Morrigan twirls her drink. “I suppose. Although, they were bred to protect us. No matter, perhaps they can aid in the human realm with all the zmei debacle taking place.” When I say nothing, she changes topics. “What Zeus did is unfair. And some Olympians agree, you know.”
I shrug. Morrigan only knows of my exile, not the part about me being fated to Persephone and Zeus hiding that from me. Which means there’s only so much I can tell her. She’s loyal enough she’ll fight my battles for me, and that’s the last thing I wish. More than most, I’m aware of the duality of Olympians. And being here, far removed from such nonsense, I no longer feel the burden of the life I’d led. Perhaps it’s that which makes it easier to speak my mind, for once.
“They can agree all they want; it doesn’t mean anything will change. And, in the end, Zeus did me a favor. We both know I don’t belong there.”
What a horrid way to live. Morrigan’s expression falters. “Then where do you belong?”
“Here. You may find it hard to believe, but it’s the happiest I’ve ever been.”
“No, I do not find that hard to believe at all.” She sighs. You never did belong, but for a reason, my friend. “I must warn you, though, putting all these evils in Tartarus… Your idea of all our enchantments was genius.”
“But? Let me guess. You think it’s not enough.”
“I wish it were. But there is much we ignore, and no one has been able to figure out where Fenrir disappeared. And he is not alone…” She takes a deeper swallow of the drink. “I have lost a deity or two, as well.”
“Who?”
She shakes her head. “It is not important. Suffice it to say, I no longer believe these incidents are unrelated.”
“Yet Zeus didn’t care for my explanation. Those winged creatures weren’t an illusion, Morrigan.”
“I believe you. All it means is there is a force out there designed to go against us. And while we may round up all the evils we are aware of, then what will happen to the ones we are not aware of? The ones lurking in the shadows…”
A delicate shudder runs through her, and I step closer, touching her shoulder lightly. “All we can do is attempt it. When you started talking about this idea, I thought it was crazy. In practice, it’s even more so.”
“But we both know a time will arrive when it will not be enough.”
“And I’ll be here to raise the alarm.”
She nods, pensive. “When that time is near, you can count on me and mine.”
“Thank you.”
She glances around once more, then at me. “You are right, you know. I can see the happiness in you.” She reaches for my hand, squeezing it before letting go once more. “But before I leave, there is something I must tell you. You did not belong, not because there is something wrong with you, Hades. Simply because Olympus did not deserve you.”
Kind words, but we both know the truth. We take our time as I show her out of the castle, Cerberus on my heels. Once we’re on the steps overlooking the land, Morrigan takes it all in. Frowns.
I try to see it as she does. Though it’s cleaner than before, and I’ve raised more riverbeds to separate the areas—especially from Tartarus—it is nonetheless a rather arid land. Souls float around in the distance, their glowing forms providing a little décor.
“Where do your good souls go, Hades?” Morrigan asks.
I blow out a breath. “To be honest, I’ve been trying to figure that out myself. Tartarus is the land of evil, but I’ve yet to decide what to do with the pure souls.”
She smiles, her eyes glittering with magic. “Care for some help?”
I’d be a fool not to accept. Morrigan is a sorceress among deities, so I follow her to the land I had eyed earlier. “I’d hope the heroes and good souls have somewhere to stay, somewhere peaceful and idyllic.”
Morrigan glances around, then touches the pendant around her neck and mutters some words in old Gaelic. Within moments, rivers stream, grass grows, and flowers blossom. A few more moments pass by, and the earth changes and rolls as it had under my hand. Only, rather than my poor attempts, she makes it…divine.
“Think they will like it?”
I bark out a laughter. “See for yourself.”
Some souls have already entered, exploring, laughing like children. To provide this to them, when they suffered so much, fills me with indescribable joy.
Morrigan smiles fondly. “Good. Now you only need a guardian for this realm of yours. Someone to ensure the right souls land in the correct place.”
“And soon, I’ll find one.”
She hugs me again, then leaves. I stand there for long moments, appreciating everything I’ve accomplished in so little time. Wondering about everything I could have, if I’d gotten off my ass much, much earlier.
In the end, there’s no point for such ruminations, especially not around the conflict, what I’ve lost, and what I could’ve changed. Even Persephone. I will wait for her forever if I have to, forever and more to get my chance and return to her. But in the meantime, it can’t stop me from living. This, right here, is my focus.
And the fact the souls are happy, which means I’m doing my job right. I may have failed at being an Olympian, but I can’t fail at this. Not when there’s so much to create, so much to enjoy, and so much to see blossom.
“Sire, we are ready for the next stage.”
I snap out of my thoughts and meet the satyr. He looks past me, eyes wide at the new fields for the souls.
“What do you think we give it a name, my friend?”
“I, sire?”
I wait, letting him think it through.
“Elysian,” he whispers. “In our language, it translates roughly to divine.”
I nod. “I like it. From here on out, it’ll be known as the Elysian Fields.”
With one last glance, I head back to my palace, wondering what Persephone would think of all this. What’s she doing in Olympus, or has she gone back to the humans? Would Demeter have allowed her? And most of all…does she even miss me?
Our encounters were too brief to have developed that connection, that intimacy, but oh I do yearn for her. More than I’ve ever wanted anything in my entire existence. And it has nothing to do with the Fates playing with our hearts, or our destinies. This need inside me is all me, all fire and lust and a desire to worship her.
Which is probably why, when I see her on the steps to my home, I stop dead in my tracks, not believing my eyes. And then she turns and smiles, and my world fractures all over again.
“Hello, Hades.”
I stagger forward one step, then another. Aware only of my heartbeat increasing, the fading environment, and her scent—that tantalizing mix of wild berries and citrus—getting closer. I must be moving toward her, but not consciously. All I know is I’m standing less than a foot away, and she’s smiling at me with those glittering violet eyes.
“Persephone.” My voice sounds hoarse, like I’ve gone and swallowed something hard. “What are you doing here?”
Closer still, I catch the slight tremble in her hands before she wrings them together. She bites her lower lip, going for a brave smile, but her words come out just a tad shaky.
“Was hoping you might have room for one more…?”
I frown at her. “One more what?” Has she come to seek a home for some pet or, worse yet, another deity?
The thought threatens to shatter my breath, so I focus on her face instead. Waiting. Waiting. She gulps, tightens her hold on her hands, and straightens her back.
“Person. Or, rather, resident.”
I take another step toward her. Her fruity scent overpowers me. My body betrays me, yearning for her, yet not daring to hope she’s saying what I think she is.
“Who?” I breathe, barely a few inches away from her.
“Me.” She glances around. “I know the darkness in me is wrong. I know it’s because I haven’t trained my powers, but perhaps here I can. And— That’s not why, Hades.” She finally meets my
gaze, tears filling hers. “I told my mother off, and I’ve about had it with Olympus. It took me this long to come because I was trying to find out more information and see if I could still continue helping out above ground, but it doesn’t matt—”
I cut off her ramble the only way I can. With a kiss as searing as the promise it holds, pulling her into my body until I’m the only thing that’s keeping her standing, and her legs are shaking, her hands grasping my shirt.
She draws back just enough to stare at me. “I take it you have room, then? For me, here, in your life?”
“My darling, I thought you’d never ask.”
Our kiss this time is softer, stronger, consuming…and without thinking twice about it, I whisk us inside the castle, straight to my personal chambers.
Persephone steps out of my embrace, taking in our surroundings. “Hades, this is—”
I tug on her hand, hating the distance and finding myself inching closer yet again. “Inconsequential. You are my focus now.” Without waiting for her retort, I’m kissing her again, cupping her cheeks and allowing myself to feel everything I haven’t before.
With one hand, I remove her dress and cast aside my own clothes. And then we’re naked, and she’s walking backward to my bed, a sultry smile on her lips. “I dare say it’s time to make new memories, no?”
I grin. “With pleasure.”
When we clash together, the hotness of her skin burns mine, inflaming me even more. Persephone turns at the last moment, pushing me on the bed and straddling me. Inch by inch, she kisses every bit of my skin, until her mouth wraps around me, drawing me in deep.
A hiss escapes me and I tangle my hand in her hair, unsure whether I want to pull her off me or beg her to take me deeper. Persephone makes that decision for me, tightening her hold on me until I explode.
Panting, I wait until she rises above me, licking her lips. Her eyes are shining, amused at my complete lack of control, no doubt. “For someone who can read thoughts, you sure don’t do a good job reading mine, beloved.”
I flip us over, growling as I hover above her, kissing her neck. “Don’t you remember, beloved? Yours are the only thoughts I can’t hear.”
She smiles at my reminder, her eyes shining with recollection, but I’m already moving down her body, tasting every inch of skin I can get my hands on. And I only stop when her sweet honey is on my lips and her cries are echoing in my chamber.
Then, and only then, do I rise back over her. Tease her, my cock at her entrance, prolonging the torture for us both. Until Persephone tosses her head, arches her back, and wraps her legs around me.
“Here’s a thought you don’t have to guess,” she whispers in my ear. “Take me, now, Hades, before I lose my mind.”
On a groan, I drop my head to her chest, kissing and nibbling on the skin I can reach, and drive into her. Her hot sheath is all I feel, snug enough that I see stars. And then Persephone moves against me, driving me that bit deeper in, and I let go.
For the first time in my eons of living, nothing else exists except this gorgeous goddess beneath me and the fire we create together.
I wake up to my bed smelling like berries, and turn over. Persephone’s watching me and grins widely. Her hands come to rest on my chest, as if she can’t help but draw closer, needing to feel me just as I yearn to.
Never would I have expected to get my own realm, and the goddess I most wanted in it. But to get here? Everything was worth it. Every. Little. Bit. I would give more and forever to have her with me.
I pull Persephone even tighter, lowering my head to kiss her. The moment after my lips move to her cheek, her nose, her forehead, sprinkling kisses everywhere as she throws her back and giggles.
“Spring personified, in my own bed.”
With a thrust of my hips, I’ve got her straddling me, the only thing keeping us apart the thin sheet between us. Persephone gasps, her eyes darkening as they had last night. I’m reminded of her moans under my fingers, her fevered kisses, and above all, her calling out my name.
“What do you think? Reckon you’ll stay awhile?”
She leans closer, allowing her hair to cascade around us. Her eyes sparkle, the corners of her lips tug upward, and she smiles softly. “As long as you’ll have me.”
“How’s eternity, my darling?”
She smiles wider and falls into my embrace. The way I fell into her, so, so long ago.
“Are you ready?”
I face Persephone, turning my back to the mirror I’d been pacing in front of. Her long hair cascades down her back in a tumble of curls, pinned with an amethyst comb. Somehow, she looks even more radiant in her silver gown. My heart does a funny thing, halfway between constricting and doing backflips.
“Not nearly,” I answer her. “But with you by my side, beloved, I’ll face anything.”
She chuckles and closes the distance between us, wrapping her arms around my neck and rewarding me with a kiss. “You can do this, I have no doubt.” Then she promptly drags me by the arm out of our chambers and down to my very own audience hall.
The this she’s referring to is my first ever official audience with souls. I’ve had side conversations over the last weeks, it’s impossible not to. Souls are practically everywhere here. And they’ve sought me out, more and more. In the end, Persephone was clear—it was time to set up something, an open path of communication between them and me.
Which brings me to now. My footsteps falter as we near the audience hall. The large, white ash doors are closed, taunting me. Behind them, I can already catch trickles of thoughts.
This is a mistake, a mistake, I’m not dead! There has to be a way out of here…
I hope he can help me find her, it’s been so long I’ve been without her…
Persephone nudges me, smiling. “You can do this, Hades,” she repeats. Then she lets me go, knowing I need to do this at my own pace, and opens the door to walk inside.
She’s taken to this world with an ease I would not have expected. Her kindness and openness to listen is like honey to these poor souls, who are so desperate for affection after so long living on their own.
I take a deep breath, clenching and unclenching my fists. This is my realm, my domain, and these souls need me. It’s where I belong. I may not have been able to help Pegasus—and his soul is most definitely not here, I’ve searched for it—but I can come to these unfortunate peoples’ aid.
I exhale steadily, then move to the entrance and step through. Multiple pairs of eyes meet mine. The souls, in their translucent form, shimmer and float. I make my way to the center of the audience hall, where Persephone awaits by my throne.
Whispers increase as I move, and something tightens in my back. Recollections of the past. Of Olympus. But this isn’t Olympus. And these souls are not the selfish deities I’ve lived around. Their whispers are of awe, of excitement, not of shunning.
Persephone’s eyes meet mine, and she smiles. I don’t have to read her thoughts to feel the pride shining through, the love suffusing her body and our bond. She’s been everything I’ve needed in this adjustment period, and more.
Once I get to the throne, I take a seat and face the crowd of souls. “Welcome to all.” My voice reverberates in the hall—I’ll have to remember to thank the satyrs for their help. “As some of you may already know, I set up these audiences, which will be open forevermore every week, to ensure you all have a medium within which to communicate with me. Your frustrations, your fears, your hopes… Whatever it is I may help with, voice them now. All I ask is that you do it in an orderly way, one at a time.” I survey them all, then point to a frail old man. “Let us begin with you, my friend. What’s your name?”
“Barak, my lord.” He takes a deep breath, his eyes shining with tears. “I come to you seeking but one thing. My wife. Her name is Amaltheia, and she passed away many years before me, but I have yet to find her. And I have sought her, my lord, sought her for so long.”
Persephone’s hand is on my shoulder, suffu
sing me with strength. She knows I still mourn Pegasus’ death, and not having full information as to who’d killed him. But I set that aside, instead focusing on the soul. There will be time for answer seeking later.
“Barak, I’ll do my best to help.”
I get up and move closer to him. He seems so frail; I practically tower him. I hold out my hand, and he reaches for it. All those of the Underworld can touch each other, and it seems the moment I proclaimed myself Lord, that particular gift became mine, and Persephone’s as well. It also extends to the satyrs, which will come in handy for unruly souls.
When my hand touches Barak’s, I’m jolted into his mind, into his memories. Of the time of his marriage, his first fight, his first newborn. Their new house. His wife’s smile. I focus on that energy, on the love that shines between them.
I open my eyes, back in the present.
Barak is trembling. If he can’t help me, I don’t know what I will do. I’m already dead, but this feels like dying all over again without her.
I reach into the air, the web of which parts and lets my hand into nothingness. Into the very web of the matter that has created this realm, the very thing that decides where everything is. And as I reach there, I focus on Amaltheia’s face and call to her. With my mind, with my very being, I focus on her…
And then there’s a gasp. I open my eyes once more. A new orb is floating in the air above us. Its silvery shine reflects light everywhere, before stopping right in front of Barak’s face. His trembling ceases, as if he’s already felt her.
And sure enough, a moment later, the orb lingers closer to the floor, and elongates, becoming a woman. Rather, the soul of a woman.
“Amaltheia!” Barak cries, pulling her into his arms.
I close the opening I’d created, the one into nothingness, and turn to Persephone. Pride shines in her eyes and lifts my spirits higher than I’d ever thought. With measured footsteps, she ushers the reunited couple to the side, making way for the rest of the souls.
A different energy runs through the room now, filled with something I’ve never had.
Secret Shadows: A Greek God Paranormal Romance (Immortal Rogues Book 1) Page 13
