Chapter 27 The Pomegranate
The Pomegranate
Itook my hands away from Hades’s skin. I reached for the white silk negligée.
I palmed a pomegranate along with it. I snuck a sideways look at Hades, to see if I’d been caught, but his eyes were closed.
His breath was coming in quick, shallow gasps.
He was true to his word: He knew he’d see my naked body if he opened his eyes, and he had promised not to.
He was telling the truth again. Like he always had. “You really have never lied to me, have you.”
“I told you,” Hades said, sounding a touch piqued.
I put an apologetic hand on the back of his neck. “I’m sorry.”
His eyelids flickered. But he still didn’t open them.
I went back to the tub. I pulled the negligée over my head and tugged on my boots and dried my hair as best I could. Hades sat there. His hands flexed and opened on his bare thighs. “Well?” I asked, faintly disgruntled. “You can open your eyes now.”
“I can’t.”
“I’m dressed.”
“No, I can’t.” His voice was anguished. “You, dripping wet in that thing? I wouldn’t be able to handle it.”
My breath caught. I couldn’t leave without touching him again. I went over to him and crouched. The pomegranate was heavy in my hand. Tentatively, almost afraid, I put my free hand on his bruised, swollen shoulders. My heart ached. My poor Prince.
A few days ago, he’d held a fruit to my lips and said I would do anything he wanted.
But now, I thought that he would do anything I wanted.
“Goddess,” he breathed. “Don’t. Please.”
Heat flared in my groin.
The deadbolt k-chunked. I sprang away from Hades, and Elke opened the door and blinked at us both. Hades was curled in on himself like a boulder, his chest heaving with desire. I couldn’t believe Elke couldn’t practically smell it.
“Oh, good!” Elke said, surprised. “You got some ointment on him! But, Your Lordship, you need to bandage that.”
“Uh-huh. Well, bye.” I strode out of the room as quickly as I could. I heard Hades gasp just once, brokenly, as I shut the door behind me. The gasp was a stab in my stomach. It might have been a sob.
Pomegranate in hand, I went to Hades’s bedchamber.
I passed a few chaosgotten on the way. None of them spoke, but they bobbed their heads when they saw me.
Were they… bowing at me? No. Surely not.
Either way, I was glad to see that their bodies seemed healthier now that they had water.
They were walking around instead of lying on the ground like shriveled beans.
I tried to tell myself that no matter how things went with my mother, at least I had done that.
But now that I was finally on my way to the Lake, I could no longer bring myself to care about such things. As long as Hades was okay and my mother was alive, nothing else seemed to matter.
In Hades’s room, I found a pouch with a strap and slung it around my waist like a belt. I put the pomegranate in it. I didn’t even stop to change my clothes.
I hoisted my mother over my shoulders, carpet and all, and set off for the throne room and the Lake.