My heart raced the closer he got, and I fidgeted with my necklace.
He slid into the booth seat across from me, eyes unabashedly roaming over my attire. “Interesting color choice.”
“It was Sara’s idea. She thought it was funny. We look like we’re getting ready to go to a funeral.”
“Well, the night is young.”
I stared at him.
“I’m kiddin’. At least, I hope so.”
“Do you have any idea how frustrating it is when I don’t know if you’re being serious or not?”
He canted his head from side to side. “Probably about as frustratin’ as it was convincing you I’m the god of the Underworld.”
I wanted to retort, but the waiter appeared, displaying a wine menu to Hades. They both conversed in Greek, occasionally pointing at the menu before the waiter left. Women from various tables gazed at Hades like he was the world’s yummiest chocolate bar.
“Do you have seduction powers or something?”
He sputtered his water. “I’m sorry, seduction powers?”
“You had every woman in here drooling as you passed.”
“Oh, that. I reckon it’s due to being in the presence of a god. We give off this…aura if you will? They all react differently to it.”
Was what I felt for Hades—thinking I felt for Hades—real, or was it this bizarre power?
“Wait, do I react differently?” I frowned.
He interlaced his fingers atop the table. “It’s one of the reasons you intrigue me. It doesn’t seem to affect you at all.”
“How would you know?”
“Trust me. I’d know.” He gazed at me, the flicker of the fake flame glinting in his eyes.
“Sara hasn’t tried to jump your bones or anything. What about her?”
He smirked. “It’s there, but her mind can suppress it. I’ve only seen a handful of mortals able to do it. Must be her profiling abilities. But you…no, you are—” He squinted. “Different.”
A lump formed in my throat. “If you have that effect on women, then why did Perseph—” I pinched my eyes shut, shaking my head. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to—”
He leaned back in his seat, draping his arms over the back. “No, no. It’s a fair question. Will you allow me to tell you what happened? What truly happened?”
“Of course.”
“No interruptions?”
I propped my elbow on the table, holding up my pinkie finger. “Pinkie swears.”
He looked at my hand before wrapping his pinkie around mine. His touch sent a chill down my arm, and I slid my hand away, shoving it into my lap.
“As you can imagine, ruling the Underworld is a lonely existence. I ruled that throne for thousands of years in solitude. My brothers both had queens—”
Brothers. Hades. Zeus. Jesus was Zeus.
My eyes bulged from my skull. I leaned forward. “Wait a minute—”
“Hey,” he said, raising a brow. “You promised.” He held up his pinky finger.
I made the gesture of zipping my mouth shut and sat back.
“As I was sayin’, my brothers had their queens, several of them. And neither of my brothers appreciated the companionship. I never imagined any woman would ever want to live in the Underworld, let alone agree to be with someone like me.” The corners of his jaw popped; his eyes focused on the table.
The waiter walked up, resting our wine glasses with blood-red liquid in front of us. I wrapped my fingers around the stem of the glass as Hades continued.
“When I saw her pickin’ flowers in the field through my portal to the aboveground, my heart stopped. She was the most beautiful thing I’d ever seen. So sweet. So innocent.” He brought the wine glass to his lips, taking a long swig, and rolling the stem between his fingers afterward. “Loneliness and desperation drove my actions. I had to have her. So, I went to Zeus, asked for his blessin’, and he agreed. Even assisted me with luring her to the Underworld.”
“I sat in my chariot, my heart racing, watchin’ her grow closer and closer to the flower. There was a moment I even thought of backing out, but the idea of having someone to share my eternal life with was too great of an opportunity to let pass.”
As he told his story, I imagined him painting pictures of the event in his brain and the pain it must cause to conjure the memories.
“Hades, you don’t have to—” I started, but clipped my words when his scowl pierced me.
“I want to finish, so you know the truth.”
I nodded, cupping my glass with both hands, and taking a long sip.
“Once she was in the Underworld, I made it very clear if she were to eat anything—anything at all—she’d be stuck. I only wished for the chance to allow her time to know me, to find out if she could see a future with me. Lookin’ back, I know now the methods Zeus and I took to get her down there, had already damaged any chance of her truly loving me.” His eyes glazed over, and he downed the rest of his wine.
“After she ate the seeds and I knew she was there forever, I did everything in my power to make her happy. I made her Queen and let her rule by my side as an equal. No other god has done such an act because they’re all too obsessed with their power to share it.” His hands balled into fists. “She asked for a realm where all the good-hearted people could live out their eternal lives. I created the Elysian Fields—for her. Everything I did was for Persephone.”
I was beside myself. To hear this firsthand was surreal. Hades’ intentions may have been selfish, but it was clear Persephone became his whole world.
“How did she escape?” My voice cracked.
“Theseus. He’d always wanted her for himself. And he got close to it once, but I trapped him. Heracles rescued him. I assume, given what I know now, that during the six months Persephone went to the surface, she spent her time with him. And they hatched a plan. She left her shade in the Underworld so her physical form could be with him.”
“Shade?”
“You may know of it more as a—soul.”
I frowned. “She left her soul behind?”
He smirked, running a hand over his face. “She was with me for over a thousand years and yet was so repulsed by me, she was willin’ to leave it if it meant being rid of me.”
I reached for Hades’ hand. He quirked a brow, but obliged, resting his hand on the table.
“Trickery and abduction aren’t really taken in the best light. I understand why you did but—”
His hand stiffened beneath mine. “It was a long time ago. You don’t need to tell me it was wrong.”
“But,” I continued. “What you did for her when you knew she couldn’t leave was entirely selfless. And Zeus eventually let her go to the surface.”
“Because I talked him into it. She’d been weeping for days, missin’ her mother and friends. I had to practically grovel at his feet before he agreed to the deal.”
“He really is an asshole.”
“You have no idea.” His eyes fell to my finger, idly stroking one of his knuckles.
I hadn’t noticed I was doing it and slid my hand across the table, back to my lap. “You’re not at all what I imagined you to be. You walk around with this permanent scowl and act so stand-offish, but there’s this whole other side to you. Why don’t you show that part of you more often?”