I lay sprawled on Hades' bed waiting for him to come back. On one side, Panic curled against my hip as I idly scratched his head. The other side, Pain lay on his back, relishing in the lazy swirls I made over his portly belly.
The door suddenly thundered open, a menacing Hades floating through, running a hand over his blue flaming hair. "If I had a dinar for every mortal who fought going to the afterlife, I swear I—" He paused once those yellow eyes fell on me.
He snapped his fingers, turning into his more human form, eyes wide with shock. "You're still here."
I sat up, leaning back on my elbows. "I may be a lot of things, Hades, but a liar isn't one of them." A lazy smile played over my lips.
His eyes shifted to Pain and Panic on either side of me. "What are these two numbskulls doing in here?"
The demonic minions yelped and scurried behind me.
"We were talking about their little matchmaking scheme." I made my eyes hooded and sultry. "You should thank them, you know?"
"Me? King of the Underworld thank his minions?" He made a "pfft" sound. "Fat chance."
Pain and Panic squeezed tighter against me, trembling.
I arched one thin eyebrow at Hades, daring him to say "no" to me.
Hades stared at me before clearing his throat and floating near the bed. "Pain. Panic."
The two demons peeked out, Panic's long nose resting over my bicep.
"I suppose over the eons of repeatedly screwing things up, you may have possibly, potentially done…good…this time." Hades winced. "Thanks." He quickly patted each of their heads.
They both beamed, curling their fists under their chins, and batting their eyelashes.
"Now go and torture some souls somewhere!" Hades roared, pointing a black nail at the door.
They both jumped and shrieked, disappearing in swirls of blue and red smoke.
I slid my hand across the satin sheets, fully sitting up to wrap my arms around my knees with a wry grin. "Was that so hard?"
He blew out a breath as he dragged one hand down his face. "You have no idea."
"Come here." I curled a finger at him, beckoning him to sit with me.
His lips took a wicked curl and he appeared on the bed, already sliding his hand over my hip.
I chuckled, giving his lips a light peck. "Somebody's ravenous."
"When you've gone as long as I have without the comfort of a woman…true comfort…you tend to get a greedy."
I placed a palm on his cheek. "Hades, you're still not planning on releasing the Titans, are you?"
"I hadn't even thought about it. There's far more important things to think about now." He frowned.
"That…wasn't a no."
He lay down on his back, pulling me to rest on top of him. "My priorities have shifted, Meg. I won't touch the big oafs unless Zeus gives me a reason. A real reason, like abusing his power."
I flattened my hands over his chest and rested my chin on them.
"Are you still hung up on Wonder Boy?" His voice took a gravelly tone.
I squinted one eye. "Who?"
He gave a lop-sided smile, flashing a tiny bit of sharpened incisor. "You're so fascinating."
"Cut it out or you'll make me blush."
The smile faded, replaced with a deep frown. "You can't stay here forever, you know?"
"I mean, I am mortal, Hades. I don't have forever." I smirked.
"What I meant was…" He trailed his fingers through my hair. "You can't even stay here much longer. The Underworld tends to get antsy when living mortals outstay their welcome."
My heart thudded against my ribcage.
How could I have been so stupid? He was a Greek immortal god. I'm just a puny mortal with a life ticking away.
"There's nothing you can do? You're the King of the Underworld for crying out loud." My sinuses stung as I fought back tears.
His eyes casted down and away from me. "There's only one possible solution. But I'd never ask you to do it."
"Would I have to die?" My voice sounded distant and barely above a whisper.
His gaze shot back to mine and he quickly sat up, taking me with him. "No. No. That would put you here forever, but you'd be condemned to the Elysian Fields."
"Then how, Hades? Just tell me."
His eyes shifted back and forth as he kneaded my shoulders with his fingers. "You'd—" He paused, his nostrils flaring before meeting my eyes with his. "Have to agree to be Queen."
My jaw dropped and I forgot how to blink, how to breathe. "Of the…Underworld?"
"Yes."
I pressed a hand to his chest as I slid from the bed, reassuring him I wasn't saying no, but needed a minute to think. Pacing the room, I pressed a hand to my forehead, my stomach, and then my cheek.
"To go from a poor village woman without any life or prospect to a Queen? A god?"
Hades cleared his throat. "Do you want me to pretend I can't hear you thinking out loud?"
I had nothing going for me on the surface. Everything I had—I turned around to look at him, taking in the sight of the man I loved—was right here.
Grinning like an idiot, I ran back over, slapping my hands on the bed next to him. "Yes."
He blinked. "Yes, what?"
"You brooding idiot." I pressed my lips to his, kissing him, and wrapping my arms around his neck.
He smiled into the kiss, pressing a hand to my lower back. "You're serious about this?"
"More than anything," I said through a breathy sigh.
"I really don't know what to say."
I nuzzled my nose against his cheek. "Just tell me how I become your Queen."
He let out a haggard breath and held out his palm. A pomegranate appeared and he snapped it in half revealing the eatable little seeds.
"But won't this—" I stared down, bewildered at the fruit.
He dragged his knuckles down the side of my face. "It'll tie you to the Underworld. Make you immortal. And then I'll do the rest."
We locked eyes and I knew his hesitation was him giving me one final chance to back out. The anguish in his gaze told me everything I needed to know. He hoped with every sliver of light in him that I'd go through with it but would pretend he wasn't devastated if I didn't.
I leaned forward and opened my mouth to him, keeping our gazes fixed on each other. He smiled broad and beautiful as he scooped a few seeds and slid them across my lips.
As I bit into the sweet, sugary bliss, a surge of light pulsed through me, causing my back to arch. And that was it. Within a moment's glance I was tied to this place. To him.
"That seemed too simple." My chest pumped up and down.
"Mm. Now comes the best part." He leapt across the bed, curling his hand behind my neck, and crashing his mouth over mine.
Power surged through me with every swipe of his tongue, my body bending backward, and pressing so tight against his I could scarcely breathe. With each passing second, I became his eternal bride, his eternity…his Queen.
When he pulled away, he gazed down at me with hooded eyes. As they roamed my face and hair, they brightened.
"I feel…different," I whispered.
He kissed the tip of my nose. "You should. Take a look." His chin jutted behind me.
I slid from the bed, trailing my hands over my body, not feeling anything different but my familiar human skin. When my reflection peered back at me, I gasped. A pair of radiant yellow eyes stared back; my brown hair replaced with blue. I whipped around to look at Hades.
"You don't…hate it do you? It's kind of a package deal."
I thought about where I wanted to be and went to run toward him, but instantly appeared in his arms.
"Look at you, already porting," he cooed.
I smiled and kissed him as I moved to sit on his lap. "So…how about that throne?"
He grinned—wicked and majestic. "Always the little spitfire."
THE END