Chapter Seventeen: Demands in the Form of an Invitation

Deciding I didn't want this potentially loud conversation in public I started walking towards my cabin, that is until Nico grabbed my elbow and pulled me another way.

"Let's go to my cabin. I don't want to run into Pollux."

"Running into Mr. D should be your biggest concern."

"Why?" he asked confused as we got to his door.

"Because until I yelled at him yesterday he was convinced we had sex." I figured being blunt was the best course of action. Nico went pale, or well, even more pale than he already was. And that's saying a lot.

"What?! Why would he think that?"

"Because he found out that I spent the night in your cabin, not to mention your bed, and made assumptions."

"But you told him we didn't right?"

"I tried. Many. Times. The last time got through, but it ended with us back to not acknowledging each other."

He was quiet, as though he was debating on what to say. His dark eyes looked into mine. "I'm sorry Sarah."

That old anger that I had burned out days ago came roaring back with vengeance. "Really? That's all you're sorry for?" I snapped as I pushed past him to go inside. Things were about to get ugly.

He followed me in. "What's that suppose to mean?"

"Oh I don't know. Maybe it's that fact that I'm mad at you and you're being annoyingly clueless about the reason why!"

"Well how can I know unless you tell me?" he responded. Nico wasn't angry yet, but he was getting there.

"Because it should be obvious! I mean, really Nico? We came this close, this freaking close-" I pinched my finger and thumb close, but not touching, and held it up. "-to having sex. After you told me you loved me and wanted to be with me, I wake up in the morning and you're just gone!" I was yelling now. "Did it ever occur to you how I might have felt? What I was thinking? That if we had gone through with it would you still have left me before I even woke up!"

I didn't know when the tears started, but it didn't matter. Nico had closed the distance between us and held me close in a hug. A warm one too given that he is usually so cold. One hand was rubbing circles into my back, the other was holding me against him. It was one of the most comforting things anyone had ever done for me.

"Shhh. I'm sorry. You're right, it's my fault. And had it been any other reason I would have stayed. If we had, you know-"

"Played checkers." I gave a small watery grin against his shirt.

He chuckled. "Yeah, played checkers. If we had I wouldn't have left even if the world was ending."

"Then why did you have to go this time?" I wasn't crying much anymore, but Nico didn't loosen his hold on me. And I didn't want him to.

"My dad wanted to talk to me...about you."

Regrettably I was the one who push away, just enough to meet his eyes. "About me? What could your dad want with me?"

I had a list of reasons why the Lord of the Underworld, the ruler of a third of existence, Hades himself would want to talk to me. And not a single one was positive. I imagine one of the reasons would be because me, Nico, Gwen, and Sophia had broken into his vault of treasures and stole a stone. Not just any stone though, a stone that could grant the holder the power to see the souls of dead people. A really important and powerful artifact, but Hades had treated it as nothing more than a trinket. Nevertheless, stealing from a god probably doesn't sit well with said god. Even if it were a matter of life or death, which it totally was! He could also be pissed that I hadn't made a single attempt to return it. And I wasn't going to. The stone was mine now as far as I was concerned and I would only give it up to one person. Thanatos. It was he who created it and should be the rightful owner of it.

Nico had been starring at me as though he knew I was far off in my thoughts and was waiting until he knew he had my attention again. I really love that about him, how he just gets my weird thinking ways.

"He wants me to bring you to the Underworld as soon as possible. Demanded it in fact. You, Violet Eyes, are in high demand. As it turns out Persephone has been nagging at me to bring you back for a visit. I've been blowing her off though."

It was then that a thought occurred to me that should have been obvious when I met her the first time.

"Nico. Why is Persephone in the Underworld right now? I don't know a whole lot about the old stories, but isn't she only suppose to be there in Winter?"

He nodded. "Late Fall and Winter, but things are happening. Thanatos's disappearance was only the beginning. Olympus knows something is starting, something old and evil. Unfortunately it is also something powerful."

"Like Kronos?"

"Worse, but he isn't telling me what. None of the gods are talking, they hardly talk to each other about it. Probably they're hoping time will reveal a solution or something like that. Like the last time things were getting bad, dad called Persephone back to the palace. With her mother in tow. Gods that was awful."

"So she's back because Hades thinks something bad is going to happen and she wants her to be safe."

"I guess. Frankly I never know where those two stand with each other."

'They love each other.' Is what I wanted to say, but even I found the whole thing a bit twisted. There had been a time when the two were truly in love. Don't believe that story that everyone thinks they know, the one about Hades stealing Persephone away and keeping her captive. The truth was told to me from the Spring goddess herself. She and Hades had met multiple times and eventually they fell for each other. Persephone went with him to the Underworld willingly and for a time all was good. Then Persephone had started to feel weaker and weaker the longer she was there. A goddess of Spring could not survive well in the realm of the dead, no matter how hard she tried.

And she had tried so hard for Hades, but in the end it wasn't enough. In the end she told her husband that she needed to return to the world above. And not wanting to lose her, Hades had tricked his wife into eating pomegranate seeds. Thus binding her to the Underworld forever. This was what caused her to first feel hatred for Hades, for she thought if he really loved her then he would have let her go. And he didn't. Of course while this was all going on her mom Demeter goddess of the harvest and things like that essentially was causing the mortal realm to suffer. But no one really cares about that part now do they? Since then Hades and Persephone were in this love/hate relationship that could give anyone a migraine if they tried to keep track of it.

"So is this an optional kind of thing or a I have to sort of thing?"

"Have to. If not he'll just keep demanding it and it's not wise to say no to a god's command."

"Damn. I was afraid you'd say that. When exactly is he expecting us?" I was already thinking of how long I had to grab what I would need and tell Gwen and Sophia I was leaving. Pollux too if I saw him, after the fight with Mr. D, Pollux seemed to be as angry with me as Old Sour Grape was. It had hurt just a little knowing that when push came to shove, Pollux wouldn't choose me over his dad. I pushed that feeling down far into the corners of my mind, I didn't have time for it now.

"Now."

"What?! Are you freaking kidding me? I can't go now! I'm in work out shorts and a shirt that has a stain on it from combat practice." Not to mention my hair looked horrible and my make up had for the most part melted off my face.

"If I let you go and change would you please not be like every girl and take an hour?" he whined, but I could tell he was teasing me.

"Fine, but let's get one thing straight. I was going to go change whether or not you let me. I don't just up and meet gods looking like a hobo."

"The prettiest hobo I've ever seen."

I smacked him across the chest and pecked him quick on the lips. "I'll be quick as the Flash."

"Who?"

"Oh my gods it's worse than I thought." I said as I hurried out the door. Eventually I'll have to sit that boy down in front of a TV and teach him about all things superhero. A date night for the ages. I couldn't wait.

Getting to my cabin didn't even take a minute. I ran to my dresser taking out the only pair a dark blue dress jeans I had. From the small wardrobe I took out a dark crimson top that had fake silver jewels decorating the scoop neck line. It was an elegant shirt that was fitting, but also flowed off at the bottom. The sleeves were made to drape down to a little above my elbows giving me room to move. Throwing them on quickly and grabbing a pair of closed toe black heels from the very bottom of my trunk I slipped them on. My make up didn't take much to fix, but I did add just a touch of eye liner. O looked at my hair and for once I decided to take it out of the braid. Now for anyone else this would cause their hair to be horrible wavy and unpleasant. But my hair had always been naturally straight. Letting it down I ran a brush through it a couple of times and found that most of the straightness had held. The only thing the braid did was give it a bit of body.

I was ready. Quickly grabbing my sword I ran back out the door, only to bump into Nico.

"I was coming as fast as I could, it's only been like ten minutes!" I said as I noticed him not saying anything. He just kept looking at me. "Okay maybe I was pushing fifteen, but I just can't be like Sophia and be perfect looking at a moment's notice." He still wasn't saying anything. "What are you looking at Goth Boy?"

Before I knew what was happening I found myself being dipped back and kissed. It ended just as it started, but I didn't miss the smirk on his face as he pulled away.

"If that's what you can do on fifteen minutes, I'm glad I didn't give you an hour."

"Why is that?" I asked still trying to catch my breath from the sizzle of the kiss.

"You would be way too beautiful and we wouldn't make it through the door." he replied and I could see the want in his eyes. I also couldn't deny that I felt that way a little too.

"You don't clean up bad yourself there handsome."

He hadn't really changed his clothes, but his face had been washed and his hair combed. Small things that made a big difference in the long run.

"Shall we go my lady?"

"We shall."

Then everything became a familiar shade of dark.

I was falling hard.

And not just into the Underworld either.