“Yes,” the god finally answered, looking at Ilias as he turned from the floor. “Yes, she is in danger.”
He left in a daze, pausing in the shadow to collect his thoughts. His chest felt tight, the thread pulled taunt, and he had the thought that if he continued his retreat, it might snap.
This is some sort of game.
It would not be the first time the Fates had dangled a wish in front of him, only to take it away. That was probably their greatest skill—extracting his deepest desires, then weaving them into his life, only to unravel them when they wished.
It was torture.
When he was younger, it had been more fun for the Fates because his reactions were vicious, his retribution violent, but the angrier he became, the more the Fates took. It was like the sisters wanted to see him tear the world to shreds.
For a while, he had obsessed over it, attempting to bargain for love. When that did not work, he decided to defy the Fates. He would find love; he would force it. The results had been a one-night stand with Minthe and a tumultuous relationship with another nymph named Leuce, who had betrayed him.
His wrath had been swift, and his desire to fight Fate on the subject, quashed. He resigned himself to a lonely existence, building walls around his heart and soul. He existed without expectation of happiness or love, and focused instead on bargaining and balance.
Until now.
He would forever remember the vicious reaction his body had when he laid eyes on the woman in pink. His insides still shook. How could the Fates offer him a taste of what it might feel like to have a soulmate, only to take her away?
As easily as I can condemn a soul to Tartarus, he answered, gritting his teeth.
He was still frustrated as he made his way to the lounge. As he approached, Euryale, the gorgon who stood guard at the entrance, nodded at him despite his invisibility.
“My lord,” she said.
The god smirked, dropping his glamour.
The gorgon was blind. Centuries ago, her eyes had been gouged out of her face and the venomous snakes that had once graced her head had been chopped to pieces—a punishment for her beauty. Hades had found her in the forest. She lay where she had been attacked, curled into the fetal position, sobbing and shaking. He had gathered her up and brought her to the Underworld, allowing her to heal before employing her.
Despite the horror she had experienced, and her attackers’ attempts to take away her power, they had not succeeded, for beneath that blindfold, Euryale’s gaze was still potent. After she healed, Hades released her upon her attackers, and the gorgon had turned them all to stone.
“Your sense of smell amazes me, Euryale.”
“You make it too easy,” the gorgon replied. “Lay off the cologne.”
Hades chuckled, pressed a hand to the gorgon’s shoulder, and entered the lounge.
The environment here was far more subdue, a mix of mortals and ancient creatures chatting and drinking and playing. Some were relaxed, others on edge, fidgeting as they waited to be summoned to one of the suites in the shadows, ready to bargain for their deepest desires no matter the consequences. Hades wandered among them, assessing and searching, attempting to choose his first contract of the night, when he rounded one of the gaming tables and halted, glimpsing a familiar pink dress and silken hair.
She was a siren, luring him with her scent, her beauty, her very presence.
He should turn around, meld with the darkness, and pretend he never laid eyes upon her, but watching her profile made his chest ache, and there was a part of him that resented the feeling. He had never wanted the Fates to have control over his love life, and yet, it was inevitable.
I could have control, he told himself. Use this to my advantage to fulfill my bargain with Aphrodite.
Hades did not often feel guilty, but that thought made his chest sick and heavy.
Make someone fall in love with you.
The bargain was callous and unfair, but Hades wanted to win.
Fucking Fates.
Shoving aside his tumultuous thoughts, he approached her.
“Do you play?” he asked.
She turned to him, and his breath caught in his throat as he was again, stuck by her beauty. Her eyes were wide and fringed with dark lashes. A dust of freckles kissed the tip of her nose and the apples of her cheeks, fading beneath a flush that colored her creamy skin.
Hades took a sip from his glass to wet his throat, but the movement drew her attention to his mouth, and he repressed a groan as he wondered if she tasted like she smelled—sweet, honeyed, forbidden.
After a moment, she smiled, a playful glint in her gaze. “I’m willing to play if you’re willing to teach.”
You wouldn’t say that if you knew who I was, he thought, taking another drink.
Anyone who entered into a game with him was bound to the rules of Nevernight—a loss meant a contract.
You are a bastard, he told himself as he approached the table and sat beside her. The movement stirred the air, and her scent continued to invade his mind. There was something else in the atmosphere—an electricity that made his heart race and the hair on his arms and neck stand on end.
“It’s brave to sit down at a table without knowing the game,” he said.
He thought that she might have sensed the warning in his tone, because she arched a brow at him and asked, “How else would I learn?”
“Hmm.”
She was right, though Hades would not advise running before learning to walk, especially when it came to bargains with him. Still, her response illustrated her cunning and willingness to try new things, and he found that insanely attractive.
“Clever.”
Now that he was close to her, he could not stop staring. He wanted to know why she smelled like wildflowers. What was her connection to Demeter? It felt intrusive and wrong to strip away the barriers that barred her soul from his eyes, but he would be lying if he said he did not want to know who she was beneath that perfect exterior.
She quivered, her lithe shoulders shaking. Was she cold or uncomfortable?
“I have never seen you before,” he finally said, hoping that explained his stare.
“Well, I have never been here before,” she replied, and then narrowed her eyes. “You must come here often.”
He smirked at the tone of her voice, tinged with suspicion.
“I do.”
“Why?” She sounded curious rather than disgusted, then blushed and tried to recover by adding, “I mean—you don’t have to answer that.”
“I will answer it.” He met her gaze, challenging. “If you will answer a question for me.”
Say yes, he silently begged, though he would never compel her. Say yes so I can learn all of you.
A small furrow appeared between her brows as she considered his proposal. An answer to a question is a small price to pay if she lost, Hades wanted to say. Others put their soul on the line. But he remained quiet.
“Fine,” she conceded.
It was a challenge not to smile.
He answered her earlier question, “I come because it is…fun.”
It was not a complete lie, and it sounded like something a mortal would say, and for this moment in time, that is what he intended to be—fragile and human.
“Now you—why are you here tonight?”
“My friend Lexa was on the list,” she explained, looking at her hands as she twined her fingers together in her lap.
“No,” he said. “That is the answer to a different question. Why are you here tonight?”
She met his gaze, a mischievous glint in her eyes, and he found himself desperate to chase it—that flicker of defiance, that hint of passion.
“It seemed rebellious at the time,” she answered finally.
“And now you aren’t so sure?”
“Oh, I am sure it is rebellious,” she said as her fingers trailed the felt table. Hades’ gaze followed them and he thought he would have liked for those fingers to explore his skin. After a moment, he lifted his gaze to hers.
“I’m just not sure how I’ll feel about it tomorrow.”
Now he was curious. “Who are you rebelling against?”
Her smile was like an arrow to his chest—devastating, secretive, enticing. “You said one question.”
“So I did.”
Well played, darling,he thought with a smile.
She shivered again.
“Are you cold?”
“What?” She seemed surprised by his question.
“You’ve been shivering since you sat down.”
She flushed, fidgeted under his gaze again, and then blurted, “Who was that woman with you earlier?”
He frowned but then remembered. “Oh, Minthe. She’s always putting her hands where they don’t belong.”
She paled, and he realized he had said something wrong.
“I…think I should go.”
No.
They had not spoken long enough. He did not know her name, and he wanted to teach her—he wanted to teach her so many things. Before he knew what he was doing, his hand was on hers and something volatile sparked between them, eliciting a gasp from her perfect lips. She pulled away quickly.
“No,” he said, but it came out as a command, and she glared at him.
“Excuse me?”
“What I mean to say is, I haven’t taught you how to play yet.” He lowered his voice, forcing away the hysteria that had caused him to reach for her. “Allow me.”
Please.
She glanced away from him, and he thought she might bolt. Trust me, he wanted to beg, though he knew that was a ridiculous thing to ask. He was the last person she should trust.
Finally, she seemed resolved and relaxed, lowered her lashes as she spoke in the most erotic voice he had ever heard, “Then teach me.”
I will. Everything, he thought.
He shuffled the cards and explained the game. “This is poker. We will play five-card draw, and we’ll start with a bet.”
“But I don’t have anything to bet with,” she said, glancing down at herself.
I would happily take the dress.
“A question answered, then. If I win, you will answer any question I pose, and if you win, I will answer yours.”
She grimaced, but her expression seemed in conflict with her body, because as she spoke, she leaned toward him. The air between them thickened, and Hades found it hard to breathe.
“Deal.”
Thrilled, Hades continued to explain the game.
“There are ten rankings in poker. The lowest is the high card and the highest is the royal flush. The goal is to draw a higher rank than the other player…” he expounded. “If you are dealt a bad hand, fold. It is better than the alternative. Checking and calling would apply if we were playing for coin, but since our currency is answers, the point is moot. Perhaps the most important skill in poker is your ability to bluff.”
“Bluff?” That seemed to pique her interest.
“Sometimes, poker is just a game of deception…especially when you’re losing.”
Hades dealt each of them five cards, and they took their time eyeing their hands and then each other. Finally, the goddess laid her cards down, face up, and Hades did the same.
“You have a pair of queens,” he said. “And I have a full house.”
“So…you win.” She didn’t seem upset so much as contemplative, still trying to remember the rules and understand the game. Hades, on the other hand, was impatient, and he jumped at the chance to ask his question.
“Who are you rebelling against?”
She smiled wryly. “My mother.”
He raised a brow. “Why?”
“You’ll have to win another hand if I’m going to answer.”
He was all too eager. When he won a second time, he did not ask the question, just looked at her expectantly.
“Because…” She paused, and her eyes moved away from his, focusing on the table in front of them, brows furrowing. She was searching for an answer. For a way to avoid telling the truth, Hades realized. She smiled ruefully as she said, “She made me mad.”
There was a hint of darkness to her words, and he wanted to chase that moment. It was the first time he sensed she was holding back. He waited for more of an explanation, but she just smirked.
“You never said the answer had to be detailed.”
His grin matched hers. “Noted for the future, I assure you.”
“The future?”
“Well, I hope this isn’t the last time we’ll play poker.”
Especially now. She was teaching him how she thought and worked, and he would be more than prepared for their next game. She would not be able to cut corners so easily. The terms would be detailed, the stakes higher.
Her expression turned wary, and he got the sense that she had not planned on seeing him again after tonight.
Something jolted through him—an emotion akin to fear.
I have to see her again. I will go mad.
He pushed those thoughts away. Finish the game, he told himself, and dealt another hand and won.
“Why are you angry with your mother?” he asked.
She looked thoughtful for a moment, and then said, “Because…she wants me to be something I can’t.”
Was that what I sensed beneath the surface? Her true nature, desperate to be free?
Her gaze dropped to the cards. “I don’t understand why people do this.”
He tilted his head. “You are not enjoying our game?”
“I am. But…I don’t understand why people play Hades. Why do they want to sell their soul to him?”
Haven’t you ever been desperate for something? he wanted to ask, but he knew the answer. He could feel it burning between them.
“They don’t agree to a game because they want to sell their soul,” he said. “They do it because they think they can win.”
“Do they? Win?”
“Sometimes.”
“Does that anger him, you think?”
She had pursed her lips at the question, and dread tightened his chest. This woman had connections to Demeter, which meant she had heard the worst things about him. If he had any hope of deconstructing the myth that had been erected around him, he was going to have to spend time with her, and that meant she needed to know who he was, so he answered her question truthfully.
“Darling, I win either way.”
Her eyes went wide, and she stood quickly, almost knocking her chair over. He had never seen anyone so eager to leave his company. His name slipped out of her mouth like a curse.
“Hades.”
He shuddered. Say it again, he wanted to command, but he kept his mouth shut. His eyes darkened, and he pressed his lips together. The look on her face would haunt him for an eternity. She was shocked, frightened, embarrassed.
She made a mistake. He read it on her face.
“I have to go.”
She spun, fleeing from him like he was death himself come to steal her soul.
He thought about chasing after her but knew it did not matter whether or not he followed. She would be back. She had lost to him, and he had marked her.
He swallowed the rest of his whiskey and smiled.
Perhaps Aphrodite’s bargain would not be so impossible after all.
“Fastest path, quickest benefit,” he muttered.
CHAPTER IV – FUCKING FATES
“My lord.” Minthe’s voice brought him out of his reverie. “Your first appointment has arrived.”
Fuck. He was definitely in the wrong headspace to entertain another bargain. He frowned and went to drink from his glass, but realized it was empty. When he looked at the nymph, her brow was arched.
“Smitten, my lord?” Her voice dripped with judgment.
“Yes,” he said. He saw no reason to lie. “I am.”
Minthe’s shock registered in her eyes as they widened, then her lips flattened.
“Desperation isn’t flattering, Hades.”
“Neither is jealousy,” he replied, shoving the empty glass into her hands.
She scowled.
“Where is the mortal?”
Her eyes flashed as she answered, “The Diamond Suite.”
By the end of the night, Hades had won three contracts. Two men in search of wealth, one young and one old, and a woman in search of love. All now faced the challenge of overcoming what burdened their souls most.
The younger of the two men sought to replace his college funds, which he had drained to support his cocaine addiction. He would have to kick his habit before Hades would grant his wish. The older man was seeking to pay for his wife’s chemotherapy, and the greatest burden on his soul? He had been cheating on her prior to her diagnosis. Hades’ terms were that he had to come clean about the affair.
The woman asked for love, or rather, she asked for a specific man to fall in love with her. A co-worker she had been pining after for years.
It was a request Hades heard often, and one he could never grant.
She sat across from Hades, looking desperate and tired, and as he peered at her soul, he saw that it was so twined with the man she loved, she no longer resembled her true self. She was a tangle of vines, marred with thorns, that had grown sharp from years of rejection.
“Change your terms,” he advised.
Her eyes narrowed, and she gritted her teeth, daring to raise her voice. “But he is who I want!”
It was the second time he had heard that plea tonight, and both times, it had been a lie.
“I cannot make another mortal love you,” Hades said. “You either ask for love or nothing.”
She had glared at him for a while, trying to hold back her tears, before agreeing. He supposed she had decided it was better to be loved by someone in the end. Except that she did not win their game, and upon her loss, Hades met her terrified, watery gaze.
“Cease this pointless desire for your co-worker,” Hades said.
She glared. “I can’t just…stop loving him.”
“You must find a way,” he said. “Perhaps when you do, your eyes will be opened to a new love.”
Hades started to rise to his feet.
“Haven’t you ever been in love?” she asked, and when he paused, her eyes widened with the realization. “You haven’t.”
Hades pressed his lips together. “Careful, mortal. This life is fleeting. Your existence in the Underworld lasts an eternity.”
He started to rise again, and the woman grabbed his hand. “Please! You don’t understand! I cannot help who I love!”
Hades jerked his hand away. “You waste your words and feelings, mortal.”
He could have said more. He could have explained that her love for this indifferent man made her resentful, that the moment she decided to release him from her affections, the better her life would be, but he knew she would not hear him, so he did not speak. Instead, he vanished, retiring to the Underworld.
But not to rest.