by Marie Medina
“Will you have a drink with me as you consider?”
She eventually nodded.
He went to the small bar behind his desk. Zeus was going to be very angry when he found out, but he didn’t care. He wasn’t going to let her leave. “You like martinis, right?”
“Yeah. Fruity ones anyway.”
“Gin or vodka?”
“What’s the difference?”
He smiled. “Depends who you ask. Gin it is then.” He poured gin into two martini glasses, and then touched their rims.
Persephone looked over his shoulder as the glasses filled with a dark red liquid. “Magic to impress me?”
He handed her glass to her. “A pomegranate martini. I think you’ll like it, even if it doesn’t make much of an impression.”
She looked down at it for a moment, and then moved to the couch. “Let’s talk about this then.”
After she sat down, she took a sip. He moved to sit beside her, putting his own drink down on the table. “I hope my honesty means something. I’ve made my intentions known to Zeus.”
“He approved of your choice? Someone like me as queen of the Underworld?”
“Yes. Zeus and Hera love you and think highly of you, even if others do not. Others don’t know you as they do. As I do.”
She took another sip and licked her lips. “This isn’t what I imagined. I want a boyfriend, not a husband.”
He shifted in his seat and dared to ask, “Will you ever want one?”
She shrugged. “I don’t know.”
He felt his heart sinking. He knew her love could match his. He knew it. How could she be so indifferent to him when moments earlier she’d been melting in his arms and longing for his touch?
“I see.”
She groaned. “You know, I didn’t know who you were. You can’t blame me for not taking this as seriously as you want me to. We’ve been together one day, and you were gone most of the time. You want to trap me just the way my mother did, lock me up and keep me for yourself.”
His hands balled into fists. “Do you really believe that?”
She set her own drink down. “A little, yes.”
The hurt of her words grew worse as he looked at her drink. “Then you’ve very quickly made a fool of me.”
“What? Because I’m not in love with you? Look, I’m crazy about you, but I can’t marry you. Not now.”
“No, because I proved you right.” He couldn’t look at her. He couldn’t bear to think of what her reaction was going to be.
She touched his arm and shook him. “What are you talking about?”
He looked up at her. “I said that you could leave. Now you can’t.”
“What? That’s not fair! What did I say? Let’s talk this through.”
“It won’t matter.”
“Why not?”
He stroked her hand. “The drink. You drank something made with my magic. You can’t leave.”
“No, you can do anything you want. You can take me home.”
“No, I can’t. You cannot leave the Underworld for a hundred days.”
She pulled her hand away, her eyes fixed on the fire.
“I was afraid you would leave. I made a mistake.” He expected her to scream at him, hit him or run from the room. She sat perfectly still.
“Persephone?”
She stood up and unbuttoned her dress. It fell to the floor. She wore nothing underneath it.
“What are you doing?”
Her eyes were cold as she knelt before him. “Submitting to my master.”
He turned away. “Stop it.”
She took his hands and rubbed them over her body. “This is what you want. You know it is. A prize to keep all to yourself.”
He hadn’t expected this from her. She knew just how to touch his heart and make him love her. He hadn’t realized she’d also know exactly how to hurt him. He realized he had far more reason to fear her than she did to fear him.
“Please get up,” he said as he pulled his hands away.
“Oh no,” she said as she stood up and moved in front of him. “I need to be punished for wanting to leave.”
“Persephone, please!” He stood up and headed for the door.
She ran ahead of him and blocked it. “You wanted this.”
“Not like this.”
“You should have thought about that earlier.”
“I know.”
She sighed and moved away from the door. A new dress appeared on her. It was black velvet and tight, nothing like the pink lacey one she’d been wearing. “I’m not going to forgive you any time soon.”
“I don’t expect you to. If I let you read my mind, will you believe I’m sorry?”
She backed away. “No, I don’t want to read your mind.”
He was puzzled. Why did the idea frighten her? “Persephone, I made a mistake, several of them, because of how much I love you.”
“Stop saying that!” she yelled. The entire room shook, and Cerberus whined. She went to kneel by the hound and petted his back.
“So that’s why you’re angry, why I need to apologize?”
She stood and patted her leg so Cerberus would follow her. “I want to go to my room now.”
“Of course.”
She still didn’t look at him. “Please leave me alone.”
“I promise.”
“You promise? I think I’ll lock my door.” She left the room quickly. Cerberus looked back for a moment, but still followed her.
Hades sighed and covered his face with his hands. A sharp blow from behind sent him sprawling onto the floor. He turned and looked up at his brother Zeus.
The king of the gods glared at him furiously. “You tell me why you don’t deserve a good thrashing.”
“Because you’ve made worse mistakes, done worse things, over nothing more than sex. I’m in love with her.”
“And this is how you’ll win her? She’s stubborn, Hades, and stronger than you think. A hundred days is nothing to her. She’s endured longer captivity, as you well know. You’re going to cause nothing but heartache.”
“When she calms down, she’ll talk to me. She’ll understand. She opens up to me. She does.”
“You’ve lost every ounce of her trust. And ours. We won’t help you manipulate her more.”
“I wouldn’t ask you to.”
“You may grow desperate. You certainly didn’t plan this, did you?”
“Are you here to do something or just warn me?”
“If you use magic on her again, I will bind you in Tartarus until her hundred days are up, and then I will come take her home myself.”
He knew his brother meant it. “All right. I promise.” After a moment, he asked, “Why not just break the spell? You could.”
“That’s not the way I do things anymore. Better to let it run its course and let her punish you in the process instead of simply taking her away and forbidding you to see her. She’ll teach you a far better lesson than I could, and doing so will help her deal with what she’s feeling.”
“Hmmmm. I can’t say I’d agree with you, but I guess my opinion wouldn’t matter.”
Zeus looked at him seriously. “What were you thinking?”
Hades dared to stand up, as Zeus’ temper seemed to have cooled a bit. “That I’d lose her forever.”
“You may still lose her.”
Hades knew Zeus would be angry, but he took the chance and asked, “May I see Aphrodite?”
“No!”
“Why not?”
“You know why not. Loving you has certain complications.”
“But I don’t want her help. I want her to tell me if Persephone could love me.”
“That would not be fair. I won’t allow it.”
“Nothing will change your mind?”
Zeus shook his head.
Hades reached out with his mind. Persephone was in her room, crying. He felt as if an icy hand had gripped his heart. “She’s upset. Please go to her.”
&
nbsp; “I might not be your best defender,” he said.
“I don’t care. I’m not asking for that. I want her to feel better.”
He nodded slowly. “You know, I talked to Aphrodite.”
“You did?”
“Yes. She’s been keeping to herself lately, so it seemed a good excuse. She confirmed you do love Persephone.”
“I already knew that. You should have as well.”
He shrugged. “I’ll get to the point. I would love for you two to be happy, but I’d rather see your heart broken than hers. Is that clear?”
“Perfectly. It’s what I’d prefer as well.”
“You and I have never fought the way Poseidon and I do, but I’m willing to make a special exception.”
Hades nodded. He and Zeus had rarely disagreed on anything. For the first time in his existence, he wouldn’t be able to fall back on Zeus’ help. “I understand.”
“You better.” Zeus disappeared.
Hades’ gaze fell on the two drinks. They both exploded, glass shards flying everywhere. He left the room quickly, wanting to be away from the scene of his failure.
* * * *
“Persephone?”
She jumped, but then she realized the voice belonged to Zeus. She tried to wipe away the tears, but she knew her face was pink and blotchy as she turned to look at him. “Yes?”
“It’s a pretty stupid question, but are you all right?”
She nodded. “Yeah. Just pissed.”
“I suppose so. Would you like to tell me about it?”
“You already know what’s happened, I’m sure.”
“I know, but I thought you might want to talk.”
She did, but she had no idea what to say or even where to begin. “I don’t understand. He’s not the man I was talking to.”
“I don’t think you were expecting a man, much less a god. I think you were expecting a much younger mortal. Am I right?”
“I guess. What kind of god spends his nights on the Internet?”
“Perhaps a very lonely one.”
She rolled her eyes. “Why does he think he’s in love with me?”
“Is that what’s really bothering you?”
“Yes!”
Zeus nodded. “Your mother is worried about you.”
“I’m sure she is. Any snow on the ground yet?”
“She’s still playing with wind and lightning at the moment.”
“Well, tell her I’m still a virgin and likely to stay that way.”
“I’m not going to tell her anything, not yet anyway.”
“I really have to stay that long?”
“Yes. Do you want to leave? It’s not the kind of precedent I want to set, but ultimately I could break his spell. And I will, if you want me to.”
She thought about it. She wanted to leave because she was angry, not because she wanted to be away from Hades. She wasn’t sure if she was angrier he wouldn’t have sex with her or that he’d tricked her because he’d thought she’d run away like a scared little girl.
“No, I don’t, but I’m pretty mad.”
“Because he used magic?”
She nodded. “Yes. It shows what he thinks of me. I’m a spoiled child who’ll run away when she can’t have what she wants.”
“I think he knows you better than that. The thought of you leaving frightened him.”
She knew he was probably right, but that didn’t take away the hurt of finding out so abruptly that he didn’t trust her completely. “Maybe. I still think this shows how little he believes in me. Why do I have to love him for us to have sex? I care about him. Why isn’t it enough?”
“Hades got most of the honor when it was passed out among me and him and Poseidon.”
“Honor? Tricking me into thinking he was human? Giving me that drink so I couldn’t leave?”
“Love makes even gods do ridiculous things, things they regret later.”
“So he ran to his room to cry?”
Zeus laughed. “No. We had a little chat. After I knocked him flat on his face.”
“Really?” That was pretty exciting, the king of the gods standing up for her. She managed to smile.
“Yes, I did. He upset my favorite sweetheart. I had to do it.”
“What does everyone else think?”
“Hera and I were happy until he did this. She’s very worried. She wants the two of you together.”
“You must too. You’re definitely in favor of it.”
“He’s my brother, and I know he’s good enough for you, even if he isn’t acting like it. I’d like for you both to be happy, but I think I see the problem now.”
“What?”
“You don’t really know him. When he was talking to you, he knew exactly who you were. He had the advantage. He knew what to say and how to say it. He knew everything about your life, so it seemed to you that this stranger completely understood you. It was his first mistake. He’s frustrated you don’t understand, but that’s not fair to you.”
She raised her eyebrows. “Wow. That’s a good point. I wasn’t thinking about it like that. It explains how he can feel so much when my feelings are just beginning. He knew what he was getting into. He was a mystery to me.”
“I’m not here to argue in his favor. I want you to know I’m here. Hera can’t come to you, but you can talk to her through your mirror, or a pool of water. Your cell phone still works, but I thought you might like to know you could see people.”
“I’m not ready to talk to anyone yet. I’ll get worked up or confused.”
“Am I bothering you now?”
“No, you’re fine. I need time though. I have to stay here, so I can wait a few days and then know what I want to say to him.”
“I’ll leave you to it then.”
“Wait! What else is going on up there?”
“It’s only been two days.”
“I know, just tell me.”
“Your mother’s having a fit, and the weather is terrible. Apollo and Aphrodite are both acting like freaks, to use your favorite word.”
She smiled. She’d needed that. He knew how to tease her in a way that made her feel loved instead of stupid and childish. She knew she didn’t have a father, and even though she’d definitely had a crush on him for part of her life, Zeus filled the role very well. He’d never once tried to seduce her, and that showed his love for her more than anything else possibly could have. “Apollo is a freak. He’s the epitome of a male chauvinist pig. He used to be so sweet.”
Zeus scratched his chin. “I don’t remember that.”
She laughed. “Yes, you do. He used to be sweet and charming. Now he’s smooth and charming. Not the same thing at all.”
“And you think you know nothing about men?”
Her smile faded. “If Hades really loves me, why are we having so much trouble communicating?”
“For one thing, you’ve only had a couple of face-to-face conversations. Your relationship is beginning. He needs to realize that. He wants to win your love all at once.”
Cerberus put his left head on her knee.
Zeus made a face. “Do you like him?”
“I love him!” she declared as he scratched behind his ears.
“You and Hades may be fated to be together then. I can’t get used to him.”
“Too many heads?”
Cerberus stood up and walked to Zeus, sitting at his feet and staying perfectly still.
“And too many brains.” He patted the middle head. “No offense, old boy. I’m a bulldog man myself.”
“Thank you, Zeus. I think I’ll be more eloquent the next time I talk to Hades.”
He nodded. “I hope so. I don’t want to see either of you hurt.”
She smiled. “You’ll come back to see me?”
“You only have to call.”
“Oh I will.”
He kissed her on the forehead. “Goodbye, sweetheart.”
“Bye.”
He disappeared. Cerberus looked at
the spot for a minute, then went back to lie down by Persephone’s feet. She curled up on the bed, dangling her arm off so it rested on his back. She’d had very different plans for the evening, but they weren’t going to happen now.
* * * *
Alala knew Aphrodite was home. She could feel her. She stood on her doorstep and knocked, even though she felt nothing keeping her out of the house. She thought they’d get off to a better start if she didn’t invade Aphrodite’s home.
Aphrodite opened the door sheepishly and said, “Come in.”
Alala wanted to give the other goddess a good smack, but not because she was angry. Being sheepish and quiet and reclusive was not like Aphrodite, so much so that it felt downright wrong to Alala.
Aphrodite led her into the living room. “Have a seat. I’m sure you want to talk about Persephone.”
Alala sat on the loveseat by the window. “Yes. Among other things.”
Aphrodite sighed and clasped her hands together as she sat down. “No one can be made to fall in love with Hades. It’s nothing to do with love, actually. It’s because marrying him would bind that woman to the Underworld, forcing her to return there every night.”
“Why?”
“Zeus only knows.” She smiled. “Actually, even he doesn’t. I’ve asked. I was born with that knowledge. Hades is the only creature of the Underworld that moves completely of his own will.”
“Hypnos and Thanatos don’t?”
“They do, but Hades could change that if he wanted to. They feel the pull of it and can’t stay away too long. Neither of them have to leave the Underworld for people to die or dream. It’s just more convenient sometimes if they come above.”
Alala nodded, wondering if Aphrodite was thinking about what she had so recently done to Ares in her botched attempt to give him and Alala a ‘happily ever after.’ Her spell had backfired to such an extent Hera had summoned Hypnos to put Ares to sleep to keep the pain away.
“Hades is supposed to be a bad boy, but I think we both know a little about those types. What’s he really like?”
Aphrodite blushed, which was something Alala was sure she’d never seen the goddess do before. She took a deep breath and tried not to think about how many times the love goddess had fucked Ares. Alala knew Ares loved her, but sometimes she still resented how long he and Aphrodite had been lovers.
