by S. E. Babin
"Zeus' true love is Gaia, but he has spent centuries with Hera. It is not so easy to up and leave someone you have that much history with."
I sank down into one of the gray reading chairs by the window. "So this Jerry Springer disaster is for the long haul?"
His brows knit together. "I do not know Jerry Springer, but yes, I'd strap in for a long and bumpy ride." He gestured to the seat next to me. "May I?"
I nodded. Hades sank down beside me, slipped off his loafers and rested his feet on the chair's ottoman. "This is nice," he murmured as I tried not to notice the glide of his neck or the fall of his hair as he leaned back and relaxed.
"I read in here almost every night." I didn't read as much as Artie, but I'd started picking up the habit over the last few months and found that reading was quite easy to become addicted to. Of course, I liked reading fiction more than I liked reading about mythological shenanigans, but I was forced to do both so I made due.
"It smells like you," he remarked.
I laughed. "It smells like lavender and sandalwood," I said and pointed to the diffuser.
He shook his head. "No. You spend a lot of time in here. I can smell the oil you use on your skin."
I swallowed hard because how did he know I used oil on my skin? And why did he remember the scent of it?
After a long silence, Hades cleared his throat. "Right. I can see you have your hands full right now so I won't take too much of your time. I'm just here about Persephone. I'd like to start looking for her in the next few weeks. After the Christmas holidays, of course."
I nodded. I'd expected his visit for a few weeks now. "Of course. Once this nightmare is over, I'll head to you."
Hades stood and shook his legs to knock out the slight wrinkles in his pants. "Very well. I'll have a list of places where she may be. I'd like to solve this quickly and quietly."
A sense of discomfort stole across my shoulders. From what I'd been told recently, both Demeter and Hades knew exactly where Persephone was and neither one of them wanted to get involved. I shook my head. "Of course."
With a slight bow, Hades blinked out of the room leaving me sitting there a little confused and worried about why he wasn't more involved in tracking down his errant wife. Moments later I groaned. I couldn't stay in here forever, no matter how much I wanted to. Reluctantly, I pulled myself out of the chair and headed back downstairs to see if my house was still standing.
It was. And everyone was still alive, too. Looks like we all possessed some maturity these days. But it didn't stop Hera from giving Zeus a chilly stare. Her face was turned away from him and the anger in her ice blue gaze was apparent to anyone who looked at her for more than a moment. Zeus was not a welcome visitor right now and either he was completely oblivious or he just didn't care. Part of me figured he just didn't care and he would stay for as long as he wanted to. Even if it made everyone uncomfortable. That was just his way.
Something occurred to me. I snorted out loud. Hera and Zeus were going to love this. I had a large house, but I didn't have an enormous house. Since Hermes was going to be here soon and since, technically, he was the current ruler of Olympus, he deserved to have an empty bedroom and I only had two left. Clotho was staying in one. Probably. I hadn't heard from her since Zeus made an appearance. Artie had another. I wasn't giving mine up and Hera had the other.
"What?" Hera asked with a suspicious look on her face.
I couldn't keep a straight face. A slow grin spread. I knew there was no way Zeus would deign to sleep on the couch. These two were going to have to share a room. "I'm afraid I don't have any spare bedrooms."
Hera's brow wrinkled. "Of course you do. You have at least one more empty room up there."
I nodded. "I do, but Hermes will be here in the next couple of hours."
I watched as Hera began to realize that not giving Hermes the other room would equal an insult. Anger, annoyance, and finally resignation flickered over her expression. "I'm not giving up my bedroom. Especially not to this philanderer," she sneered.
Zeus, to his credit, didn't look insulted. "I fear we must share then."
"Over your dead body," Hera hissed and stood, her hair waving out from her shoulders as the magic boiled inside of her.
"Whoa," I said and raised a hand. "Easy, Hera. I'm sure there's something we can work out. I have two couches downstairs that can be used."
She turned her gaze to me. "You ask the Queen of the Gods to stay on the couch?" Her voice was a low hiss.
I was about to get tagged with a burning ball of magic if I couldn't figure out how to fix this.
"Queen of the Gods?" a dry voice interrupted as Clotho appeared in the room.
Thank the gods for that ancient crone. I slumped in relief.
"You heard what I said, crone." Hera put more effort into the ball, making it larger and hotter.
With a snap of her fingers, Clotho extinguished the ball. Artie's eyebrows rose up to her hairline and she pressed her lips together to keep from saying anything. I knew Artie and I knew she was dying to ask Clotho a hundred questions about how she had done it.
Hera squawked in outrage and tried to produce more magic. Clotho crossed her arms and stared at her. "You forget your place, Hera," was all she said.
Hera slumped back down in her chair and stared at the Fate with more hatred than I'd ever seen her exude.
Zeus' amused chuckle rang through the kitchen drawing Clotho's attention.
"You will share the bedroom. Despite your cavalier ways, you are still husband and wife. Perhaps you can work out your differences. Perhaps you may kill each other. Perhaps I don't care." Clotho pulled a chair out from the kitchen table. "Remove yourselves from my presence immediately."
Zeus shut his mouth, looking angry but properly chastised and motioned for Hera to follow him up the stairs.
I was about to speak but Clotho got there first. "Can't you have just one normal thing?" She blew out a breath and scratched her head. "I like you, child, but I find your life exhausting."
The doorbell rang again, and I let out a hoot of laughter.
"No," Artie said for me.
I rose to let in what had to be Hermes. He was early. If it was anyone else, I was going to commit murder.
It was. Thank goodness. I opened the door wide and let him and Atlas in. Poor Atlas held several suitcases, and I wanted to punch Hermes because I knew he didn't need that many things. He was just being a jerk. I offered to take one of the cases but Atlas shook his head, his eyes resting on Hermes' back. Even if he didn't want to hear it, I was going to bend Hermes' ear over this when I got him alone. Being a king was making him a little bit unlikeable. I shut the door behind me. Honestly, this was feeling like déjà vu all day long. Hermes didn't wait for me to show him upstairs, nor did he bother to offer a hello. He made his way upstairs with Atlas trailing after him like a very handsome prisoner and opened the door to my bedroom.
"No," I said, once I realized his intent.
He finally deigned to look at me. Amusement and something akin to dislike glittered in his eyes. "You are telling the King no?" he asked in a deadly smooth tone.
"The King is being a jackass," I said.
Atlas choked on laughter and tried, poorly, to turn it into a cough.
Hermes' eyes narrowed. "You are aware I can imprison you?"
I rolled my eyes. "I am. Are you going to do that over a bedroom choice?"
He shrugged. His eyes wandered over to my new teal colored quilt I'd chosen with care. It was a soft, well-worn cotton, and I loved it much more than a person should love a blanket. "Perhaps I will."
Atlas' eyes filled with sympathy. I was going to punch Hermes multiple times before this was all over. But right now I had something better for him. Something even he wouldn't expect. It might have been a real pain in my butt, but it was going to be even worse for Hermes. "We can discuss this later, if your Highness pleases," I said through gritted teeth. "But for now, there is a guest here who would like the pleasure of your company."
His eyes lit up.
The grin on my face spread even wider. "Let me make you a cup of coffee and you can catch up."
I let Hermes walk out first and as I passed Atlas, I winked.
You lost some battles, but you won sometimes, too. This was going to be a definite win.
"What are you doing here?" Hermes burst out before he could stop himself.
Zeus stood. One eyebrow rose at his son's words. "I was welcomed."
Hermes' gaze caught Hera's stricken one. "I see. And is Hera happy to see you?"
Zeus' expression darkened. "Your words might be light, son, but your inference is not. You may hold my kingdom for now, but you do not want a war when my banishment is up."
I winked at Artie, watching the exchange with wide, happy eyes. We always liked to see Zeus fighting with anyone besides us.
"Should I have Atlas bring your bags back downstairs?" I asked, my tone as sweet as syrup. "With your father here, I have all the protection I'll need." For good measure, I batted my eyelashes several times.
Hermes glared at me realizing he'd been had. Except...he hadn't been. This was all a wonderful, terrible accident that just so happened to work in my favorite, at least right at this moment.
He glanced back to Atlas who had at last wiped the amused expression off his face. "No," he said after a moment. "We will stay."
Damn it.
I kept a polite smile on my face. "Of course. I will make sure I set a place for you and Atlas this evening."
"Prisoners do not sit at the same table as I," Hermes said. "He will eat in his room."
"Probably better company up there," Clotho murmured under her breath.
I pressed my lips together to keep from laughing. "As you wish." I sent a sympathetic glance to Atlas and began to prepare everyone some coffee.
When everyone was settled around the table enjoying their beverage, I motioned for Atlas to follow me back up the stairs so I could get Hermes settled in. He was ignoring me at this moment and engaged in a glaring contest with his father so I thought we were safe.
As we went up the stairs, I whispered to Atlas, "Do you know how to break the chain?"
"It's unbreakable. I've tried everything."
I can imagine he would have. "Nothing is unbreakable," I whispered back.
We made our way back to the bedroom. I hauled one of Hermes' cases and Atlas gathered the rest. He followed me down the hall to a smaller bedroom and, more importantly, one that was not my own, and I sat the cases down beside the bed.
Atlas glanced around the room. “He will be very angry.”
“That’s pretty much a permanent state of mind for him these days.”
Atlas peeked out the door to make sure no one was coming. Once the coast was clear, he sat on the edge of the bed and sighed.
Sympathy filled my heart for him.
“This may seem hard to believe, but Hermes is a good person. He rarely treats me poorly. Not like the other one.”
“It’s not hard to believe. Hermes and I were once…” I paused. What were we exactly? Lovers, yes. Friends, definitely. What were we now? Awkward acquaintances at best.
Atlas’ gaze flew to mine. “It’s you!” He slapped a palm down on the bed. “I knew it had to be a woman responsible for this change in him.”
My lips twisted and I nudged him over so I could sit down. He scooted his huge body over but he still took up a lot of room. “My apologies,” I said as sincerely as I could muster. “I wronged him.”
Atlas said nothing for a long moment. “Did you have to wrong him?”
I liked this guy. Few people would ask me a question like that. Few people would wonder if maybe I had no choice. “At the time I thought I had to.”
He reached over and patted me on the knee. “Then perhaps in time he will realize this and you can make amends.”
The sound of hard throat clearing forced us away from each other like we were two teenagers making out. Even though we were doing nothing wrong, my face burned as Hermes stood in the doorway with his arms crossed, an unreadable expression on his face.
I couldn’t catch a break.
“Well, it seems like you’ve found a new friend. It never takes you long, does it?”
My promise to punch Hermes before this all ended was growing stronger every second he stayed in my house.
“Not as fast as you,” I said sweetly, reliving his affair with Dike like it was a scalpel to my heart.
Hurt flickered over his expression so quickly I almost missed it, but he didn’t hesitate. “Well, it’s not like there’s a shortage of women, is there?”
I sighed and stood up. “I’ll see you later, Atlas.”
The large blond man nodded once and turned his attention to Hermes, a thoughtful expression lingering there.
I squeezed by Hermes, smelling the familiar cinnamon scent of his skin. It didn’t make me want to punch him any less, though.
As I made my way back downstairs, one thought kept hammering through my brain.
I needed to get out of here for a little while.
Chapter 6
I was feeding seven people for Christmas dinner. It started out as three, a wonderful tiny group of my girlfriends and me just hanging out and noshing on apple pie. Now it was a mish- mash of angry immortals. I hadn’t even made the Christmas ham yet and I could feel this was already a recipe for disaster.
I scanned my grocery list and wondered not for the first time if my basket was big enough. If I was going to do anything, it was make a special dinner for all of these knuckleheads and maybe try to bring some peace to a volatile time. Why everyone was showing up at my house I couldn’t say, but then again for some reason, I was the link between all of these people. I wouldn’t go so far as to say I was a safe haven in a hurricane but I was at least a shelter.
I didn’t know how I felt about that, to be honest.
I went down each aisle of the grocery store, my footsteps slow and plodding as I methodically checked off each item on my list until I finished. As I stood in line waiting to check out, I realized I didn’t want to go home.
All I wanted was one normal holiday. Halloween had been crazy and ended with the death of an immortal, and now I was about to be stuck in the Christmas dinner from hell. A thought occurred to me. I liked the guy. He was honest. Mostly. Handsome. Articulate. And so far we hadn’t fought.
A smile spread over my face.
If this was going to be as awkward as I thought it would be, I might as well have some eye candy that didn’t hate me over for dinner too.
Moments later, I was out the door, grateful that nothing crazy had happened while I performed such a mundane task. I walked out to my vehicle, looked in every direction to make sure I wasn’t being watched, then shot out a burst of magic to shut the parking lot cameras down for a few moments. Time was of the essence. I sent the groceries back to the house with a message asking Artie to put them away. As for me, I was on my way to Hades.
Tilly greeted me in the library of Hades’ personal quarters. I gave her a polite hello and accepted her offer of refreshments. The ghost or soul or whatever she was, floated away with the same expression and came back moments later with a pot of tea and a small ceramic container of sugar. I thanked her after she poured me a cup and sipped while I waited for Hades to make his appearance.
I didn’t have to wait long.
He appeared in front of me moments later wearing a pair of flannel pajama pants and a white t-shirt. His feet were bare.
I swallowed hard because holy hotness. He looked vulnerable but power reeked from every cell in his body. I must have interrupted a nap or relaxation time because his hair was mussed and a light five o’clock shadow graced the sharp edge of his jaw line.
“Abby, what a surprise. I didn’t expect to see you for a few weeks.”
I nodded. “I apologize for the interruption.”
“No apology needed. I’m always glad for the company.” He sat down across from me and pour
ed himself a cup of the tea. “Is everything alright?”
I shrugged. “No one is actively trying to kill me right now.”
Hades chuckled low in his throat. “Your bar is set too low.”
I sat up a little straighter and leaned forward to rest my hands on my knees. As I stared at Hades intently, I decided not to beat around the bush and just go for it.
“I’d like to invite you to Christmas dinner. It’s already horribly awkward with everyone there, so it would be nice to have at least one more person there who doesn’t hate me or isn’t holding a grudge against me.”
Hades’ brows rose high on his forehead. “Like a date?”
A surprised laugh burst from me. “Well, no. Unless you’ve signed divorce papers. Like a friend.”
Something akin to disappointment flickered in his gaze but extinguished before he spoke. “Ah, I see. Makes more sense. Who is there besides Zeus and Hera?”
I fidgeted in my seat. “You see, I umm. I told a little fib and Hermes decided to call me on it so he’s there. And Atlas.”
“Atlas?” he asked in surprise. “I haven’t heard that name in years. He’s a good sort.”
“He is. That’s part of the problem. I’d like to sever his cord and free him from imprisonment and part of me wonders if Hermes is on to me.”
Hades sat back in his chair and steepled his fingers against each other. “I don’t quite follow. Start at the beginning, please.”
And so I told him all about my ridiculous scheme to free Atlas and how I attempted to get him away from Hermes’ control for a little while. Only to have it backfire when Hermes decided to come and “protect” me.
Humor crinkled the edges of his eyes, telling me his amusement was real. “Only you, Aphrodite.” He scratched the edge of his nose. “So you’re inviting me to what will inevitably be a horribly awkward dinner just to provide moral support?”
I sat back and tried to figure out a response to that because, yes, that was exactly what I was trying to get him to agree too. “You get free ham,” I offered.
“Ah,” he said, “free ham. It isn’t at all possible I could conjure that up if I really wanted it, now is it?”
