Epilogue
Hades, God of the Underworld, Master of Hounds, Lord of Death, etcetera, was very pleased with himself. He lounged back in his leather chair before an unnecessary fireplace and sipped his expensive brandy. Not that he had paid for it. He was a god; he paid for nothing. Still, that didn't mean he didn't appreciate the value of things.
“You need to be careful.” Persephone, Hades's wife, the Goddess of Spring, the most beautiful woman in all the realms, and the love of his very long life, strode into the room.
The breath caught in Hades's throat. It did every time he saw her, even after all these years. Persephone was loveliness incarnate. Glossy hair, the color of rich soil, flowed down to her waist in thick waves. Her fair skin was flushed at the cheeks and nose, her bright green eyes were framed with long lashes, and her full lips were naturally dark pink.
“Did you hear me, Hades?” she demanded as she sat down beside him.
Hades took her hand and lifted it for a kiss. “I'm afraid you're too far away, my love. My aged ears are failing me. Come closer.”
Persephone snorted but slid under his arm and nestled against his chest. With her where she belonged, Hades felt at peace, his happiness skyrocketing.
“I'm glad more Cerberuses are finding love, but you risked too much with this last one.”
“I don't know what you're talking about.” Hades kissed her forehead, then offered her his drink.
Persephone pushed the glass away. “Hades, I know about the paintings.”
“What paintings?”
“The paintings of the warriors.”
“What warrior paintings?”
She made a sound of amusement and exasperation. “Stop playing games. There are no secrets between us. I know you inspired Lomasi to paint them.”
“I am no muse.” He sipped his drink.
“I find you very amusing,” Persephone said.
Hades chuckled. “And why would I inspire her to paint them? It's better for them to not know their pasts. I decided that when I made the very first of them.”
“I don't think you believe that anymore, especially not after you saw their reaction to those paintings.” Persephone straightened to meet Hades's stare. “And they were just a cover.”
“A cover?”
“You wanted them to know who Michael was.”
Hades shrugged and tried to pull her back into his embrace.
Persephone resisted.
Hades scowled.
“If the other Olympians were to learn how much you've helped the Cerberuses, they would punish you.”
“They wouldn't dare,” Hades scoffed, but a shiver of unease shot through him. One-on-one, he could handle any Olympian, even Zeus. But if they were to all come at him together . . .
“Hades!” Persephone smacked his arm.
He jerked back. “What was that for?”
“I was speaking, and you were not listening.”
“A crime indeed.” Hades nuzzled her neck before kissing her there. “What did you say, my queen?”
“That the paintings were bad enough, but you also inspired Lomasi to go after them.”
“What do you mean?”
“Hades! You gave her the urge to arm herself and go after the Cerberus on that dangerous mission!”
“If I hadn't, they would have died. The Fates warned me. I was within my rights to act since that dumb law about them not killing people would have—”
“They wouldn't have had the chance to kill anyone,” Persephone cut him off.
“Then it was even more important for me to interfere. I'm allowed to help when my hounds are in jeopardy.”
“Yes, fine,” she conceded. “But you aren't allowed to help anyone else.”
“Again, I don't know what you're talking about, my love.”
“Lomasi. You saved her life. I know you did.”
Hades sighed and gave up on the teasing denials. Persephone knew him better than anyone in existence. Probably because he told her everything. “Hermes tried to kill her.”
“Hermes gave her his immortality. It was his right to take it back.”
“Not when he knew it would deny my hounds a mate!” Hades growled, his eyes heating with magic. “It was an attack against me as well as my hounds.”
“All right. Easy now.” Persephone calmed him with a single touch. “I know it was unfair, but it could be argued that you were interfering with mortal business on Earth.”
“That wasn't mortal business,” Hades said. “It was personal. She wouldn't have made it, Persephone. Lomasi would have died before I got her to them. In seconds. I had to act.”
“I understand, and I even approve. You know I want all the Cerberuses to find love. But we have enemies, Hades. Enemies who would use any means to bring us down. Do you want to be chained to this realm, unable to help the Hounds at all?”
“No,” Hades, Lord of the Underworld, sounded like a petulant child.
“I'm just saying that you need to be careful when you help them. Subtle.”
“I was subtle. I didn't instantly heal her. I let it look as if she were going to die. Any gods watching would assume that my hounds saved her by bonding with her.”
“If Lomasi was destined to be their mate, she would have survived without your help.”
Hades brushed a lock of hair away from Persephone's face. “She's pregnant, my love.”
Persephone sighed, took his glass of brandy, and downed it.
Another man might think her sigh was of longing. That perhaps she wanted a child herself. But Hades knew his wife didn't have such inclinations. Persephone was an eternal girl. The Divine Maiden, even after he took her maidenhood. His sweet, innocent, but also cunning wife. She didn't long for a child, and he had no need for more children. His hounds were his sons, and they were all any father could want. No, that sigh was one of capitulation. Persephone may not want children of her own, but she loved them. His actions were now above reproach in her eyes.
Hades grinned as she stood up to refill the glass. His wife was even lovelier when she shot back liquor, snorted, or even—very rarely—used naughty words. The crassness just enhanced her delicate beauty.
“I will be careful,” Hades promised. “But I won't stop helping my hounds. They need me.”
Persephone lifted a brow at him as she returned.
“They do!”
She handed him the glass and sat down. “Just be careful.”
“I already said I would.” He lifted his glass to her in salute, then took a gulp.
“I didn't know the hounds could have children.”
Hades chuckled. “Neither did I. I think Earth has altered them, made them fertile. The Cerberuses here have never procreated.”
“This changes everything. Every Cerberus mate is now a potential mother.”
Hades pondered that. “I wonder what the child will be like.”
“The other Olympians will wonder the same. They may have something to say about this.”
“I had nothing to do with it. I am the God of Death, not Life. They cannot blame me for what destiny has given them.”
Persephone shook her head at her husband. “You're just lucky that the Fates are on your side.”
“Indeed,” Hades muttered.