Hades (The God Chronicles #3) (16 page)

I was almost sad that I hadn’t been invited to
the meeting. It would have been cool to meet more people from this
world. However, staying on the down low and keeping to myself was
the better option. It wasn’t that I thought they could reveal me
easier than Hades could, but I wasn’t going to take that
chance.

At last, I broke free from the chaos on Hero,
heading down the bank that lead to the hidden gate. With everyone
so caught up in the meeting tonight, it seemed like the perfect
time to slip through and check things out for myself.

I made quick work of getting there, nervously
looking around for guards or anyone who might be watching, but
there was no one. With a confident smile, I dismounted and left
Hero to wander around on his own, knowing he wouldn’t go far
without me. Another quick glance around confirmed I was still alone
and I walked through the wall, into the maze.

My disguise faded away quickly, the smoke
leaving from around me and sucking back into the ring that hadn’t
left my finger. I hadn’t realized how much I’d missed my own body
until now, as I felt my blonde curls and laughed just to hear my
own voice. It was a truly wonderful moment for me.

After a few moments of reuniting with myself, I
set off into the maze, dragging a rock along the wall with me so I
would be able to track my way back. In the beginning, it was just
as when I’d first entered—I couldn’t tell the difference between
solid wall and doors, or which way was the right way to go. As time
passed, though, I started noticing the subtle signs of an opening
every now and then. Not every door looked the same, but it was
quickly becoming apparent that there were too many for me to go
through and search. Even if I had ten lifetimes to do it, I would
never make it through all of them. They literally littered the
tunnels, making it impossible to even set up any plan to try and go
through them.

“What are you doing?”

I jumped at the hissing voice, dropping my rock
to the ground in shock as I spun around.

“Erebos,” I sighed in relief when I saw his
smoky form, halfway through one of the doors. “You scared me half
to death.”

“If Hades discovers you’ve left the Underworld
he’ll have your head,” he hissed, coming the rest of the way into
the tunnel and looking around suspiciously.

“I’m looking for the helmet,” I shot back. “I’m
not having any luck there.”

“Do you think I haven’t already scoured these
tunnels looking for it?” he asked as if I was stupid. “Get back to
your job.”

“Hang on,” I said, not liking the way he was
talking to me. “What about your end of things? You sent me in there
without a clue to anything and basically abandoned me flat until
now! I have a right to know what’s going on.”

“You have a right to nothing,” he sneered. “I
do not go back on deals. Trust me, everything is being taken care
of, as I promised.”

“My parents—”

“Are not your concern now,” he said
sternly.

He paused in his lecturing of me, eyes
traveling up and down me a few times before a wicked smile spread
across his face.

“Something is different about you,” he said
thoughtfully. “Feelings that you did not have before.”

“What?” I asked, put off by his sudden
accusation.

“You like him,” he giggled in glee, clapping
his hands together.

“I do not!” I argued back
defensively.

“You do,” he said, nodding. “I see it, hidden
in the darkest part of you, wrapped in shadows you’re hoping will
smother it.”

“I don’t like him,” I said nervously,
experiencing the uncomfortable feeling of being probed by his
powers once again. I’d forgotten how scary it felt, to be seen for
exactly what I was.

“Best be careful, Katrina,” he laughed. “That
ring was made for who you were before. If you change too much, it
will stop working. And we both know what that would
mean.”

“Can you fix it?” I asked nervously, fear
lancing through me at the thought of suddenly losing my disguise in
the presence of Hades.

“Unfortunately, no,” he said, his head tilting
to the side as he smiled evilly again. “There is no time. Now, get
back to where you are supposed to be. It was foolish of you to come
here.”

“If you would have given me any instructions, I
would have known better,” I snapped back, tired of feeling pushed
around by him. All the same, I turned and started walking back the
way I came.

“Be careful, Katrina,” his voice warned behind
me, fading slightly as he disappeared again. “You don’t want to
anger the wrong people.”

I stopped, turning around to ask him what that
was supposed to mean, but he was already gone. A frustrated yell
left my mouth and I spun back around, storming my way back to the
gate. It was easy to ignore the voices and faces as I fumed to
myself, upset I was still no closer to finding what I needed and in
the dark about why it was so important I find it.

As I passed through the gate and back into the
Underworld, I took on the form of Persephone once more. I hated it
a little, feeling like I was trapping myself in my own prison of
secrets.

Secrets that apparently weren’t secrets to
Erebos. I was mortified he’d so openly called me out on my crush,
basically insisting there was more to it.

Hero greeted me from the bank, trotting over
and waiting for me to mount him. With a sigh, I did so, wondering
what I was to do with the rest of my night.

We rode back to the stables at a comfortable
pace, my mind still frustrated by everything that had happened
throughout the day. Even brushing Hero down didn’t calm my nerves.
It seemed the best option for me was going to be sleeping it all
off.

I started back to my room, lost in my own
thoughts, when I suddenly realized that someone was calling out to
me.

“Persephone!”

I turned, catching sight of two men getting off
a boat and coming towards me. Based on their attire and the way the
guards were acting around them, it was clear to me who they
were.

A meeting with Zeus and Poseidon was in my
future after all.

Chapter
Fifteen

They both looked every bit the part of an
all-powerful god, dressed to the nines in fine apparel, each
displaying their own symbol on their right breast. It wasn’t hard
to imagine some type of armor covering them, glinting in the
firelight as they advanced towards me. It was also painfully
obvious that good looks ran in the family. I felt like I was
watching a runway show splattered with muscles and perfect
smiles.

“How are you?” Poseidon asked me, smiling
widely as he opened the door and motioned for me to go
through.

“Very well,” I said, my own smile feeling a
little tight.

“A smile,” Zeus laughed, following me through
the opening. “I don’t think we’ve been graced with one of those for
quite some time! Things must be going well this year.”

I laughed humorlessly, not particularly
enjoying the conversation. I felt like I was being teased, and not
in an affectionate way.

“I guess I felt it was finally time to pick my
favorite brother,” I said coolly, turning to duck down another
hallway. “Excuse me.”

As I walked away I could hear Poseidon
laughing, the two continuing on to wherever their meeting
was.

No wonder Hades didn’t like spending time with
them. In maybe a minute, tops, I could tell there were feelings of
superiority. I didn’t even have to spend time with them and I was
grateful to be away already.

I made my way to my room, every intention of
going to sleep locked in my mind. The longer I was in the soft bed,
though, the more restless I felt. My brain kept buzzing with the
events of the day, my body tossing and turning, unable to get
comfortable. After about an hour, I finally gave up and got back
up, having no idea what to do.

I felt hungry, having skipped dinner since I
hadn’t needed to meet up with Hades for it. Maybe, if I went down
to the kitchen, I could find something to snack on.

I decided to stay in my long, silky nightgown
and robe, my bare feet padding down the hallway as the fabric
brushed over the top of them. Everything seemed very quiet, all of
the help still involved in whatever special duties they’d had for
the day.

Upon arriving at the kitchen, I found it was
still very busy. Apparently, the meeting between brothers had
involved its own dinner, which was still going on.

“Highness?” one of the servants asked upon
seeing me enter.

“I’m a little hungry,” I said sheepishly. “Do
you have anything you could spare? I don’t want to take anything
you’ve made for the meeting.”

“We have more than enough,” he laughed,
motioning for me to take a seat at the island in front of
him.

The servants and I were still working out some
of the kinks in our new relationship, but for the most part I
thought most knew I wouldn’t snap their heads off if they looked at
me the wrong way now. It had been relieving, not feeling like I was
an executioner walking the halls whenever I saw any of them. They
were still polite, but I honestly enjoyed sharing a laugh here and
there.

“What would you like?” the same man asked me,
bringing me a glass of water.

“A sandwich?” I asked in embarrassment. “Like I
said, I know you’re all real busy with the other
dinner.”

“And there’s always more food than those three
could eat,” he said, giving me a stern look. “What would you like?
There’s lamb, potatoes, salad, fresh fruit, the list goes on and
on. They won’t notice one missing portion, trust me.”

“In that case, I’ll take whatever you
recommend,” I said warmly, picking up the glass and raising it for
a sip.

“That’s more like it!” he said
enthusiastically. “Bonnie, get some of the nice china out of the
cupboard, will you?”

A girl who was passing behind him curtsied and
hurried to do as he asked.

“What’s your name?” I asked after he gave
orders to a few more.

“I’m Jack,” he said, bowing to me. “Head
kitchen attendant. I oversee the menus, the chefs, the servers, the
cleaners, and basically everything that has anything to do with
food here,” he laughed. “I rarely see a day that doesn’t have me in
here.”

“You do get time off, though?” I asked
seriously.

“When I want,” he said with a shrug. “There’s
not much else for me to do or anywhere to go. I enjoy it here. It’s
very much like what I did when I was alive.”

“I wondered about that,” I said as a place
setting was laid in front of me. “I hope it’s not rude to ask, but
Hades never explained it to me. You’re not like the other souls
I’ve seen. You remember everything from your past life? How did you
end up here and not out there with the masses?”

“It’s not rude at all,” he said, waving his
hand. “Every person who arrives here remembers who they are, unless
they are a Lost One, of course. Unfortunately, as time passes, we
forget who we were, remembering only this place. In my case,
though, I was recruited to come here. It’s not uncommon for people
who excelled at their duties in life to be asked to work here. It’s
always consensual and always an honor. Most to whom the offer is
extended accept it. The alternative is forgetting ourselves, so
it’s a pretty good deal.”

He laughed, loading my plate with food and
setting it in front of me.

“I guess that would seem like a good trade,” I
said thoughtfully.

“I have never regretted the decision,” he said
with a nod. “The treatment has always been wonderful as
well.”

“Except from me, I’m sure,” I said, rolling my
eyes. “I’m sorry for my past rudeness. I’ve had a bit of a heart to
heart with myself lately.”

“It has not gone unnoticed,” he said, a wide
smile on his face. “Now, if you’ll excuse me? I have a few things
to attend to still before tonight’s events wind down.”

“Of course,” I said, grinning. “Thank you for
the food and the explanation.”

“My pleasure, Highness,” he said, bowing
slightly before turning around and immersing himself in another
task.

I ate the delicious food in silence, watching
the beehive of activity around me in interest. It all worked so
efficiently, something I was sure Jack was proud of.

After I finished dinner, a piece of the
delicious looking dessert they were carrying out to the meeting was
also served to me. All I could think was how every dish had been
perfect. Hopefully, the three gods in the other room had enjoyed it
as much as I had.

Things did begin to wind down after that, more
cleaning taking place than anything else. Sure that my presence was
more of a hindrance than anything else, I quietly slipped out,
making sure to not disrupt the flow of the room.

“Persephone! Twice in one night, we’re
honored.”

I froze, fighting the urge to roll my eyes and
sigh. Of course, I was going to run into Zeus again. Once more, I
had the feeling he and Persephone didn’t exactly get
along.