Hades gaze felt like his eyes were trying to bore a hole into my very core as he asked, "Tell me, Little Girl, do you want to add your bones to my pile?"

I felt a cold shiver run down my spine, but I knew it had nothing to do with the look the god was wearing while he spoke. I hate to admit it, but his question made me smile because I instinctively knew what he meant.

Before I could answer him, I heard a familiar voice behind me say, "Looks like I got here in the nick of time."

I turned to hug Acheron and chuckled into his chest as Persephone jumped to her feet and cried out, "It's not what you think! He wasn't threatening her. Please, don't hurt him, Acheron! PLEASE!"

Ash pushed me to an arm's length away so that he could see my face when he asked, "Cora? Are you alright?"

I swallowed the giggles that bubbled up through my chest then answered, "Yes, I'm fine. It's just… He's trying to be all scary, but then he gets the same twinkle in his eye that Dad… err… Joesph does and I know I can get him wrapped around my pinky in no time so… well… the Big Bad God just doesn't work on me. I'm sorry, but it's just really funny if you're in my head."

"I don't intimidate you. Did I hear that right?"

I turned towards where Hades was now standing a bit closer to me and almost answered 'No' right away. But I forced myself not to speak. He was standing at his full height, that made him more than a head taller than me, which was a rarity in my life since few people other than some Dark Hunters had any height on me. His eyes had been consumed by the molten gold fire I had witnessed more than once while he argued with Demeter, but for some reason it didn't scare me now. When I looked into 'his' face with the blue fire instead of irises I was completely terrified. Now I was absolutely certain that it was because Demeter was… is psychotic and I could sense that even when she was borrowing someone else's face.

I dipped my chin down towards my chest and looked up at him through my eyelashes. That didn't seem to have any effect on him, so I dug the toe of my sneakers into the area carpet and sniffed in a breath. I made sure that it looked like my eyes were cast down to my feet so I could watch his reaction. Just as I predicted, Hades broke character and cast a worried look in Persephone's direction. I'm sure she just shrugged or gave him some other helpless gesture because he quietly turned his attention back to me.

I sniffled in a couple more breaths and made sure that tears were clearly evident in my voice when I replied, "I… I didn't me-me-mean to make you mad. I… I… j-just w-wanted to sh-show you I… I c-can b-be brave too. I'm… I'm s-sorry."

As I turned my face up to show Hades the tears spilling down my cheeks. Hades shot another worried look in his wife's direction as he whispered, "Seph?"

She immediately hurried towards us saying, "Please don't cry. He isn't really mad at you."

I side-stepped away from her offered embrace so that she couldn't touch me and tearfully countered, "Yes, he is. His eyes are all fiery just like… like…" I let out a sob before I wailed out, "He hates me!"

"Me? What? No, I don't!" I shot him a tearful glare cause him to hold his hands up in surrender before he added, "I don't even know you, so how could I hate you?"

I let out a tearful scoff but pretended my tears had rendered me mute.

Persephone stepped into Hades' side with a heavy, mournful sigh. "No, Little One, I'm sorry. This… this isn't what I was expecting. You being afraid of us is NOT what I wanted from our visit. I… I'm…" She sniffled in a breath then continued, "That's the worst thing that could have happened."

"Shh Seph," Hades lovingly stated as he hugged Persephone against his side. "Acheron, I swear to you we meant no harm." He cast a quick glance in my direction mumbling, "I could never…"

"Alright Cora-Lee, that's enough," My mom called out sternly as she stood up off the couch. "You've made your point."

I turned my tear-stained face towards her, but she just crossed her arms over her chest saying, "You know that doesn't work on me, mon bijoux, so knock it off and apologize… PROPERLY."

I tried to give her wide eyes, but Acheron stepped behind my mom and mirrored her stance as he said, "He's suffered enough, Cora."

"What? What are you talking about?" Hades questioned while trying to hide the uncertainty in his tone.

Ash only had eyes for me as he replied in a firm, no nonsense tone, "Cora can explain."

I wanted to argue, but I could tell that the normally Zen leader of the Dark Hunters was getting genuinely annoyed with me. I then heaved in a deep breath as I straightened up and used one of my sleeves to dry both of my cheeks. By the time I had myself back in order, Persephone and Hades were staring at me with their mouths gaping open slightly.

I gave them a half smile and held out my right pinky finger saying, "I guess this means it'll be harder next time."

"Next time?" Hades asked with his now angry eyes facing Acheron.

Ash chuckled then answered, "That's her way of letting you unravel yourself from around her pinky."

Persephone gasped in a shocked breath and just stared at me for a couple of seconds. "That was just an act? You really weren't afraid of him? That was just you pretending to be scared?"

Now I felt truly guilty. She looked so genuinely appalled that I dropped all pretenses immediately. I stepped closer to her and very sincerely stated, "The first was false bravado. The tears… That's a trick I learned. But in all honestly… Although your fiery eyes are scary, they're NOTHING compared to the 'Hades' who abducted me."

Hades and Persephone shared a look, but it was the goddess who admitted, "I don't understand."

I smiled sympathetically replying, "I know it's impolite to say…" I cast a genuinely apologetic glance to the spot where my mom was standing beside Acheron as I continued, "Especially since she's like my maternal grandmother or whatever, but…"

I closed my eyes and turned back to face my biological parents. "But your mother… uh… Demeter… She is truly, madly, deeply, psychotically insane and scarier than the notion of facing Charon without a token. I know people tell stories about your scary side Hay… err… Sir… But… but the way you looked at me after fighting with her... It was like I could FEEL what you were thinking and I understood why Per…. Why your wife risked everything, including wackadoo mother's wrath, to be with you."

"Please don't call her names," Persephone pleaded so quietly it was almost inaudible.

Hades hugged her tightly and kissed her forehead in an effort to comfort her. When he turned to look at me, I saw a flash of the fire in his eyes that he reserved only for Demeter. After everything I had read about the two of them, I always thought Hades hated Demeter because she kept Persephone away from him nine months out of the year, but now I knew that was wrong.

No, he didn't hate Demeter for the pain and misery she made him feel. He loathed her for the tears she caused her daughter to shed. He despised her for the pain she caused her daughter to feel. Like the pain of having to give up her only child and hide her, including from the love of her life to save her from her grandmother's delusions and insanity, even if Persephone would never use those words.

I shoved my hands into the pocket of my hoody to keep them from fidgeting as I spoke. "I meant no disrespect to you… Persephone. But that's the best way I can describe what I feel when I think of her." Persephone quickly turned to face me and looked even more horrified than before. "I swear I didn't mean to offend you. She…" I moved my eyes to find my Maman with genuine tears in my eyes while looking at her and Acheron. "She was going to slit my throat. If you don't believe me, just ask Acheron…"

"We should go," Hades commented over the rest of my explanation while he took Persephone by the hand.

I couldn't look at them. Actually, I couldn't look at anyone, so I wasn't sure if anyone else jumped when my mom nearly shouted out a forceful, "NO!"

I turned my eyes up to her face to watch her as she continued, "I will not allow this to happen under my roof. Cora-Lee, they did not cause the trauma you survived, so I will not allow you to punish them."

I stepped closer to her whispering, "But Maman…"

"No," she quickly interrupted as placed her hands on my cheeks to force me to make eye contact with her as she spoke. "Don't you see? She did all of that to drive a wedge between the three of you. Mon Bijoux, you've forgiven me for not being honest with you for so many years, so you need to forgive them too."

She kept her hands on my cheeks and pulled my face down to kiss my forehead which made it easier for me to keep my voice as quiet as possible as I asked, "How?"

When we made eye contact again, she looked like she wanted to say something, but she didn't make a sound. Don't ask me why because so far, she seemed to be the only one who had been thinking straight enough to speak the truth that we all needed to hear… Even if we didn't want to hear it.

"This should help," Acheron offered as he passed me my baby book.

I took it from him but looked a question at my mom while doing so. She smiled and said, "It's always been a good ice breaker." She then turned her attention to the couple behind me to say, "There's been too much interference between you three lately. Please stay here and talk… seulement vous trois… Please?" She then gave me a watery smile and added quietly, "You know where to find me after you've had some time to talk, okay?"

"Maman, please don't go."

She once again held my cheeks to place a determined kiss on my forehead. "I have to go, mon bijoux. I have to let you grow… You have to spend some time with them." She then quickly turned away to take Acheron's hand and pulled him towards the front door saying, "Come on, Acheron, we should get going."

I watched them walk away and disappear in the blink of an eye. I'm sure the last part was just a mind trick or an optical illusion, but it didn't change the fact that I was left alone… all alone to face….

I hugged the photo album into my chest and forced myself to turn around and face our visitors. They were both seated on the couch and it looked like Hades was once again trying to console his wife.

And it's all because of you, I mentally chastised myself.

"She's right. I WAS blaming you. Even though I know you… I'm sorry…" They both then turned their eyes towards me, so I thrust the photo album forward saying, "My Maman… uhh… my mom… she… uhh… she thought you'd…"

Persephone smiled at my hesitations and replied, "She's your Maman, please don't let our titles cause you to stumble."

"Alright." I took in a deep breath and as I let it out, I felt all of the tension that had been building inside leave my body. "This book… It's a pictural history of my life. My… my dad had had to do some very specialized duties for the Square Council that has kept him away from home for extended periods of time. Mom didn't want him to miss out on anything, so I ended up with this." I passed it to Hades, who seemed the least freaked out about what I was saying. We share a brief look and then I heard myself say, "But now I'm thinking she made if for you two as well."

Persephone swiftly claimed the book from Hades and opened it up. He immediately moved closer to her side but just watched as looked over every picture, page by page. Soon enough, I ended up sitting on the arm of the couch to the right of where Hades was seat so the I could answer their questions more easily if and when they called them out.

"Are those horns on your head?" Persephone asked with her finger running over a picture of me and Faye when we were about twelve years old.

"They look like they really grew out of your skull," Hades commented as he spared a quick glance over his shoulder at me.

My cheeks heated up but I laughed with ease as I explained, "That would be Simi's doing. She said our Halloween costumes weren't complete without them."

"But you were a beautiful fairy," Persephone countered.

I almost laughed at the horrified tone I heard in her voice, but I held back. Instead, I just shrugged and replied, "It's Simi. I learned at a young age that she listens to no one but Acheron, so I didn't fight her about it at all."

"That's very wise of you," Hades offered as he hugged Persephone against his side. "You seen what she can do in the Underworld, Love."

"True… But…" Persephone turned her eyes to me for the first time since she opened the baby album. "But she was kind to you? I mean… She…? Umm…"

"I've lived a very blessed life," I answered honestly. "Everything in my life has been perfect. Honestly, it's almost been like a dream… well… up until recently."

"Of course. What my mother did to you, it's incomprehensible."

I shook my head then then replied with an earnest smile on my face, "No, I didn't mean that. It's just… A couple of months ago, I started having visions. The psychics I know haven't been able to help me control them or properly interpret them. That's made a few conversations really not comfortable lately."

"OH! Of course… You are probably coming into your powers. How could I have forgotten that?"

"It's okay." Persephone tried to give me an unfriendly look, but she couldn't quite pull it off. That actually made me smile wider as I continued, "I swear it is. Acheron had offered to help with them before I was…. Anyway… He's been with me my whole life and watched out for me at every turn, so I haven't been alone I figuring all of that stuff out. There's just been… well… other stuff."

Once again, Persephone paused while she was flipping though the pages of the book to look up at me. I made a pointed effort to keep my eyes on the old pictures of myself and not her face at all, which actually made her laugh.

"Other stuff? Like the Greek warrior we met earlier?" she asked in a playful tone.

I didn't reply and just gave her wide eyes of disbelief as Hades turned to her and asked, "Greek warrior? Do you mean that soulless minion of Artemis that was groveling before us earlier?"

Before Persephone could reply, I let out a loud, unimpressed scoff as I stood up. Hades spared a glance in my direction, but for some reason he remained silent when his wife gripped his arm tightly.

I quickly moved to sit beside her left side on the couch and coyly answered, "I have no idea what you're talking about. OH! This was taken the night of my Squire initiation. Huh? I wonder how that will work now since I'm her…? Niece? Right?"

Persephone let out a throaty laugh as she tucked my hair behind my ear. "Try not to examine our family too closely. It WILL give you an incredible headache."

"And that's without having to talk with anyone from HER family," Hades added as he continued to flip through my photo album.

Persephone shot him an unimpressed look that he never saw. She then turned her attention back to me. "I'm sure that your Faenus Psari has a much less complicated family tree that we can discuss."

"My? Oh… Oh no… No, no, he's not… Not… I mean… He's… he's just a friend."

Hades snorted in a laugh and said to the book, "Yeah… right."

"Yeah, that IS right," I replied with more than a little heat in my tone. "And I don't care where you're from, but I'm more than pretty sure that every culture considers it rude not to make eye contact with the people to whom you are addressing."

"Actually…"

Persephone dug her nails into his forearm as she said through a warning tone, "Hades…"

"Fine," he relented. "Everyone says I'm cold as ice, but you'd have to be blind not to see how he looks at you."

"What?" I questioned, trying to sound genuinely surprised.

Hades smirked then answered, "We fell for the tears before, but like Eve and Acheron said, we won't be so easily fooled again. Look…"

"Hades! Shush!" Persephone interrupted. "You really aren't playing games, are you? You haven't talked about this with any else, right?"

I shook my head then whispered so that I wouldn't start crying. "Demeter abducted me right after I realized I was in love with him. I've been too afraid to tell my mom because… because…"

"You weren't being punished for being in love with him, Cora," Persephone explained softly with tears glistening in her eyes.

Hades' expression softened as he continued her thought, "You were being punished for the man that Seph loves."

I saw her bottom lip tremble before she buried her face into his shoulder. Hades hugged her closely and kissed the side of her head passionately. I almost felt like a voyeur watching them until Hades suddenly raised his head and locked gazes with me.

I tried to give him an easy-going smile, but that just didn't feel right. Instead, I stared at the back of Persephone's head and said, "That's not how I want to look at it."

Persephone slowly lifted her head off Hades' shoulder asking, Oh? How…? How do you look at it?"

"Well, I prefer to think of it as my insane grandmother finally telling me the truth so that I can finally start feeling less crazy about my psychic abilities."

Although I could tell that she didn't want to, I saw Persephone grin as she tried to scold me, "Don't call your grandma insane."

"Oh, come on Seph. Even I can admit that our daughter has a point."

"NO!" Persephone cried out as she moved to stand up off the couch to look at both of us. "NO, you two are NOT allowed to gang up on me!"

"We can do that?" I asked as I turned my gaze towards Hades. I didn't see it happen, but I swear I felt my irises turn into a pale green fire as I questioned, "Can we really do that?"

Hades smiled as he eyes mirrored mine in a golden blaze. "Daughter… with me… you'll find that there's very little we can't accomplish."