“Hypnos,” Hades let out a warning growl.
“No wonder you live outside the Gates of the Underworld,” Persephone muttered.
It was the first time Hypnos looked amused. “For your information, I live outside the gates because I am still a deity of the Upperworld, despite my sentence here.”
“Your sentence?”
“It is my punishment to live beneath the world for putting Zeus to sleep,” he said.
“Twice,” Hades emphasized.
Hypnos glanced askance at the god; an angry brow arched.
“Twice? You didn’t learn the first time?” Persephone asked.
Hades attempted to suppress a smirk.
“I learned, but it’s hard to ignore a request from the Queen of the Gods. Rejecting Hera means living a hellish life and nobody wants that, right Hades?”
Hypnos’ pointed question took the amusement out of Hades’ gaze. Satisfied with his jab, the god returned his attention to Persephone.
“Tell me of these nightmares,” Hypnos said. “I need details.”
“Why must you hear about them?” Hades asked. “I told you she was having trouble sleeping. Is that not enough to create a draught?”
“Enough, perhaps, but a draught will not solve the issue,” he glared at Hades. “I am older than you, My Lord—a primordial deity, remember? Let me do my job.”
Hypnos returned his gaze to Persephone’s. “Well?” His voice was gruff, demanding, but she got the sense that if he did not wish to help her, he would have already left. “How often do you have them?”
“Not every night,” she said.
“Is there a pattern? Do they come after a particularly stressful day?”
“I don’t think so. That is part of the reason I do not want to go to sleep. I’m not sure what I’ll find on the other side.”
“These dreams…did they proceed something traumatic?”
Persephone nodded.
“What?”
“I was kidnapped,” she said. “By a demi-god. He was obsessed with me and…he wanted to rape me.”
“Was he successful?”
Persephone flinched at Hypnos’ direct question, and Hades growled.
“Hypnos.”
“Lord Hades,” Hypnos snapped. “One more interruption and I will leave your company.”
Persephone’s eyes shifted to Hades, whose hand had sprouted lethal black spires.
“It’s alright Hades. I know he is trying to help.”
The god smiled ruefully. “Listen to the woman. She appreciates the art of dream interpretation.”
“No,” Persephone said. “He was not successful, but when I dream, he seems to get closer and closer to…being successful.”
She couldn’t help it—she spared a glance at Hades as she spoke and saw that he was pale. Her chest felt tight. She hadn’t thought about what this might do to him—perhaps she should have told him to leave. Though, she doubted he would have listened.
“Dreams—nightmares—prepare us to survive,” Hypnos said. “They bring our anxieties to life so we may fight them. You are no different, Goddess.”
“But I survive,” Persephone argued.
“Do you believe that you would survive if it happened again?”
She started to speak.
“Not in the same situation—a different one. One where perhaps a more powerful god abducted you.”
She slammed her mouth shut.
“You do not need a draught,” he said. “You need to consider how you will fight in your next dream. Change the ending and the nightmares will cease.”
The god stood then.
“And for the love of all gods and goddesses, go to fucking sleep.”
With that, Hypnos vanished.
Persephone looked at Hades. “Well, he was pleasant.”
Hades’ expression told her everything she needed to know about what he thought of the God of Sleep. Then his eyes drifted down and narrowed.
“Why is there blood on shirt?” He asked.
Persephone’s eyes widened and when she looked, she saw a crimson stain. She hadn’t noticed it before leaving Hecate’s cottage. She guessed this was the way to tell Hades about her afternoon training session.
“Oh…I was practicing with Hecate,” she said.
“Practicing what?”
“Healing,” she said.
Hades’ brows drew together. “That is a lot of blood.”
“Well…I couldn’t exactly heal if I wasn’t injured,” she explained, but she could tell by the look on Hades’ face that was the wrong thing to say. He tilted his head to the side, mouth hardening.
“She is having you practice on yourself first?”
Persephone opened her mouth to speak but there was nothing to say except, “Yes…why is that wrong?”
“You should be practicing on fucking…flowers. Not yourself. What did she have you do?”
“Does it matter? I healed myself. I did it.” She was proud. “Besides, I don’t have a lot of time. You know what happened to Adonis and saw what happened to Harmonia.”
“You think I would let what happened to them happen to you?” he asked.
“That is not what I’m saying,” she spoke carefully, knowing that her words mattered here—Hades already blamed himself for what happened with Pirithous. “I want to be able to protect myself.”
Hades just stared, his eyes dipping to the blood which caused her to cross her arms over her chest to hide it.
“I swear I’m fine,” she said. “Kiss me if you think I’m lying.”
His eyes returned to hers and he inched forward, his hand cupping her jaw. “I believe you, but I will kiss you anyway.”
The lips pressed to hers sweetly—it was too short and too tame. When he pulled away, she stared up at him and asked, “Why didn’t you tell me I had the ability to heal myself?”
“I figured at some point Hecate would teach you,” he said. “Until then, it was my pleasure to heal you.”
She flushed—not at any particular memory, but at the sound of Hades voice—a lover’s voice, warm and hypnotic. Her eyes fell to his lips, luscious, alluring.
“What shall we do this evening, darling?” Hades asked.
A smile curved Persephone’s lips as she answered, “I am eager for a game of cards.”
CHAPTER XVI – HIDE & SEEK
“We play by my rules,” Persephone said.
They sat across from each other before the fireplace in their bedroom, a table and deck of cards between them.
Hades raised a brow. “Your rules? How do they differ from the established rules?”
“There are no established rules,” she said. “That’s what makes this game so fun.”
Hades frowned and she knew this was exactly the kind of game he hated. He needed structure, guidelines—control.
“Just listen. The goal is to collect every card in the deck,” Persephone said. “Each of us will lay down a card at the same time. If the cards add up to ten or you lay down a ten, you slap the deck.”
“You…slap the deck?” Hades asked.