Hades strolled to me, stepping into the line of my vision that led to Brennan, effectively blocking him from my sight. With each step, his tantalizing gift of magnetism drew me to him. I didn’t want it, but it happened anyway. It was like warm fingers were massaging my heart, pulling me closer and closer to Hades. But it wasn’t real. I knew that. It was simply my mind playing tricks on me.
I don’t want him.
I don’t want him.
I don’t want him.
I repeated the phrase in my head like a mantra and watched the small smile play along Hades’ lips as he listened to my thoughts. He stopped in front of me, so light on his feet. He barely made a whisper of noise as he moved. If Brennan smelled like the sun, then Hades smelled like the night- of everything dark and sensual.
“You don’t?” he asked softly. I raised an eyebrow. “You don’t want me?”
I gulped. “No.”
“Liar,” Hades smiled. “But that’s alright. I like that trait in a woman. Come with me, Empusa.”
Brennan started hollering behind Hades, telling me to stay, not to go. But Hades ignored him, staring quietly into my eyes instead. His were fluid and dark, bottomless. I found myself mesmerized by his spell.
“Come with me,” he repeated.
“Where?” I asked. I almost felt dizzy from his nearness to me. I don’t want him. I repeated in my head. But the words seemed trite now. Because I did want him. I might as well admit it. The trick now was remembering that I really didn’t, not truly. I wanted Brennan. I loved Brennan. Hades was simply manipulating my mind. But he was oh-so-good at it.
“To a place where we can be alone,” Hades answered. “We need to talk, moon princess.”
He lifted his hand and placed his long, slender fingers within mine. His were as cool as mine, so different from Brennan’s warm body.
“Come,” he murmured into my ear. And before I could even glance at Brennan or say even one word, we were gone.
While we were moving in utter blackness for the one split second before we emerged in our destination, Hades closed his fingers tightly around mine, almost protectively. My heart squeezed a little. And then we arrived.
We were standing in a place I’d never been.
It was a place certainly owned by the night, a place where Hades was comfortable and where I would draw strength. The moon hung full and low in the night sky while silky mist swirled around us. The darkness was violet and so velvety that I could feel its whisper soft touch on my skin. The air smelled of freesia and night-blooming flowers.
“Where are we?” I whispered as I pushed aside lush ferns and flowers to reveal a large canopied bed laden with luxurious bedclothes. Next to it stood a small glass table, filled with bread, cheese and wine. My heart began to stutter and then race. This was a seduction scene. That much was clear.
“Don’t be so cynical,” Hades said with a grin. “We’re here to talk. I simply like bread and cheese and I enjoy reclining while I partake in it.”
“Right,” I muttered. As I walked along the soft pathway to the bed, I realized that it was strewn with flower petals. And that I was barefoot. I had somehow lost my shoes along the way. My bare feet landed in soft, blood-red petals with each step. I was also dressed in a gossamer night dress. It fluttered softly around my body in the perfect breeze, illuminating my curves in the moonlight. I glanced at Hades and rolled my eyes. “Nice touch.”
“Thank you,” he grinned confidently. “I thought so too.”
I rolled my eyes again.
“Where are we?” I asked. “I don’t recognize this place.”
Hades shrugged. “It’s the Neitherworld. It’s neither here nor there. It’s in between.”
I stared at him. “In between what?”
“In between reality and dreams. While we are here, we can be whatever we’d like. I can be the god of the sun, if I like. You can be un-cursed. If we wish it, it will be so. But only while we linger here. Once we return to reality, everything changes back to what it was. But while we are here….” He slid his fingers along my arm. “While we are here, our problems disappear.”
What a delicious thought. I hadn’t been physically without my curse in a thousand years. The idea that I could exist peacefully, without blood or souls, was tantalizing.
“But Brennan…” I turned to speak to Hades and found Brennan standing behind me.
“What…” I stammered. Brennan smiled and spoke with Hades’ voice.
“You see what you want to see here,” he told me. Brennan’s mouth moved with Hades’ words. It was Brennan’s chiseled jaw, Brennan’s soft lips, Brennan’s dimple and Brennan’s smile. He was radiant, like the sun, like the light that surrounded us in the daytime, even though we were standing in the night. His radiance was impossible, yet I was staring at it.
I reached out with trembling fingers and touched his face. “You look just like Brennan,” I said with a shaky voice. I found that my knees were shaking, too.
“I am Brennan, if that is what you wish,” Brennan’s mouth said again. The line between reality and fantasy was growing very, very blurred. My mind actually began to grow foggy and I ached to lean into Brennan’s arms. But they weren’t really his.
“What is this?” I demanded. “What is this trick?”
“It is no trick. I am whoever you want me to be.”
A thought occurred to me. “And who do I look like to you?”
Hades smiled with Brennan’s mouth. “That is the beauty of this place. We can see what we choose. Right now, you are my wife. You are my wife without the baggage that such a long marriage can accumulate. You are my wife without her suspicions and anger. You are as she once was. Hopelessly in love with me.”
Twinge.
I couldn’t help it. My heart twinged just a little at the vulnerable look on the god of the underworld’s face. He loved his wife. Years of bickering and various heartaches had just taken a toll and made him wish for simpler times. Yet, in life- real life-you didn’t get do-overs. You didn’t get to go back to the beginning when things were fresh and new. Unless you were a god and could exist in the Neitherworld.
“Emmie,” Brennan’s mouth murmured, his arms reaching out to me.
“Don’t do that,” I said, but my heart was uncertain. It would be so easy to close my eyes and imagine that it was Brennan. But. It. Wasn’t. I gritted my teeth. “Don’t call me that. You are not Brennan.”
“Let’s not debate the details,” Hades suggested, seating himself on the soft bed and patting it. “Come sit with me. Let’s enjoy this peaceful evening, shall we? And there are a few things we should discuss.”
“Things like what?” I felt my eyes narrow suspiciously. Brennan’s amber eyes glowed at me in the dark, but they lacked Brennan’s warmth. Beneath the surface, coolness dwelled. It was a dead giveaway.
Hades smiled serenely. “I thought we should discuss why your father was willing to trade your soul to me- why you are so expendable to him.”
My heart practically stopped beating. It was a question that had plagued me for a thousand years.
Chapter Fifteen
“Yes. Let’s discuss that,” I replied weakly as I sank onto the bed beside Hades. He smiled in satisfaction, but I wasn’t sure what he was satisfied about… having me near or knowing something that I didn’t. Probably both.
Hades stroked my back in between my shoulder blades with Brennan’s hands, in exactly the spot that caused me tension. I didn’t ask him how he knew, I just leaned limply against his deft palms.
“What do you know about my father?” I asked. I was dying to know and terrified at once, an interesting quandary that made my heart palpitate.
“I know something that you don’t,” Hades said calmly, still kneading the sensitive skin of my back with his cool fingers. Another dead giveaway. Brennan was blazingly warm.
“Are you going to share that information?” I twisted away from him and turned to look into his eyes. Brennan’s beautiful eyes. I shouldn
’t be here. I should be with Brennan. The feelings overwhelmed me as quickly as I had them, filling me up with panic. I shouldn’t have left him- no matter the reason.
“Just tell me,” I pleaded. “I need to leave here.”
“Why ever would you leave here?” Hades asked innocently. “Life is perfect here. Watch this.”
He turned and gestured toward the sky. Vines instantly grew across the canopy, lush and green, their spindly tendrils spreading down the legs of the bed. He snapped his fingers and the vines instantly bloomed, exploding into color- the bright blue of Olympus Lotus Blossoms. They were the food of the gods, the manna that kept them young and beautiful, along with the nectar.
They hung above us now, beautiful and vibrant. Hades reached past me and plucked one perfect blossom from the vine. Leaning into me, he held it to my lips.
“Eat,” he urged me. “Lotus blooms are truly the most delicious things in existence.”
The soft blue petal lingered against my lip, resting as it waited for me to eat it. I could smell its heady scent beneath my nose and it drew me in, tempting me to bite.
“Just try it,” Hades added. “I know you will love it.”
I glanced at him suspiciously. Something about his tone set me on edge. Why did he want me to eat it so badly? I asked him as much.
He looked innocently at me, his eyes widened. “I just thought you would like it,” he shrugged. He tossed it onto the mossy earth and ground his heel into it. “We’re not in the Underworld,” he told me with a smirk. “I’m not going to try and trick you into eating here so that I can keep you.”
“Well, you’ll have to forgive me for doubting you,” I told him wryly. “It’s sort of your MO.”
He threw back his head and laughed, a hearty, throaty sound that warmed my heart yet again. It was the first time he had sounded sincere in all of my dealings with him. Hearing this genuine reaction from him, this true and honest emotion, pulled me closer to him when I really just wanted to back away.
“Why?” he looked at me with lucid and glistening eyes. “Why do you resist me so much, Empusa? Am I so horrible?”
My heart twinged again. Something that I had learned in my thousand years was that rarely was someone ever completely horrible. People were varying shades of gray. Only in rare circumstances, like my father, were they completely evil.
“You’re right,” Hades stared at me thoughtfully. “And that’s a very insightful belief. Very few people in this world are all good or all bad. I’ve said that for eons. I should definitely know.”
“Yes, you would know,” I agreed. “And there’s probably a lot more to you than meets the eye, but I don’t have time to discover it right now. Can we talk about my father, please?”
Hades’ expression hardened just a little. I could practically see the clouds rolling across it. He didn’t like that I had cut him off when he was trying to connect with me. I backtracked.
“I’m sorry,” I amended. “I’m just curious at what you know. I’ve been curious about Mormo’s motives for so long. I’ve always wondered how he could treat me as he has. I’ve never done anything to him.”
“Of course you haven’t,” Hades agreed, his tone softening now. “Mormo is the type of person, the type of creature, who doesn’t need a motive. He’s conniving, heartless and cold. But this time, this once, he does have a motive. A very valid motive.”
“And what is his motive?” I asked through gritted teeth. My patience was growing very, very thin. This was so important to me, even though I’d like to pretend that it wasn’t and I felt like he was trifling with me…playing with me a like a cat does a mouse.
“You’re not a mouse, Em,” he smiled. “You’re more like a kitten. A fragile little kitten. What do you think Mormo’s motive is? Have you given it any thought?”
“I’m not fragile,” I snapped. “And don’t you think that I’ve given this subject quite a lot of thought? Of course I have. I have no idea what his motive is. I’ve never done anything to him.”
“Empusa, I’m surprised at you,” Hades drawled. “You’re such a smart girl. Surely you’ve thought this through. So often on Olympus, people are punished not for what they do themselves, but for what those close to them do. Their husbands, their wives, their parents, their children… hasn’t that occurred to you?”
“Of course it has,” I answered. “But I don’t have a husband and my mother hasn’t done anything to Mormo. She upset Zeus, but not Mormo. Not to my knowledge. She’s the one that should be upset with him. He’s abandoned her periodically for thousands of years. He just goes away and doesn’t come back for years and years. She should be the one angry at him. For that and for cursing me, of course.”
“Hmm, you could be right,” Hades said thoughtfully. “But you could be wrong, too. Perhaps she has done something to upset him that you don’t know about. Did you consider that possibility?”
And I hadn’t. In my mind, my mother was perfect. Perfectly wise, perfectly loyal, perfectly brilliant. It had never even once occurred to me that she might have done something to infuriate Mormo to the point where he would exact revenge on me. And Hades sounded like he knew something. My eyes instantly narrowed again.
“What do you know?” I asked. “You know something.”
“I know many things, darling,” he answered smoothly. “Many, many things. But I’m sure you can figure this out for yourself if you just think on it. Trust me, it is ever so much more satisfying that way.”
“I’ve been thinking on it for a thousand years,” I argued. “Just tell me.”
“You’re impatient,” he smiled. “I like that about you. I used to be…once. So long ago , it seems like. I’ve grown to become patient. Being immortal does that to a person. I’m surprised you haven’t wielded to it just yet.”
He reached up and plucked another Lotus blossom from the vine and chewed on it thoughtfully as he studied me with his dark and dangerous eyes. His magnetism was strange and interesting. It wasn’t sexual per se, but it was oh-so-strong. I wanted to be near him, I wanted to touch him, I wanted to hear his voice. It was a compulsion that I couldn’t control and I hated that.
“Yes, my dear. You are a woman who craves control. I think that is a direct result of the life that you’ve been forced to lead- how so much has been taken from your control, don’t you agree?” Hades asked, in response to my thoughts.
“Perhaps,” I answered grudgingly. No one liked to admit a fault, least of all me. “But that is really neither here nor there.”
“True,” he nodded. “It is not. I have to admit, I enjoy being in control, as well. I could never cast stones for that.”
I couldn’t help but laugh. The god of the underworld certainly did have a few control issues. You could just ask his wife, Persephone. He wanted her so badly as his wife that he tricked her into staying in the Underworld with him.
Hades appraised me silently. “Glad I can make you laugh,” he said wryly. As I stared at him, his face shimmered for a second, like a mirage in the sun, and then his appearance changed back to his own. “Let’s be ourselves, shall we?” he suggested. “I am no more Brennan than you are Persephone.”
“That’s what I’ve been saying all along,” I reminded him. “I have a sense, though, that you never wanted me to be Persephone in the first place.”
Hades smiled again, his teeth beautiful and white against his olive skin.
“You’re very perceptive,” he said. “I simply wanted to see Persephone’s face for a moment- while it wasn’t wearing an expression of disappointment or anger. I’m sorry that I used you for that.”
Twinge.
I ignored my heart.
“Stop trying to make me feel sorry for you. By all accounts, Persephone is a good wife to you. Has she had dalliances? Yes. But so have you. Have you disappointed her? Probably. But who among married couples hasn’t disappointed their partner, particularly when they’ve been married for eons? It’s bound to happen. I’m sure she has disappoi
nted you too. But the important thing is that you still love each other. And I know that Persephone loves you.”
“You’re not heartless after all, little Empusa,” Hades observed. “I’m sure that’s a little known secret. Don’t worry. I won’t share it. You do have empathy. It’s an admirable trait, if you don’t let it go too far.”
“And what would you say is too far?” I asked curiously. “Having human emotion?”
Hades rearranged himself on the bed. He was sprawled leisurely against the cushions, as nonchalant and relaxed as he could be. With the gauzy drapes hanging from the sides of the canopy and the vines hanging low from overhead, he could practically be on a postcard. It was a picture-perfect, relaxing scene. I was the opposite. I was bouncing my foot in agitation, in a hurry to wrap this up and get back to Brennan.
“You must learn patience, kitten,” Hades chastised, reaching around me for the wine on the side table. He poured a glass for himself and then one for me. Offering it to me, he noticed my shaking fingers.
“Surely you don’t need blood already, do you?” he asked, examining my face. “No, you still have healthy coloring. Why are you shaking?”
“I’m not,” I answered. “I’m just anxious to return to the real world.”
“I don’t see why,” Hades drawled, relaxing again. “What is there for you besides a curse?”
“The man that I love,” I answered coolly.
“Details,” he replied with a grin. “Love is over-rated, you know. Kingdoms have been lost because of it.”
“And kingdoms have been won,” I reminded him. “People will move mountains for love.”
“True,” Hades acknowledged. “And I’ve known people who traveled to the depths of hell for it. And they perished there.”
I rolled my eyes. “Pleasant thought.”
He shrugged, unbothered.