It’s like a rainbow of beauty in a world of darkness and danger. I can’t speak for a moment as I take in the flowers. Tentatively, I take a few steps down onto the cobbled pathway that leads through the garden.
It’s a curved road of freshly blooming buds, and my heart is filled with happiness. It isn’t as big as I expected, but the space is perfectly patterned to offer a picturesque view even though I’m in the dark.
“This is more than I expected.”
“Is it?” he questions from behind me. The curious tone of his voice has me turning to regard him with a small smile.
“It is. I thought . . .” Allowing my words to filter into the silence, I’m unsure of what to say to him. I don’t want to anger him, but I wasn’t expecting such beauty in such an ugly world. This is his kingdom and mine, and I want to show it the love it deserves.
Aren’t all broken things in need of more love than those counterparts that are whole?
“You thought this place would be filled with horrors,” he says, nodding as he utters the words, and I find myself moving my head in agreement. “I won’t deny there are many things that are evil lurking amongst the walls of my kingdom, but this . . .” The king smiles as he regards the flowers once more. “This was always meant to be for the queen, who was strong enough to stand beside me.”
There’s a wistfulness in his voice, and I want so badly for him to come to me, to take me in his arms. He stole me from the light, brought me to the darkness, and now I’m finding myself wanting him more than I thought I would.
He’s not a good man.
At least, that’s what I believed him to be, but when I meet his gaze, the dark irises that regard me allow me to stare right through him. He’s showing me his soul. And in the darkness that shrouds him, I see his light. Dim as it might be, I see his broken pieces that hold the love and affection he has for this Underworld he rules.
And I realize, in this moment he’s bare to me, I will be his queen.
Forever.
Chapter 22
Hades
She watches me as I allow her inside my soul. I’ve never let anyone look right into me before, and it scares me. I’m more afraid of her running away than I am of anything I’ve ever been through before. There’s nothing that can stop my affection for her. I’ll give her the world, both aboveground and below. I wish I could tell her that. But fear holds me back.
Finally, after moments of watching me, she smiles. “You’re not the evil person people make you out to be.” Her words are a balm to my rather fragile heart, and I can’t help but chuckle in response. Persephone steps closer toward me, closing the distance between us, and as she does so, her perfume wafts around me, filling my senses with sweetness.
“And you believe I’m a good man?” My brow lifts, arching in question as I gaze down at the beauty before me. Her flowing red hair hangs in curls over her smooth, porcelain shoulders.
“You are,” she tells me adamantly. “You may rule the Underworld, but you’re far from bad or evil. Stories are told about you. They’re all lies. Aren’t they?” Her face is a picture of innocence, and I wonder what it would take to corrupt her.
What would it take to make her doubt everything she’s ever believed in?
“Stories are for children to scare them into behaving themselves.”
She tips her head to the side as she looks up at me through her long lashes. “I’ve heard all those stories, and I was never scared.” I believe her. She’s a strong woman, someone who I can see would be resilient in the face of adversity. She walked into Hell with the king of darkness beside her. But what strikes me most about that revelation is she would’ve come with me of her own free will. I didn’t have to steal her, kidnap her from her family. She would’ve walked out the door with her fingers tangled with mine.
“You’re a silly girl for doing this,” I tell her. Even though I don’t want to scare her off, I feel like I need to warn her against this choice.
Because that’s what it is.
A choice.
“Am I?” She’s challenging me, her mouth pouty, and her lips full as she waits for me to tell her to leave, or perhaps she’s waiting for me to hurt her, to show her just what I am.
“Yes, but you’re also a strong woman,” I mutter as I run my fingers through my hair, wanting to tug at the strands. “I have always wanted a queen who can rule in the darkness.”
“Then I shall,” she tells me adamantly. “Take me to bed.” Her voice is husky, low, and filled with need. She places her hands on my chest, the heat of her burning through me as she peeks up at me with innocence that belies her words.
“Would you bear my son?” I ask her as I tangle my fingers through hers, tugging her along the hallways toward the room that will be our shared space.
“As your queen, I thought that would be required.”
“But it’s your choice.” The challenge is there in my words. I don’t want her to feel as if I’m forcing it on her. She needs to decide she wants to be with me, to give me a child who can take over from this life I’ve been forced into.
As we make our way through the spacious mansion, I hold her tight, close to me. There aren’t any of my soldiers roaming around, and I’m thankful for that. She doesn’t need to be introduced to them just yet.
I know the moment she is, she may change her mind, and that scares me. She’s mine now, and if she ever chose to leave, I’m unsure of what I would do. Giving her the garden was part of a prayer I sent up to those who no longer want me. I haven’t done that since I was banished to the Underworld, but right now, she has me wanting to be better.
“Well, my choice would be to give you what you need to feel the affection you so clearly need.” Her words stall me momentarily. My chest aches when I glance down her at. Almost a whole head shorter than me, she’s tiny, fragile, and I could so easily break her.
“You’re quite the spitfire, my queen.” I smile as I push open our bedroom door and allow her to enter. It’s been made up beautifully, and I make a mental note to thank Orissa for her assistance.
“That’s something my father would tell me more often than not.” Persephone smiles at me from over her shoulder as she strolls through the space. Her fingertips trailing along the soft material of the curtains as she stares out the window, which overlooks the dry, cracked earth.
The views from each of the rooms overlook the darkness I rule, and before Persephone walked along these halls, I was proud of what I’d achieved, but right now, in this moment, I feel less than proud.
I shut the door and follow her deeper into the bedroom. Her small frame is illuminated in the crimson glow coming from the window, and her wavy cherry-red hair looks like it’s on fire as she gazes out into the fields of nothing.
“You’re far too beautiful to be here, but my selfishness won’t let you go,” I whisper in her ear, running my fingertips over the smooth skin of her arms. The small shiver that trickles through her makes me smile, and I know I affect her as much as she does me.
Persephone leans back into my body, and a small gasp falls from her lips when she feels how much I need her right now. Her head tips onto my chest, and my mouth finds the long, delicate column of her neck. I suck the flesh hard, allowing my teeth to graze along the silky skin.