Chapter V

Chapter V

Power Play

While Hecate returned to the Underworld, Hades went to Nevernight and informed Ilias of the situation with Acacius, advising him to maintain surveillance on the mortal’s shop. It was not so much with the intention of providing protection as much as it was to see who visited.

“I’m not so certain that man will live long,” said Ilias.

“Agreed,” Hades replied. “He fucked with a god.”

Ilias shook his head. “Acacius established himself as someone who has answers. Now he doesn’t. He’ll find himself at the end of someone’s gun soon enough.”

Hades did not doubt it. It was just another consequence of using relics.

“Wonder what Dionysus wants with the Graeae,” Ilias mused.

Hades did not know, but he would find out.

In the meantime, he also had to deal with Hera’s fucking labors, the thought of which filled him with both anger and dread. It tightened his muscles and filled his stomach with an almost arresting feeling that he couldn’t shake when he thought of the daunting task of executing someone he cared for. And what happened after? What if she asked him to murder again? He could only hope that by then, he found a way out of these labors that left his future with Persephone intact—not only their future, Persephone’s future.

Hera was not above torturing gods, and Hades knew if she did not get her way, she’d set her sights on Persephone.

It would be a move the goddess regretted for the rest of her life.

Hades crested the stairs that led to his office and paused outside the gilded doors. Something was wrong. The feeling raised the hair on the back of his neck and trickled down his spine. He noted it and continued inside to find his office empty. He started across the room, intent on heading for the bar, when something snuck up behind him.

“Boo!”

Hades whirled and punched Hermes in the face.

The God of Mischief stumbled back and clamped his hands over his nose. “Motherfucker! Why did you do that?” he demanded.

“You scared me,” Hades said simply, lips curling at the sight of the god’s pain.

“I did not,” Hermes said, dropping his hands. Any evidence of the strike to the face was already healed. “You wanted to punch me.”

“Don’t give me an excuse,” Hades said, making his way to the bar, where he poured himself a drink. “To what do I owe your visit, and what can I do to prevent it in the future?”

“Rude,” Hermes said, sauntering to the bar. “You’re talking to a hero.”

Hades raised a brow.

“You should be thanking me,” he continued. “I distracted a whole crowd of screaming fans so Sephy could go to work.”

Hades frowned. “Was she not escorted to the door by Antoni?”

Hermes’s face fell, as if he realized he’d brought something to Hades’s attention that he shouldn’t have.

“Well, I could be wrong, but she kept repeating that she wanted a normal, mortal life, which is hard to do when you arrive at your day job in the God of the Underworld’s personal car and allow his personal driver to escort you to the door.”

“She’s a goddess ,” Hades countered.

“A new one by her standard and ours,” Hermes argued. “You have to give her time to transition into her role. She’s played mortal for the past four years, and she’s liked it. She will resent you if you take her normalcy away too quickly.”

“You sound like Hecate,” Hades accused.

“I resent that,” Hermes sniffed. “I can be wise.”

Hades sighed, frustrated. The problem was, she was no longer normal. People saw her differently just by her association with him.

“We’ve been famous all our lives,” Hermes said. “Persephone hasn’t, and she will not learn how to live this life without mistakes, so you might as well let her make them.”

“There is no room for mistakes, not when it comes to her safety.”

“Not everyone is a threat to her well-being.”

Except that anyone who was a threat to him was a threat to her—and that very nearly included everyone.

Hades was doubtful, and then Hermes leaned across the bar so far, his chest almost touched the counter, and he whispered, “Has anyone ever told you…you need therapy?”

Hermes had, in fact, told him often.

“Pot, meet kettle,” Hades replied.

Hermes straightened and narrowed his eyes. “Since when did you start using mortal expressions?”

“I thought you might appreciate it.”

“Well, I don’t,” he said, crossing his arms over his chest, but after a moment, he dropped them. “What does it mean?”

“It means,” said Hades, “that you are a hypocrite.”

“Rude! That’s twice in one conversation, Hades.”

“Perhaps you should stick to what you do best, then.”

“And what is that?”

“Fuckery,” Hades replied and downed his drink.

“Are you saying that’s all I’m good for?” Hermes asked.

It was a trick question, and Hades did not bite. Instead, he was quiet for a moment before he asked, “How long has it been since you visited Bakkheia?”

Bakkheia was one of Dionysus’s nightclubs. Of those he owned, it was considered rather tame, but it was just as difficult to gain entry into as Nevernight.

“Dionysus’s club?” Hermes asked. “Why would I go there?”

Hades raised a brow. “Orgies.”

Hermes’s mouth opened and then closed before crossing his arms over his chest. “I was there last week. Why?”

“I’d like you to go again,” Hades said.

“You’re…asking me to have an orgy?”

“No,” Hades said. “I’m asking you to take Dionysus a message.”

Hermes sucked air through his teeth. “Can’t you send an email?”

“These words are better delivered in person.”

“Hades!” Hermes whined. “You’re going to get me kicked out.”

“I am certain you will have no lack of orgies in the future,” Hades replied. “Tell Dionysus I’d be happy to chat about his recent acquisition at a time that is most convenient for him.”

“No one talks like that anymore, Hades.”

“I just did,” he replied.

“And look how long it took you to get a girlfriend.”

Hades glared.

“You know what I think you should do?” Hades did not reply, but Hermes continued anyway. “Just castrate him.”

“Castrate him?”

“Think about it, Hades. Who’d mess with you if you started chopping off balls?”

“Nothing good comes from castrating gods,” Hades replied.

Divinity could still be born from the flesh of the gods, as his grandfather, Uranus, had demonstrated with the birth of the Furies, giants, nymphs, and Aphrodite after his testicles were dropped into the ocean.

“It’s just a suggestion,” Hermes said and made his way to the door. “One you’ll want to keep in mind once I deliver this message to Dionysus.”

Hades was aware of Dionysus’s difficult personality, and despite the fact that the God of the Vine was in possession of the Graeae, Hades still had the advantage.

Hermes paused a moment, as if he’d just remembered something, and faced Hades. “Be patient with Sephy. She tries so hard to be independent, she thinks relying on anyone is a weakness.”

Then he left.

Hades gritted his teeth against Hermes’s words. He didn’t like how the god acted as if he knew Persephone better. Hades understood her need to be independent, knew that it stemmed from Demeter’s overprotectiveness, but this was different. People were unpredictable, obsessive, and cruel. He did not trust them, and perhaps it was because he saw the impact of one bad seed. It took one man or woman to turn against a culture, and after a few well-delivered words, a nation was suddenly at war.

Persephone was just now learning the world she would battle, and it was nothing like the one she was used to, because it was his and there was nothing in his life that did not become darkness.

Hades sighed and polished off what remained of his drink before taking the small box out of his pocket. He sat it on the bar and stared at it, unopened. It was tempting to use its magic. Just holding the eye would reveal his future, though Hades knew it was ever-changing, hinging always on the threads the Fates wove into the world.

And if they discovered his use of the eye, he knew they would retaliate, but there was only one thing they could take from him that would damage him beyond repair: Persephone. And while the Fates were vengeful, they were not rash. Even if they considered taking Persephone away, they’d weigh all possible futures, and once they perceived how each ended—in death and fire and darkness—they’d leave their threads entangled.

He opened the box.

The eye that stared back had a large, black pupil, and it was misshapen and gelatinous. He stretched his fingers on the table and curled them into a fist—even gods were not immune to curiosity. Zeus was obsessed with the future, with prophecy, constantly using his oracle to determine who was a threat to his throne.

All Hades wanted to know was that Persephone had a place in his future.

But knowledge always came with a price, and Hades wasn’t willing to pay, even for the certainty. He couldn’t.

There was too much at stake right now.

He closed the box, shoved it in his pocket, and left Nevernight to go in search of Persephone.

He wanted to hear about her day.

* * *

Hades found Persephone in her room, standing with her eyes closed. Her head was tilted slightly upward as if she were inviting him to kiss her full lips. As he observed her, she took a breath, shivering, and her shoulders rose with it. She looked…adorable, and he found himself smiling at how much he loved her.

Despite everything that had transpired today, this moment made it all worth it.

He touched her chin and pressed his mouth to hers, and his mind went blank, consumed by her smell and her taste and her touch. Her hands splayed softly across his chest, kindling heat in the core of his stomach. He stepped closer, tangled his hand in her hair, and kissed her harder. He wanted nothing more than to take her home to the Underworld and continue this worship, especially if it meant avoiding the world that existed beyond them.

Yet there was a part of him that did not wish to use Persephone in that way, so he pulled away. Hades pressed his palm to her cheek, searching her gaze. She seemed a little anxious, and while he could feel it tangled between them, he did not know what it stemmed from.

“Troubled, darling?”

Suspicion bled into her gaze. “You followed me today, didn’t you?”

“Why would you think that?” he asked, especially since he hadn’t, but he was curious about her reasoning.

“You insisted Antoni take me to work this morning, most likely because you already knew what the media was reporting.”

“I didn’t want to worry you.” And while he had assumed she would be under the scrutiny of both the media and the public at large, he had to admit that he hadn’t expected the crowd that had gathered today, but it appeared the public did not yet connect their fear of him to Persephone.

“So you let me walk into a mob?”

“ Did you walk into that mob?” he asked, knowing better.

“You were there! I thought we agreed. No invisibility.”

“I wasn’t,” he said. “Hermes was.”

Her eyes flashed with a note of frustration and then dread as Hades spoke.

“You could always teleport, or I can provide an aeg—”

“I don’t want an aegis. I’d rather not use magic, not…in the Upperworld.”

“Unless you’re exacting revenge?” He raised a brow, knowing full well she had no trouble turning Adonis’s limbs into vines and Minthe into a mint plant.

“That’s not fair. You know my magic has become more and more unpredictable. And I’m not eager to be exposed as a goddess.”

“Goddess or not, you are my lover.”

He had said it to emphasize his point, that things had changed. Even the attention she had received from writing about him was different from this, but he noted how rigid she became and glowered. “It is only a matter of time before someone with a vendetta against me tries to harm you. I will keep you safe.”

At his words, Persephone hugged herself, and at least he knew some of them had gotten through.

“You really think someone would try to harm me?”

“Darling, I have judged human nature for millennia. Yes.”

“Can’t you, I don’t know, erase people’s memories? Make them forget about all this.”

He frowned at her question. All this , he thought. What she really meant was them .

“It is too late for that. What is so terrible about being known as my lover?”

“Nothing,” she said instantly. “It’s just that word .”

“What’s wrong with ‘lover’?”

“It sounds so fleeting. Like I am nothing but your sex slave.”

One corner of his lips curled. “What am I to call you, then? You have forbidden the use of ‘my queen’ and ‘my lady.’”

“Titles make me uncomfortable,” she said and hesitated. “It’s not that I don’t want to be known as your lover…but there has to be a better word.”

“‘Girlfriend’?” Hades supplied. He had to admit, it was an odd choice given the circumstances of their fate, but it was modern enough.

She laughed and Hades glowered.

“What’s wrong with ‘girlfriend’?”

“Nothing. It just seems so…insignificant,” she explained, growing flustered, and Hades felt less defensive as her cheeks reddened.

He touched her chin once more, holding her gaze as he stepped even closer. Their faces were inches apart, his lips hovering near hers, ready to take her mouth against his once more as he whispered, “Nothing is ever insignificant when it comes to you.”

They stared at each other, and a sweet tension built between them at the faint brush of his lips against hers.

A knock sounded at the door, and Lexa shouted from the other side. “Persephone! I’m ordering pizza. Any requests?”

The sudden interruption had caused Persephone’s heart to race. He could hear the steady thrum vibrating against his own skin, and there was a part of him that wanted to maintain that beat as they descended into a frenzied passion.

Neither one of them moved, and Hades was unwilling to lose this moment, kissing down the column of her neck as she cleared her throat and spoke, flustered. “N-no. Whatever you order is fine.”

“So pineapple and anchovies. Got it.”

Persephone’s reply was lost as Hades’s hand came up behind her head and he sucked her skin into his mouth, his teeth gently grazing, sending shivers through her body.

“Are you okay?” Lexa asked, clearly not satisfied with Persephone’s lack of response.

Hades chuckled and released her skin and continued his exploration. All the while, Persephone clung to him, her fingers digging into his upper arms. He liked it, liked knowing that the more pressure he felt there, the more tension he was building inside her.

“Yes,” she hissed.

Lexa paused and then asked, “Did you even hear what I’m going to order?”

“Just get cheese, Lexa!” Persephone snapped.

“Okay, okay, I’m on it.”

Lexa left after that, clearly amused, though her interruption seemed to have succeeded in distracting Persephone enough because she pushed against his chest to create distance between them.

“You shouldn’t laugh.”

He was confused by her comment—did she feel insecure about her reaction to him? If it was any consolation, he rarely had the ability to think beyond her when they were together.

“Why not? I can hear your heart beating. Are you afraid to be caught with your boyfriend?”

Persephone rolled her eyes. “I think I preferred lover.”

He laughed, and he liked the way she looked at him when he did…like she wanted to make him laugh forever. “You are not easy to please.”

“I would give you the chance, but I’m afraid I don’t have time.”

“I don’t need long,” he said, gripping the fabric of her dress. “I could make you come in seconds. You won’t even have to get undressed.”

The way she looked at him made his cock harder. It was sensual, almost a dare, yet she denied him.

“I’m afraid seconds will not do. I’m owed pleasure—hours of it.”

He could not argue with that, but he could bargain. “Allow me to give you a preview, then.”

He pulled her tight against him, and the bulge of his cock settled against her stomach, but she pushed against him.

“Perhaps later,” she said, and he wasn’t that surprised. She had been adamant about spending time with Lexa, and he knew that was important to her.

He could be patient.

“I’ll take that as a promise,” he said and vanished before he decided against waiting.