Chapter XLI: Hades

CHAPTER XLI

HADES

Restraints, she said.

There was an anxious part of him that did not want to try it again, especially on this night—the most memorable one of their lives—but if it went well, then it would be more than anything he’d hoped for, like everything that had happened so far.

He would just have to be more for her tonight—more attentive, more present, more communicative—and he could do that. He would do that.

It wasn’t long before Hecate retrieved them from the library, which was good because Hades was seconds away from leaving. She led them to the ballroom, and on the other side of the doors, he heard Hermes announce them.

“Introducing your Lord and Lady of the Underworld, King Hades and Queen Persephone.”

When the doors opened, it was to great applause and cheering. The ballroom was packed with people, but it did not bother him the way the crowd on Olympus had. They walked along the path the souls had made to the courtyard to dance beneath the moon and stars.

He drew her into his arms, almost too close to do anything beyond sway in place, but he did not care. This was what he wanted—to be near her, to feel her, to know this was real.

“What are you thinking?” she asked after a long moment.

Neither of them had spoken, basking in this moment of quiet happiness.

“I am thinking of many things, wife,” he said and could not help smiling when he used the word. It was perhaps his favorite title he had ever bestowed.

“Like?”

“I am thinking of how happy I am,” he answered.

“Is that all?”

“I wasn’t finished,” he said, knowing what she was asking because he had felt it the moment they’d approached the topic of sex. “I am wondering if you are wet for me. If your stomach is wound tight with desire. If you’re fantasizing about tonight as much as I am—and are your thoughts just as vulgar?”

Her gaze was unwavering.

“Yes.”

His hands flexed on her hips, and he wondered how appropriate it would be to leave this celebration early, though Hades wasn’t sure he wanted to risk never hearing the end of it from Hecate, who had put in so much work, along with Yuri and the other souls in Asphodel. In many ways, this was just as much for them, and he did not wish to take away their only chance to celebrate their union, even if he knew what they were most excited about was having Persephone as their queen.

That fact became more evident as the night progressed and the souls drew her into dance after dance.

He watched her for a while when Hecate approached.

“Come, my king,” she said. “You should dance on your wedding night.”

He took her offered hand, and they joined the others on the floor.

“Thank you, Hecate,” he said. “I will forever be grateful for everything.”

She smiled. “You’re welcome, my dear, but I would do anything for you. I would do anything for Persephone.”

There was a weight to her words that was almost threatening. He could feel it, as if she too wanted to promise the end of the world if either of them came to harm.

They danced a while, and then Hades was pulled into a circle of little girls who sang “Ring around the Rosie” over and over again, and while he was trapped there, his attention caught on Apollo, who stood in the shadow of the room with Hyacinth. The two stood close but not touching, and Hades wondered how the God of Music was coping now that he had found a mortal love interest.

Hades was not someone who believed that everyone had one true love in their lifetime. The only reason he believed it for himself was because he wanted it no other way. Sometimes he wondered if Apollo was the same. The thing about Apollo and Hyacinth’s love was that it had changed the god on a fundamental level, not only as he fell for the man but also in his death.

Sometimes that was what people were unable to come back from.

When he was finally released from the confines of the ring of Rosie—or whatever it was—he crossed the room toward Apollo, who was now alone.

When he noticed Hades’s approach, Apollo stiffened and lifted his chin, his throat bobbing up and down.

“Are you all right?” Hades asked.

“Do not be concerned for me,” Apollo said. “This is your wedding.”

“If Persephone saw you, she would be concerned,” Hades said.

Apollo angled himself away from the crowd, his face splotchy red.

“What did you tell Hyacinth?”

He took a breath. “I told him about Ajax,” he said and paused, his voice thick with emotion. “It isn’t at all bad. He was so happy for me.”

“It has been a long time, Apollo,” Hades said as gently as possible.

“I know. The thing is, I just…don’t know that I expected him to be happy.”

Hades frowned. “What do you mean?”

Apollo was quiet before he answered. “I don’t know. I guess I thought…if he still loved me, he would be angry…but that’s not what happened.”

“Hyacinth loves you, Apollo,” Hades said. “And just because you move on in life does not mean you love him any less.”

“It felt wrong, you know?” Apollo said, meeting Hades’s gaze. “Until now.”

“You know you always had his blessing.”

Apollo nodded, and Hades’s gaze shifted to Hyacinth, who had returned, two drinks in hand.

“Lord Hades, congratulations!” he said, his eyes bright with mirth.

Apollo took a breath to compose himself and then turned to face the mortal prince.

“Thank you, Hyacinth,” Hades said, nodding once. “I’ll leave you two to the festivities.”

Hades wandered outside into the Underworld night, leaving behind the clamor of the crowd. He needed the space and the quiet. He wasn’t overwhelmed exactly, but there came a point when he only wanted to sit with his thoughts.

He was eager to be alone with his bride. When he thought of how this evening had begun, he had no idea it would escalate to this. He doubted his brother expected him to marry so quickly. Zeus had likely anticipated that they would wed publicly, both in the Upperworld and on Olympus.

Weddings between gods among the Olympians were rare and celebrated as monumental occasions, and while it was a monumental occasion in his life, Hades was not so certain he wished to share that with anyone beyond his realm, especially in the climate that existed in the Upperworld right now. It was likely, if word was to get out about their marriage, it would be seen as a selfish choice, given Demeter’s snowstorm.

But Hades hated the politics. He hated that their union had been about power at all, when all he wanted was to marry the woman he loved. And so he had, come what may.

He heard the familiar sounds of his dogs’ loud sniffing, and when he turned, Persephone was walking down the path toward him, and it was like being back in that moment when she’d rounded the tree line to marry him.

He smiled at her as she approached and then asked quietly, “Are you well?”

“I am,” she replied.

“Are you ready?”

“I am.”

He offered his hand, and when she took it, they vanished.

---

Hades had planned no part of the wedding, but that did not mean he hadn’t planned for the night. He had only thought of one thing when he considered where to take her, and that was some place beyond this world, to a place that had not been touched by terror or strife.

He wanted to take her to the stars.

He was pleased with the illusion, and as they stood on the platform of their marriage bed, stars glittered all around.

“Are we…in the middle of a lake?” Persephone asked.

“Yes,” he answered.

“Is this your magic?”

“It is,” he said. “Do you like it?”

“It is beautiful,” she said. “But where are we, really?”

“We are in the Underworld. In a space I made.”

“How long have you planned this?”

“I have thought about it for a while,” he said, just as he’d thought about her ring for a while.

Persephone’s lips curled, and she approached the bed, smoothing her hand over the soft silk sheets. He wondered what she was doing—perhaps making sure it was real—but then she straightened and looked at him over her shoulder.

“Help me out of my dress,” she said.

He obliged happily and approached, drawing the zipper down, letting his fingers drift along her spine as he returned to guide the thin straps of her gown from her shoulders. As it pooled to the ground, he realized she wore nothing beneath.

She turned to him slowly and met his gaze. There was a strange and nervous energy between them. He wasn’t sure why; it was not as if they were new to this, but perhaps it had something to do with her earlier request.

He drew her nearer, the tension a physical thing. He could feel it in the space between them even as he closed it, even as he pressed his mouth to hers and touched her soft skin. He smoothed his hands up her sides to her breasts, then to her back so he could pull her even closer.

He didn’t want to stop but he had to. When he drew away, he pulled a small, black box from his pocket.

“These are Chains of Truth,” he said. “They are a powerful weapon against any god unless they have the password. I am telling you that password now so that if you begin to feel afraid, you can release yourself from their grasp. Eleftherose ton—say it.”

She looked at him and then at the box.

“Eleftherose ton.”

He watched her lips as she repeated the words. “Perfect.”

“Why are they called Chains of Truth?”

“The only truth they shall draw from your lips is your pleasure,” he promised. “Lie down.”

She turned and gave him her ass as she crawled onto the bed. He had to restrain himself from dragging her back to him by her hips to swat her and fuck her from behind—there would be enough time for that later. Right now, he had an obligation to make sure she felt safe and comfortable, and he would do nothing else until that happened.

Even if his cock was raging.

She shifted onto her back and spread her arms when Hades instructed. He hovered over her, unable to take his eyes off her glorious body. Preparing her for this process was just as fucking erotic.

When he placed the box over her head, the restraints materialized. At first, they were heavy manacles made of iron, meant for restraining a god. Hades touched them, turning them into soft bindings.

“Forgive me, my darling,” he said and then met her gaze. “Are you ready?”

“For you?” she asked. “Always.”

“Always,” he said, the word shuddering through him.

He sat back, admiring her as he removed his jacket and shirt. He was thinking that he liked this, that he could do this now that she had a safe word.

Her eyes were dark despite their color and tracked his every move.

“What are you thinking?” he asked.

“I want you to move faster,” she said, and her eyes widened as those words fell from her mouth. She looked up at the restraints around her wrists and tugged on one before looking at him again. “Is there any chance you get to wear these?”

“If that is what you want,” he said as he discarded his shirt. “But you do not need chains to draw the truth from me, especially when it comes to what I plan to do to you.”

“I’d rather not hear your plans,” she said.

He smirked. He knew she just wanted him to begin. “What do you want, wife?”

“Action,” she said, moving beneath him.

Fuck, she was beautiful and so tempting.

He laughed as he pressed a kiss between her breasts, then on each of them. Her legs closed around him, her hips grinding into his erection.

He liked her eagerness. He hoped it meant that by the time he made it between her legs, she was so wet he could drown. He made his way down her body, and her legs fell open, exposing her wicked flesh to his mouth.

He licked and sucked her there, and she moaned.

“This,” he said roughly. “I love this.”

He loved the way she tasted and how she smelled, the silkiness of her on his tongue. Mostly, he loved her and how she responded—the way her heels dug into the bed, the way her thighs pressed into him as she felt each wave of pleasure, the way her fingers twined around the chains.

“Oh, it’s so good,” she breathed.

His finger was inside her, his mouth on her clit. He broke long enough to encourage her words.

“That’s it, darling. Tell me how it feels.”

“It’s good. So good.” She managed to look at him before her head fell back against the pillow on a guttural moan.

When she came, her body tightened around him so hard it was like she wanted to trap him between her legs forever. If it meant pleasuring her this way for an eternity, he would gladly stay, but his own need for her pulsed between his legs. He kissed up her body, and with the taste of her on his tongue, he shook with the carnal need to bury himself inside her.

“Where are you going?” she asked when he stood, his hands already on the button of his trousers.

“Not far, wife,” he said as he finished undressing, and when he was naked, he was fully aware of her stare. It burned his skin, made his cock grow thicker and his balls heavier. He could not wait to be inside her, to make her his wife in this way. It did not matter that they’d had sex so many times before; this was still different.

“Tell me your thoughts,” he prompted her again, curious as to what was behind that heated gaze.

“It doesn’t matter how often you are inside me,” she said. “I can’t…it’s not enough.”

He climbed on top of her, letting his body rest against hers, reveling in the warmth and wild energy between them.

“I love you,” he said as he stared down at her.

“I love you.”

He would never tire of hearing those words returned, and for the first time tonight, he wanted her hands free so she could touch him, but he would wait.

That was a reward in and of itself.

“Are you well?” he asked, wanting to make sure.

“Yes.” She nodded, though her voice trembled slightly. “I am just thinking of how much I truly love you.”

He did not doubt her love, but he mourned that she would never know how much it meant to him. He had waited for her. He had ached for her. He had dreamed of her, and here she was—real and warm, lying beneath him.

And now he wanted inside.

He kissed her hard and then guided his length to her opening. She lifted her legs, digging her heels into his ass, trying in vain to push him inside harder and faster, but he resisted her urging and slid inside in one slow stroke. When his balls settled against her, he shifted her legs so that they were propped against his shoulders and pumped into her.

He focused on her, how she quaked beneath him, how her breasts bounced with his thrusts, how her eyes held his and then closed in pleasure, her mouth following the same sort of pattern. Her reactions were everything he wanted. She made it hard to focus, harder to maintain this for long.

“You feel so good. So tight, so wet,” he said, increasing his pace from a steady and methodical movement to something far more possessive and carnal. Fuck, he was ready to have her hands on him. “Eleftherose ton!”

He let her legs go and leaned down to take her mouth against his in a messy kiss as her fingers threaded through his hair before she moved down to grip his ass, pulling him against her harder.

“Fuck!”

He broke away and sat back on his heels, bringing her with him. He helped her sit on his cock as she wrapped her legs around him. They held each other tightly as they both moved, grinding together, and he knew he could not hold on for much longer. It was the way she breathed, the way her nipples scraped against his chest, the way she felt around him.

They both tensed and tightened, their fingers pressing hard into their bodies the harder they moved, the more they chased the feeling of ecstasy erupting between them. When she tightened around him in release, he came in a rush that went straight to his head.

He was dizzy as he fell back against the bed with Persephone in his arms, bodies heavy.

Persephone started to laugh.

“I will refrain from thinking you are laughing at my performance, wife,” he said.

She laughed harder and finally stopped to look at him.

“No,” she said, tracing his features. “You were everything.”

He shifted them to their sides so they could face each other.

“You are my everything,” he said. “My first love, my wife, the first and last Queen of the Underworld.”