Chapter 10

Hades poured another drink and put his feet up, sprawling at the immense oak table he used as a desk. Hades’s study was similar to the rest of his home—full of sprawling riches tucked away into small nooks, covered in lush weavings and dark fabric hangings—but it was one of the smaller rooms. Whenever he needed to escape to think, the study’s more intimate space helped him feel less scattered.

The door started to edge open, and Hades sat up at attention before seeing one of Cerberus’s faces poke through. Hades’s posture softened immediately.

“Hey, buddy,” he cooed, patting his thigh. Cerberus’s tongues lolled happily as he pushed the door open the rest of the way and bounded into the office.

“What are you doing here, huh?” Hades started scratching Cerberus’s heads with both hands as the dog tried to climb into Hades’s lap—a challenging feat, considering he was about the size of the desk.

“Weren’t you supposed to be watching Persephone?” Hades pretended to scold Cerberus.

A heartsick feeling took up in his chest when he realized nothing would put Cerberus off task unless Persephone went somewhere Cerberus couldn’t follow. There were no places off-limit for Cerberus in the Underworld, which meant Persephone had left the Underworld.

“She’s gone.” Hades said aloud to no one in particular.

Cerberus was blissed out with the number of ear scratches he was getting, not paying any attention to his master as his tail thumped wildly on the floor.

Hades sank deeper in his chair, trying to understand why it devastated him that Persephone had gone. She asked him questions he had asked himself a thousand times. Why didn’t he try and find her? Did he really believe she was better off without him?

“Even if she was better off without having me as a consort, I knew she was destined for the Underworld.” Hades sighed heavily, still carrying on his one-sided conversation with Cerberus. “I’ve done her a disservice as the god of the Underworld by waiting so long to introduce myself. At the very least, I should have sent Hecate as a steward to ensure Persephone understood her capabilities.”

“I think we’d all be better off if Hecate handled things.” A deep voice startled Hades. He jumped, dislodging Cerberus, who fell into a wrinkled, slobbery heap on the floor. Hades was already gripping his bident when he realized it was Thanatos. He rarely changed out of his hoplite armor, his black hair cropped in a much shorter style than most gods preferred.

“What are you doing here?” Hades asked, not unkindly, conjuring up a second glass and chair. Thanatos nodded his head in appreciation and sat down, accepting the wine.

“I just left Dionysus’s feast on Mt. Olympus.”

“You hardly ever entertain those things.” Hades raised an eyebrow. “Should I be concerned?”

Thanatos shook his head.

“I had my reasons.” He waved his hand in the air. “Don’t worry about it.” There was a small, nearly undetectable smile on Thanatos’s face—or as close as he got to smiling—and he almost blushed like a maiden. Hades pushed his issues to the side momentarily.

“You look giddy,” Hades raised an eyebrow, “which is a cause for concern.”

Thanatos rolled his eyes and laughed loudly, a booming sound that echoed off the walls.

“I’ve never heard you make that noise. Was that a laugh?” Hades looked around, pretending to be panicked, “I’m sorry. Someone, please, call the Fates, call Nyx… Call everybody. Thanatos is in my office, and he’s laughing.”

“Oh, shut up,” Thanatos growled, his good demeanor vanishing quickly. “Fuck, I forgot everyone down here can be such a twat sometimes.”

“You’re like this all the time.” Hades countered, finishing his wine and topping off his glass. “Now, is there a reason that you’re visiting me? Not that I don’t appreciate it.”

“I thought I’d interrupt your brooding,” Thanatos supplied.

“You do understand the unbelievable irony in that statement?” Thanatos shrugged, still smiling and looking as unbothered as Hades had ever seen him.

“Did you find some new company while traversing with our heavenly cohorts?” Hades rolled his eyes, but when Thanatos didn’t respond, he realized he’d guessed correctly. “Oh, do I need to tell Eros to knock it off?”

“No, no,” Thanatos sighed. “There was…someone there. I’d never seen her before—”

“Oh, don’t fucking tell me Zeus has more bastard children running around.”

“Stop.” Thanatos cut off Hades, his eyes flashing angrily. Hades only raised one brow and leveled his stare at Thanatos. The god of death quickly realized who he’d snapped at and had the decency to hold up a hand in surrender. “Apologies, I, uh… I don’t know. Yes, I saw someone new, and she has nothing to do with Zeus.”

“Did you talk to her?” Hades pushed. He’d gotten an earful recently about Nyx’s obsession with finding a consort for Thanatos, and now he could say he’d spoken to Thanatos about it.

“Briefly. She seemed interested, but I had to get Hypnos home. When I returned, she didn’t meet me where we’d arranged.” Thanatos’s tone was measured, and Hades realized he was likely a bit more upset about that than he let on.

“Crazy things happen at Dionysus’s parties,” Hades offered. “You never know. She might have gotten distracted. Or, more accurately, was attempting to run away from Zeus.”

“Regardless,” Thanatos sighed, running a hand through his short hair, “that wasn’t why I came here to talk to you.”

“Oh?” Hades sipped at his wine, suddenly uncomfortable. He didn’t want to hear stories about Persephone returning to her mother’s arms.

Thanatos sat up a little straighter and sighed heavily.

“I don’t want to start gossipping about things that don’t concern me…” Hades waved his hand and encouraged Thanatos to continue.

“Olympus runs on gossip as a currency, and it has its black market in the Underworld too,” Hades sighed as if this was a discussion he’d had many times before. “We’re all worse than mortals when it comes to the topic. It’s been duly noted that it’s rare for Thanatos to participate.” Hades’s tone grew playful, and Thanatos’s lips pulled into a thin line.

“I shouldn’t even tell you what I learned.”

“You will because you came straight here to tell me.” Hades snapped his fingers, and the wine in their cups turned to ambrosia. “There’s a little something headier to help it go down easier.”

Thanatos said nothing but took a hearty sip before continuing.

“Persephone was there tonight.”

Hades’s heart froze in his chest. He didn’t want to hear about it. Thanatos had already interrupted him licking his wounds. She’d returned to the mortal world and Mt. Olympus itself; clearly, Persephone had no interest in the Fates’ declaration over her life. He’d have to talk to them personally to see what could be done about setting her free from those obligations if she didn’t want them. The Underworld would be fine. It hadn’t had a queen since its creation.

Wouldyou be fine? The most treacherous part of Hades’s brain piped up, but he silenced it as Thanatos continued.

“I saw her in a corner of the party, talking to Demeter.”

Hades heard enough. He shook his head and started to stand. “If that’s everything, honestly, I don’t need to hear what those two get up to.”

“Yes, you do,” Thanatos barked rather forcefully. “Because I can practically see you thinking, and this isn’t going in the direction you’ve resigned yourself to.” Hades was startled at that and sat down without any further argument. “Persephone was talking to Demeter. She looked furious. I swear, Hades, there were a few seconds where I thought I was sent to collect Demeter’s shade.”

Hades froze in his seat, unable to process the words Thanatos was saying. He leaned forward carefully, a white-knuckle grip on his cup.

“Are you telling me Persephone was ready to kill her mother?”

“I’m telling you, Persephone is more powerful than any of us may have imagined, and we don’t understand her abilities. And yes, she hates her mother. At one point, those two things made for a deadly combination.”

“What happened to Demeter? Where is Persephone? Is she safe?” Hades was again at his feet in an instant, conjuring his bident out of thin air for the second time that evening. Thanatos’s forehead wrinkled as he took in Hades’s dramatic reaction.

“Persephone is back in the Underworld already.” Thanatos pointed out. Hades dropped his bident, and it clattered to the floor. He fell in his seat with palpable relief. His emotions were all over the place, but he was wholly unprepared for the crushing reassurance that came with the news that Persephone had returned. He only realized she’d left when Cerberus had come to his study—in fifteen minutes, he’d experienced more heightened states of emotion than Zeus upon seeing a human virgin.

Perhaps it is Eros whom I should be strangling. Hades didn’t censor his solace around Thanatos; they bickered like brothers, and he considered Thanatos almost like a nephew. Their unique bond was forged through unfortunate circumstances, which were the unpleasant reputations they garnered outside the Underworld as the god of hell and the god of death.

Thanatos continued without further comment on Hades’s untethered emotional state, for which Hades was inexplicably grateful. It was apparent that his connection to Persephone wasn’t the same as teasing Thanatos about a pretty deity at a party.

“Persephone returned to the Underworld and is at Hecate’s house,” Thanatos affirmed, “but she went at it with Demeter. I didn’t catch much of the conversation, but she was furious. I’m not kidding, Hades. The anger in her eyes… I caught just a little sense of her power in the air, and she needs training to handle that sort of strength.”

Hades pinched the bridge of his nose. “Then the best place for her is at Hecate’s.”

“Is it?” Thanatos pushed.

“Watch it,” Hades growled in warning.

The room shook with a tremor of his power, and Thanatos only smirked in response.

“Come on, uncle, tell me. What’s going on between you and Persephone?”

“I don’t know if I should discuss this with you,” Hades admitted, finishing the rest of the ambrosia in his glass and refilling it immediately.

“Who else are you going to discuss it with?” Thanatos shrugged. “Cerberus?” The hound picked his heads up off the floor at the mention of his name, meandering over to Thanatos. He plopped down at Thanatos’s feet, who began contributing his tithe of pats.

“I don’t know what else there is to discuss,” Hades admitted. “It’s been a few days, and I don’t know why I can’t get her out of my head. It’s constant. I’ve had a one-track mind since she appeared here, and how much it affects me is concerning.”

Thanatos thought for a minute, chewing on his lip before he shrugged. “I don’t know. It makes sense to me.”

“How?” Hades looked around to see if no one was around to hear him. “If she walked through that door right now and asked me to set Mt. Olympus on fire once and for all, I’d do it.”

“I think if anyone asked you while you were drunk, you’d do it.” Thanatos countered, but Hades only groaned.

“You know what I mean!” Hades grunted. “Whatever she wants, I’d give it to her. Do you know how my home responds to her? It unlocked my bedroom doors for her. Cerberus loved her the second he laid eyes on her.”

“It sounds like you did too.” Thanatos pointed out, and Hades only made another dramatic groan, dropping his head into his hands.

“That’s the point! Do you not hear how insane that is? I can’t be in love with Persephone. It’s been days. Hours, even.”

Thanatos shrugged, sounding as calm as ever, which irritated Hades further. “Think about it, Hades. You were prophesied to be together. More than that, she’s destined to rule the Underworld alongside you. This means not only do you need her, but your entire realm does, and you’re so connected to the Underworld. You are the Underworld.”

“I still don’t think that explains it,” Hades countered, but it was a weak argument, and he knew it.

“It does. You were both designed for one another. There’s nothing about her that is going to be incompatible with you. This was inevitable. You’re not going crazy, far from it. Instead, you’re just fucking terrified that this entire thing makes more sense than you’d like to admit.”

“Thanatos,” Hades growled in warning, but Thanatos ignored him.

“No, shut up. Your moods don’t scare me, Hades. I have plenty of my own.” Thanatos rolled his eyes and leaned back in his chair. “On top of that, this prophecy was supposed to come to fruition centuries ago. You know how prophecies work. They always come to pass and only pick up strength if forced to wait. You both are getting a cosmic battering ram of your own feelings because they’re pent up.”

Hades shifted uncomfortably.

“I don’t think—”

“This fucking prophecy has been edging you both for a thousand years, and it’s making you crankier than usual.”

Hermes appeared out of thin air, sitting on Hades’s desk with his legs crossed.

“For fuck’s sake!” Hades hissed as he and Thanatos both jumped in surprise. “I’m changing the wards in my study.”

“No, you won’t.” Hermes grinned confidently. “I will say, however, that I’m very offended that I wasn’t invited to a discussion in which both Hades and Thanatos discuss their feelings. I’m hurt.”

“You’ll recover,” Thanatos deadpanned.

Hades and Thanatos almost immediately went back to their typical sullen expressions. Hermes noticed and scoffed loudly in protest.

“You both are no fun at all. I wanted to gossip too,” Hermes pouted, crossing his arms over his chest.

“If you know what’s good for you, you will keep your mouth shut about all this,” Hades warned.

Hermes only blushed in response, leaning towards Hades with a smirk.

“I have done an excellent job of keeping my mouth shut.” Hermes waggled his eyebrows, the double entendre obvious. Thanatos let out a sharp bark of laughter, and Hermes tossed him a pouty glare.

“I have! I didn’t tell Persephone that you were the one who sent me to greet her at the gates of the Underworld.” Hermes looked proud of himself. “Or that you’ve been watching her every second she wasn’t at her side, whether through Cerberus or my talents.”

“If you mention it, I’ll rip your wings off those fucking sandals myself,” Hades growled, but Hermes only started giggling in response.

“I do so love it when you threaten me with violence, big daddy.” He winked and hopped off the desk, strolling towards the door. “It’s evident that the feeling and sharing part of the evening is over, and since I doubt either of you will feel like cuddling…” Hermes paused and looked between Thanatos and Hades as if he expected them to disagree with him. “I guess I’ll be off.” He left through Hades’s study door without another word, leaving Hades shaking his head.

“What do you think I should do, Thanatos?” Hades looked at his friend earnestly, hoping for relief from his wild emotions.

Thanatos shrugged.

“Love isn’t my area of expertise,” he admitted. “Might I suggest violence?”

Hades perked up a little at that. “At this hour?”

“We don’t need sleep.”

“I’m in.” Hades nodded. “Pygmachia?”

Thanatos’s face lit up, and he started cracking his knuckles. “It’s been too long.”

Hades led the way out of his study towards the gymnasium in the other wing of the property, grateful for Thanatos and an opportunity to get some of the angst out of his system.