My Lord Hades (17 page)

His eyes met hers and heat flickered through her, scorching her, and was immediately

squelched. “Are you staying?”

“For now. But I’ll not be your wife.”

MORE PAIN shot through him. He hadn’t anticipated how harmful her words could be to

him.

“Fair enough.” Though the next words were gall in this throat, he spoke them anyway. “Once your magic and memories return, I’ll take you to the land above. You’ll be protected as my wife and you’ll never see me again. Agreed?”

“No!”

He waited expectantly to hear what about the agreement she found disagreeable. Most of it was to her advantage. All he would receive from the bargain was her presence and maybe the growth of affection she had once shown him.

She said nothing more. He needed to fix this. He needed to keep her here. Maybe if he could make her fall in love with him, he wouldn’t lose her.

He rose to his feet and held out his hand. She scrambled away from him and he pretended not to notice. “I would show you to your rooms, Persephone. But since my presence displeases you, I’ll have Penelope show you to them instead.”

She stared up at him with rounded eyes, her entire body trembling. He resisted the urge to pound his fist into the wall. She needed time to adapt to her new world he reminded himself. He just needed to give her time.

“First meal is served at first light. Penelope will come get you at midday meal. And last meal before dusk. If you need me, call my name and I’ll come with Zana as a chaperone.”

He walked away before he would say something he might regret. He needed time away to

think.

He met Penelope outside the andronitis. “I would like you to show Persephone to her

bedroom. Show her how to lock the door. It will make her feel safer.”

Penelope nodded.

He glanced at his wife who clung to the couch cushions as if her entire world was falling apart.

A FRESH round of tears fell from her eyes as she clung to the couch. How had she come to

this moment when her only recourse was to stay where she was, choose another god to marry, or be ravished by all the gods? Could a worse fate be given to a goddess?

“So you’re the woman whose stolen Hades heart? A little bitty thing, aren’t you?”

Persephone glanced up at the petite goddess with short dark curls and a pale complexion. She wore a simple dress the color of rubies. The cloth clung to every curve and dip on her shapely form. It revealed and hid more than Aphrodite’s dress. The long sleeves stopped at the wrists.

The high neck was ruined from prudishness by the removal of a cloth in the shape of tear drop, which showcased the tear drop ruby hanging from her throat. The hem nearly reached the floor with a slit from ankle to thigh.

The woman’s cold sapphire eyes raked over Persephone. She crossed her arms over her chest and shook her head. “You will be of no use to any of us as the Queen of the Underworld. Why, look at you; lovely to look at, but not worth a damn in a fight.” The goddess pointed at her with well manicured nails. “
You
are a sniveling coward.”

Persephone wanted to dislike the presumptuous woman, but she couldn’t. There was

something familiar about her. “Who are you?”

“No one important.” She sat on the settee beside Persephone. “What do you think of our

King?”

The change in subject made her head spin and she answered before she had time to think

better of it. “I hate him!”

“I liked him better before the incident in Tartarus myself. He was a stunning warrior,

absolutely amazing. And then he fell in love with a woman and she weakened him. As you will weaken him.”

“He doesn’t love me. I’m a mere pawn between him and my father.”

“Really?”

She turned her back on the nosy goddess. She didn’t owe the woman an explanation.

Actually, the fact that the woman seemed to be in love with Hades’ made a strong defense for keeping her mouth shut.

The woman laughed. She actually laughed until tears streamed from her eyes. “Oh this is

great! I can’t wait to see how this plays out. Impotent Zeus facing Hades as if they were equals!

Or maybe your mother, pitiful Demeter, struggling not to cry in his face while he refuses to let her have you!”

She turned on the annoying harpy. She’d said nothing of her parents. Who was this woman?

“He promised to let me go!”

“Did he now? What promise did he make you give in exchange for this kindness? A kiss? A

touch? A night’s pleasure? A few tumbles in the bed chamber?” She leaned forward. “Have you learned his one weakness yet? Are you willing to exploit it like a common whore to return to the prison your mother will create for you? Remember, dearest Persephone, smile as you push the knife into his heart, for in his weakness, he has given you power over it.”

She felt the need to defend Hades to this woman. “He asked for none of those things! He

promised to release me once I could defend myself from the gods!”

The goddess leaned against the pillar in front of her, a hand on her hip. “Then you don’t plan to stay.”

Hadn’t she just said so? “No. I’d rather die!”

“It’s inevitable.”

Persephone frowned. What was? Before she could ask, the goddess straightened and

sauntered toward her.

“You don’t need him to return your magic. You only have to break the blocks on your mind. I assume your mother put them there.”

Persephone blinked. The goddess sounded furious, but for the life of her Persephone didn’t understand what the goddess was talking about, only that she was insulting her mother. “My mother is a good woman. She’s protected me from the likes of Hades.”

“Your mother might not intentional hurt you, but she didn’t protect you either. You’ve spent your life scrounging around like a pathetic worm instead of the goddess of unimaginable power that you are.” Her eyes narrowed and she pointed at Persephone. “For once Hades is right. You need to be able to defend yourself, because when the truth of your parentage comes to light, all will seek you out for their wife. Whether you like it or not, you’re a goddess and a Queen. So act like the Queen I know lurks beneath this pathetic shell and take control of your future.”

Persephone tried to leave. She didn’t want to speak with this woman anymore and she hoped the woman would take the hint and go away. But, to Persephone’s dismay, she didn’t.

She jerked Persephone to her. They stood toe to toe, eye to eye. In her mind, she saw the truth of the goddess, the cruelty and the violence and the maternal need to protect her son. She was the darkness, the force of nature that wouldn’t be stopped. She was Eris, the battle goddess of Discord. She was one of the first, as old as Time and Death. She was Hades’ mother.

“My son deserves the misery you’ll rain upon him.”

Persephone tried to pull away, only the woman’s hold was like iron. Eris’ eyes narrowed and she touched Persephone’s cheek in an oddly motherly way. Persephone felt a feathery stroke in her mind. Her vision blurred and there was a small pop in her head. In that instant, she saw a faint light within her mind.

“Get away from me!”

A sudden rush of power struck Eris and she stumbled back with a gasp. Persephone

swallowed the nervous lump in her throat. How did she do that? Could she do it again?

She reached for the light in her mind and found only darkness. Why couldn’t she access the magic inside? It was as if the area of her mind where the magic resided was closed to her, and though the magic still called to her, it was minute.

“By the gods and daemons!” Eris cursed, laughing with a sort of manic joy. “You don’t

remember me. You don’t remember anything. You’re trapped in a hell of your own making,

without the power to improve it.” She shook her head. “You have no idea what you are?”

Persephone blinked and glanced at Eris, who was sitting on the ground as if that is where she wanted to be rather than where Persephone had pushed her. “I’m the goddess Persephone,

daughter of Demeter and Zeus.”

“Don’t forget, Queen of the Underworld and wife of Hades.”

“I’m not staying here.”

Eris shook her head, standing up. “Then be aware. If you eat of the food of the dead, no promises ever made to you can return you to the world above. You’ll be trapped here forever.

And if you sleep with my son, if you consummate your mock marriage, you are his wife

forever.”

“My Queen? Lady Eris?”

They turned to the servant.

“Yes,” Eris said.

“I’m not your Queen,” Persephone protested.

“Yet,” Eris added with a challenge in her eye.

“My Lord Hades, bid me to show you to your rooms, my Lady Persephone.”

In a flash, Eris was gone.

~*~ ~*~ ~*~

HADES TAPPED his fingers on the chair of his throne. Patience. He had to be patient with

her. However, as patient as he could be on the battlefield, when the line between defeat and victory hung in the balance and a single second determined the outcome, he was still a man of action. This whole notion of waiting for Persephone to come to him was proving most difficult.

What had it been so far? Days? Three days? Three days holed up in her bedroom?

On one level, he could understand Persephone’s reaction. After all, he’d uprooted her from her predictable life, taken her from her controlling mother, and surprised her with the

announcement that she was his wife and queen of the dismal Underworld. It was a lot for a woman to take in. On another level, he couldn’t figure her out. He’d offered her riches beyond her wildest dreams, freedom to do as she pleased, and to return her magic to her. He gave her everything she wanted and she wouldn’t have it because they were from him.

Her rejection stung the very core of his existence, but he wasn’t ready to give up on

Persephone without a fight. He was a warrior and hunter, and would use the same strategies he employed upon the battlefield with her, he would attempt to gain some ground with considerate gestures.

Walking down the hall to Persephone’s rooms, he halted before her door and gently tapped

on the black stained oak.

“Go away!”

“Persephone, I know you’re angry at me—”

“Furious!”

“But I thought you might like to eat. I brought you ambrosia and nectar from Mount

Olympus.”

“Leave it outside the door!”

“This is the last meal that will be delivered to your door,” he said, setting the tray on the floor with a loud clatter. He winced, hoping the ruse would force her out “Are the rooms acceptable?”

“They’re hideous!”

“I’ll get Penelope and if you would let us in and tell me what you prefer, I would more than happy to teach you how to change your décor.”

Silence.

“Do you require a change of clothing?”

More silence.

He sighed. This was going to be more difficult than he expected. He knocked again.

“Persephone?”

“I want to go home.”

“Then let me help you.”

He waited. Silence.

“When you are ready to speak with me, call my name.”

He took a deep breath, turned on his heel, and strode back to the throne room. He hoped this would soon end. He needed to be near her, feel the caress of her energy against his. He needed to convince her that she belonged with him.

Aggravated, he wrapped his cloak around him. He’d make his daily rounds in the

Underworld, to make sure everything was running as it should be, and be back by dinner.

Hopefully. she’d leave her bedroom while he was gone. He wouldn’t let his irritation show.

Patience. He needed to be patient. It was a strategy that was bound to work. After all, how long could a woman be happy to remain in one room all day? How long could she fight the attraction between them? He was acutely aware of it. It haunted him day and night. It had to affect her too.

PERSEPHONE BIT her lower lip, silencing the words that would call his retreating footsteps back and slumped against the door. What was wrong with her?

Hades was the enemy. He’d take her from her home and from her mother. He’d kidnapped

her. And she was acting like a lovesick nymph!

But who wouldn’t find him adorable. He accepted the boundary she’d established. He brought her every meal. He never threatened her. She couldn’t deny her attraction to him. The sound of his voice sent shivers of pleasure though her. She craved his company, his kisses, and his touch.

Would she have the strength of will to stop him if he came for her?

She shivered. She was his prisoner, even her rooms. The suite was the most elegant and

simple she’d ever seen, but it added to the dark, gloomy, miserable ambiance. The solar, like every chamber in the palace she’d seen so far, was pure white marble with black furniture and deep red cushions. The color motif also found its way to the rugs on the floor and the tapestries on the wall which was reflected in the three silver mirrors on the wall.

The bedroom was no different. The lavish canopy bed, adorned in black curtains and silk

sheets with a thick red blanket, made her cringe. What was it with the color scheme? Had Hades decorated the place? Or had another and he just didn’t care?

Not that it matter, the dark furnishing only added to the ominous mood of the dimly lit room.

The whole palace, even the andronitis, which should have been bright and cheery considering it surrounded a garden, was gloomy.

Opening the door, she peered out into the empty corridor. He wasn’t standing outside the

room to her relief and disappointment, but a tray of food and a metal circlet with a purple and yellow stones sat outside the door.

She brought it into the room and quickly ate the ambrosia and drank the nectar, licking sugar from her fingers before lifting the circlet for a better inspection. She laughed when she realized it was a crown of flowers. The exquisite piece of craftsmanship was carved by a loving hand. Each flower was individual and thornless. It was a crown made for a queen.