by Carly Spade
“You rule a kingdom of ash and bone, and yet here you are rehearsing dance moves with a mortal woman who annoys you.”
We shimmied to and fro, our elbows parallel to one another. “First of all, you’ve never annoyed me. Perplexed me, maybe but never annoyed.”
I glared up at him, my lips curling into a sly grin. I draped an arm behind his neck as he spun us in circles.
“Second of all, rehearsing dance moves as if I wasn’t the god of the Underworld is exactly what I need.” He pulled away from me, our fingers interlaced until he slid his hand away. “I get to pretend I don’t have the responsibilities.” He walked backward. “Pretend as if I’m simply a mortal man spending time with a mortal woman.”
He motioned with his hand, beckoning me. I bit my lip and ran forward. He wrapped his hands around my hips and hoisted me above his head. This time I didn’t forget to pose. The room fell silent. The only sound was my steady breathing while suspended in the air. He lowered me, letting our bodies slide against each other until the tips of my toes touched the floor. I stared up at him, my gaze dropping to the thin shape of his lips. I couldn’t be sure if it were the dancing or the intensity in his stare, but with shaky hands, I touched my lips to his. He tensed before reciprocating, sliding his lips against mine. He tasted like charcoal.
I gasped and pulled away. “I’m sorry.”
“For what?” He licked his lips.
I forgot who he was. What he was. He seemed so human. “I shouldn’t have done that.”
“Kiss me, you mean?”
“I mean—we can’t.”
He glared. “Why? Because I’m a god or specifically because I’m the King of Ash and Bone?”
His words felt like lemon juice in a papercut. “That’s not what I meant, I—”
“It is. I knew this was too good to be true. Who put you up to this?” He snarled. “Zeus?”
My sinuses stung. “What? No. I—” I couldn’t get the words out. A tear rolled down my cheek.
“I’ll do the contest with you because I already promised, but rest assured, once it’s over, you never have to see me again.” The skin above his nose creased, and his jaw tightened.
When he turned for the door, I took a step forward. “Hades.”
His forearm tensed, holding the door open, and he tossed a scowl over his shoulder. “What?”
“Rupert’s acting strange. I’m worried that—"
His grip tightened on the door, and he interrupted me to say, “I’ll take care of it.”
“Okay—” The door slammed. “Bye.”
I flopped onto the couch and sobbed.
If there was one thing I knew about myself, it was the inability to leave work at work. I snuck out of our hotel room first thing in the morning in my PJs and went to the computer lab. That and I could hardly sleep given the way things ended with Hades. The disappointed look on his face haunted me. A face I’d put there.
Sara had a knack for making me feel guilty, and if she caught me, it’d be like I stole her last Cinnamon Bun Oreo. I secured myself in the corner of the lab, making sure to keep my head low. The light from the monitor glinted in my glasses.
The file slack. I can’t believe I didn’t think to check it before. Or I’d gotten so burnt out with the case it slipped my mind. Wouldn’t be the first time it happened nor the last. Examiners were human beings as much as we’d like to think of ourselves as robots. Essentially, files are never entirely deleted. Instead, their data is moved around the hard drive as it makes space for other files. It could get tricky when less and less of the file was available, or if it became so fragmented, piecing it all together from varying points on the drive. For anyone trying to hide something, deleting a lot of data was usually a first step in covering their digital tracks.
Making sure to keep my head level with the monitor, I started processing. The sound of the door opening made my head dip lower.
“You’ve got to be kidding me,” Sara said, standing at the end of the row with her arms crossed.
I chuckled, sitting straight up. “Fancy seeing you here.”
“Stephanie Rose Costas. You. Promised.”
“Sara, I know, but we only have two more days here, and I didn’t want to waste them wracking my brain over this working or not.”
She stomped over, glaring down at the screen. “You know this is confidential evidence. Sifting through it on a public domain could get you in some deep shit.”
I drummed my fingers against the desk. “Not if I’m logged into a virtual private network.”
“Stephanie.” She loomed over me. “You would’ve had to set that up at work.”
“Look at you, knowing how VPNs work.”
“Which means you knowingly set it up before we left. You had every intention of logging in before our plane left the tarmac, didn’t you?”
I blinked. “I may have a serious problem.”
“I know you’re passionate about your job and want to help people, but you need to start putting yourself first, Steph.” She stood up with a sigh.
I traced a fingertip over my lip, remembering the kiss with Hades. The scowl that creased into his brow when I’d stupidly said it shouldn’t have happened.
“Did you at least find something?”
I jolted in my chair. “Hm, what?”
“The process is finished.” The word “complete” flashed on the screen.
“Right.”
After scrolling through the broken data, it wasn’t looking good. I sighed, leaning back in my chair with a humph.
“From the way this data is patterned, it’s as if he knew the possibility and added meaningless files to override the data continuously,” I said.
“Is that why I keep seeing the filename: catmeme.jpg repeatedly?”
“Exactly. And I already checked. That file is an actual cat meme. Son-of-a-bitch.” Swearing meant I was on a whole new level of frustration. There was always a shred of evidence. Something. I pressed my face into my palms and started crying.
“Don’t be so hard on yourself. It’s not as if the physical side of things was any better. He knew what he was doing. He didn’t get messy, as so many other serial killers do. Committing suicide was probably the smartest thing he could’ve done.”
It wasn’t about the case. The crying turned into full-on sobbing.
“Steph, my God. What’s the matter?” Sara said, taking a seat next to me and rubbing my back.
“Hades.”
“Did he do something? Say something?”
I sniffled. “No. It was me. Me.”
“Sweetie, you’re going to have to give me a little more here.”
“I kissed him.”
She stopped rubbing and dipped her face into mine. “Was it bad?”
“No.” I started sobbing again. “It was perfect. Beyond perfect.”
“Stephanie.” She turned my chin to look at her. “Are you going to tell me or what?”
“It was a great kiss that shouldn’t have happened.”
“Why?”
“Because we can’t be together, and it’d just hurt more in the end.”
“Why can’t you be together?”
I rubbed the back of my hand across each cheek, wiping away tears. “Do you remember the movie Labyrinth?”
She narrowed her eyes. “I remember David Bowie’s codpiece and her name being Sarah mostly, but yes.”
“Sarah is pulled into the Goblin King’s spell. Like it starts as a wicked ploy on Jareth’s part at first, but then Sarah really does start feeling something for him.” I pinched my eyes shut, remembering Hades call me “real.” “He’d been known for wicked deeds and ill intents but went through everything to lure her into the labyrinth. Seduce her, to make her his.”
All Hades wanted was to feel normal for a short time while he was on the surface. With one action and few words, I ripped that way from him.
“You’re starting to lose me here, Steph.”
I sighed. “Do you think
under different circumstances, Sarah would’ve become the Goblin Queen?”
I looked at Sara pleadingly, as if I needed to hear her say it. To tell me what I was feeling was alright.
“What if he hadn’t kidnapped Toby, but rather approached her in the normal sense?”
Or knew what he’d done in the past was wrong and vowed never to do it again…
“But then…” I pursed my lips. “She wouldn’t have been able to be with him anyway. He was a being from another realm.”
An immortal god with a kingdom to rule.
Sara cleared her throat and wrapped her hands around mine. “I’m not sure why you’re using analogies to get to your point, but I’ll humor you. She could’ve been with him if she agreed to become immortal. But you’re right. He didn’t deserve her after all the shit he pulled. I don’t care how much he claimed to love her.”
Become immortal. My heart sunk to my feet.
“You need to talk to him, Steph. Clearly, you both like each other, and he seems pretty understanding, so talk to him.”
I wanted nothing more than to tell her everything. Get her opinion on everything. But I couldn’t.
“Come on.” She grabbed my shoulder, pulling me back. “Shut all of this down. We have a contest to primp you for.”
“Primp?” I asked.
“We still haven’t used our free spa passes, remember?”
Who could think of relaxing at a time like this?
“Go change. I’ll meet you there,” she said, shoving me toward the door and slipping our passes into my pocket.
I stood outside of the spa, chewing my thumbnail. When she said to meet her here, I didn’t realize she meant in twenty minutes, which is how long I’d been standing here. I was sure of it.
“I’m gonna take a wild guess and say this isn’t a whiskey tastin’, is it?” Hades said from behind me.
I spun around to face him, and my heart raced. “Hades?”
He dipped his chin down. “Hey, darlin’.”
“Sara, she must’ve—” Tears threatened my eyes, but I held them back.
“She did.” He smirked. “Rather clever, I gotta say.”
I stepped forward. “About yesterday, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to hurt you.”
He held up a hand. “You don’t have to explain.”
“No, I do. I said that we can’t because I didn’t know if we could.”
His face fell blank.
It was better than that scowl of his.
“So, you don’t regret kissing me?” His brow raised.
Gulping, I shook my head. We stood in awkward silence, staring at each other.
I glanced behind me at the spa. “I probably know the answer, but have you ever been to one of these before?”
He smirked. “No.”
“Me either. I can give these passes to another couple,” I said with a shrug.
He walked up to me and slipped his hand into mine. “Or we can experience it for the first time together. I can power through it if you can.”
My throat constricted, and I tightened my grip on his hand, letting him lead me into the spa.
The attendant, a young man, greeted us with a warm smile. “Kalimera.”
Hades bowed his head.
“Eísai mazí?” the attendant asked, cocking an eyebrow at Hades.
“Naí,” Hades replied with a nod, pressing a hand against my lower back. “Passes, sweetheart?”
“Oh, right.” I dug into my pocket and held them out.
The attendant motioned with his hand for us to follow him.
As he led us to the back, I leaned toward Hades. “What did he ask?”
“If we had passes.” His lips thinned.
I narrowed my eyes. “Are you screwing with me again?”
He gazed down at me with brightened eyes but said nothing.
“This is what I get for letting that Greek Rosetta Stone collect dust.”
The back area of the spa had several doors leading to changing rooms.
The attendant pointed to the left. “Gynaíkes.”
“Women,” Hades translated.
I locked eyes with him as I slipped into the changing room. We gazed at each other until the door closed, breaking our trance. Several white robes hung from silk-lined hangers, and there were cubbies to store personal items. I removed my shorts and shirt, standing in only my bikini.
I had a choice. Keep the bikini on or not. A simple choice, but it made my mind reel. A week ago, the version of me that arrived in Greece wouldn’t have stewed on it for long. She’d have kept the swimsuit on. The one-piece.
I pulled on the strings and let the suit fall to the ground. The robe caressed my bare skin when I slipped it over my naked form. It was soft and fluffy terry cloth. When I returned to the hallway, Hades walked out of his room at the same time. I clenched the neckline of my robe and stared at his bare chest peeking out.
His eyes roamed down my body. When he reached my feet, he cleared his throat and rubbed the back of his head. “You ready?”
I nodded. In truth, I wasn’t even sure what I should be ready for. Were we getting massages? Facials? I bit back a laugh at the thought of Hades with a clay-based mask on his face.
The attendant held his hand out toward another room. Two tables situated side by side with face pillows and white sheets draped over them. He rattled something off in Greek with a wide grin and left. I shuffled into the room, playing with the ties of my robe. Hades walked in behind me, shutting the door with a light click.
“He said they’d be with us in a moment and to get comfortable under the sheets,” Hades said.
My stomach clenched when he said “under the sheets” and thoughts nowhere else but in the filthy, filthy gutter invaded my head.
I moved to one table, undoing the ties of the robe. Glancing over my shoulder, I caught him staring. He shot his gaze skyward, rubbing the back of his head again.
“I can turn around,” he said.
I should’ve been lady-like and asked him to, but surprisingly I wanted him to watch. Instead, I let him make up his own mind, kept my back to him, and slipped the robe over my shoulders. As bold as I felt, I couldn’t bring myself to take a peek at him. But the sound of a husky breath letting out of him as I crawled under the sheet told me he hadn’t bothered turning around.
I shoved my face into the pillow and turned my head when I heard his own robe’s sound coming off. My cheeks warmed when his perfectly rounded and muscular butt stared at me. He slipped under the sheet, and I turned my face away with a grin.
“I saw that,” he mumbled.
We spent the next hour being massaged by Georgios and Alexandra. Hades asked for Georgios, claiming he’d have the stronger hands to handle his extremely tight muscles. A small part of me hoped he asked because he knew Alexandra had a good possibility of trying to take the massage to a whole other level once the aura kicked in. Involuntary groans escaped my throat when she’d worked my lower and upper back. Sitting at a computer desk all day had been taking its toll. They rubbed large chunks of salt against our skin, wiped it off with hot towels, and instructed us in Greek before leaving us to slip on our robes.
Hades lay on his back, staring at the ceiling with heavy eyes. “I never thought in a million years I’d do something like this. Have to say, I’ve been missin’ out.” His dimple made an appearance as he looked over at me with a smirk.
I laughed. “Me too. Sara will never let me hear the end of it.” Sitting up, I wrapped the sheet around me.
He leaned on one elbow and watched me.
“Did they say what’s next?” I asked.
He gave a subtle nibble on his lower lip. “Soakin’ in the mineral bath.”
“Guess I better get my bikini back on, huh?”
He nodded.
We slipped back into our robes without any attempts to disguise our ogling of each other.
After slipping into my bikini, I followed the attendant to the bath where Hades already was. S
cented candles surrounded a square-shaped tub, a colossal tub that could have fit a dozen people. Vanilla, lilac, and cinnamon permeated the air. Steam floated over the water, and there sitting at one end was the god of the Underworld himself. One knee poked out of the water, propped on the bench seat. He swirled his finger, watching the ripples with squinted eyes.
My feet made light flapping noises as I walked toward the edge of the tub. He lifted his chin and pierced me with his gaze. I kept eye contact as I dipped a foot in the water.
“Warm enough for you?” He asked.
I sat on the bench seat across from him and closed my eyes with a contented sigh. “It’s perfect.”
“I took the liberty of making it a tad more…inviting.”
My eyes fluttered open. He had that wicked glint in his eye and continued to circle his finger in the water.
“What’s the Underworld like?” I asked with a voice barely above a whisper.
He stopped twirling his hand. “What do you wish to know?”
I pushed from my seat and waded through the water until I was on his side. Shimmying across the bench, I scooted until I felt his thigh brushing mine. “Everything.”
He glanced down at our legs touching before waving his hand in front of us. The black smoke fog swirled over the water. “The river Styx,” he started, and the smog morphed into a projection of a river. Bodies poked out from the water as a boat sailed past them.
“Who are those people?”
“Souls on their way to judgment.”
I looked at him. “To you?”
“To me, yes.” He wiggled his fingers, and the fog morphed into a tall throne with spires. “The river leads to my throne room. It’s where I spend most of my time.” Cave-like walls and a high stone ceiling surrounded the throne. The boat pushed into the sand of the river’s shoreline. “The sand is black. My throne is black. Everything about the Underworld, Stephanie is dark and dreary.”
I slipped a hand over his knee. At first, he tensed but then relaxed against my touch. “Tell me more, Hades.”
He stared at me before waving his hand again. A dog with three heads snapped its jaws at a faceless figure. “My guard dog, Cerberus. It doesn’t happen often, but when a soul escapes or wanders away from Tartarus, Cerberus is duty-bound to bring them back.”
