“When a mortal dies, they come to me, and their soul is weighed. Heavy souls go to Tartarus, light souls to the Elysian Fields.”
Crossing her hands underneath her chin, she nodded. “Proceed.”
My lips twitched. “If your soul is wicked, you remain as you were in death. Your injuries remain your own. But in Elysia, you are healed. Given a clean slate.”
Her touch was delicate as she nuzzled at a scar just beneath my right nipple. It was small and slightly puckered.
“But that does not come without cost to you, does it, sex slave?”
Rubbing an idle hand up and down her spine, I shook my head. “No, it does not. In order for one to be cleansed, another must be defiled.”
“So you don’t have to take on their injuries?”
I stopped moving my hand, lost to her hypnotic eyes. “No. But I would not wish this fate upon others. It is not fair.”
“And yet you would choose to allow your own beautiful body to grow deformed by it. What did this?”
She once more nuzzled the pucker.
“A girl, quite young. Early teens maybe. She’d been shot by a brother.”
Calypso frowned, and I could read the fury igniting through her blood. I smoothed a finger across her furrowed brow.
“It is not what you imagine, Thalassa. The boy was a child, and the wound was little more than accident. A terrible, costly one, but an accident nonetheless.”
Frowning prettily, she pressed a tender kiss to the spot. “Why are you so good?”
I snorted. “I am not always good. Many of the stories you’ve heard of me are true. I have a terrible temper.”
She shrugged. “Nothing wrong with a bad temper.”
“And a surly disposition in the morning if I’ve not been fed immediately.”
“Magic fingers,” she snapped.
I laughed. “You are determined to dress me as something I am not.”
Her smile turned soft. “But maybe…maybe to me you are.”
With those words, my little dove vanished.
But I smiled, because I knew that today, we’d just had another breakthrough. And since tomorrow was my day, I already knew the plans I had in store for my flighty, sharp-tongued shrew.
Calypso
* * *
I couldn’t seem to stop smiling the next morning. It’d felt very wicked to rest in Hades’ arms last night. I’d wanted to stay there forever. It was becoming harder and harder to remember why that was a bad thing.
All this nonsense of not wanting to get attached. Surely there was nothing wrong with a little attachment—if handled properly, that was.
But then I remembered the whole problem with Persephone, and my smile turned upside down. Themis hadn’t gotten in touch with me since that day, and even Dite had stopped visiting.
The old adage that no news was good news was bulldung.
By the time I got to Nim’s kitchen, I was positively cross. Jeffery came in at a certain point, took one look at me, tucked legs, and ran.
That almost made me laugh.
By the time Nimue came to find me for lunch, I was surly, no bones about it.
“This salad is wonderful, Janita. Sea kelp and sesame seeds. You’re such a clever cook.”
Even her words failed to bring a smile to my lips, a sight she immediately noted.
“Okay, spit it.”
I opened my mouth wide. “I’ve got nothing in there.”
“That’s not what I mean.” She drummed her coral-pink-lacquered nails on the tabletop. “I mean you’re acting strange, and I know something’s wrong, so tell me.”
I shrugged. “It’s Harold.”
She squinted. “Who? Do you have another lover?”
“What?” I asked in a daze. “Of course I don’t have another lover. What would give you such an odd idea?”
“Gee, I don’t know.” She lifted her brows, gave me a crooked smile, and then patted my hand. “What’s wrong with… Harold, was it?”
“Of course it’s Harold. Nimue, are you ill?”
She patted her belly. “Pregnancy fog. Don’t mind me.”
“Anyway,” I batted my wrist, “I want him.”
“Last I heard, you had him.”
“I know. I can hardly understand meself right now. ’Tis maddening.” I looked to her. Nim was always so wise, giving me great advice. Advice I hadn’t heeded much lately, to be sure, but solid advice nonetheless.
She turned her palm over, asking me to proceed.
“He’s leaving soon. I thought I would be okay with this.”
“I take it you are not.”
I crossed my arms. “No. I isn’t.”
Bloody poop, I wished I hadn’t adopted this goddessawful accent for Janita. I was having a helluva time remembering how she spoke today. I was a mess. My head was a swirl of questions.
I wanted to storm Olympus and demand Themis give me answers now.
The water at my tail frothed. Realizing I was about to lose control, I took several swallowing breaths. I would not level my daughter-in-law’s home.
“Last we spoke about this, Harold had done something to land himself into trouble. Has it not worked itself out yet?”
“Obviously not, or I’d not be grumping.” Remembering my manners, I hurriedly cleared my throat. “Pardoning my manners, miss.”
“Always forgiven, Janita.” She smiled.
She looked like one of my beloved sea roses today, dressed all in shades of pink, red, white, and green as she was. With her dark curls piled high upon her head, she appeared so young and yet so wise.
When it came to matters of sea and home, I felt wise. But with this, this all-consuming obsession with Hades, I felt wildly out of my depths and unsure. I wanted to keep him with me forever and toss him far from my shores for turning my life upside down as he had.
And then I’d want to kiss him better if he landed too hard.
I was a wreck.
Sighing, I planted my chin on my hand. “There was a…erm, lawyer as such, who were supposed to get back to me about Harold’s crime. But she’s not gotten in touch wi’ me yet, and I canna seem to stop the shakes from worrying.”
“You’re in love. It’s sweet.”
“Love.” I scoffed. “This is lust, lass, plain and simple it is.”
“I often find them to be one and the same.” She shrugged a dainty shoulder. “First comes lust, then comes love, and before you know it, there’s a wee babe in the belly and you’ve suddenly become a beached whale with sausage toes and terrible cravings for the oddest food combinations.”
I laughed. Considering I’d had all the children I cared to have, I needn’t worry about that particular problem.
“I don’t know, Consort, mayhap it is the beginnings of love. I crave him. And not just his cock.”
“Well, that’s a start.”
“His arms feel so nice. I laid in them last night, rested my head upon his chest, and listened to him talk of his past. He’s remarkable, really.”
“Mm. Yes, that’s always my favorite part, too.” A dreamy look flitted across her face. “Especially when they whisper their undying love to you when they think you’re asleep. That tickles me every time.”
Oh. Interesting. I stored that idea away in the vault.
“But what if he doesn’t feel that way back? I mean, I’ve kept our relationship purely carnal.”
She giggled, covering her mouth with a napkin. “I’m sure it seems that way to you, Janita, but you remember once that I told you how a first time marks your soul?”
I nodded.
“I can almost guarantee that you’ve been more unguarded than you imagined. If he feels the same way for you, believe me, you’ll know it soon enough. It is an emotion far too powerful to hide for long.”
I felt better, but only marginally. I still wondered what Themis was thinking. It was weird that I suddenly felt this stake in what happened to Hades. But now that I’d found my sex slave, I had no wish to release h
im for the next thousand years to the tender mercies of the vultures.
It seemed most unfair.
“Janita,” Nim tapped my fingers, “If you want to know what that lawyer thinks, go ask her.”
I felt the loss of time with Hades keenly. I had no wish to leave him for that long. In fact, I almost hadn’t come this morning. Were it not for the burgeoning beans in Nimue’s belly, I’d not have come at all, but I came daily to check in on my little buns and make sure they were as well as their mama.
“I should go to him,” I finally said. “Tell Cook to clean these dishes today, Consort, I’ve got a man to go see.”
Her laughter followed me down the hall.
Chapter 14
Hades
I felt the water stir at my back. I’d sat in bed for most of the day, reading. Calypso had an amazing library stacked high with books. I’d forgotten the simple pleasures in life, having to be daily in charge of running the Underworld.
I’d hoped at some point Persephone could have helped lighten the burden a little, but she’d never really taken to my dead as I’d hoped.
Small, delicate hands settled on my shoulders. Calypso began a slow massage, crushing her breasts to my back as she leaned over and whispered, “Guess who.”
Smiling, I slipped my fingers through hers and squeezed. “Ah, Linx, good to see you again,” I teased.
And received a sudden smack upside the head for it.
“Linx. Linx indeed, you fat arse.”
But then she kissed the side of my jaw, and I must admit that I melted into her touch. I was growing rather addicted to my time with her. Twisting around, I rested a knee upon the edge of the mattress, and the region of my heart trembled.
Calypso looked like the goddess she was today. She wore a gown of tight-fitting water, the blue of the deepest ocean trenches. Her hair, normally a pale, wavy green, was a deep black and braided in such a way that it resembled an octopus’s tentacle. A menagerie of golden aquatic animals encircled her neck, and her eyes were a startling pinprick of stardust.
Even the shape of her face was slightly altered, the eyes more sloping than typical, the lips a little softer, the jawline slightly sharper.
“You look lovely,” I murmured, trailing my fingers through her thick braid, only to discover it actually was an octopus’s tentacle.
Our god forms were usually unpalatable to mortals, which was why so many of us had adopted a more human appearance. But to me, she’d never looked more beautiful.
Wanting her to see me as I truly was, I let my own mask slip. She sucked in a deep breath, sculpting the planes of my face.
I knew what I looked like—the monstrous visage I hid, the angular features that’d terrified Persephone the one and only time she’d ever seen me.
But Calypso’s eyes didn’t fill with fright. Instead, her fingers moved upon me tenderly, as though learning me by touch.
“I’ve often wondered,” she whispered.
“I do not frighten you?”
A curl of a smile ghosted upon her lips. “I always knew you were a Dead Boy. Now you’ve only confirmed my suspicions.”
Chuckling, I pressed a kiss to the inside of her wrist.
“Do I disgust you, Hades?” she asked almost reluctantly, and where there’d been no fear before, I caught a glint of it now.
“You fascinate me, Thalassa, every inch of you.”
Moving to her knees, she threw her arms around my waist and hugged me tight. And I couldn’t move. This small woman was bringing me to my knees.
I’d barely survived the disastrous relationship that was Persephone, so the thought of building something with another woman alarmed me. But I wanted it, too. I’d always wanted it.
Kissing my lips, she breathed her life deep into my lungs. The very essence of her, it was cool and sweet, and I craved more of it. I was ready to cast off my clothes and do with her as I willed, but Calypso laid a steadying palm against my chest and sighed as she broke our kiss.
I frowned. She’d never stopped me before.
“Hades, where is Persephone?”
“I was ready to tell you before and you stopped me.” She’d mentioned there being spies around, but I’d suspected strongly it’d been more than that.
The downward turn of her lips confirmed my suspicions.
“I was scared, Hades.”
“Why?”
Her eyes grew wide. “Because you terrify me. Being with you. The things you make me feel. It wasn’t supposed to be this way.”
“What do I make you feel?”
Scooting back against the headboard, she crossed her legs at the ankles, and I couldn’t help but trace my finger down the inseam of her bare left foot. She grinned, wiggling her toes.
“Small.”
Not what I’d expected to hear. “Small? I take it this is no compliment.”
She sighed again. Calypso was rarely this serious, and when she was, it always bothered me. Moving to the footboard, I pressed my back against it so I could look squarely at her and she at me. We gazed at one another in silence, our heads full of many thoughts.
“I’m the waters of life, Hades. I am vast. There is no place on Earth or Kingdom that I do not exist. I am a mighty force, and yet with you, I feel so…” she rolled her wrist, as though seeking the right word.
“Exposed?” I guessed, pausing in my touch of her. I felt the first bite of that emotion I’d so often felt with Persephone but that’d been entirely absent during my time with Calypso. The blow of it twisted my stomach into knots.
“What? No.” She huffed, as though I were a fool.
But I’d been down this road too many times to count. Persephone had always had “talks” with me. Chats about how her needs weren’t being met, when in fact, none of mine were. We’d never slept together. She was as unspoiled today as she’d ever been before my supposed rape of her.
“Then what?”
“I don’t know. Gods,” she rolled her eyes, “my words so often confound me. You make me feel like a woman, Hades, I suppose is what I’m trying to say.”
It was my turn to frown. “Calypso, you’ve always been a woman.”
“Yes, but not really. I am an elemental. One of the four great elementals. That is who I am. Always needed and yet often taken for granted. When you gather together on Olympus, have I ever been invited?”
“Thalassa, you’ve never wanted to come.” I shook my head, sure that I was missing something here.
Her eyes crossed, and I had to admit, that even when irritated, she was cute. Smiling now, however, would probably be doing myself no favors.
“That’s not the point though, because I’ve never been asked. You all sit on your high and mighty thrones while I supply you with practically everything.”
“That is not so—”
She held up a finger. “When Hephy has to make Zeus his bolts, does he or does he not need to dip his metals in water?”
“Well—”
Not to be deterred, she pressed on. “And when Bacchus makes his wine, where do you think that water comes from? Not Psycho, I can promise you that. And Aphrodite’s countless baths that makes her skin sparkle, Demeter’s crops, your dead, all of it, all, of, it, done by my hand.”
I was confused. I thought we’d been talking about Persephone, so I couldn’t quite figure how we’d wound up here. I scratched the back of my head.
“The point is, Hades, I dismissed you all as vain, selfish, and petty, ridiculous creatures, and now you’re making me think that I’ve been wrong. Not about all of you. Most of you really are vain, selfish worms—”
I cleared my throat.
She chuckled. “You, Dite, and Themis are the exceptions to the rule.” She shrugged. “I’m learning that I don’t know everything, that there are still things that surprise me, and—”
Crawling to her knees, she made her way toward me. Then, parting her thighs, she straddled my legs, looking deep into my own eyes. Not for sex. There was nothing at all sexu
al about this. Calypso wanted honesty from me, true baring of emotions. And I knew that if I gave it to her, my entire life would forever change.
“You most of all.”
My lashes fluttered. “Thalassa, I’m—”
Grabbing my chin, she forced my eyes to hers. “If I’m going to put my neck on the line for you, Hades, then I want to know you’re worth it.”
What exactly did that mean? I wasn’t asking her to fight my fights. I didn’t need her to do it. Clenching my jaw, I twisted out of her grasp. “I’m not some child that needs coddling, woman.”
She punched me. Reared back and walloped my bicep hard enough that it throbbed. Twin dots of pink stained her porcelain cheeks. “You don’t get to decide that. I do. You’re coming to mean too much to me.”
I snorted. “My cock does, I’m sure.” I thrust up, stabbing her rear with it.
“Mm.” She nodded quickly. “Yes, I enjoy that part of you. Very much. But…”
Pulse suddenly pounding like a raging river in my ears, I waited with bated breath for her to continue. When she didn’t, I snapped, “But?”
Palming my chest, she shook her head. “Damn you, Death Boy, but there are other parts to you I want to explore. Like your soul. Your heart. I wish to know you, bastard of a man, more than just riding your cock—which is exquisite. You have consumed me. I think of you day and night, and not just riding your bean pole. I want to know what your favorite color is. I believe it’s black, but—”
“Amethyst.”
Her lips turned to a tiny “o.” “I’d never have guessed. Or your favorite flower.”
“Nightshade.”
She sighed. “That is a lovely flower. But that’s the thing of it, we have four days left together, and it’s not enough. Not nearly. Do you desire to know me as I desire to know you, Hades? This is what I need to know.”
I should say no, spare her feelings. I’d tried and failed miserably at romance. She would someday grow to hate me as Persephone had, and with Calypso, I wasn’t sure I was strong enough to bear it.
She sank claws into my chest, cutting through my flesh near to the bone, and bled me. “Do not lie to me, Death, you reek of it.”
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