Chapter 19 #2
For the remainder of the walk, I was lost in thought about his earlier words: the reason behind the war, his loss, and his pain.
I could sense the sadness within him. Sorrow welled inside me, slicing through my chest. He blamed himself for losing Persephone and, most likely, instigating the war.
This god was not at all what I’d expected; I was beginning to see the layers beneath his arrogant, grumpy exterior.
After walking in silence for about twenty minutes, we arrived at the river, and his gaze swept over the explosion of colour that my flora magic had created.
The smile on his face made him compellingly beautiful.
My stomach dipped and curled, and I stared at him for gods knows how long, as if I were nine kinds of crazy.
‘You’re staring at me,’ he said without looking in my direction.
‘I’m not.’ My gaze turned to the riverbanks.
‘You lie so prettily,’ he said, his gaze returning to my face. Those bottomless pools of blue flashed with golden aether, and the muscles low in my belly tightened.
‘I will shadow-walk you across the river.’ Before I could answer, his arms were around me, pressing me against his hard, lean, muscular body.
Shadows engulfed us, and in a heartbeat, we were there—no nausea this time.
I felt safe, wrapped in the shadows with him.
He didn’t let me go; instead, he held me for what felt like a small eternity as I fisted my hands in his shirt and breathed in his scent like a total creeper.
He released a jagged breath and stepped away from me.
‘Work your magic, little goddess.’
‘What?’ My gaze remained fixed on him, but his jaw hardened.
‘Your magic.’ He motioned to the surrounding barren and sparse land, his face devoid of emotion. My eyes peeled away from him, leaving me feeling like an utter goober.
Gods, I needed to get a grip on myself, but his rapidly changing signals were giving me whiplash.
Bending down and placing my fingers in the dirt, I unleashed my flora magic. Tingling sensations rippled through me, dancing along every nerve ending, and the area began to bloom as far as the eye could see.
‘Asphodels,’ I whispered as I stood, drinking in the sea of blooms: elegant, slender plants, three feet tall, with numerous leaves and millions of starry, white flowers, like windmill sails, swaying in the gentle breeze.
‘Yes. You have restored the Meadows of Asphodel, Persephone. When you first arrived here with your flora magic, it was like the first flower blooming after the long vestiges of winter. You promised the warm summer days ahead.’ At his words, tears misted my eyes and choked my throat.
‘Asphodel derives its name from a Greek word that signifies sceptre.’
‘Why?’ I croaked.
‘It is a sigil of the Underworld, primarily associated with you. Before you came here, most souls were left to wander the barren lands, but you changed that.’
‘Me?’
He nodded. ‘You decided that not only heroes deserved Elysium, but that every day, upright humans also deserved paradise.’
‘I did? I made that difference?’ I blinked at him momentarily, and he gave a lopsided smile.
‘You transformed these barren lands into something beautiful when you first arrived.’ His gaze lifted to mine, and I swallowed roughly as tears crowded my throat.
‘The souls traverse these meadows; the beauty soothes and calms them, or it did before you disappeared.’ He paused for a long moment.
‘And shall do so again.’ He shrugged unrepentant ‘Then they enter Elysium. Well, most of them do, thanks to you. Some, however, find themselves in Tartarus.’ I shivered at the thought of that creepy-ass place.
‘And some souls remain here to wander, stripped of memories. Those souls do not deserve Elysium.’
‘Who decides who is deserving or not?’
‘Minos, Rhadamanthus, and Aeacus. These are my demigod ministers, who once established law and order on Earth. Hecate or I occasionally find ourselves summoned to judge.’
‘Oh,’ I hummed, not quite sure what else to say.
‘Thank you,’ he whispered, and those pools of sapphire swirled with gold.
I stepped towards him and placed a hand on his cheek as I looked up into those blue eyes, swimming with warm sunlit currents of aether.
He lowered his lips to mine—the kiss was long, deep, and languid.
A fang grazed my lip, causing my nipples to harden and my toes to curl. He pulled away and took a step back.
I touched my lip. He’d drawn blood. With a smouldering look in his eyes, he grasped my hand, lifted my finger, closed his lips around it, and sucked. The pull travelled all the way to my clit, like molten lava. Holy damn. I inhaled sharply, meeting his gaze, and a fire sparked deep in my belly.
I blinked once, then twice, then launched at him, wrapping my legs around his waist and closing my mouth over his.
I felt his erection against my core, and a heated curl dipped in my stomach and went lower.
As his tongue plundered my mouth, a riot of sensations crashed over me like a torrential downpour.
Our lips, tongues, and breath entwined as I moaned softly in my throat, feeling him shudder.
‘Hi!’ The high-pitched voice startled us both, and I jumped down, running a hand through my hair. Heat scorched my cheeks as I looked around and saw a small girl standing a few feet away.
‘Are you two married?’ She tipped her head and stared up at us. ‘My mum and dad do the kissing thing all the time.’ She rolled her eyes. ‘It’s gross.’ She wrinkled her nose, and I coughed out a shocked laugh.
‘Are you lost?’ I bent to one knee and gently stroked the girl’s tiny face.
‘Oh, no. Mommy and Daddy are over there,’ she said, pointing. I raised my head, following the direction of her arm, and saw two smiling people. The little girl beamed and raced towards them. They all faded away.
‘A whole family?’ I whispered, a scalding tide of tears brimming in my eyes.
‘Sometimes,’ his voice soothed as he leaned down to touch my arm, then helped me to my feet.
‘Will they find their way, you know, to Elysium?’
‘Yes,’ he murmured. ‘Those who are destined are drawn to the Gates of Elysium. Let’s head back.’ I was in his arms again, and within a heartbeat, we were back on the other side of the river.
Before I could utter a word, a loud ‘woof’ almost caused my eyeballs to rattle. Hurtling towards us came Cerberus. Hades grinned at the sight. Cerberus reached us, nearly knocking Hades over, and that grin deepened until a dimple appeared.
It was obvious how much he adored Cerberus, and when he grinned—my gods, he was devastating.
That dimple. That sinful little dent I suddenly ached to trace with my tongue.
My gaze flicked between the three-headed hound and the man who owned him, and my chest clenched.
Then he laughed—low, dark, rumbling—and it rolled through me like thunder.
My ovaries practically applauded
For the love of everything holy, I was losing my mind.
I knew that the feelings I had for Hades were real.
Was it because he was the sexiest man I’d ever met?
My stomach clenched with apprehension—I realised whatever ‘this’ was ran far deeper than mere looks.
Something immeasurable—it transcended chemistry; more than desire, although the desire I felt was intense.
I could feel it, whatever it was, in every part of my being.
It was something tangible yet ineffable… The bond.
The horny bond-bitch had a tantrum in my chest and commanded me to cling to him like a psychotic limpet and take what I needed. I pushed the sexually frustrated little fucker back down—not happening. Nope. I wasn’t giving in.
But gods, it was tempting.
I was lost in my conflicting emotions when Cerberus zeroed in on me and lunged, pinning me to the ground and making me squeal with laughter.
‘Hi, baby. Oh, you’re such a cutie. Let’s give the big, proud puppy dog a scritch-scratch. You big soft bundle of fluff.’ I buried my fingers in his fur and raked my nails against his skin, eliciting a low groan as he licked my face with all three tongues.
‘Stop talking to him like that. You’ll embarrass him,’ Hades said awkwardly but with a slight smile. I laughed even harder… The king of shadows was trying to be facetious. He took my hand and helped me to my feet but released me as we walked, Cerberus bounding alongside us.
‘What does Cerberus mean?’ I asked as I scratched the hound’s head.
Hades’ nose wrinkled, and I’m pretty sure he blushed. ‘It evolved from the word “?érberos”, which means “spotted”.’
I burst out laughing. ‘You, oh mighty Lord of the Dead, literally named your dog Spot?’
He gave a half-shrug. ‘Well, he has a spot on his belly.’ Tears streamed down my face as I struggled to breathe from uncontrollable laughter. He shook his head. ‘Ignore her, Cerberus; she’s just rude,’ he grumbled.
When we arrived back at the castle, I gave Cerberus a belly rub—checking out his apparent ‘spot’—showered him with kisses, and reluctantly left him after Hades refused to allow him to sleep in my bedroom.
We sauntered back to my chambers, and he poured two glasses of nectar, handing me one.
I was exhausted from using so much flora magic.
‘Are you hungry?’ Hades asked.
‘I’m starving!’ My eyes widened at the thought of food. ‘Will you cook or conjure food?’ He was about to answer, but I continued. ‘If you conjure food, can we have New York-style hot dogs? Please?’ I made grabby hands at him.
He rolled his eyes, clicked his fingers, and juicy hot dogs topped with sauerkraut, sautéed onions, ketchup, and mustard appeared inside fluffy buns. I squealed with delight and dove in, downing the feast so quickly, I’m surprised I didn’t choke. Hades watched me as he nibbled politely on a hotdog.
I licked my fingers and lips and took a large gulp of nectar. ‘May I ask you something?’
He placed his food on the plate. ‘Of course.’
‘When I drank your blood’—I side-eyed him—‘I felt a myriad of emotions.’ I hesitated. ‘Emotions that weren’t mine.’
He stiffened. ‘Are you spying on me, little goddess?’
‘What? No! I—’
‘They were my emotions, Persephone. Occasionally, the recipient of the life force experiences heightened emotions after consuming blood. I’m sorry you experienced that. I should go. Get some rest.’
Before I could answer, he disappeared into the aether, leaving me irritated and confused. What was going on with him? One minute, he was devouring my mouth; the next, his shields were back up. His fluctuating mood swings were worse than PMS. I lowered my brows as I chewed my lip.
The emotions I’d sensed… Was that how he felt about me? Or are those the feelings he held for his original Persephone?
I needed to be cautious, because I wasn’t her anymore.