25. Hades
Hades
“S orry it’s so cramped,” Mila said from the driver’s seat.
I glared at her through the rearview mirror and wiggled my shoulders. How embarrassing for the king of the Underworld—well, former king—to be stuck in the backseat of the tiniest car in the world, already filled to the brim with boxes, books, clothes, and all kinds of junk.
“It’s okay.” I gritted my teeth.
Not because I was upset with Sandro’s mothers and their vehicle but because of the kind of lows I was experiencing.
If I had a living, smiling Sandro beside me, I wouldn’t care. In fact, I would be unfazed by everything, but I’d given up my powers for nothing. I’d been fooled like an absolute idiot, and I had nothing to show for it.
That was why I was upset.
“I was going to do a charity shop run, but with everything…”
“Don’t apologize to him, Mila. He killed our son,” Ivy said.
I dipped my head and made an attempt at breathing but even that came out pathetic.
“I think we’ve established Hermes is the one who killed him,” Mila said.
“Thank you very much, Mila. That’s exactly right. Leave my man Hades out of this. He’s doing his best.” Tao’s voice came through the speakers, and for the first time since I’d woken up in his body, it felt more like a hug than a nuisance.
“Awww, he just thought of my voice as a hug. You know, mate, if Sandro wasn’t your mated, I think I’d shoot my shot.”
“This is absurd.” Ivy shook her hands in front of her face in apparent exasperation.
Mila turned down the volume on Tao’s voice, so naturally, he resumed messaging me.
Tao
Oh man. I’m being silenced. Again.
“Maybe if you shut up for a change, you wouldn’t,” I muttered and got a menacing glare from Ivy. “I’m talking to him .” I waved the phone for her benefit. Not that it put her mind at ease.
I didn’t know if car rides were supposed to be this awkward or depressing, but this one qualified for both by the gallon.
When Mila pulled up in front of a big Victorian house, I almost breathed a sigh of relief.
I didn’t get the chance when I saw the two men standing by the door. It was the same men I’d treated like dirt when Sandro had died and had interrupted during a very personal time.
No wonder they were glaring at me. The big man more than the small one.
“Is it them?” Mila asked, and a little girl appeared at the window, making both women jump.
“Shit. Fuck. What the—” Ivy said, and Mila reached out for her wife while she rolled down the windows with her free hand.
“I’m sorry. Did I startle you?” the young girl asked in the most innocent of voices.
“Hell yeah, you scared us, baby girl. What kind of horror movie are we living in?” Ivy said, talking to Mila, more than the girl.
“Once again, apologies,” she said and turned to me.
I’d know those deep-green eyes anywhere in the world.
Us necrogods had a way of recognizing our kin.
“Hela!” I said and attempted to shake her hand, only the front seat and all the junk were in the way.
“Hades. Long time, my friend. Come on in. Let’s talk.”
When Sandro had told me who Tomasz’s partner was after the episode of stealing him from their bedroom, I hadn’t given it much thought. Loki and I went way back, and we’d done much worse to each other.
But Sandro had also mentioned a daughter, and when Tao mentioned not knowing the Underworld like me, my mind went straight to said daughter. Loki’s daughter. Hela.
The god of the dead in her realm.
Tao
You’re welcome.
I rolled my eyes. Mila and Ivy got out of the car, which allowed me to follow suit and embrace the tiny but old goddess.
“She is Hela? Aren’t you quite…young?” Ivy asked.
Hela smiled at her.
“I was put into this body by force, and out of respect for Elsa’s life, I chose to keep it.”
Mila embraced her wife, nodding.
“We’ll pretend we understand what you just said.”
Hela smirked and turned her back to us. “Come. We have tea,” she said.
“Fuck tea. Do you have coffee?” Mila asked.
“Ho- ney !”
“What? You heard her. She’s not a little girl.”
“Still,” Ivy said. “It’s…weird to swear in front of her.”
“Oh, don’t worry, Ivy. I don’t fucking mind.” Hela winked at the two women. “And yes, we have coffee. And I made your favorite.” She turned to me.
My eyes went wide, and I took a deep breath, my mouth already salivating. “Don’t tell me…”
“Oh yes,” she confirmed.
She walked to the porch and through the door, and as I tried to get inside the house, I passed by Tomasz and Loki, who all but growled at me.
“How about a truce, old man? I didn’t know it was you.”
“How does that make it better?” Tomasz asked, but before he finished his sentence, Loki shook my hand.
He made sure to squeeze with all his power, and I made sure not to show the effect it had on my dying body.
How successful I was, I didn’t know.
Maybe he could sense how weak I was and that was why he was going easy on me. Loki was not known for being the friendliest of people.
Then again, neither was I, and somehow, I was surrounded by people whose help I needed.
Despite my weakness, I didn’t let go of the handshake. He could crush my hand if he wanted, and I still wouldn’t relent.
“What’s happening?” Mila whispered.
“They’re measuring their dicks. Can we move on, please?” Hela asked. “We’ve got work to do.”
“Come on, babe. Let go,” Tomasz said, and Loki listened to him.
Hm…
Was the rumor true?
Beep. Beep.
Tao
What rumor?
It had happened so long ago, and I’d never really had the chance to find out for sure.
Ah, the good ole times when we walked around this world, all-powerful, free, and undisturbed.
Tao
You’re killing me here.
I lowered the phone and looked at the god of mischief.
“So it’s true. You are a puppet!”
Loki snarled and grabbed me by the shirt, lifting me off the ground in one single motion.
“Loki, stop. Please,” Tomasz said, and the mischievous, ruthless god put me down without a second thought.
It must be true. And here I thought losing my powers was embarrassing.
“I bet that’s awkward. Having a master who controls your every move,” I told him.
I knew at this point I was goading him, and I didn’t even care. But apparently, Loki and his boyfriend did.
“Wow. Loki warned me you were a dick, but I didn’t believe him. Do you want our help or not?” Tomasz asked.
I smirked and winked at Loki. He thrived on chaos just as much as I did.
“Not your help. Hers!” I pointed at Hela.
She didn’t look particularly pleased.
“Agh. Men. God or human, they’re all the same.” She sighed.
“Amen, sister,” Mila replied and pushed me into the house. “Let’s get going. We’re in a crunch here, people!”
Right. Sandro.
He didn’t have long left. If he hadn’t been taken already.
We stepped inside the house, and as Hela got busy preparing the coffee and my drink, Mila and Ivy filled Loki and Tomasz in.
I, on the other hand, focused on the imprints of death in the house.
Tao
Shit. I thought I was the only one who could feel it.
You’re dead, Tao. You’re one to talk.
Tao
Yeah, but this is…another level.
And this space has been cleansed too.
Tao
Damn. I’d hate to have been here before it was.
I didn’t get a chance to linger on the specifics or entertain Tao further because Hela stepped into my line of sight and handed me a golden chalice.
It smelled just as divine as it was.
“Where did you find it?”
Hela pouted her lips into a smile that made her look even more like her body’s age.
“I always keep a batch for when we catch up. I knew it wouldn’t be long before you were invoked on Midgard.”
Midgard. Gaia. Earth. Different names for the same place.
I looked into the golden chalice and inhaled deeply.
“Propeino sei!” I toasted in ancient Greek before devouring the ambrosia.
It had been a while since I’d tried it. A few thousand years, to be exact, since I’d been locked in the Underworld without access to the divine substance.
I bet those fuckers in Olympus didn’t have to go without.
Even while still drinking, I could feel its power seeping into my muscles, into my very being, and making me stronger. If I wasn’t bound to my Sandro, it could literally save my life. But since I was, it could only buy me some more time, nothing else.
Soulmate magic was stronger. Always .
“Don’t we get the good stuff? I want to moan like that,” Tomasz said, and I realized I’d been making sex noises.
Oops.
Tao
Hey, don’t stop on his account.
Tao, that’s very creepy, you know. I thought you hated me.
Tao
Did I ever say hate? Did I ever say hate? I was just pissed off you took my body. I’m over it now.
Kinda.
“Trust me, Tomasz. If you take even a sip of that, you’ll implode. It’s very ugly,” Hela answered him.
“I’ll stick with coffee then.” Tomasz bit his lip and returned to his cup, hugging it close to his chest.
“So, what can I do for you, old friend,” Hela asked, standing in front of me and piercing me with her emerald eyes.
“I need to take back my throne. And my lover’s life.”
It was time I stopped wasting time. Especially since we didn’t have any to spare.
Hela put her hands on her hips and frowned. “How are you planning on taking down Hermes when you don’t have your powers?”
“Let me worry about that.”
“What do you need from me?”
I put the chalice on the table, resisting the urge to finish it, and leaned closer to the little goddess of death.
“I only need you to drop me off.”
“If I drop you off at the front door, won’t Hermes know you’re there?”
I smirked. “My darling Hela, you know just as well as I there’s more than one way into hell.”