the glass from my hand and setting it down on the counter. “You’re suited to be Queen and yet you settle for Princess.”
“I have no interest in challenging my father for his throne and I won’t help you either. Besides, did you see what happened to your father yesterday?”
“I meant of the Underworld. You don’t need to command men to control the world.”
“Control the world, such superfluous talk. It will do nothing but endanger you. Settle for what you have, thank Zeus and be happy for once. Holding grudges and plotting behind his back is the way of the past. You have a second chance, work with your brother and maybe he will raise you once more into glory if that’s what you desire. But give up this sad fight for power against Zeus. We’re here to work together once again... You heard the Titan; singular Gods have no place in this world anymore. The mortals need us to be united and strong.”
Hades stared at me long and hard for a moment, she might be getting to him. She was the voice of reason that he always needed, I saw that now. But he was struggling, old habits die hard that much I knew. He turned away from me and started toward the door.
“You’re leaving then?”
“You’re not ready yet.”
“You don’t like that I’m right.” He didn’t answer as he conjured the door and I moved from the counter toward him, “bring our dog, she can’t be here alone.”
“She has you, you both need time to catch up with the rest of us.”
“Hades, please.” The inflection of my tone made him pause and then, in a barely perceptible motion, he nodded his head as he stepped out of the room and into nothingness. The wall sealed itself again and I took a deep breath. I hadn’t even noticed how tense she had gotten through the exchange, she had been holding all that tension in her shoulders and as she relaxed I started to feel myself grow a little more in control.
“Not yet.” She said to me, walking us both over to the couch and sitting down. “He is going to come back and you’re not prepared to fight with him yet. That was a milder fight, believe it or not. It can be worse sometimes and I wouldn’t subject you to that. I know this isn’t easy nor is it the way I would like for us to meet and be united, but Hades has put us both in a terrible situation. I am worried about your friend Griffin; if he does not regain his control over Hades soon, he might be lost entirely. I will try and speak to Hades one more time but after that it will be up to you to guide your friend back. I, too, cannot stay too long. Hopefully after this we will be able to be united and from here on out things will get easier.” I tried to open my mouth to tell her I understood but I remembered I couldn’t and resolved to agree silently.
Persephone occupied us for the next few hours, moving around and making changes to the apartment like she knew its personality and how to make it work for her. By the time she was done, it was far less gloomy and more welcoming, it suited both of us better. While watching her work I realized that Atlas was right we were one in the same.
By the time Hades came back, his demeanor had changed but he had Cerberus with him. The dog seemed to sense the change in me, brightening more than before as he bounded across the room and leaped up onto my shoulders licking at my face happily.
“Hello my love, hello... Yes, I missed you too.” I laughed as my hands stroked down each face, kissing each nose before commanding him to sit at my side. I turned coolly to Hades who was watching with both amusement and some form of jealousy.
“I never understood why he liked you better than me.” “I understand love better than you do.” “I understand love perfectly.”
“Love is not a possession you can grasp.” He waved his hand dismissively before conjuring another glass of wine.
“Have you changed your mind?”
“Of course not, I stand by my original position. Let us go and let love form organically. Maybe there is a place for you in my heart but you will never know long as you try to worm your way in like the maggots which claim a home in the vessels of your subjects.”
“Beautiful imagery my love.”
“It’s true. You act like nothing more than a parasite. And I will think of you as nothing but a parasite until you show me that the last few thousand years have changed you.” Hades scoffed as he drank his wine and moved toward us.
“Why don’t I show you how wrong you are?” He reached for my face.
“Don’t touch me, I am not yet yours to touch.”
“That didn’t stop me last time.”
“Yes, I know. And that is what I am talking about. You cannot simply claim whatever you want, love is not like that.”
“My perfect brother claims what he wants.” “No, he seduces what he wants.”
“There is not a seductive bone in my body.”
“No, but there is a romantic one. You can love greatly. I know you yearn for companionship, but not the kind Zeus craves. You are seeking a partner, someone who can love you without needing to change your dark ways...”
“You’ve always understood me better than others Percy… ” He reached out and tucked a strand of hair behind my ear, making me shy back from him.
“Hades.”
“Please, my love... Don’t torment me like this.” Was she going to give in? This was another trick, I begged. He was pretending to play by her rules but he hadn’t changed. I wanted to scream at the top of my lungs for her to back away more but it was useless she didn’t hear me. This must be how she had felt all those times I had done things she didn’t want me to do.
“Hades. You must prove to me you have changed.” He huffed in annoyance and backed off immediately like a scorned child, “and there is no way of doing that for once you have set your stubborn opinion, there is no swaying of it.”
“That’s not true. For if it was, your cause would be lost as I would be completely incapable of loving you.” His eyes lit up slightly at the idea of hope and he nodded.
“Fine, what must I do?”
“Well, for starters... Give the boy’s body back to him. She and I cannot love you if you do not set him free. He is your vessel for a reason, there are things you must learn from him and he will help you grow. He understands your torment even better than I and only together you may save each other.”
“He is weak.”
“Because you smother him.” It felt like we were at a stalemate of glaring, Hades bore into us with his eyes and Persephone replied with her own passively.
“And your girl?”
“She will be here when you return, and hopefully you return as Griffin.” His jaw tightened, disliking the prospect of giving up his newfound control but I arched my eyebrow at him in a challenge he ascended his head.
“I’ll think about it.” He smirked annoyingly and turned like he was going to make his way out of the apartment. Suddenly he turned back and moved toward us quickly neither of us had a chance to move back or stop him. He reached out and clasped my face between his calloused hands and kissed us.
It was different from the way Griffin had kissed me in the club, it was less tender and more the kiss a husband gave his wife after being apart for some time. In one kiss, he transmuted all the feelings he had left buried for the last few millennia while he and his wife had been left to separately slumber. When he pulled back we were both breathless and Persephone had the gall to smile for a fraction of a second before composing herself.
“I missed you terribly my wife.” I nodded but didn’t
answer him. He didn’t seem to expect one either, as he turned and left the apartment again, leaving us both alone with the three-headed dog craving our attention.
Chapter 15
Almost a week went by before Hades, or Griffin, returned. Persephone remained in charge for the first half of our wait before resolving to give me back control of my body. I was thankful; it was beyond strange living like a phantom and having no sense of physical reality anymore. I also began to fear she was starting to cut it a little close as each day I felt more and more of myself slipping
away.
I woke up on the 6th day, fully conscious and in control of my own faculties. I was relieved I released the breath I hadn’t noticed I was holding. I felt better almost immediately; memories which had been threatening to slip away returned with full force. I worried though that some were already gone completely because of being trapped long. I had no way of knowing, my memory would never again recall anything I had forgotten.
Sitting up slowly, my stirrings roused Cerberus’ slumber at my feet. He lumbered onto all fours while I slipped off the bed beside him and stretched out slowly. I was only aware of how much time had passed since Hades’ last visit as Persephone seemed to have a much better grip on how time worked in Olympus than I did. Were we even in Olympus anymore though? The Underground couldn’t possibly be connected to the heavenly world of the Gods if it required a King of its own like Hades.
This thought worried me further. If that was the case had people noticed my absence and been searching for me helplessly all this time? Or worse still, had they not noticed?
I thought back to the party and how I had turned away Savannah and Aidan. It could have been enough to let them believe I didn’t need them, my mysterious absence might be justified in their minds. My worries almost had me longing for Persephone’s control again, at least she knew how not to panic unlike myself.
“Come on, let’s get something to eat.” I scratched the ears of one of Cerberus’ head. The other two heads bounced against me looking for some attention. I took a second to engage both before he bounded from the room to the kitchen.
I found it silly how used to companionship I had grown. Despite being nearly invisible at home sometimes I was still always surrounded by people. Even when I had been trapped at Uncle Adam’s, he was at least still there more occasionally than Hades had been here. This new confinement left me utterly alone and I knew I would never get used to it.
This kind of loneliness could stain a person. It hibernated in their bones and resonated in their every thought and movement. As I clamored around preparing my dishes the echo of my actions only reminded me how empty and lonely this apartment was. It pulled at my heart.
I understood better why Persephone longed to try and make Hades understand that he couldn’t force her to love him by forcing her to live in the Underworld. Ghosts were not friends; however friendly they might appear to be. He needed to free her to possess her heart. The freedom to come and go at her own bidding would bring her closer to him instead of pushing him away. By choosing she could choose to stay with him instead of spending all her time in the Underworld trapped, alone, and most of all: angry with him.
I opened the fridge and found three massive steaks as we had discovered every morning since Cerberus was brought to us. I worried myself with fixing a plate for each head and setting them down at the right headspace from each other before calling him over.
It’s a gruesome scene to watch as the three heads tore into the flesh, pulling sinew from fat and swallowing both whole in great bites. Little pools of blood form on the floor where the droplets landed amongst the drool that spilled from his great jaws. Today, it was too much to watch and I turned away with ease. Opening the fridge again I thought about what I wanted. A bowl filled with fresh berries greeted me and I helped myself to it, grabbing the clotted cream at the same time and spooning a dollop on top.
Fingering two raspberries I popped them into my mouth, sucking off the red stain on my fingertips. Cerberus ignored me, as always, in favor of his treat as I made my way over to the couch and flopped down on it. Persephone was better at passing time than I was; she occupied herself with the tomes and rearrangements of the room. Me? I sat around, lazy and lost. Every often I ventured to look in the books but then backed out at the last minute for fear of what I’d find written within them.
I figured Hades had controlled the books to frighten me, wanting to see what my reaction to death might be. But seeing the death dates of my siblings didn’t endear the King of the Underworld to me. It only confirmed my suspicions of his cruel streak. I used the last of the raspberries to scoop out the rest of the cream before setting the empty bowl on the arm of the couch. Cerberus had finished too by this point, rubbing his heads against my legs looking for affection.
Hades commented on Cerberus liking me better than him, it was probably because I cared for him instead of seeing him as a servant of my bidding.
The three-headed dog licked at my fingers; clearing off what juice I had missed when the door behind me opened. I didn’t turn but my posture grew stiffer as I waited, expecting Hades.
“Val?” His voice was different, tentative, unsure – afraid. My insides knotted tightly with the hope it was Griffin, that Persephone had gotten through to him and he had given the body back to its mortal host. Carefully I turned around, eying him suspiciously for any clue but like before he looked the same, he was the same and I didn’t know what differences I was supposed to look for.
“Yes. And who am I speaking to?” I untwisted myself and cast off Cerberus before standing, adjusting my party dress – the same one he had brought me in as I still refused to change for his pleasure.
“Griffin,” he cleared his throat, “it’s me, Griffin.” The words were on the tip of my tongue, asking him to prove it but they didn’t leave my lips. We stared at each other in a stalemate of distrust, both pointed – seemingly – at Hades. He didn’t trust himself and I couldn’t trust him either. It was a trick, that’s what I heard in my head, Persephone finally had returned. But was it?
“He freed you then?” I asked, wanting to trust him even if every part of me said not to.
“Not much freed as returned control to me.” “Right, I’m the only one he holds hostage.” The bitterness was not lacking in my voice as Griffin looked over at me sadly.
“I’m sorry.”
“About what? That you couldn’t stop him? That he’s done this? That you can’t free me yourself?” I challenged, setting my hands on my hips as I stared hard at him. If it was Griffin, if he had given the control back to him surely, he had enough use of his magic that he could free me. Griffin had told me himself he had learned how to use his powers with Atlas’ help. But being here also meant that he knew the way back to Olympus.
But he didn’t say anything, and he didn’t acknowledge that he could do it either; he stared at me and finally spoke again, “I am sorry.”
“I know you are.” I said with a sigh, turning away to look at Cerberus. I bent down close to the dog, hugging my face into his fur. Persephone was right, I didn’t have any ability to fight with Hades. Not at the level she did; she was smarter, more eloquent.
“Why did you come then?” I asked into Cerberus’ chest, listening closely to the pounding of his heart. There was more than one flutter of beats; perhaps he had three hearts as well as three heads... He could always lend one to Hades. Griffin’s movements distracted me again as I listened to him approach me slowly.
“I wanted to check up on you.”
“And not free me?” I asked again, although once more met with silence. He knew I knew I turned around again, slowly raising myself up to my full height, which compared to Griffin wasn’t much. It wasn’t threatening at all.
“You don’t want to go back Valentina.”
“You don’t know that and even if you did, it’s not for you to decide.”
He laughed, making me suck in a sharp burst of air. I’d known it was Hades but I hated that he willingly confirmed it.
“You cling to this romantic belief that women deserve a freewill as well?”
“It’s not a romantic belief and it has nothing to do with my gender. It would be the same for a man in my position as much as any woman. People in relationships should be free to come and go as they want and not have their feelings dictated for them. You can keep me here forever and the only feelings toward you you’ll help manifest are ones of hatred and resentment.”
Hades laughed again and shook his head, “you’re naïve, you’ll lear
n child.” Persephone couldn’t stand the lack of control any longer, nor could she swallow his arrogance and blindness to the situation. I immediately felt my consciousness sucked backward as she took control once more, stalking toward him and gathering herself to the full height of her power. She glared up at him, punching her fist into his chest making him laugh again.
“Oh Percy.”
His smirk was infuriating, his confidence that he was right and I was wrong was misguided. Worst of all he absolutely refused to listen to what we were saying because he was stubborn. But Persephone had one more thing to say to him, one more attempt to try and make him see her point, one last cry for freedom before she too was ready to give up and be left to rot in this place forever.
“I did love you Hades. With time, I did come to love you and not because you held me captive in the Underworld for six months of the calendar. I loved you because during those six months I saw the man you tried to hide from the rest of the world. That was the man I fell in love with, not the selfish, self-obsessed King that stands before me. I fell for the man who got off his throne to comfort the child whose horrors came true when she realized she would never see her mother again, who united a man with his wife and was angry at him when his impatience cost them their reunion.”
“You have a heart inside of you and you’re capable of love you refuse to allow yourself to be vulnerable. You told me once that you would’ve never chosen a partner who wasn’t as strong as you because you covet strength over weakness but you’re mistaken. Love, true love is not a weakness. It’s the strength that makes you fight when there isn’t a hope left. But you’ve never understood that because you have constantly feared loneliness, believing that what you have is love when it is nothing more than pity. I pity you Hades.”
He stared at us with a cold expression, yet another mask to protect his inner thoughts, “woman, you are nothing more than a broken record loneliness, pity, love, true love... Bah! You don’t understand”
Grace of Gods Boxset: Reincarnated Greek Gods YA/NA Series Page 38
