She gave him a weak smile. “You’re not going to make this easy for me, are you?” She let herself in and closed the heavy stone door with a soft click.
He scanned her from head to toe, noting that she wore the clothes she’d had on when he’d taken her from the parking lot in front of her flower shop. Not a good sign.
“You know that I’m always eager to hear anything you have to say.”
She nodded, taking a seat on the edge of the bed where they’d exploded with mutual heat such a short time ago. “This isn’t easy for me to say.”
“Then it won’t be easy for me to hear.” He drained the wine from his goblet. “I’m listening.”
Her eyes took on the brightness of tears. “I have to go home.”
His heart went mercifully numb, but he knew the pain of her lethal blow would come later. “Is there anything I can say or do to make you reconsider?”
“No.” She dug her nails into the coverlet beneath her. “Hades, as much as I feel for you --”
He cut her off with a bitter laugh. “As much as you feel for me, you can’t bear to spend another moment in my presence?” He rubbed his chin. “Please continue.”
“You know it’s more complicated than that.” She pushed her moonbeam gold hair back from her face. “What we have could never last, even though it’s so incredible right now.”
“At least you concede that point.” Images of their intimacy flashed through his mind, flooding him with need for her ... a need that would probably go forever unsatisfied.
“How could I deny it?” Her face blushed pink. “What happened between us tonight was the kind of thing I’ve only dreamed of and never expected to experience.”
“Yet, you find it so easy to walk away.” He stood up and walked to the small wine rack opposite the fireplace.
“You think this is easy for me?” She followed him, standing a few feet away while he selected a vintage. “I’m walking away from the only man who ever ... who ever ...”
“Made you come?” He got a corkscrew from a small case on the mantle. “Let’s be blunt here and admit your only real feelings for me are related to how we affect each other in bed.”
She reeled back, wincing as if she’d been slapped. “I can’t believe you said that.”
“What else am I suppose to think?” He sauntered back to his chair, fighting to control his spinning emotions. She stood behind his chair as he refilled his goblet with wine.
“If you weren’t so blinded by anger over not getting your way, maybe you could see that it’s tearing me up inside to leave you.”
“If you weren’t so blinded by fear ...” He took a long gulp of his wine. “... maybe you could see that your ex-husband is still ruling your life.”
“He’s completely in my past.” She crossed her arms in a defensive stance.
“Since you’ve managed to turn our relationship into a potential replay of everything he did to you, I disagree.” He set his goblet aside. “I vowed I wouldn’t keep you here, and I won’t. Meet me in the throne room in an hour and I’ll have someone there to transport you back to your world.”
She seemed to shrink into herself. The light and fire he’d seen in her face mere hours ago faded, leaving her the pale, shy creature he’d first seen in the reflecting pool.
“What about the situation with the seasons?” Her voice had lost its vibrancy along with the rest of her. “Isn’t it still summer in the world above?”
“You’ll see for yourself soon enough.” He rose to escort her to the door. “But, yes, it is.”
“Can anything be done about it?” She held back while he opened the door.
“I’ll work something out with Zeus.” What, he didn’t know, since finding love after being with Hyacinth would never happen.
Nor would he wish it to.
Hermes paced the floor of the throne room, the wings on his gold helmet swaying with each step. “Sire, something must be done to stop her.”
Hades slumped in his throne, the rush of anger that had sustained him during Hyacinth’s announcement long gone. “I promised I’d never do to her what I did to Persephone. She’s free to go.”
“But, your majesty.” Hermes scrambled to the foot of the throne. “What about the climate control problem?”
Hades folded his hands. “It’s up to Zeus now.”
“I suppose I could have another chat with him.” Hermes threw his hands out dramatically. “He’ll put up with a lot if I bring him a few sandwiches from Blimpie.”
Nicus led Hyacinth into the throne room. Hades felt his heart split in two raw halves at the sight of her.
“Hello, Hades.” She glanced toward Hermes, her eyebrows raised in a silent question.
“This is Hermes.” Hades gestured toward the messenger god, who bowed to Hyacinth. “He’ll be taking you back home.”
“Thank you.” She addressed Hermes but never took her eyes from Hades.
“Can you give us a moment?” He shot Hermes a look that invited no arguments.
“Certainly.” Hermes backed toward the door. “I’ll just be in the anteroom. I hear they have a plasma television in there. I’ve just been dying to see All My Children on a good screen.”
Hades waved him away, remaining mute until Hermes vanished behind the throne room door.
“Are you sure this is what you wish to do?” He drew her to him, taking her hands in his. He couldn’t help but hope the bond they’d formed during their time together would sway her, providing him with an eleventh hour miracle.
“I don’t see any other way.” She laced her fingers tightly through his.
“You needn’t fear being imprisoned here.” He pulled her closer. “You can come and go as you please, returning to the upper world whenever it suits you.” He squeezed her hands. “Stay with me, my darling. I love you so.”
A single tear rolled down her cheek. “I feel too much for you ... I can’t bear to stick around and watch us destroy each other.”
He felt a lump forming in his throat. “Not every man is your ex-husband. Let me have a chance to prove you wrong about relationships. Give me a little while longer to love you before you sever the connection between us.”
She closed her eyes, a tremor passing through her body. “I can’t.” She looked at him, pleading. “I wish I could.”
He rose unsteadily. “If you ever need anything, summon me and I’ll be at your side at once.” He took the jewel case he’d left on Persephone’s throne and handed it to her. “Just put these on and call my name, and I’ll come for you. There will always be a place for you in my heart and in my home.”
She opened the case and peered inside. “These are the queen’s crown jewels.”
“Yes.” He’d planned to place the crown on her head and coronate her with his kiss. His heart gave a dull thud as he realized the loss of that dream.
“I can’t take these.” She closed the lid of the case and held it out to him. “They belong to your future wife, the next queen.”
He shook his head. “I will never love another woman.” He brushed her cheek one last time. “And I will never have another queen.”
A sob broke free from her throat. “Hades, don’t do this.”
He held up a hand to silence her. “Hermes!”
The golden clad form of the messenger god appeared instantly. “You rang, sire?”
“Yes.” He let himself take one final look at the woman he’d given his heart to, the woman he’d let into his soul. “Please escort Miss Garret safely back to her home in the upper world.” He shot a glance at Hermes. “See to it that no harm comes to her.”
“Your wish is my command, sire.” Hermes took Hyacinth by the arm. “Hold on, my lady. We’re about to take flight.”
And with that, they both vanished, fading from his sight and from his life.
Chapter Seven
Hyacinth stabbed a forkful of Mu Shu pork and forced herself to eat it. It tasted like sawdust, but then everything did since returning
home. After ambrosia, Wan Fu Palace wasn’t quite the same.
“When are you going to ’fess up?” Cyndi scooped a heaping spoonful of fried rice onto her plate. “You up and disappear on me without a single word, worrying me like crazy. Then you come back with no explanation, when I know something is totally up with you.” Cyndi speared a pot sticker and swirled it in ginger sauce. “Who is he?”
Hyacinth dropped her fork. “What are you talking about?” She tried not to sigh with impatience. She’d been back three days, and Cyndi’s questioning had grown more relentless with each passing hour.
“The guy you were with the whole time you were gone.” Cyndi calmly popped the pot sticker into her mouth without looking at Hyacinth.
This time she didn’t fight the sigh. “How did you know?”
Cyndi took a sip of hot tea from a delicate cup painted with Chinese dragons. “You reek of sex and despair.”
Hyacinth made train tracks through her rice. “It’s complicated.”
Cyndi rolled her brown eyes. “It’s a relationship. They’re complicated by definition.”
“This one is a little more crazy than your average hookup.” She managed another bite of pork. “He’s ... not from around here.”
“So?” Cyndi tapped her fork on the edge of her plate for emphasis. “Since when is long distance love off limits?”
Hyacinth shook her head. “It’s more than that. Let’s just say we’re from different worlds.”
“What about love conquering everything, and all that jazz?” Cyndi chewed a mouthful of fried rice. “Or do you not believe in any of that these days?”
“I believe love is rare and hard to sustain.” Hyacinth pushed her plate back and slumped in her chair. “And I could never sustain it with this guy. Too many women would be gunning to take my place at his side.”
Cyndi shook her head in disbelief. “You think every guy is Riley all over again, don’t you?”
“Aren’t they?” Hyacinth laughed without mirth.
“Do you really believe that, or is it just an excuse to keep from taking a risk again?” Cyndi finished her tea in one swallow. “I guess you’re going to let Riley decide your future for you from now on. He cheated on you, so you’re going to put yourself up in mothballs and let any chance for happiness slip through your hands because you’re too damn scared to take a chance.”
“You sound just like him.” Hyacinth groaned.
“Then he must be smart as hell, because I’m right and you know it.” Cyndi tossed her napkin onto the table. “Come on, I think this kind of disaster calls for double chocolate mocha chip.” She stood up and grabbed her purse from the extra chair at their table. “I’m buying.”
“Do you really think it’s a disaster?” Hyacinth hauled herself out of her chair and trudged to the register behind Cyndi.
“Only if you let your past stop you from having a future.” Cyndi handed her credit card to the hostess with a smile.
Hyacinth stepped through the exit and stood outside the restaurant, bathed in the light from its red neon sign. It was still unseasonably warm outside, much more like summer than early November. Hades would have to work something out with Zeus soon or conditions would really begin to suffer.
She leaned against the stucco exterior of the restaurant and closed her eyes, trying not to remember his voice or the feel of his arms around her. She’d cried herself to sleep every night since returning, longing to kiss him goodnight.
It hadn’t hurt this much when Riley left her. Anger over his betrayal had sustained her. But losing Hades had sliced right down the center of her heart. She’d been unprepared for how all consuming the pain would be.
She’d known it would be hard to get through the day. What she hadn’t known was that each second without him would seem like an eternity, that he’d haunt her every thought, and that the life she’d made for herself before him would seem like a cold shell after him.
* * * * *
“Sire, you simply must eat something.”
Hades propped his eyelids open to see the worried visage of Hermes peering down at him. He spat a curse and rolled over in his bed, burying his face beneath a pillow.
“Your majesty.” Hermes tapped him tentatively on the shoulder. “How long has it been since you had a hot meal?”
“How long has it been since someone -- as they say above -- kicked your ass?” Hades growled. He’d never lay a hand on Hermes, and the messenger god knew it, but it felt good to bluster and make threats. Great Zeus, couldn’t a man mourn the loss of the woman he loved in peace?
“Sire, I’m known for being fleet of foot.” Hermes coughed nervously. “I don’t think an ass kicking is on my agenda any time soon.”
Hades moved the pillow from his face enough to peek out at Hermes. “If I eat something, will you be silent and leave me alone?”
“As you wish, sire.” Hermes bustled around the bedchamber. “Cook has prepared a delightful breakfast for you, and I have a few topics of light interest to discuss while you eat.”
Hades tossed his pillow aside and sat up on the edge of the bed. “I thought silence was part of our agreement.”
Hermes brought a breakfast tray to the bed. “I’ll only require your attention for a brief moment, sire.” He handed the king a glass of juice.
Hades took a sip of juice and huffed out a breath. “Go ahead.”
“I had another chat with Zeus last night ...” Hermes reached inside his bag for a notepad.
“Another pizza and action movie delivery?” Hades helped himself to a bite of ambrosia.
“Sandwiches and new games for his Play Station.” Hermes cleared his throat. “He had what I believe to be a brilliant suggestion to end your, er ... predicament.”
“I can hardly wait.” Hades tore into a muffin.
“He thinks you should apply to be on the next season of The Single God.” Hermes rattled his notepad.
Hades nearly choked on his muffin. “Zeus thinks I should do a reality show?”
“Sire, just consider the advantages!” Hermes’s voice reached a higher pitch. “You’d be paired with twenty-five single maidens, all carefully screened to be your potential wife!” He leaned forward as if imparting a great secret. “The show even pays for the engagement ring if you choose to propose at the final Asphodel ceremony.”
“I can afford to buy my own engagement ring. Have you forgotten that every gem in Olympus is mined from my kingdom?”
“All right, you have a point there.” Hermes tucked his notepad back into his bag. “But where else will you find such beauty and quality as you would on The Single God?”
Hades finished the muffin and reached for a cup of coffee, thick with cream. “I could find twenty-five women at any meat market in Olympus City.”
Hermes sighed in frustration. “Would you at least consider it, sire?”
“If I say yes, will you abandon the topic?” Hades stirred a lump of sugar into his morning brew.
“Yes. Moving on to my next suggestion ...”
“Great Cronus, there’s more?” Hades sat his coffee cup down on the tray with a bang.
“You could try the personals.” Hermes whipped a copy of the Olympus Herald from his bag. “They’re completely private and anonymous, and some of the ladies here could tempt even a dedicated bachelor like me.”
“Do go on.” Hades sipped his coffee and tried not to gag.
“Or you could look into using a dating service. Eros seems to be having great success with the one he opened this year.”
“Gods ’n’ Gals?” Hades snorted. “I think I’ll pass.”
“Sir, if I may ask,” Hermes sidled up to the bed. “How do you intend to find your queen, if not by these methods?”
“I have no intention of finding a queen.” Hades wiped his mouth with his napkin and placed it back on the tray.
“But, sire, there’s the issue of the seasons to consider.”
“That may be so.” He pushed the tray aside and stood
up. “But Hyacinth is the only woman I’ll ever love, and I’ll have no other as my queen.”
“Then we have a potential nightmare on our hands.” Hermes dropped into the chair by the fireplace and sank his face into his hands.
Hades could hardly bring himself to care about the climate or anything else. He’d begun to consider appointing a successor to run the Underworld. His kingdom no longer mattered to him. Nothing did.
Hyacinth had gone and taken all his passion for living with her.
Chapter Eight
Hyacinth was halfway through another sleepless night when she heard the insistent knock at her front door.
Rolling over, she glanced at the clock on her beside table and muttered a curse over the hour. Only bats were awake this time of night, and she didn’t think they went visiting.
She threw off the cover and took her robe from the foot of the bed, hastily tying it around her on her way to the door. The knocking grew louder.
“Just a minute!” She finally reached the door and gazed through the peephole only to see the face of her ex-husband on the other side.
“Riley!” She threw the door open. “What on earth are you doing here?”
He leaned against the doorframe for support. Hyacinth wrinkled her nose when the overpowering stench of alcohol hit her.
“She left me.” He tried to take a step forward and almost fell on top of Hyacinth.
“I really hope you’re not driving in this condition.” Hyacinth took his arm and tried to hold him up, kicking the door shut with her foot.
“I took a cab.” He flashed his cosmetic dentistry enhanced smile at her and landed on her couch with a thud.
“Why did she leave you?” Hyacinth stood in front of him, arms folded over her chest.
“She met this orthodontist guy. Ted.” Riley barked a laugh that turned into a sob. “I thought she loved me.”
Trying not to choke on the irony, Hyacinth sat down on the opposite end of the couch. “I’m ... sorry. I know how much you wanted to be with her.” Enough to throw away his marriage vows, she thought, looking at the spot on her left hand where her rings had once resided.
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