by Myles, Jill
She stepped forward, biting her lip. She had accepted Hades and he said she would be queen of the underworld. Would the runes of protection work against her? Hesitantly, she reached a hand for the helmet…
And grasped cool metal. She exhaled in relief. It was hers. He’d been true to his word. He’d trusted her with everything in his kingdom.
And she would betray him.
With a glance back at the sleeping god, Rose put the helmet on over her head. She held a hand in front of her face and watched it slowly disappear.
It wasn’t difficult to find the hidden garden or the flowers. She’d found a secret panel in the wall covered by a magic-enshrouded drapery, but it had ignored her presence. She was the queen, after all. The panel led to a secret garden full of lush, dark blooms. They were exactly like the one that had lured her to the underworld previously. Dark purplish-black, velvety petals and a sinful scent. Rose picked one and closed her eyes, feeling the weight of her decision upon her shoulders.
She’d come this far. She could not go back now.
She turned and then paused. The flowers were the essence of the underworld. Taking one would strip him of that much power, would it not?
She was the goddess of spring, though. Her meager gifts should be good for something. With a brush of her hand over the flowers, she sent a surge of her magic through them. They shivered in response, the magic scent heavy in the air. As she watched, they shuddered and continued to grow until the flowers themselves were the size of dinner plates and she was weak with exhaustion.
Hopefully he would see her message and understand. She’d used her powers as both augment and apology.
Turning from the garden, she headed out of the room with one last look at Hades.
I love you, she thought, but didn’t say it aloud. It was too late for that. She was betraying the god of the underworld in the hopes that she would be able to stay with him.
And she crossed her fingers again as she left, carrying the requested flower out of the underworld and into the waiting hands of her fairy godmother.
Chapter Seven
Rose clasped her hands in her lap. If she got any more nervous, she’d be twisting them or biting her nails. She glanced over at Hermes, but he remained stone-faced at her side. Chewing on her lip, she stared at the closed doors where three important players were closeted: Demeter, Zeus, and Hades.
They’d been in there for an hour, and Demeter had screamed the entire time.
She’d only been able to catch hints of the conversation, and all of it seemed to be coming from Demeter. She’d caught “six pomegranate seeds is not enough” and “I’ll starve this plane if you don’t give me my assistant” and “I will not be reasonable” and other things along those lines, which just made her stomach tie in knots.
She couldn’t hear Hades at all. Either his voice was too low to be heard, or he didn’t care enough to protest like Demeter was. And her heart hurt at the thought.
Rose hadn’t spoken to him since she’d returned to the surface, helmet and flower in hand.
She’d delivered the flower to Muffin, who had anchored her permanently to this plane. Not to worry, Muffin had told her. The other Persephone was now going by “Stephanie” and studying law. She was quite happy to stay in the other plane.
That just left Rose, of course. Rose, who’d made a bold decision and wasn’t sure yet if she was going to regret it.
Hades hadn’t spoken to her when he’d entered Olympus. He’d simply glared at all, arms crossed over his chest. He’d come to retrieve what was stolen, he’d told the others.
Rose didn’t know if he was referring to his helmet or to her.
Demeter’s voice rose on the far side of the doors again, and for the jillionth time, Rose wished that the other gods wouldn’t treat her like a child and would actually allow her into the room while they were deciding her fate. She glanced at Hermes. “Can you hear what they’re saying?”
Hermes moved to the door in a blink, put his ear to it, and then blinked back to her side.
“Demeter is threatening to withhold her powers. Mankind will starve.”
“Drama queen,” Rose muttered. “Is anyone else saying anything?”
He zipped back to the door and listened for a long moment, then zipped back to her. “Zeus offers Demeter and Hades a concession. Persephone… er, you, may spend six months of the year in the underworld and six months with Demeter.”
“Tell him we accept,” Rose said immediately.
Hermes tilted his head at her quizzically, reminding her of a hummingbird. Then he dashed off again, the heavy doors swinging slightly to mark his exit.
Nothing happened for a long moment and then Demeter gave an outraged screech. Oh, she didn’t like that much.
Hades stormed out of the double doors a moment later, pacing toward her. “You’re coming with me.”
She jumped to her feet, his helmet still tucked under her arm, and skittered after him. “I am?”
“For the next six months,” he said coldly, and her heart sank. He sounded furious. That wasn’t good. He was mad at her for stealing his helmet and taking a piece of his power. He’d never forgive her, would he? Tears threatened and she bit her lip, utterly frustrated.
They moved to his chariot parked just outside the hall. Before she could ask him what was wrong, he wrapped a strong arm around her waist and dragged her against him. They moved into the chariot and he grabbed the reins, whipping the horses into a frenzy. As she watched, the ground split before them and they sank into the earth, horses rearing.
Hades did not speak as they descended back into the underworld. Rose didn’t speak either.
She felt like she needed to know what he was thinking so she could formulate an excuse… or an apology.
It was only when they were back in his palace that he turned to her and spoke.
“Why did you accept?”
“Accept?” Rose wrinkled her nose, not quite following.
“You would leave for six months at a time?” His words were harsh, cold.
“Not of my own choosing,” she said. “But I knew that Demeter would not give in. She will never give in. She’s too stubborn. At least with this compromise, I get to spend some time with you. I can be the queen of the underworld and the goddess of spring and please all parties.”
“And do you wish to spend time with me?” His dark eyes were unreadable.
“I want to spend all my time with you,” she said quietly.
He put his hands on the sides of her face and whispered “Good” before leaning in and kissing her fiercely.
Rose was so startled that she didn’t respond, and he broke the kiss a moment later. “You…
you… you’re not mad?”
“I’m furious,” he said and leaned in to kiss her again, nibbling at her lower lip in a way that made her knees weak.
“But… I stole from you,” she gasped between kisses. “I didn’t mean to, but I had to.”
“I understand,” he said, and a hint of a smile curved his mouth. “I love you, Rose.”
She blinked, astonished. “How… how did you know?”
“I guessed when you told me to call you by a different name,” Hades said. “Something about your personality was so different from how I remembered Persephone that it didn’t make sense to me. She was a timid, frightened creature who couldn’t stand to look at me. You, though. You looked at me with lust in your eyes and touched yourself at the thought of me touching you. You were completely different from her. When you told me to call you Rose, everything made sense.”
“Then you’re not mad that I had to steal your power? You acted mad on Olympus.”
“Only to make Zeus think he won the negotiations. As for my power, you stole only a very small piece. And when I saw that you’d used your magic to augment mine…” He smiled and touched her cheek gently. “I knew you cared for me. You would not have done it otherwise. My power is greater now than it ever was, thanks to your magic.�
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“I’m sorry about your helmet, too—I brought it back but I can’t bring the flower back. I had to give it to someone. It was the only way I could stay here on this plane.”
He held her close, his gaze skimming over her. “And are you going to stay?”
“Forever.”
“Good,” he said again and kissed her once more. When she was breathless, he added, “I will not be pleased if my wife is gone from my side for six months at a time.”
She laughed. “You would not visit me?” Rose trailed a hand along his chest idly. “Such an uncreative thought from a man with a helmet that makes him invisible to all.”
“I thought you slept in your mother’s rooms.”
“Not since I’ve returned to Olympus. I insisted upon my independence. The goddess of
spring now has a small temple adjoining the larger one.”
“I see. Are you asking me to steal into your rooms at night and make love to you while you are at your mother’s side?”
She bit her lip and gave him a coy look. “It would be quite naughty, would it not?”
Hades grinned. “You are truly the perfect queen for me.”
“Then kiss me,” she commanded. “And show me.”
The Once Upon a Time-Travel Series features sexy alpha males and women that get a second chance at life through the stories of myth and legend, and feature a dotty little fairy godmother who doesn’t quite have her shit together.
Want to read more? Check out the other stories in the series:
MIRRORLIGHT
SHIMMERLIGHT
SUNLIGHT
THE MERMAID’S KNIGHT
www.jillmyles.com
