He tugged his tie free and she watched it slip from his neck before lifting her eyes to his. He wasn’t smirking like she expected. He looked…primal. Like a starved animal who had finally cornered his prey.
She swallowed. “Did I interrupt something?”
She wasn’t sure she wanted an answer.
The corner of his mouth lifted. “I was just about to go to bed when I heard you demanding entrance to my club.”
Bed? It was well past noon.
“Imagine my surprise when I find the goddess from last night on my doorstep.”
“Did the gorgon tell you?”
She stepped further into the room, glaring. Hades’ lips quirked, amused.
“No. Euryale did not. I recognized your magic as Demeter’s, but you are not Demeter.” Then he tilted his head again. “When you left, I consulted a few texts. I had forgotten Demeter had a daughter. I assumed you were Persephone. Question is, why aren’t you using your own magic?”
“Is that why you did this?” she demanded, removing the bracelet she’d used to cover the mark on her skin and holding up her arm.
Hades smirked.
Actually smirked.
Persephone wanted to attack him. She clenched her hands at her sides to keep from vaulting across the room.
“No,” he said. “That is the result of losing against me.”
“You were teaching me to play,” she argued.
“Semantics,” he shrugged. “The rules of Nevernight are very clear, Goddess.”
“They are anything but clear, and you are an asshole!”
Hades’ eyes darkened. Apparently, he didn’t like being called names any more than the ogre did. He pushed away from the desk, striding toward her, and Persephone took a step back.
“Don’t call me names, Persephone,” he said, and then reached for her wrist. He traced the bracelet all around, making her shiver. “When you invited me to your table, you entered into an agreement. If you had won, you could have left Nevernight with no demands on your time. But you didn’t, and now we have a contract.”
She swallowed, considering every horrible thing she’d heard about Hades’ contracts and his impossible terms. What darkness would he pull from deep inside her?
“And what does that mean?” Her voice was still biting.
“It means I must choose terms.”
“I don’t want to be in a contract with you,” she said between her teeth. “Take it off!”
“I can’t.”
“You put it there, you can remove it.”
His lips twitched.
“You think this is funny?”
“Oh, darling, you have no idea.”
The word darling slid across her skin and she shivered again. He seemed to notice, because he smiled a little bit more.
“I am a goddess,” she tried again. “We are equals.”
“You think our blood changes the fact that you willingly entered into a contract with me? These things are law, Persephone.” She glared at him. “The mark will dissolve when the contract has been fulfilled.” He said it like that should make it all better.
“And what are your terms?” Just because she was asking didn’t mean she was going to agree.
Hades’ jaw was tight. He seemed to be restraining himself—maybe he wasn’t used to being ordered around. When he lifted his head and stared down at her, she knew she was in trouble.
“Create life in the Underworld,” he said at last.
“What?” She hadn’t been prepared for that, though she probably should have been. Wasn’t her greatest weakness her lack of power? An irony considering her Divinity.
“Create life in the Underworld,” he said again. “You have six months—and if you fail or refuse, then you will become a permanent resident of my realm.”
“You want me to grow a garden in your realm?” she demanded.
He shrugged again. “I suppose that is one way to create life.”
She glared at him. “If you steal me away to the Underworld, you will face my mother’s wrath.”
“Oh, I am sure,” he mused. “Much like you will feel her wrath when she discovers what you’ve so recklessly done.”
Persephone’s cheeks flushed. He was right. The difference between them was that Hades didn’t seem at all fazed by the threat. Why should he be? He was one of the Three—the most powerful gods in existence. A threat from Demeter was a pebble thrown.
She straightened, raising her chin and meeting his gaze head on. “Fine.” She felt the pressure of Hades’ hand on her wrist like a shackle and tore her hand free. “When do I start?”
Hades’ eyes glittered. “Come tomorrow. I’ll show you the way to the Underworld.”
“It will have to be after class,” she said.
“Class?”
“I’m a student at New Athens University.”
Hades looked at her curiously and nodded his head. “After…class, then.”
They stared at each other for a long moment. As much as she hated him right now, it was hard not to enjoy the sight of him. “What about your bouncer?”
“What about him?”
“I’d prefer he not remember me in this form,” she lifted her hand to her horns, then called up her glamour. It relaxed her a little to be in her mortal form.
Hades watched the transformation as if he were studying the form of an ancient sculpture. “I’ll erase his memory…after he is punished for his treatment of you.”
Persephone shivered. “He didn’t know I was a goddess.”
“But he knew you were a woman and he let his anger get the best of him. So he will be punished.” Hades said it as a matter-of-fact, and she knew there was no arguing.
“What will it cost me?” she asked, because she knew who she was dealing with, and she had just requested a favor from the God of the Dead.
His lips twitched. “Clever, darling. You know how this works. The punishment? Nothing. His memory? A favor.”
“Don’t call me darling,” she snapped. “What kind of favor?”
“Whatever I want,” he said. “To be used at a future time.”
She considered this for a moment. What would Hades want from her? What could she possibly have to offer him? Maybe it was that thought that made her agree, or the fear that her mother would discover she’d showed her true form. Either way, she said, “Deal.”
Hades smiled. “I will have my driver take you home.”
“That’s not necessary.”
“It is.”
She pressed her lips together. “Fine,” she gritted out. She didn’t really feel like taking the bus again, but the idea that Hades would know where she lived was unsettling.
Then the god clasped her shoulders, leaned forward and pressed his lips to her forehead. The move was so sudden she lost her balance. Her fingers tangled into his shirt to steady herself, nails grazing the skin of his chest. His body was hard and warm, and his lips were soft on her skin. When he pulled away, she couldn’t gather herself enough to be angry.
“What was that for?” she asked, her voice a whisper.
Hades maintained that infuriating smirk, like he knew she couldn’t think straight, and brushed a finger across her heated cheek.
“For your benefit. Next time, the door will open for you. I’d rather you not piss Duncan off. If he hurts you again, I will have to kill him, and it’s hard to find a good ogre.”
Persephone could just imagine.
“Lord Hades, Thanatos is looking for you—oh—”
A woman entered the office from a hidden door behind his desk. She was beautiful, her hair parted in the center, as red as flame. Her eyes were sharp and brows arched, lips full and lush and crimson. All her features were pointed and angled. She was a nymph, and when she looked at Persephone, there was hatred in her eyes.
It was then Persephone realized she was still standing close to Hades, her hands tangled in his shirt. When she tried to pull away, his hands tightened on her.
“I did not know you had company,” Minthe added tightly.
Hades didn’t look at the woman. Instead, his eyes remained on Persephone. “A minute, Minthe.”
Persephone’s first thought was—so this is Minthe. She was beautiful in a way Persephone wasn’t—a way that promised seduction and sin—and she loathed the jealousy she felt.
Her second thought was—why did he need a minute? What more could he have to say?
Persephone didn’t see Minthe leave because she couldn’t force her gaze away from Hades.
“You haven’t answered my question,” Hades said. “Why are you using your mother’s magic?”
It was her turn to smile. “Lord Hades,” she said, drawing a finger down his chest. She wasn’t sure what made her do it, but she was feeling brave. “The only way you are getting answers from me is if I decide to enter into another gamble with you, and at the moment, it’s not likely.”
Then she took the lapels of his jacket and straightened it, her eyes falling to the red polyanthus flower in the pocket of his suit jacket. She looked up at him and whispered. “I think you will regret this, Hades.”
She touched the flower and Hades’ eyes followed the movement. When her fingers brushed the petals, the flower wilted.
CHAPTER V – INTRUSION
Hades’ driver was a cyclops.
She tried not to look so surprised when she saw the creature standing in front of a black Lexus outside Nevernight. He was not like the cyclopes depicted in history. They had been beastly creatures—large like a mountain, layered with rock-hard muscle, and fanged. This man was taller than Hades and all legs, with broad shoulders and a thin build. His eye was hooded but kind, and he smiled when he saw Persephone.
Hades had insisted on escorting Persephone outside. She was not eager to be seen in public with the god, though she wasn’t so sure that thought had crossed Hades’ mind. He was probably more concerned about getting her off his premises as soon as possible so he could get some rest…or whatever he’d been about to do before she interrupted.
“Lady Persephone, this is Antoni,” Hades said. “He will ensure you make it home safe.”
Persephone raised a brow at the God of the Underworld. “Am I in danger, my lord?”
“Just a precaution. I wouldn’t want your mother banging down my door before she has a reason to.”
She has a reason to now, she thought angrily, and the mark on her wrist pulsed, sending a wave of sensation through her. She met his stare, intending to glare and communicate her anger, but she found it difficult to think at all. The God of the Dead had eyes like the universe—vibrant, alive, vast. She was lost in them and all they promised.
She was thankful when Antoni distracted her from those dangerous thoughts. Nothing good would come out of finding Hades interesting. Hadn’t she learned that already?
“My lady,” Antoni said, opening the rear car door.
“My lord.” She nodded to Hades as she twisted from him and slid into the black leather interior.
Antoni shut her door carefully and then folded himself into the driver’s seat. They were on the road quickly, and it took everything in her power not to look back. She wondered how long Hades stood there before returning to his tower—if he was laughing at her boldness and her failure.
She stared down at the flashy bracelet that covered the black mark. In this light the gold looked brassy and cheap. She pulled it off and examined the markings on her skin. The only thing she could think to be thankful for at this moment was that the mark was small enough and placed where it could be easily hidden.
Create life in the Underworld.
Was there even life in the Underworld? Persephone knew nothing about Hades’ realm, and in all her studies, she had never found descriptions of the land of the dead—just details of its geography, and even those seemed to conflict. She supposed she would find out tomorrow, though the idea of returning to Nevernight to make the descent into the Underworld filled her with anxiety.
She groaned. Just when everything seemed to be working out for her, too.
“Will you be returning to visit Lord Hades?” Antoni asked, glancing in the rearview mirror. The cyclops had a pleasant voice, warm and spiced.
“I’m afraid I will,” Persephone said absently.
“I hope you’ll find him pleasing. Our lord is often alone.”
Persephone found those words strange, especially in light of the jealous Minthe. “He doesn’t seem so alone to me.”
“Such is the case with the Divine, but I am afraid he trusts very few. If you ask me, he needs a wife.”
Persephone blushed. “I am certain Lord Hades isn’t interested in settling down.”
“You’d be surprised by what the God of the Dead is interested in,” Antoni replied.
Persephone didn’t want to know Hades’ interests. She already felt like she knew too many, and none of them were good.
Persephone watched the cyclops from her seat in the back.
“How long have you been in service to Hades?”
“The Three freed my kind from Tartarus after we were placed there by Cronos,” he replied. “And so we have repaid the favor by serving Zeus, Poseidon, and Hades from time to time.”
“As a driver?” She didn’t mean to sound so repulsed, but it seemed a menial task.
Antoni laughed. “Yes, but our kind are great builders and blacksmiths, too. We have crafted gifts for the three and shall continue.”
“But that was so long ago. Surely you’ve repaid their favor?” Persephone asked.
“When the God of the Dead gives you life, it is a favor that will never be repaid.”
Persephone frowned. “I don’t understand.”
“You have never been to Tartarus, so I don’t expect that you will.” He paused, then added, “Do not misunderstand. My service to Hades is my choice, and of all the gods, I am glad to serve him. He is not like the other Divine.”
Persephone really wanted to know what that meant, because from what she knew about Hades, he was the worst of the Divine.
Antoni arrived outside her apartment and squeezed out of the driver’s seat to open her door.
“Oh, you don’t have to—I can open my own door,” she said.
He smiled. “It is my pleasure, Lady Persephone.”
She started to ask him not call her that, but then realized he was using her title, as if he knew she were a goddess, yet she wore her glamour. “How did you—”
“Lord Hades called you Lady Persephone,” he explained. “So I will, too.”
“Please…it’s not necessary.”
His smiled widened. “I think you should get used to it, Lady Persephone, especially if you visit us often, as I hope you will.”
He shut the door and bowed his head. Persephone wandered to her apartment in a daze, turning to watch as Antoni drove away. This day had been long and bizarre thanks to the God of the Dead.
There was no reprieve from it, either, because Lexa stood in the kitchen when Persephone came inside—and pounced.
“Uh, whose Lexus dropped you off in front of our lame apartment?” she asked.
Persephone wanted to lie and claim that someone from her internship had dropped her off, but she knew Lexa wouldn’t believe that—she was supposed to be home two hours ago, and her best friend had just watched as she’d literally been chauffeured to their home.
“Well…you’re never going to believe this but…Hades.”
While she could admit to that, she wasn’t ready to tell Lexa about the contract or the mark on her wrist.
Lexa dropped the mug she was holding. Persephone flinched as it hit the floor and shattered. “Are you kidding?” Persephone shook her head and moved to grab a broom; Lexa followed. “Like…the Hades? God of the Dead Hades? Owner of Nevernight Hades?”
“Yes, Lexa. Who else?”
“How?” she sputtered. “Why?
Persephone started sweeping up the ceramic pieces. “It was for my job.” It wasn’t technically a lie. She could call it research.
“And you met Hades? You saw him in the flesh?”
Persephone shivered at the word, recalling Hades’ haphazard appearance. “Yeah.” She turned away from Lexa and grabbed the dustpan, trying to hide the furious blush staining her cheeks.
“What does he look like? Details. Spill!”
Persephone handed Lexa the dustpan and she held it as Persephone swept up the shattered mug. “I…don’t know where to begin.”
Lexa smiled. “Start with his eyes.”
Persephone sighed. It felt intimate to describe Hades, and part of her wanted to keep him all to herself, though she was well aware she was only describing a toned-down version of the god—she had yet to see him in his true form.
There was a strange anticipation that followed that thought, and she realized she was eager to know the god in his Divinity. Would his horns be as black as his eyes and hair? Would they curl on either side of his head like a ram’s, or reach into the air, making him even taller?
“He’s handsome,” she said, though even that word didn’t do him justice. It wasn’t just his looks, it was his presence. “He’s…power.”
“Someone has a crush.” The smug smirk on Lexa’s face reminded Persephone that she was too focused on what the god looked like and not enough on what he did.
“What? No. No. Look, Hades is handsome. I’m not blind, but I can’t condone what he does.”
“What do you mean?”
“The bargains, Lex!” Persephone reminded Lexa of what they’d learned from Adonis at Nevernight. “He preys upon desperate mortals.”
She shrugged. “Well, you could ask Hades about it.”
“We’re not friends, Lexa.” They would never be friends.
Then Lexa bounced on her feet. “Oh! What if you wrote about him? You could investigate his bargains with mortals! How scandalous!”
It was scandalous—not only because of the content, but because it would mean writing an article about a god, something very few did for fear of retaliation.
But Persephone wasn’t afraid of retaliation; she didn’t care that Hades was a god.
“Looks like you have another reason to visit Hades,” Lexa said, and Persephone broke into a smile.
Hades had offered her easy access. When he’d pressed his lips to her forehead, he’d said it was for her benefit. She wouldn’t have to knock to enter Nevernight again.
The God of the Underworld would definitely regret meeting the Goddess of Spring—and she looked forward to that day. She was Divine, too. Though she had no power of her own, she could write, and maybe that made her the perfect person to expose him. After all, if anything happened to her, Hades would feel Demeter’s wrath.
***
On her way to class at New Athens University, Persephone stopped to purchase an assortment of bangles. Since she would have to wear Hades’ mark until she fulfilled their contract, she wanted to accessorize her outfits accordingly. Today she wore a stack of pearls, a classic touch to compliment her bright pink skirt and white button-up.
Her heels clicked against the concrete sidewalk as she rounded the corner and the university came into view. Each step meant time was passing, which meant an hour, a minute, a second closer to her return to Nevernight.
Today Hades would take her to the Underworld. She’d stayed up into the night considering how she was to fulfill their contract. She’d asked if he wanted her to plant a garden, and he’d shrugged—shrugged—that is one way, he’d said.
What was that supposed to mean, and what other ways could she possibly create life? Wasn’t that why he’d chosen this challenge—because she had no power to fulfill the task?
She doubted it was because the Lord Hades wanted beautiful gardens in his desolate realm. He was interested in punishment, after all, and from what she’d heard and witnessed from the god, he did not intend the Underworld to be a place for peace and pretty flowers.
Despite how angry she was with herself and Hades, her emotions were at odds. She was both intrigued and nervous to descend into the god’s realm.
Mostly, though, she was afraid.
What if she failed?