Chapter 13.
Penelope
I stared out the window, watching the green mist in the starless sky. It was beautiful in its own way but it definitely didn’t compare to the real thing.
“Your Greatness.” Remus bowed slightly as he appeared in the salon. “You have a visitor.”
“A visitor? I don’t think I’m expecting anyone and I’m tired.” I retreated from the window, smoothing out my dress. “I’m going to bed so please tell them to come back another time.”
He hesitated, not moving a muscle. “It’s… Hades.”
“Maia is here?” I froze in my step, immediately perking up. “Well, what are you still doing here? Let her in.”
“Are you sure? You said you were tired… I can send her away,” Remus offered.
“No, it’s Hades. Let her in. No, I’ll let her in,” I scoffed, waltzing past him to the entrance hall. I hadn’t expected her to take me up on the offer for wine but I couldn’t say I was disappointed she was here.
I quickly checked my reflection in the golden wall, flattening my hair. For once, the multitude of mirrors came in handy.
With my most charming smile, I opened the door, ready to welcome in Maia. “Welcome to my humble abode,” I announced jovially, not sure why I was feeling nervous. I’d never cared what any of the Hadeses thought of me and I wasn’t going to start now.
Maia entered with a bit of a dazed look on her face. “Yes, your abode is very… humble.” She paused, clearly searching for what else to say. “So shiny.”
I chuckled at her dry comment. “It is rather. I can’t go anywhere without seeing my reflection.”
“But it’s a good reflection,” she quipped, her gaze locked on the golden tiles and our reflection in them.
“Flatterer,” I returned with a little eye roll. Even so, I could tell she meant it and that made it worse. She shouldn’t be looking at me like that. I shouldn’t be either.
“Would you like a tour?” I proposed, gesturing to nothing in particular. I promised her a drink but it felt a little odd to just break out the bottles. We weren’t teenagers anymore.
A little smile appeared around Maia’s lips. “Please. I heard you have some very nice gardens.”
I hoped that wasn’t meant as a double entendre. If it was, I wasn’t going to act on it. With a polite smile, I gestured towards the patio. “Let’s start there then.”
The genuine smile stretching across her face when she saw the garden told me it hadn’t been a suggestive insinuation and some of the tightness in my chest released. I held the door open for her, regretting it the moment she walked past me and her light perfume captured me.
I followed her out, relieved when the smell of the closing flowers took over.
Maia brushed her hands through the leaves as we moved through the gardens, her face bright with awe.
We came to a natural halt and she gently touched a flowering bud.
“I’ve always been a fan of flowers but I never imagined there would be so many here. And they’re all so colourful.”
She was right. The vegetation was surprisingly plentiful and bountiful for a land that welcomed the dead but I’d never looked at it that way.
“You’re very upbeat for someone that lives in the Underworld,” I remarked, surprised by how much I liked her company. “You look like you enjoy yourself.”
She smiled at me. “Why wouldn’t I? I chose to be here and I’m not dead. Sorry, if that was insensitive.”
“Why would it be? I’m not dead either,” I told her, surprising myself that I was freely admitting it.
“Ah right, it’s only the river deities that are dead. I forgot.” She leaned on the balustrade overlooking the rest of the grounds and turned to me, curiosity playing in her brown eyes. “I never got to ask—”
The ground vibrated with a familiar rumble and the Underworld darkened around us. Panic flooded me and I grabbed Maia by the wrist, pulling her towards the mansion. “You have to go. Now!”
“What?” She looked flustered, reluctant to move. “Did I do something wrong?”
“Get. Out!” I shoved her towards the house but it was too late.
The shadows rippled and four large paws hit the patio, manifesting out of thin air.
His claws shrieked into the metal floor, scraping up curls of golds.
Cerberus roared, the hellfire within him pulsing and turning the heat up unbearable.
If he didn’t like me, he would have scorched us both without hesitation.
He directed himself to Maia, one massive paw raised.
“Cerberus! Down!” I called, pushing his leg to get him out of the way. “Sit!”
Some of his ears tweaked at the sound of my voice but he swiped his claws down nonetheless. I shoved Maia out of the way, taking the hit myself. A sharp pain shot up my arm as he tore my skin to shreds with his sharp nails.
The hellhound recoiled immediately when he realised he hurt me and his three heads lowered to the ground. He released a little whine and looked back up at me with his most apologetic eyes, his body shrinking as he attempted to hide under a plant.
“Penelope!” Maia hurried towards me, entirely ignoring the cowering hellhound. She touched my arm and gasped at the gashes. “Oh, this looks bad.”
“It’s fine,” I groaned, trying not to move too much. The scratches stung and more blood welled up and trickled on the path. “I’m fine.”
“You’re not.” She ushered me inside, her demeanour stern and befitting of the ruler of the Underworld. She gestured to my usual chair in the sun parlour. “Sit.”
I obeyed reluctantly. I wasn’t used to people bossing me around but it was kind of nice to have her fussing over me. It had been a long time since anyone took care of me like this, a long time since I allowed someone.
“I’m going to get something for your arm. Do you have bandages or should I get a doctor or—” She looked around, searching for something. Her gaze landed on the cowering hellhound in the corner and she glared at him. “Come, I can’t leave you alone with him.”
“No, don’t worry, it’s okay. He didn’t mean to hurt me.” I shot the guilty dog a look. “He just doesn’t like the Hadeses.”
“Ah, I see.” She pointed at the three-headed dog. “Stay.”
He whimpered in return but remained still.
Interesting. He didn’t usually obey anyone that wasn’t me, least of all a Hades.
“Bandages?” Maia repeated, her hands firmly on her hips.
“Through the door on the left, last door in the hallway you should find the supply closet. Or I can wake Remus.”
“No, don’t wake anyone. I’ll be right back.” She gave me a stern look. “Don’t. Move.”
“Yes, Your Darkness,” I teased, earning another, even sterner look.
I didn’t know she could be this bossy and I caught myself watching her leave. The natural authority was attractive on her, not that I should notice. She was the last person I should be noticing.
Once she was gone, I turned my attention back to Cerberus. I held out my good hand, urging him close. “Come here, you silly boy.”
He crawled over, his three heads whimpering as he curled against my leg. Despite shrinking, he was still a massive beast that took up most of the sun room. His large fangs descended from his mouths and his red eyes glowed in the fading light, but he was the cutest dog to me.
I patted his three heads, scratching all of his ears equally. “It’s okay, I’m not mad at you. I know it was an accident.”
Cer carefully licked the open wounds on my arm, lapping away the blood and soothing the sting.
“Good boy. It’s okay. Just promise you’ll be nicer to Maia, okay?”
The three heads growled softly.
“Cerberus,” I warned him.
He whined and returned to licking my arm, each head taking turns. They paused when Maia returned and two of them growled protectively.
Maia hesitated for a moment but walked straight past him, not paying him any attention. She pulled one of the chairs towards mine and patted the table. I put my arm up for her and she doused it with stinging disinfectant.
I hissed.
“Sorry.” She rubbed some soothing cream on it, her dainty fingers gentle over the wounds. Once she was satisfied, she wrapped a bandage around my arm. And another. And another.
“That’s probably enough,” I said, briefly touching the top of her hand to stop her. “You’ve turned me into a mummy.”
She chuckled. “It’s appropriate, you’re in the land of the dead.”
“But I’m not dead and we’re not Egyptian.”
“Right.” A pensive look filled her eyes as she stared at my arm. “I’m surprised you can get hurt in the Underworld. This will heal, won’t it?”
“Yes, it will. Perks of being alive.”
She adjusted her blouse. “And if it had been a fatal blow?”
“Then I’d have just ended up back here. Only dead this time so not a big deal.
I suppose I’d have had to give up my position as Persephone, I’m not entirely sure.
It doesn’t really matter, I’m here for eternity, so.
” I stood up from my chair, gesturing at the empty table.
“Shall I get the wine? I don’t want to be a bad host.”
She chuckled and pointed back at my seat. “I’ll get it. You sit. Where is the wine?”
“In the cellar. Cerberus will escort you.” I laughed when I saw face fell. “It’s a joke. I’ll show you.”
“I told you to sit.”
“Only my arm is hurt, I can still walk,” I protested, enjoying getting a rise out of her.
She blocked my path, her lips tugged up in a knowing smile. She pressed one finger against my chest, slowly pushing me back. “Sit.”
My chest tightened from the sudden proximity and Maia’s eyes darkened when she noticed my hitching breath.
Her gaze flicked down to my lips and hers slightly parted, an irresistible invitation.
I found myself leaning in at the same time as she was inching towards me.
Her warm breath tickled my lip and a little shiver tingled down my spine.
I jolted back. “We shouldn’t.”
Maia released a tempered breath, her cheeks flushed red. Flustered, it took a moment for her to step back. She smiled politely but the desire still lingered in her gaze. “You’re right, I’m sorry, I don’t know what came over me. That shouldn’t have happened.”
“I’m sorry too, that was incredibly unprofessional of me,” I said, not wanting her to take the full blame for what almost happened. I had leaned in too.
“I should go,” Maia said, already moving towards the door. She paused once she was at a safe distance. “Are you going to be okay? With your arm?”
“Yes, I’ll be fine. How are you getting home? Do you want a ride in my carriage?”
She held up her hand as she fled. “No, I’ll call my own. Goodnight, Penelope.”
I sank back in my chair and released a long, frustrated sigh. This was not how I meant tonight to go.
The sound of a door opening pulled me out of my thoughts and for a moment, I thought Maia had returned. My hopes fell when another woman waltzed into the mansion like she owned it and I sank back into my chair. “What are you doing here?”
Molly flashed me a coquettish smile. “What do you mean? I work here.”
“You don’t work at the mansion, you’re my assistant.” I played with my bandage. “What happened to your holiday?”
“I decided to cut it short.” She sat down in the chair Maia just vacated and gestured back to the front doors. “Was that Hades I just saw leaving?”
“It was.”
“What was she doing here?”
“I invited her over for a drink, not that it’s any of your business.”
Concern flitted over Molly’s face but she quickly covered it up with a shrug. “I hope you know what you’re doing.”
“And what is it you think I’m doing?” I bit back.
“Jeopardising your position and everything you’ve worked for. I haven’t heard you say a good word about any of the Hadeses for as long as we’ve been down here. Be wise, okay?”
Her logic only annoyed me more. “Don’t talk to me about being the Persephone. What I’ve worked for all these years is balance in the Underworld and serving the dead. If Maia and I can work toge—”
“Maia?” Molly scoffed. “So you’re on a first name basis now?”
“Jealousy doesn’t look good on you.”
“I’m not jealous. You’re not the only one who has worked hard to run this place but hey, if you don’t want my advice, even though I’ve been your assistant for a literal century, then fine, do whatever you want.
But don’t come running back to me when things inevitably fall apart.
” She spun on her heels, her snakes hissing angrily at me.
I rose from my chair too, grabbing her by the wrist. “Wait.”
She sighed dramatically and turned back around. “What? Hey, what happened to your arm?”
“You’re right, I’ve not been doing this on my own.” I said, ignoring her question. I released the other woman’s arm, not wanting to give her the wrong impression. “I’m being unfair to you and I apologise.”
“Thank you.” Molly looked at me, her eyes softening. “Look, I’m not going to deny it. I’m a little jealous but it’s not like we’re great loves or anything. We just used each other to pass the time. It gets boring here without a little something.”
“You were a little more to pass the time,” I told her sincerely.
She smiled but the snakes in her hair didn’t echo the sentiment. “Let’s not let our past ruin things. We’ve always worked well together and I want to continue doing that, even if that means redefining what that means.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yes. You know I have my own reasons for sticking around and I’m a little intrigued about the new Hades. If you see something in her, maybe there is something. I want to be around for that.” She held out her hand, rattling the gold bracelets around her wrist. “Truce?”
I took her hand in mine. “Truce.”
She leaned in and pressed a soft but meaningful kiss on my cheek. “Goodnight, Persephone.”
A twinge of sadness passed through me as she left but it didn’t linger. If anything, I was relieved that we got a chance to talk and straighten this out. I was going to need my assistant if the Underworld stood a chance of improving and for once, I felt like that was actually possible.