Hades (The God Chronicles #3) (17 page)

“Hello,” I said tightly, turning around to
smile at them.

Poseidon and Hades were with him, the three of
them apparently having come from one of the rooms down the hall.
I’d only been in that one once, but seemed to remember it being a
type of conference room, much like the War Room.

“Hades has been telling us of your adventures
this winter,” Zeus continued on, a strange grin on his face. “He
tells us you two have been getting along for once.”

“That’s true,” I said, not exactly sure what
kind of answer he was looking for.

“Leave the poor woman alone, Zeus,” Poseidon
said, shaking his head and laughing.

“I just find it hard to believe she would
suddenly want to be friends, after everything she put him through,”
Zeus said simply.

Suddenly, it clicked in my head. Zeus didn’t
like me—Persephone—because of the way she treated his brother. It
wasn’t cockiness because of his position I was sensing, it was
because he actually cared for his family.

I was surprised, to say the least. Apparently,
the history books needed an update, in a bad way.

“Is it so hard to believe that a wife could
like her husband?” Hades scoffed, obviously not impressed with his
brother’s concern. “Yours likes you, doesn’t she?”

“Ha ha, very funny,” Zeus said, rolling his
eyes. “Forgive me for not being so quick to believe the two of you.
It’s not like you have a past to back you up.”

“Give it a rest,” Hades laughed, though I could
tell that he was not amused in the slightest. “You’re not the only
person who can find happiness. I just found it with my wife, versus
sleeping with every woman I laid eyes on until I got myself kicked
out of my home.”

He walked over to my side and wrapped an arm
around my waist, a forced smile in place on the bottom half of his
face while his eyes looked like they were ready to shoot laser
beams.

“Oh come on,” Zeus chuckled, exchanging a
glance with Poseidon. “We all know the only reason you weren’t out
playing the field was because you kidnapped yourself a wife who
wore bigger pants than you in your relationship.”

“Zeus,” Poseidon said, a tinge of embarrassment
in his voice.

“What? We all know how she begged for me to
please let her leave him. Maybe I should have done it, spared us
all the trouble.”

“My wife and I are perfectly happy,” Hades all
but growled, his hold on my waist tightening.

During the exchange, I did my best to hide the
shock I was experiencing. This was, by far, the worst family
confrontation I’d ever been a part of, including the time my
fifteen year old cousin so graciously decided to tell the whole
family she was pregnant over Thanksgiving dinner.

“We should get going,” Poseidon said, placing a
hand on Zeus’s shoulder and applying some pressure.

“Yeah, I think so,” Hades agreed.

“Every time we come down here, you act like
you’re so happy and we all know you’re not,” Zeus said
sadly.

“I am happy,” Hades laughed, a strong defensive
tone in his voice. “Maybe if you came to visit, instead of just
coming for your monthly visit to tell me how I’m doing everything
wrong, you would see that.”

“You’re not happy,” Zeus said, frowning as he
finally moved to leave.

“Happier than you,” Hades said, pulling me in
closer.

Before I knew what was happening, he had turned
me to face him, pulling our bodies together and threading a hand
into my hair.

His lips met mine roughly, moving against them
with authority and anger, trying to prove a point to his brothers.
Then, something weird happened.

His touch softened, embrace becoming that of
something sweet instead of angry. Where his lips had crushed into
mine before, they lightened to the point of feeling like an actual
caress.

My heart pounded in my chest as I reacted to
him without thinking, my own arms wrapping around him and hugging
him back. It seemed like my insides might explode from being with
him like this, that secret part of me I’d so desperately wished
would go away flying to the surface.

I had it bad. This moment couldn’t ever end, I
needed it to go on forever, to always feel his lips on mine, his
hands clutching me to him gently, but with a need I couldn’t
describe.

Much to my disappointment, he slowly pulled
away, opening his eyes as I did and looking at me in surprise, like
he’d been just overcome as I.

Keeping his eyes open, matching my gaze, he
leaned in and kissed me softly again, like it was a test for
something. I felt the fireworks resume in my stomach, my breath
coming faster as he pulled away once more. All we could do was
stare at each other, still clinging to the other’s body as what
just happened sank in.

Someone cleared their throat and I looked away,
the spell finally broken. Two very embarrassed brothers stood
there, looking uncomfortable.

“Apparently, I was wrong,” Zeus said, the
tremble in his voice suggesting that he was trying not to laugh.
“Things do appear to be different here.”

“We’ll see you, uh, next time,” Poseidon said,
his face red.

Hades cleared his own throat and finally
released me, turning to face them as he straightened his
shirt.

“Next time,” he said with a nod.

“Right,” Zeus said.

We all stood there awkwardly for a moment more
before the two brothers turned and headed down the hall, taking
their leave.

That left just Hades and I, standing in the
corridor, silence between us. I didn’t even know if I should look
at him, the shock factor of what he’d instigated still running
through me.

“So,” he said slowly.

The silence grew between us again and I could
feel my face reddening.

“Uh, thank you?” he said lamely. “I guess we
showed him.”

“Yeah,” I said nervously. “That’s what
happened.”

“Of course,” he said, sliding his hands into
his pocket as we both continued to stare straight in front of us.
“We were just making a point. That’s all. Nothing else.”

“Oh.” I couldn’t help the disappointment in my
voice, immediately wishing I’d concealed it as soon as the word
left my lips. “I mean, yeah. We proved a point. No big
deal.”

It was too late, though. He’d caught the tone
of my voice, finally turning to look at me.

“Persephone, I didn’t mean it like that,” he
said apologetically, looking like he didn’t know what to do for the
first time.

“It’s fine,” I said, acting like I was just
brushing it off. “You’re right. It didn’t mean
anything.”

I smiled tightly and then turned from him,
heading back towards my room.

“Persephone, wait,” he sighed
exasperatedly.

I didn’t wait, though. I didn’t trust myself
to.

Chapter
Sixteen

His hands slid over my waist, pulling me closer
to him, our bodies melding together as his lips pressed into mine,
an epic display of emotion exploding behind my closed eyes. I clung
to him tightly, gasping as his mouth left mine and teeth nipped at
my neck, his steamy breath burning almost as hot as my
desire.

A knocking on the door suddenly pulled me
straight out of dream land and into the real world, my breath
coming in short bursts as I tried to figure out what was going
on.

Heaven help me. I had been dreaming about
Hades.

“Persephone?”

Speak of the devil.

His voice came through the door somewhat
muffled, but I could tell he was here to apologize
again.

“Just a second!” I called, trying to gather
myself and calm down. The dream had seemed so real, I was ready to
throw the door open and kiss him again, just for the fun of
it.

I slid out of the bed quickly, running my
fingers through my hair and checking my face in the mirror in the
closet. To my horror, the dark veins I’d noticed before were even
darker and longer, obviously noticeable to more than myself alone
now. In a panic, I grabbed some makeup and covered them up the best
I could, trying to hurry along.

“Is everything okay?” he asked as I
accidentally knocked over a perfume bottle.

“Fine,” my voice squeaked out. “I’m, uh,
getting dressed? Yes, getting dressed!”

I dabbed a little more makeup on, trying to
blend everything together, before grabbing my robe and slipping it
on.

“Not to be coy,” he laughed slightly. “But I’ve
seen everything you have before.”

I paused awkwardly, the silence between us
obviously that of embarrassment.

“I just meant, I think, I—”

He stuttered through his words, nervous
laughter accompanying him.

“It’s fine,” I said, finally crossing the room
and opening the door for him.

He looked me over, licking his lips quickly as
his eyes met mine.

“I wanted to apologize for last night,” he said
softly. “I didn’t mean to hurt your feelings.”

“You didn’t,” I lied. “I understand. Your
brothers were being a bit pushy about everything.”

“Still, I shouldn’t have made it seem like
nothing after they left.”

He smiled nicely, his apology one of the more
sincere things I’d heard him say.

“It’s not a problem, really,” I assured him. “I
understand.”

“I want to make it up to you anyway,” he said.
“Despite the show I put on for them, I really do think our
relationship is improving. I don’t want to be the reason that
stops.”

“You don’t have to make anything up to me,” I
said, laughing slightly. “I get it, really.”

“Still. Would you join me after dinner
tonight?”

He looked hopeful, a small smile playing across
his lips as he waited for my answer.

With a start, I realized I was staring at his
lips.

“Yes,” I said forcefully, looking away quickly.
It was unclear if he’d noticed.

“Good,” he chuckled, stepping back, further
into the hall. “Wear something pretty.”

“Okay,” I said suspiciously.

“I’ll see you then,” he said in farewell,
turning and heading to wherever it was he had to be.

I closed the door to my room and leaned against
it, a stupid grin on my face. Another date. I couldn’t deny how
excited I was, thoughts of what I was going to wear spinning
through my head.

I glanced down at my hand, the ring Erebos had
given me still sparkling on my finger. I knew that more black veins
meant I was changing too much, disrupting the disguise he’d made
for me. I didn’t know how to stop it, though, my feelings seeming
as uncontrollable as Hades himself. At the rate I was going, I’d
have to invest in sunglasses, just to hide the marks from
everyone.

I put the worries out of my mind, deciding to
be happy about another date instead. It may not have been the
smartest thing to do at the moment, but I couldn’t find the energy
to care.

The day was spent as I usually did things,
reading in the library and going down to brush Hero for a little
while. Instead of focusing on trying to discover where the helmet
could be, though, I was caught up in thoughts of what would happen
that night and the memory of what happened the night before. At
times, I would find myself with my fingers on my lips, thinking of
what it would be like to be kissed that way again.

I’d been kissed by boys before. In fact, I’d
made out with boys before. But none of it was anything like being
kissed by Hades. I’d never had such a surge of emotions occur when
I was kissed, none of the jittery feelings of excitement and awe.
What did that mean about how I was feeling?

As night fell, I readied myself for dinner,
donning a black and silver floor length gown and matching hair clip
for whatever was planned after. Surprisingly, as soon as I was
ready, there was a knock at my door again.

I opened it to find Hades, who had also changed
from his usual, casual attire. Instead, he wore a well fitted suit,
a silver tie around his neck, giving him the look of an important
business man.

“You look nice,” he said with a smile, holding
his hand out to me.

“So do you,” I laughed. “Who knew you owned
something besides that hoodie?”

“Hey, I like it,” he laughed back.

“I don’t even know how you stand wearing it in
this heat,” I confessed, intertwining our fingers.

“You get used to it,” he said with a
shrug.

We started towards the dining hall, our pace
much slower than normal as we visited together about unimportant
things, commenting on the events of our day.

Upon reaching our destination, I was surprised
to find that the large table usually housed there was gone,
replaced by a small, two person one. It had been set with elegant
flowers and candles, beautiful dishes placed on it. The food hadn’t
been brought out yet, but I could smell the delicious aroma of
whatever it was already.