Chapter 7

Zeus’s eyes threatened to pop out of his head. Hades had seen the god of lightning look mad, furious, and even apologetic—when he was lying—but he’d never seen Zeus look so utterly shocked. It brightened Hades’s mood to see it. Zeus stumbled to his feet, flipping back and forth between staring at Hades and then Persephone.

“You what?” Zeus gasped. Small bolts of lightning started to gather around his wrists and fingertips, but his powers were muted in the Underworld. Hades raised a satisfied brow as he saw Zeus’s power floundering, and his smile widened.

It had been a total slip of the tongue, but he was sticking with it now. Hades shrugged, his posture relaxed again as he wrapped an arm around Persephone’s waist and pulled her to his side.

“You have to be kidding. The gods are going to go to war for this, Hades.” Zeus looked pale.

“Is it war or Demeter that frightens you?” Hades challenged. “I didn’t think the king of the gods would be afraid of either.”

Zeus’s lip curled, and he looked at Persephone.

“Tell me this isn’t true, Kore.”

Persephone looked down at her clothing, obviously wearing something from Hades’s closet, and brushed a hand through her wild hair.

“I know you’re not the smartest, but you’re smart enough to know that calling me Kore at this point is ridiculous.” Persephone glared at Zeus. “You’ve always rushed to the aid of poor, defenseless virgins.” Her voice dropped in tone. “Do I look like those maids you are ever so fond of?”

I might be in love after all. Hades thought warmly, trying to hide his inappropriate blush of admiration at Persephone’s handling of Zeus. Zeus, still blushing for entirely different reasons, made a rather undignified squawking sound.

“Are you engaged to him? Like the Fates decreed?” Zeus was nearly pleading with Persephone for it to be untrue. Hades held his breath, waiting to see if Persephone would go along with it. If they’d already been discovered, the quickest and safest route was to pretend it was matrimony. Hades didn’t think Persephone knew anything about the prophecy; he’d answer her questions later.

Persephone’s arm went around Hades’s waist, holding him in return. A surge of heat went through Hades at the slightest touch from Persephone. She opened her mouth to speak but not without giving Hades a hard pinch to the thigh. His breath came out in a sharp pant as he struggled to keep a calm face before Zeus.

“Yes,” Persephone giggled, her mood shifting swiftly. “As the Fates ordained. Isn’t that right, my beloved?” Persephone turned to look up at Hades and slapped her hand against his chest in a mocking attempt at a loving embrace. Zeus was too anxious to notice, tugging at his beard as he turned away from the couple and began to pace. Hades coughed to hide his surprise and placed his other hand over hers.

“It is as they foretold.” Hades smiled tightly, leaning down to kiss Persephone’s head. He whispered sharply so only she could hear him. “If Zeus doesn’t believe you, he’ll try to snatch you out of my hands. If you’re going to fake it, do a better job.”

“If I were faking it, you’d never pick up on the difference!” Persephone hissed back.

Hades scoffed, feigning another kiss on her cheek, his breath hot against her neck as he murmured next to her ear. “There’s no way to fake the way you spasmed around my cock.”

Persephone’s eyes widened, and she gasped. Hades nearly growled as her blush traveled down her neck and chest. She opened her mouth to retort, but Zeus stormed back to them, looking like a madman.

“Demeter is going to be furious. She’s spent her whole life trying to make sure—”

“Trying to make sure of what?” Persephone interrupted, standing closer to Hades and glaring at Zeus. Her eyes slowly turned black while petals began falling from her hair, first pink…then red…then black. Zeus’s eyes widened, and the rest of the color drained from his face. He stumbled backward clumsily, falling over and attempting to crawl away from what he was seeing.

He knows. Hades watched Zeus’s horrified expression. He knows the prophecy of everything Persephone is meant to become, how the Fates have prophecied that Persephone would rule here one day.

“Demeter knows.” Hades said calmly.

Zeus didn’t move for a few seconds but slowly nodded. Hades was praying Persephone would wait to start asking questions until Zeus left, and luckily, she did.

“You should leave now, Zeus.” Hades’s voice was quiet, but it reverberated with unspoken authority. “You have no welcome here. We are overjoyed that you will do us the favor of spreading our good news across Olympus.”

Zeus shook his head as he stood to his feet, smoke beginning to gather around his ankles. He took one last look at Hades and Persephone.

“Are you sure you do not want to accompany me, Persephone?” Zeus’s tone was grave. “This is your last chance to avoid a war.”

Persephone looked around the room quickly, trying to invent another reason to get Zeus off their scent. Her eyes went to a banquet laid out for visitors along the far wall.

“Pomegranates!” Persephone blurted out.

Hades looked at her with a raised brow in surprise, as did Zeus.

“Pomegranates?” Zeus questioned.

“Pomegranates?” Hades mouthed the word slowly at the same time.

“Yes.” Persephone flushed. “As you know, Zeus, anyone who eats the food of the Underworld cannot leave again. I’ve already had a handful of pomegranate seeds this morning.” Hades looked at Persephone like she was insane, but he cleared his throat loudly and tried to look official.

“Ah, yes,” Hades nodded sagely. “You know of this, of course, Zeus.”

Zeus started looking around the room as he became increasingly uncomfortable. It was apparent on his face that he had no idea what Hades and Persephone were talking about, but he was unwilling to admit to ignorance of any kind.

“The world will burn for this. And as it succumbs to the flames, I hope you hear the screams and pray this was worth it.” Zeus began to dissipate into the ether slowly.

Persephone spoke up before Hades could answer.

“We can’t hear shit from down here but appreciate the warning. Good fucking luck with my mother.”

The moment Zeus was gone, Persephone turned around and glared at Hades. She poked him in the chest, her fury at the king of the gods immediately redirected towards him. Hades got one look at the furious anger in her eyes, and another wave of lust went through him.

“What the fuck was that?” Persephone snapped. “What is all of this about a prophecy? ‘As the Fates foretold’? Why did you tell him we were engaged?” Persephone gripped the hem of Hades’s chiton so it wouldn’t fall off her shoulder and stabbed him repeatedly in the chest with her other finger.

Hades gently gripped her wrist to stop her from poking him. “It’s not a real engagement. I needed to tell Zeus something to get him out of here and have time to think. As ridiculous as Zeus is, there are some things he respects—official declarations of matrimony are one of them. Besides, pomegranates?”

Persephone rolled her eyes. “Zeus does not respect matrimony. The pomegranates were a better play than your fake fiancée idea.”

“Fine,” Hades agreed, “but he is an asshole who would respect another man’s claim on you as opposed to your mother’s. And now he believes that shit about the food of the Underworld. Better?”

“Not even close,” Persephone sneered. “What is this prophecy?”

Hades released his grip on Persephone and pinched the bridge of his nose, sighing loudly. “That is something I’d really rather not get into right now.”

“Too fucking late for that, my loving fiance.” The petals started to fall from Persephone’s hair again as her veins began appearing black under her skin. Hades watched her in equal parts, attraction and fear.

“Deep breaths. You’re going to explode with magic you don’t know how to control yet.” Hades murmured gently. It was the wrong thing to say.

“Fuck you!” Persephone screamed. Magic and power exploded from her fingertips, flooding the throne room with opaque smoke. The windows overlooking the Underworld shattered, sending shards of glass across the floor.

Hades leaped forward and grabbed Persephone, knocking her to the ground while shielding her from the exploding glass with his body.

“Get off—me!” Persephone squeaked against Hades’s chest.

The glass still fell all around them, so Hades refused to budge.

“Not until you get control of yourself, princess!” Hades snapped, and Persephone let out another feral scream of rage. But when she did it again, Hades knew it was bigger than that—anger, betrayal, and sadness, all rolled up into one. A woman who had grown up with a mother who’d lied to her, hidden her away, and knew virtually nothing of how much power she possessed. In the singular day he’d known her, Hades was prepared to ask for Demeter’s head on the end of his bident in retribution.

“You fucking brute!” Persephone snarled.

“Give me all you’ve got,” Hades snarled back. “Do you think you can hurt me, Persephone? I’m the god of the Underworld.” Hades’s voice dropped, and the room shook with its baritone. “I’m the eldest of my brothers, the receiver of many, the good counselor.”

“The asshole!”

“The lord over all,” Hades growled, “including you.”

Persephone was canting wildly beneath him, and it did nothing to calm the raging heat in Hades’s veins.

“You’re a bastard.” Persephone writhed against Hades before throwing her arms around his neck. Without warning, she was kissing him, invading his mouth with her tongue, and breathing him in as though she were drowning.

Hades wasted no time returning the embrace, moving one of his hands to cup the back of her head and protect it from the stone floor.

“Persephone,” he growled against her lips, “if you—”

“Fuck me,” Persephone demanded, her eyes still black with power.

Hades was still hesitant, wanting to be sure Persephone was in her right mind. She seemed to sense his hesitation and rolled her eyes.

“Fuck me or fight me, Hades. The choice is yours. If you don’t want to…”

“Gods damn it.” Hades kissed Persephone furiously, biting at her bottom lip as he tried to catch his breath. “You’re going to drive me mad.”

“You love it.” Persephone gasped, arching her back and pressing her breasts against Hades’s chest.

He groaned and ripped his chiton off her with one hand, revealing her naked frame to him. Hades drank in the sight like a man starved, having never been so affected by a woman in all his life. He was still dressed elaborately for meeting with Zeus, and the debauched comparison of his finery to her entirely naked body possessed Hades with a wicked notion to hide Persephone from Olympus forever.

“Before I age another century,” Persephone murmured, wrapping her leg around Hades’s waist and tugging him closer to her core. He was harder than he’d ever been, and Persephone’s consistent goading threatened to push him over the edge.

Hades gripped her waist and growled, thrusting forward to the hilt in one swift movement. Persephone’s eyes flickered closed, and her mouth dropped open into an obscene moan before slipping into a satisfied smile. Hades readjusted his knees and took a few seconds to compose himself before he came in seconds at the feel of Persephone around him.

He could still feel the magic thrumming underneath Persephone’s skin—and it felt like his. It was a dark power that echoed in every square foot and crevice of the Underworld, and Hades was nearly embarrassed to admit how much Persephone felt like home.

“Any time now,” Persephone started rocking her hips against Hades. He let out a low rumble deep in his chest, biting up her jaw as he began to fuck her without abandon. The power flooding her senses had already pushed her close to the edge, and it wasn’t long before Persephone was screaming through her release.

The aftershocks of Persephone’s orgasm pushed Hades over the edge. He buried his face into Persephone’s neck and sucked at her soft skin to keep from screaming.

They were quiet for a long time. When Hades finally picked his head up, he realized Persephone had fallen asleep.

I guess I’m not surprised between her powers surging and the adrenaline. Hades thought to himself, carefully standing and wrapping her in the ripped chiton. She didn’t stir when he picked her up and carried her out of the reception hall. When he deposited her in his bed—he didn’t take too long to stop and think why he was insistent on bringing her back to his bed and not one of the many guest rooms—she only made a small murmuring noise and rolled over.

Hades sat on the edge of the bed, his body still vibrating like a harp string as he tried to piece through all the implications of what they’d done.

He couldn’t deny that it felt like it was all worth it.

Hades was sippinga cup of wine by the fire when Persephone finally stirred. She arched her back like a cat and stretched, taking her time waking up before finally turning around to face him.

“Oh,” she smiled happily, “I didn’t think you’d still be here.”

Hades perked up at that. “You didn’t think I’d be in my room?”

“No, no.” Persephone sat up straighter. “I didn’t think you’d wait around to watch me sleep. I figured you had more…” she waved her hands in the air, “pressing duties to attend to.”

Hades chuckled and noticed the slight blush on Persephone’s cheeks.

“Trust me, goddess, you showing up in the Underworld is the most pressing matter on my plate.”

An expression crossed over Persephone’s face that Hades couldn’t quite place. He put down his cup and walked towards the bed, sitting near Persephone and gently pushing some of her hair off her forehead.

“What’s going through your head right now?” he asked gently.

Persephone’s blush vanished, and she paled slightly, turning away from him. Hades didn’t like it. She’d been open, bold, and precocious since arriving in the Underworld. Now she was acting skittish around him.

Persephone sighed heavily. “I think the gravity of what we’ve done is starting to hit me. The first few days I was in the Underworld, I was so happy to be free of my mother. When Zeus left, that magic was pouring out of me, and I…” she trailed off, and Hades nodded understandably.

“It’s okay. I don’t expect you to have all the answers. I don’t either, but we’ll figure it out together. However, if you regret anything that we’ve done—”

“No!” Persephone interrupted quickly, placing her hands over Hades’s and shaking her head. “Not that. Trust me.” Persephone’s blush returned, and she leaned forward to kiss Hades’s cheek. “I don’t regret that at all.”

An unprecedented warmth spread through Hades’s chest at the admission. He grabbed her fingers and pressed his lips against them softly.

“No regrets here, either. But there is something you need to know before moving forward.”

“Okay.” Persephone seemed hesitant, her brow furrowing as her spine stiffened, but she nodded for Hades to continue. He took a deep breath, steeled his nerves, and prepared for Persephone’s reaction.

“I’m assuming your mother never told you there was a prophecy surrounding your birth?”

Persephone’s eyes went wide.

“No! She didn’t.” Hades could see the wheels turning in Persephone’s mind. “You mentioned the Fates yesterday when we were talking to Zeus.”

Hades nodded, exhaling slowly. “There was a prophecy when you were born that you were the consort of the Underworld that was promised, the ruler of everything beneath the surface…the Dread Queen.” Hades swallowed thickly and watched as Persephone’s mouth dropped open. She attempted to speak several times, blinking rapidly as she put her fingers on her temples and started to hyperventilate.

“Easy,” Hades cautioned. He leaned forward and gently started rubbing calming circles on her arms. “I know that is a lot of information, but whatever you want it to mean, it can. No one will force you to do anything.”

“Did you not want me?” Persephone blurted out.

It was Hades’s turn to look shocked as she stared at him. Of all the reactions he expected her to have, this was not one of them.

“What? No. Of course not. I didn’t know you until a few days ago.”

“You never came to seek me out. Not once. Why wouldn’t you introduce yourself centuries ago? I’ve been stuck in the fucking mortal realm with my mother for eons, always feeling like I was being crammed in a shoe that was too small. Did you not want to share your precious fucking throne? Was I somehow not good enough for you?”

Persephone started to spiral, wrenching herself away from Hades’s grip and launching off the bed. She hastily tied the old chiton around her body and started for the door.

“Persephone!” Hades bellowed, chasing after her. “Wait! There is so much that you don’t know.”

Persephone spun around on her heel, grabbed the cup by the fireplace, and threw it at Hades. It hit him square in the chest, staining his clothes with wine.

“All I know is I’ve been fucking waiting for something for the past thousand years,” Persephone hissed, her eyes full of tears, “and I didn’t know what that was. So you can imagine my immense disappointment upon discovering that I’ve been waiting for you. And you never even bothered to fucking say hello!”

“That is not fair,” Hades growled, stepping closer to Persephone. “You have no idea what Demeter—”

“You don’t know anything about Demeter!” Persephone screamed. “But I do! Because I’ve been stuck with that frigid excuse of a mother. I don’t want to hear anything you have to say.” Persephone turned around and started stalking towards the hallway. “And don’t fucking follow me!”

Hades watched as she disappeared, slamming the door shut so hard that it ricocheted and stayed open. He sank back down into his chair with a groan, running his hands through his hair.

What am I supposed to do now? he thought glumly. He had never been so out of his depth in all his life, even when he first started ruling the Underworld. After a few minutes, Cerberus padded inside the bedroom, placing his heads on Hades’s shoulder.

“Hey, old boy,” Hades cooed, scratching behind one of Cerberus’s set of ears, “You’d better go follow Persephone. Make sure she doesn’t get into too much trouble, okay?”

Cerberus said nothing but licked Hades’s face and bounded out of the room, clearly off following Persephone’s scent to wherever she’d gone.