to bear. There was always a greater purpose at work, and for him to interfere would mean ruin.

“And the Fates are Divine,” he said. “I must respect their existence as they respect mine.”

“That doesn’t seem fair.”

“Doesn’t it? Or is it that it doesn’t sound fair to mortals?”

Persephone’s eyes flashed, a hint of her glamour reeling beneath her skin. “So mortals have to suffer for the sake of your game?”

“It is not a game, Persephone. Least of all mine,” he shot back, frustrated. Had he not done a good enough job explaining the balance of the Underworld? Or was it that she really wanted to think the worst of him?

“So, you’ve offered an explanation for part of your behavior, but what of the other bargains?”

Hades slanted his head, his brows slamming down over his eyes, and he took a step forward. He did not like her question. He had answered this, was she still not satisfied with his answer? Or was she angry about her own bargain? He expected her to backdown at his approach, but she did not, remaining where she was and lifting her chin in defiance.

“Are you asking for yourself or the mortals you claim to defend?”

“Claim?” Again, that light in her eyes stirred, and Hades wanted to smile at it.

Yes, my queen. Let me feed that fire, awaken your power.

“You only became interested in my business ventures after you entered into a contract with me,” Hades pointed out. It was true. Would she have started this witch hunt had he let her leave his club unattached?

“Business ventures? Is that what you call willfully misleading me?”

“So this is about you.”

“What you have done is unjust. Not just to me, but to all the mortals—”

“I do not want to talk about mortals. I would like to talk about you.” Hades leaned in closer, guiding Persephone toward the bookcase. His hands caged her, one on either side of her face. “Why did you invite me to your table?”

Persephone looked away, and Hades’ eyes lowered to her neck as she swallowed. “You said you’d teach me.”

She whispered the words, and they skittered down his spine, making him shiver, making him want to press into her, to cradle her softness between his thighs.

“Teach you what, goddess?” His lips dropped to her skin, and he brushed the column of her neck. He felt her shiver as he whispered words against her skin. “What did you truly desire to learn then?”

“Cards.”

The word was breathy, and the air between them was thick, a tangible weight full of erotic thoughts and fantasies. Her head fell back, supported by the bookcase, and her hands gripped the shelves as if she were fighting her own instincts and the voice in her head that commanded she touch him too.

His lips explored, and as he pressed a kiss against her breastbone, he looked up. “What else?”

She met his stare then, eyes fire-bright and searching. Their lips grazed each other’s as they shared breath.

“Tell me,” Hades begged.

Tell me you want me, he thought, and I will take you now. He would lift her into his arms, part her legs, and settle between them. The friction would release their passion, shake the earth and reverse rivers. It would end worlds and begin them.

It would change everything.

He waited, and her eyes fluttered closed as her lips parted, inviting his own. She took a breath, her chest rising and falling against his own. He leaned in, ready to capture her mouth when she admitted the truth. Tell me you desire me.

“Just cards.”

He drew away lightning fast, despite his raging desire, and attempted to mask his frustration at her response. It took some effort, and his fingers curled into fists, nails piercing his palms. The pain made it easier, helped him focus on something other than his hard-as-steel cock.

Fuck me, he thought.

If she would not own up to her lust, he would not continue to make a fool of himself.

“You must wish to return home,” he said, turning from her and leaving the stacks, pausing to look back. “You may borrow those books, if you wish.”

She blinked, as if she were under some sort of spell, before gathering the books and following him into the main part of the library.

“How? You withdrew my favor.”

“Trust me, Lady Persephone,” he said, keep his tone void of emotion. “If I stripped you of my favor, you would know.”

It would be painful, like skin stripped from bones.

“So I’m Lady Persephone again?” Her voice held contempt, and he wondered at her response. Was she angry with him?

“You have always been Lady Persephone, whether you choose to embrace your blood or not.”

“What is there to embrace?” she asked and did not meet his gaze. “I’m an unknown goddess at best, and a minor one at that.”

Hades frowned; those beliefs were the bars that kept her true nature caged.

“If that is how you think of yourself, you will never know your power.”

Hades had nothing more to say. He had a nymph to interrogate, energy to expend, and Persephone had made it clear she wished to leave. He started to gather his magic and teleport to Nevernight, when her sharp command stopped him.

“Don’t. You asked that I not leave when I’m angry, and I’m asking you not to send me away when you’re angry.”

He dropped his hand. “I am not angry.”

“Then why did you drop me in the Underworld earlier?” she asked. “Why send me away at all?”

“I needed to speak with Hermes,” he said.

“And you couldn’t say that?”

He hesitated.

“Don’t request things of me you cannot deliver yourself, Hades.”

He stared at her. Her line of questioning helped him understand a few things about her. He had hurt her feelings when he dropped her in the Underworld earlier. She felt ignored and discarded.

We are equals, she’d said on their second encounter. When she had come to ask that his mark be removed. She was making the same plea now.

After a moment, he nodded. “I will grant you that courtesy.”

She exhaled, and Hades wondered if she had expected him to say no. The thought made his chest tighten.

“Thank you.”

Her words relaxed him, and he extended his hand. “Come, we can return to Nevernight together. I have…unfinished business there.”

She shifted the books in her arms and took his hand, and they returned to his office. Her gaze fell on the mirror over the fireplace and then wandered to his.

“How did you know we were in there? Hermes said we couldn’t be seen.”

“I knew you were here, because I could feel you.”

She shivered visibly and withdrew her hand from his. Hades mourned the absence of her warmth. She picked up her backpack where she had left it and heaved it onto her shoulder. On the way out the door, she paused and glanced back. She looked so young, so beautiful, framed by his gilded doors, and he wondered what the fuck he was doing.

“You said the map is only visible to those you trust. What does it take to gain the trust of the God of the Dead?”

“Time.”

***

Hades saw Persephone out, despite her protests. He knew she feared being seen with him, and really, he could not blame her. The media was ruthless and obsessive, and they tracked gods like prey, hoping for a shot that would perpetuate sensationalism and gossip. Some of his fellow Olympians loved the attention, but Hades had made it a goal to avoid them completely, going so far as to post guards up and down his street, on roofs, and in buildings around his club to keep his privacy.

“Antoni will take you home,” Hades said, having already summoned the cyclops. He stood outside Hades’ black Lexus. He expected Persephone to protest, but she looked up at him, a gentle expression on her face.

“Thank you.”

She climbed into the back of the car, meeting his gaze through the window as Antoni closed the door.

Watching her leave felt different this time, like they had found common ground. Like they were closer to understanding one another…and he felt hopeful.

As soon as his car was out of sight, Ilias approached, handing him a file he had created on the dryad who had followed Persephone into his club. He glanced over the content and handed it back to the satyr.

“Thank you, Ilias,” he said and vanished, appearing in the small room where the dryad had been held. She screamed when she saw Hades and shrunk against the wall, shaking.

“Rosalva Lykaios. Assistant to Demeter. Funny that your résumé does not also include spy.”

She spoke softly, voice quaking. “P-Please, my lord—”

“I will be brief,” he said, cutting her off. “You have two choices before you. Either you lie to your mistress and tell her Persephone was not here tonight, or you tell the truth.”

He moved toward her as he spoke, and the girl cowered.

“If the first, you risk the wrath of Demeter,” he said. “If the second, you risk my wrath.”

“You are asking me to do the impossible.”

“No,” he said. “I am asking you, which of us do you fear more?”