“How dare you.” Her voice shook, and Persephone wasn’t sure if she was talking to her or Hades—maybe both.
Persephone threw off the blankets and pulled on her nightshirt. Hades remained sitting in the bed.
“How long?” she questioned.
“It’s really none of your business, mother,” Persephone snapped.
Her mother’s eyes darkened. “You forget your place, daughter.”
“And you forget my age,” Persephone said. “I am not a child!”
“You are my child and you have betrayed my trust.”
Persephone knew what was about to happen. She could feel her mother’s magic building in the air.
“No, mother!” Persephone became frantic. She looked to Hades, desperate for his help. He looked back, tense but calm—it did nothing to ease her fear.
“You will no longer live this disgraceful, mortal life!”
Persephone closed her eyes, cringing as Demeter snapped her fingers, but instead of teleporting to the glass prison like she expected, nothing happened. Slowly, she opened her eyes and straightened, looking at her mother who was also confused. Then Demeter’s eyes narrowed on Persephone’s gold cuff. The goddess struck, snatching her forearm. Gripping too hard, she pulled the bracelet from her wrist and revealed the darkness marking her creamy skin.
“What did you do?” Demeter demanded. This time, she looked at Hades.
“Don’t touch me!” Persephone tried to wrench away, but Demeter’s hold tightened, and Persephone cried out.
“Release her, Demeter.” Hades’ voice was calm, but there was something deadly in his eyes. Persephone had seen that look before—rage was building inside him.
“Don’t you dare tell me what to do with my daughter!”
Hades snapped his fingers and suddenly, he was dressed in the same clothes from last night. He rose to his full height, and as he approached, Demeter released Persephone.
She put distance between her and her mother.
“Your daughter and I have a contract, Demeter,” Hades explained. “She will stay until she fulfills it.”
“No.” Demeter’s gaze focused on Persephone’s wrist, and she got the sense her mother would do just about anything to take her from this place, including cutting her hand off. “You will remove your mark. Remove it, Hades!”
The god wasn’t fazed by Demeter’s growing anger. “The contract must be fulfilled, Demeter. The Fates command it.”
The Goddess of Harvest paled and when she looked at Persephone, she asked, “How could you?”
“How could I?” Persephone echoed, angrily. “It's not like I wanted this to happen, mother!”
From the corner of her eye, she noted that Hades flinched.
“Didn’t you? I warned you about him!” She pointed to Hades. “I warned you to stay away from the Gods!”
“And in doing so you left me to this fate.”
Demeter lifted her chin. “So, you blame me? When all I did was try to protect you? Well, you will see the truth very soon, daughter.”
The goddess extended her hand and stripped Persephone of her magic. It felt like a thousand tiny needles were pricking her skin at once as the glamour she had crafted to hide her Divine appearance was stripped away. The pain knocked the breath out of her, and she fell to the floor, gasping.
“When the contract is fulfilled, you will come home with me,” Demeter said, and Persephone glared up at her. “You will never return to this mortal life and you will never see Hades again.”
Then Demeter was gone.
Hades approached and picked her up from the floor. He held her close, and she burst into tears. All she could manage to say was, “I don’t regret you. I didn’t mean that I regretted you.”
“I know.” Hades kissed her tears away.
There was a knock on the door and they both looked up to find Lexa standing just inside the room, eyes wide.
“What the fuck?”
Persephone pulled away from Hades.
“Lexa,” she said. “I have something to tell you.”
CHAPTER XXIV – A TOUCH OF TRICKERY
Lexa took the news that she’d been living with a goddess the last four years in strides. Her emotions ranged from feelings of betrayal to disbelief. Persephone understood. Lexa valued truth, and she had just discovered that the person she called her best friend the last four years had been lying about a huge chunk of her identity.
Persephone explained why—and Lexa started to understand more.
“Man, your mother is a bitch,” she said, and then hunkered down as if she expected lightening to strike her. “Will she kill me for saying that?”
“She’s too angry with me and full of hatred for Hades to even think about you,” Persephone replied.
Lexa shook her head and just stared at her best friend. She’d called up a human glamour with the help of Hades’ magic and they now sat in the living room together.
“I can’t believe you’re the Goddess of Spring. What can you do?”
Persephone flushed. “Well, that’s the thing. I’m just now learning my powers.”
She explained that up until recently, she hadn’t even been able to feel her magic and that she was working on learning how to harness it.
“I used to want to be like the other gods,” she said. “But when my powers never developed, I just wanted to be somewhere where I was good at something.”
Lexa placed her hand on Persephone’s. “You are good at so many things, Persephone. Especially at being a goddess.”
She scoffed. “How would you know? You just found out what I was.”
“I know because you are kind and compassionate and you fight for your beliefs, but mostly, you fight for people. That is what gods are supposed to do and someone should remind them because a lot of them have forgotten,” she paused. “Maybe that’s why you were born.”
Persephone wiped tears from her eyes.
“I love you, Lex.”
“I love you, too, Persephone.”
***
Persephone had a hard time sleeping in the weeks following Demeter’s threats. Her anxiety had skyrocketed, and she felt even more trapped than ever before. If she didn’t fulfill the terms of her contract with Hades, she would be stuck in the Underworld forever. If she managed to create life, then she would become a prisoner in her mother’s greenhouse.
It was true she loved Hades, but she preferred to come and go from the Underworld as she pleased. She wanted to continue living her mortal life, graduate, and start her career in journalism. When she’d said as much to Lexa, her best friend had responded, “Just talk to him. He is the God of the Dead, can’t he help?”
But Persephone knew talking would do no good. Hades had said over and over that the terms of the contract were not negotiable, even when facing Demeter. The choice was to fulfill the contract or not—freedom or not.
And that reality was breaking her apart.
Worse, she was using Hades magic and while there were a few advantages, it was like having him around all the time. He was a constant presence, a reminder of her predicament, of how she’d spiraled out of control and found herself in love with him.
It was two weeks from graduation—and from the end of her contract with Hades, when Persephone arrived at the Acropolis for work.
Valerie stopped her as she stepped off the elevator, coming around her desk to whisper.
“Persephone, there’s a woman here to see you. She says she has a story on Hades.”
She almost groaned out loud.
“Did you vet her?” Persephone had given Valarie a list of questions to ask anyone who called claiming they had a story about Hades. Some of the people who’d made calls or came in person to interview had only been curious mortals or undercover journalists trying to get a story.
“She seems legitimate, although I think she’s lying about her name.”
Persephone tilted her head. “Why?”
She shrugged. “I don’t know. It was the way she said i
t. Like it was an afterthought.”
That didn’t make Persephone feel too confident.
“What name?”
“Carol.”
Weird.
Then Valerie offered, “If you want someone to go with you into the interview, I can.”
“No,” Persephone said. “That’s okay. Thanks, though.”
She put her things away, grabbed coffee, and headed into the room. She wasn’t paying close attention as she entered, thinking this was just another person trying to get face time with her, and said, “So you have a story for me?”
“A story? Oh, no, Lady Persephone—I have a bargain.”
Persephone looked up immediately and froze.
The woman in front of her was familiar and beautiful and deadly.
“Aphrodite.” Persephone’s breath left her. Why was the Goddess of Love here to see her? “What are you doing here?”
“I thought I would pay you a visit,” she said. “Seeing as you are close to the end of your contract with Hades.”
Persephone covered her wrist unconsciously, though the mark was hidden by a bracelet.
“How do you know about that?”
She smiled, but there was pity in her gaze. “I fear Hades has placed you in the middle of our bet.”
Persephone wasn’t sure she understood what Aphrodite was saying.
“Bet?” she echoed.
The goddess of love pursed her lips. “I see he has not told you.”
“You may drop the false concern, Aphrodite, and get to the point.”
The goddess’s face changed, and she became more severe and more beautiful than before. When she’d seen Aphrodite at the gala, she’d sensed her loneliness and her sadness, but now it was clear across her face. It shocked her that Aphrodite, the Goddess of Love—the goddess who had affairs with gods and mortals alike—was lonely.
“My, my,” she said. “You are awfully demanding. Perhaps that is why Hades likes you so much.”
Persephone’s fists clenched, and the goddess offered a small smile.
“I challenged Hades to a game of cards. It was all for fun, but he lost. My wager was that he had to make someone fall in love with him within six months,” she said.
It took a moment for what Aphrodite said to sink in. Hades had a contract with Aphrodite—make someone fall in love with him. She swallowed hard.
“I must admit, I was impressed with how quickly he zeroed in on you. Not an hour after I set my terms, he lured you into a contract and I have been observing his progress ever since.”
She wanted to accuse the goddess of lying, but she knew every word Aphrodite had spoken was true.
All this time she’d been used. The weight of the truth settled upon her, broke her, ruined her.
She should have never suspected Hades was capable of change. The game was life for him. It meant everything, and he would do anything to win.
Even if it broke her heart.
“I am sorry to hurt you,” Aphrodite said. “But I see now that I have truly lost.”
Persephone glared at the Goddess of Love through watery eyes.
“You do love him.”
“Why would you be sorry?” Persephone asked through her teeth. “This is what you wanted.”
The goddess actually looked remorseful and shook her head. “Because...until today, I didn’t believe in love.”
***
Persephone had never wanted to choose between Demeter or Hades’ prisons. She’d wanted to find a way to be free, but given the realization she’d been used, she made a choice. After Aphrodite vanished from the interview room, she made a split decision—she would end the bargain with Hades once and for all, and deal with the consequences later.
She found herself in the Underworld, making her way across a field, heading toward a dark wall of mountains, intent on finding The Well of Reincarnation.
She should have listened to Minthe.
Gods, she never thought those words would come out of her mouth.
She was so angry, she couldn’t think straight, and she was happy to feel this way now because she knew when she calmed down, all she would feel was crushing sadness.
She had given everything to Hades—her body, her heart, her dreams.
She’d been so stupid.
Charm, she rationalized. He must have charmed her.
Her thoughts quickly spiraled out of control after that as she recalled memories from the last six months. Each one brought more pain than the last. She couldn’t understand why Hades had gone through so much trouble to orchestrate this plan. He’d fooled her. He’d fooled so many people.
What about Sybil?
The oracle had told her their colors were intertwined. That she and Hades were meant to be together.
Perhaps she’s just a really bad oracle.
Now close to tears, she almost didn’t hear the rustling of grass beside her. Persephone turned to see movement a short distance from her. Her heart stuttered out of control, and she stumbled back, tripping on something hidden in the grass. She fell, and whatever was in the grass charged toward her.
She closed her eyes and covered her face only to feel a cold, wet nose press against her hand.
She opened her eyes to find one of Hades three dogs staring at her.
She laughed and sat up, petting Cerberus on the head. His tongue rolled out of his mouth and she found that what she’d tripped over had been his red ball.
“Where are your brothers?” she asked, scratching behind his ear.
The dog responded by licking her face. Persephone pushed the dog away and got to her feet, scooping up the ball.
“You want this?”
Cerberus sat back on his haunches but could barely stay still.
“Fetch!” Persephone said, throwing the ball.
The hound took off, and she watched him for a few moments before continuing toward the base of the mountain.
The closer she got, the ground beneath her feet became uneven, rocky, and bare. A short time later, Cerberus joined her again, ball in his mouth. He didn’t drop it at her feet but looked ahead at the mountains.
“Can you lead me to the Well of Reincarnation?” Persephone asked.
The dog looked at her and then took off.
She followed—up a steep incline and into the heart of the mountains. It was one thing to see these landforms from a distance, another to walk among them and beneath the halo of black, swirling clouds. Lightening flashed and thunder shook the earth. She continued to follow Cerberus, fearful of losing sight of the dog or worse, that he would be hurt.
“Cerberus!” she called as he disappeared around another turn in the maze.
Persephone wiped the back of her hand over her forehead. It was slick with sweat. It was warm in the mountains and growing hotter.
Rounding the corner, she hesitated, noticing a small stream at her feet—but this stream was fire. Unease trickled down her spine. She heard Cerberus barking ahead and jumped over the stream of fire only to find the dog at the edge of a cliff where a river of raging flame roiled below. Its heat was almost unbearable, and Persephone suddenly realized where she’d wandered.
Tartarus.
This was the River Phlegethon.
“Cerberus, find a way out!” she commanded.
The dog barked as if accepting her direction and raced toward a set of stairs carved into the mountains. They were sleek and steep and disappeared into the folds above.
But they would take her higher into the mountains.
“Cerberus!”
The dog continued on so she chased after him.
The steps led to an open cavern. Lanterns lined the passage, but barely illuminated her feet. The tunnel provided an escape from the heat of the Phlegethon. Perhaps Cerberus was leading her to the Well of Reincarnation as she had requested.
Just as she had that thought, she came to the end of the cavern, which led to a grotto. It was beautiful. The space was full of lush vegetation and trees heavy with gol
den fruit. The pool at her feet held water that glittered like stars in an inky sky.
This must be the Well of Reincarnation, she thought.
At the pool’s center, there was a stone pillar. A gold goblet sat at the top. Persephone wasted no time as she waded through the water to reach the cup, but with the movement of water, there came a voice.
“Help,” it rasped. “Water.”
She froze and looked around but saw nothing.
“H-hello?” She called to the dark.
“The pillar,” the voice said.
Persephone’s heart raced as she came around the post to find a man chained to the other side of the column. He was thin—literally skin stretched over bones. His hair and beard were long, white, and matted. The manacles around his wrists were just short enough to prevent him from reaching the cup at the top of the pillar—or the low hanging fruit just within reach.
She inhaled sharply at the sight of him, and when the man looked at her, his pupils appeared to be swimming in blood.
“Help,” he said again. “Water.”
“Oh, my gods.”
Persephone climbed the pillar for the goblet, filled it with water from the pool and helped the man drink.
“Careful,” she warned, the faster he gulped. “You will become ill.”
She pulled the goblet away and the man took a few breaths, chest heaving.
“Thank you,” he said.
“Who are you?” she asked, studying his face.
“My name,” he took a breath, “is Tantalus.”
“And how long have you been here?”
“I do not remember.” Every word he spoke was slow and seemed to take all his energy. “I was cursed to be eternally deprived of nourishment.”
She wondered what he had done to be assigned such a punishment.
“I have begged daily for an audience with the lord of this realm so that I might find peace in Asphodel, but he will not hear my pleas. I have learned from my time here. I am not the same man I was all those long years ago. I swear it.”
She considered this, and despite what she’d learned about Hades today, she believed in the god’s powers. Hades knew the soul. If he felt this man had changed, he would grant him his wish to reside in Asphodel.
Persephone took a step away from Tantalus, and she saw his eyes change. There it is, she realized, the darkness that Hades saw.
A Touch of Darkness (Hades & Persephone #1) Page 27