Goddess of Legend (Demi-God Daughters) (9 page)

Chapter
Ten

She couldn’t believe it. The little bitch had accepted his offer. The mortal actually thought she was up to the task of becoming Queen of the Underworld. If Persephone wasn’t so angry, she’d laugh. Hades must be getting daft if he thought he could replace her. Before now she hadn’t been worried, just a tad jealous. After all, Hades had been in love with her for eons. Regardless of whether she wanted him or not it had always been nice to know that he would always be there waiting for her if she chose to return to him. Hades’s desire for Cameryn changed everything.

Clearly Hades had moved on
, and Cameryn was a lot braver than Persephone had initially given her credit for. She’d fully expected the mortal to be so terrified of going to the Underworld that she would never consent to Hades’s foolish proposal. She was wrong. Cameryn was bound and determined to save her sister, and Persephone could already see that the girl was sure she’d be able to resist Hades’s charm. There was already something between the two of them. Persephone didn’t like it one bit.

It was time to put an end to this before things went any further. She was going to see Zeus. If her father told Hades to stop his foolhardy plan, then he would have no choice but to do so.  He wouldn’t defy the King of the Gods. Persephone was confident that she was about to get what she wanted. She checked her appearance in the mirror. Flawless as usual. It was time to grace Olympus with her presence.

****

Cameryn was glad for Hades’
s arms around her as they continued to fall. If he hadn’t been holding her, she was sure she would have lost all the contents in her stomach along the way.

“Please. No more,” she
said.

“We’re almost home
, Cameryn,” Hades’s voice said softly in her ear.

Home? Hmm, he must be mighty confident about breaking down my walls.
Cameryn held onto him tighter. She was grateful when the sensation of being on a Tilt-A-Whirl finally ceased. Tears almost slipped down her cheeks when she realized she was standing on solid ground again. Hades steadied her as she tried to regain her balance.

“What the hell did we just do? I feel so dizzy.”

“I think you humans call it teleportation. It’s the fastest way to get from one place to another.”

“Well I don’t like it one bit,” Cameryn said taking a tentative step forward.

Looking around she finally noticed that they were standing next to a large, black iron gate. Directly behind it was a palace framed against the backdrop of jagged dark cliffs.
Hmm. Pretty damn impressive. He has Gothic tastes like me.
The sound of loud barking caught her attention. She turned around and saw a massive black shape running towards them.
What in the hell?
Her body automatically went into defense mode. Hades

stood next to her completely unperturbed. His attention was focused completely on her. Waiting, senses on alert
, Cameryn held her breath as the shape got closer. It was a three-headed massive Rottweiler that had to be at least ten feet long.

“Hades
, run!” Cameryn screamed, as she turned preparing to run.

Hades laughed as the dog approached him.

“Cerebrus. You must’ve missed me. Did you, boy?” Hades said to the dog rubbing all of its massive heads.

Cameryn watched in disbelief as all of the dog’s tongues lolled as Hades petted the strange looking beast.
Wait a minute
. Cerebrus was the Guardian who made sure no souls escaped from the Underworld. He didn’t look like a big bad guard dog now. Cerebrus looked like a happy pup without a care in the world. Her fear started to fade.

“Some big bad guard dog.”

“Don’t let this fool you. Cerebrus will tear anyone apart that tries to sneak into the Underworld.”

“Why would anyone sneak into the Underworld?” Cameryn asked.

“You’d be surprised. All right, boy, back to your post,” Hades said to Cerebrus.

The dog gave him a mournful look before trotting away.

“You could’ve told me he was harmless before I started to run like a fool,” Cameryn said.

“I thought it was cute to see you so worried about my safety,” Hades said smirking.

“It won’t happen again,” Cameryn said turning away from him in a huff.

She turned her attention back to the huge palace in front of her. There were large black spires intricately decorated. Already she was drawn to his home.

“Will you allow me to show you my home?” Hades asked.

Cameryn turned around and saw Hades offering her his hand. She stared at him for a moment before placing her hand in his. She was now a resident of the Underworld. She had no choice but to trust him. His hand tenderly held hers as they started to walk.

****

Hades watched Cameryn’s expression as they went through the iron gate. Her beautiful silver eyes were sparkling. With her next to him, he felt like he was seeing his home for the first time. The round marble columns. The wide black marble steps leading up to the black granite doors with heavy brass knobs. Yes, it was definitely an impressive sight to someone just seeing it for the first time. As they ascended the stairs, he was surprised to feel her small hand trembling in his.

“Are you afraid?”

“A little.”

“There’s nothing to fear. No harm will come to you,” he said to her.

She nodded. As he stared at her, he knew that no matter what her decision was when their time together ended, he would protect and love her always. He gave her a reassuring smile and opened the large doors. He allowed her to enter first. Cameryn took a tentative step inside. The foyer that opened up in front of her
was well decorated. An elegant crystal chandelier hung from the ceiling. Rainbow colors were reflected from each of the crystals. Long hallways stretched to her left and right. Winding spiral stairs were directly in her path.

“How many rooms are in this place?”

“Forty.”

“Forty? Why so many?”

“No particular reason. That just ended up being the number when this place was designed.”

“You must have had a hell of an architect,” Cameryn
said.

“Actually I designed this place myself.”

“Really? I’m impressed.”

“The arts are an area that I’m quite talented in. Perhaps you will allow me to show you some more of my work while you are here.”

“That’s definitely a possibility,” Cameryn said nonchalantly.

“Shall we continue?” Hades asked.

“Sure. Lead the way.”

Hades moved in the direction of the long hallway to the left. Cameryn followed behind him seemingly unable to keep her eyes off his backside.

*
***

“Well what say you now
, husband?”

“Just because she agreed to Hades’
s bargain means nothing. She will probably leave him once the six months are over,” Zeus said.

“Must you be so negative? Have some faith in the power of love,” Hera
told Zeus.

“Hera
, I believe in love, but when it comes to having a lasting relationship with a mortal I know better. For Hades’s sake, I hope it all goes well,” Zeus said.

Privately his thoughts were much different.

****

Walking up the stairs, Hades veered to the right. A deep sigh rumbled from his chest. Stopping abruptly he turned to look at Cameryn. She raised an inquiring eyebrow.

“What’s wrong? I can see pain in your face,” she said perceptively.

“This entire wing belonged to Persephone.”

“Oh,” Cameryn said quietly.

She felt like her heart had just been pierced. Persephone. H
’s, no Hades’s, first wife. Having a separate wing from one’s own husband didn’t spell success for a marriage.

“She lived in this wing your entire marriage?”

“Yes.”

Wow. One word. There was so much emotion in that one word.
Persephone must be a real bitch. Cameryn, stop. You don’t know anything about her. You’re just feeling sorry for him because he is beyond fucking gorgeous, and he has puppy dog eyes.
She might not know everything about Hades’s past with Persephone, but she knew pain when she saw it. It made her wonder why she’d been brought here.

“Why are we here?”

“I thought this could be your quarters if you’d like, but you have free reign of the castle.”

“If you don’t mind, I would rather stay elsewhere. Being here just doesn’t feel right.”

“Would you be opposed to residing in my wing of the castle?” he asked staring at her intently.

“No. That would be fine,” she said
, trying to disguise the nervousness in her voice.

“I would like that. Come,” he said turning on his heel abruptly.

His step was brisk as they left Persephone’s wing. As Cameryn watched him, she could already see the tension leaving his body. As they crossed the stairwell she listened quietly as Hades started showing her his wing.

“This is my personal library. I have texts dating back hundreds of thousands of years,” Hades said opening an oak paneled door.

Stepping inside, Cameryn was literally awestruck by the floor to ceiling bookcases that lined the large room.

“Wow. Now
, how many of these have you actually read?” Cameryn asked running her finger over the spine of a particularly old looking book.

“All of them.”

“No way.”

“Yes, way,” Hades said smiling widely before adding, “Eternity gives you lots of time for lots of things when you spend it alone.”

There it was again. The look of sadness. Something had happened to Hades. She had a feeling that it had something to do with Persephone
, and it wasn’t good. She needed to distract him.
Now why do I want to distract him from feeling bad? I barely know him!

“So out of everything you’ve read what’s your favorite?” Cameryn asked silencing her inner voice.

“
Romeo and Juliet
.”

“Beautiful but tragic. That seems like your style. Maybe I can convince you to try something different.”

“Like what?”

“
Fifty Shades of Grey
.” Cameryn managed to say it with a straight face.

“I’ve heard about that,” Hades
said.

“Yeah. You should check it out. It had definitely helped me through some lonely nights. Now what else do you want to show me?”

“My study might interest you,” Hades said opening the library door so that she could exit.

Walking next to him, she followed him to the next room. The door to this room had a large black base that was covered with small one inch mirrors. It was definitely different. As she was allowed to enter the room first, her eyes were immediately drawn to the large artist’s table, canvasses, paint
, and brushes.
Hmm. Maybe he really is into art.
Cameryn stopped walking, momentarily stunned. Hanging high on the back wall was a portrait of a woman. Her hair was sun bleached white blonde, long and curly. The woman’s skin was a soft peach color. Perfectly arched brows graced cat-like green eyes. The woman’s nose was pert, and her lips were like rosebuds. Whoever the woman was she was confident in her beauty.

“That’s Persephone
, isn’t it?” Cameryn asked already knowing the answer.

“Yes.”

Why did the fact that Hades had painted a portrait of Persephone bother her? She couldn’t possibly be jealous. She’s wasn’t in love with him.
Cameryn, get a grip.

“It’s beautiful. It feels like the picture is alive. You really captured her essence.”

“Thank you. I don’t often have a chance to showcase my work.”

“That’s too bad. Talent like yours should be appreciated.”

“And do you appreciate it, Cameryn?”

“I’ve never really been into artsy guys
, but I can appreciate talent when I see it.”

“Then maybe you will appreciate this,” he said picking up a canvas that had been leaning against the wall.

He turned it around
, and Cameryn gasped as she came face to face with a lifelike depiction of herself. In the portrait her midnight black hair fluttered around her face. Her silver eyes sparkled with an air of mystery. Somehow he’d even managed to capture the strength of her features without losing her femininity. Her lips looked so luscious she wanted to kiss herself.

“H, this is beautiful. You’ve made me look like a goddess,” she said
, truly touched by the alluring portrait of herself.

“That’s how I see you, as a goddess. My goddess,” Hades said softly.

Cameryn’s gaze met Hades’s. There was so much emotion behind his gaze. He seemed to be absolutely smitten with her. It scared the shit out of her. She’d never been the object of someone’s affection. She swallowed reflexively as she watched Hades set the picture down carefully and come towards her. Slowly his hands reached up to hold her face. He tilted it from side to side studying her.