Hades (The God Chronicles #3) (20 page)

I sighed, leaning into him, a happy smile on my
face. Unfortunately for me, though, the mood was ruined by the
sound of a zipper.

“Stop stalling,” he whispered, his voice
shaking with laughter. “I’m seriously excited to take you where
we’re going.”

“Fine,” I grumbled, turning around to look at
him. “Let’s get going then.”

“Great,” he said, his winning smile sparkling
on his face. “You might want to fix your makeup, though. It looks
like you have some left over mascara from last night.”

“Oh,” I laughed nervously, my hands flying up
to cover under my eyes. “Yeah, I should get that taken care
of.”

I turned away and hurried to my makeup desk,
grateful I’d fallen asleep without washing my face the night
before. The black veins, in combination with the makeup, made me
look like a raccoon, but at least Hades hadn’t looked close enough
to discover me.

I made quick work of fixing everything, the
concealer barely covering my indiscretions. In the end, it looked
like I hadn’t been getting enough sleep lately and was suffering
with slight, dark rings under my eyes.

“All done?” Hades asked from my bed, where he’d
taken a seat to wait for me.

“Yes,” I said, turning around and smiling
brightly. “Let’s get out of here already.”

He jumped up from the bed and grabbed my hand,
hurrying me out the door and down the hall. Our loud laughter
echoed through the halls, causing some of the workers to peer
through doorways and look at us, different emotions on each of
their faces. Some appeared happy, others confused. I didn’t care,
though. I was happy and that was all that mattered.

Once in the stables, I got Hero ready while
Hades saddled up just one of his black stallions. What appeared to
be a picnic basket was already waiting for us there as
well.

“Breakfast?” I asked, nodding at it as I
tightened some straps.

“Yeah. A little more, too,” he said, his
devilish grin flashing at me from across the room.

“Where are we going that we need to pack food
into?” I giggled.

“Just wait,” he said, leading his horse over to
me after he’d picked up the basket. “Trust me.”

“I do,” I said, grinning. “I’m just intrigued,
that’s all.”

“Patience is a virtue,” he chuckled, mounting
up and setting the basket on his lap.

“It’s one I’m about to run out of,” I
snickered, mounting Hero.

“Follow me,” he said, spurring his horse
forward suddenly and darting out of the room.

I laughed, following his lead, trying to catch
up as we cut a path through the mass of people outside once more.
This ride felt much different than the last time I’d come out this
way with him, though. It seemed the dreary feeling air I’d always
encountered outside the castle had turned to that of happiness and
light, despite being underground.

We rode through the mass of people quickly,
only slowing once the vast majority of them were behind us. Instead
of heading towards the river this time, Hades turned and went the
other way, a path that lead into the forest stretching out in front
of us.

“A picnic in the forest?” I asked, coming up
next to him.

“Not exactly,” he laughed again. “Just trust
me, okay? You’ll like it, I promise.”

“I’m only trying to figure out what’s going
on,” I said.

“Well, stop,” he ordered me, a grin on his
face. “Because you’re never going to guess.”

“Fine,” I grumbled in pretend
grumpiness.

He laughed again, increasing our speed slightly
as we entered the dark tree line.

As usual, every now and then there was a soul
wandering around, but for the most part we were alone. The path we
were on was much narrower than the others and almost impossible to
see at times. The further in we got, the more it disappeared. Hades
seemed to know exactly where he was going, though, weaving through
the trees with ease as I followed behind him.

Finally, we arrived at the top of the incline I
hadn’t even noticed we’d been traveling up. The rocks of the cave
roof hung right over our head, a solid wall in front of us, covered
in some greenery.

“We’re here,” Hades said, dismounting and
setting the basket on the ground so he could help me
down.

“Really?” I asked, looking around at the close
trees and overbearing rocks.

“Mostly,” he laughed, seeming to enjoy my
confusion.

“What do you mean?”

He walked over to the wall in front of us, a
huge grin on his face, and placed his hand on the stone. Instead of
resting on the rocks, though, his hand went right
through.

“It’s a door!” I said in excitement. “I didn’t
realize there were any here, other than in the maze.”

“This door doesn’t exactly go anywhere like
those do,” he chuckled. “Just to the other side of the
wall.”

He walked back over to his horse, taking its
reins and picking up the basket.

“Go ahead,” he said, nodding to me. “I’ll
follow you in.”

I smiled widely, pulling Hero after me as I
walked over to the hidden door. For the life of me, I couldn’t
figure out what would be on the other side.

Eagerly, I walked through the stone and into
one of the most beautiful places I’d ever seen, whether in person
or in a picture.

It was a garden of epic proportions. Every type
of flower imaginable sprung up from the ground, arranged in boxes
or patterns surrounded by short grass. Fruit trees hung their leafy
branches over my head, framing the entrance perfectly. A small
waterfall bubbled through the rocks I could see in a far off
corner. None of it compared to the open sky, though.

The rock walls opened up to the outside world
above us, revealing blue skies and wonderful, warm sunlight. It lit
the secret paradise like only natural light could, warming me to my
very core.

“Do you like it?” Hades asked from behind
me.

I tore my eyes away from the beauty all around
me and looked at him in awe.

“Is this where you come every
morning?”

“It is,” he said, nodding.

“It’s beautiful,” I gushed. “I can’t even—I
mean, how?”

“No one else knows about it,” he said with a
smile. “It’s the one place that I can go that hasn’t been marred by
death and is completely mine.”

“You did all of this?” I asked in awe, turning
back to the sight before me.

“I like working with my hands. It helps relieve
the stress of the job and life.”

“You have a gift,” I said simply, turning back
to him.

“Come on,” he chuckled. “This is only a little
part of it.”

He passed by me, leading his horse on, and I
followed eagerly, ready to see what else his sanctuary had to
offer. It seemed to stretch on forever, endless colors and
fragrances reaching out to us as we followed a rock path to a small
stable.

The horses were more than happy to be brushed
down and left to their own devices in the cozy little hut, which
was attached to a small house from what I could tell.

“Have you ever stayed out here before?” I asked
curiously, as he led me around the place to the front
door.

“Not for a long time,” he admitted. “But I
wanted something out here in case I ever decided to do it again.
It’s been nice for storage as well. Obviously, there’s a lot of
gardening tools required to maintain everything.”

“Obviously,” I laughed.

“Breakfast?” he asked me smoothly, opening the
wooden door with ease and motioning for me to enter.

“I’m starving,” I admitted, stepping over the
threshold.

For being so plain on the outside, the inside
of the hut was very cozy feeling and welcoming. There was a small
table and chairs situated under a window with a view of the garden.
The kitchen was off to the left, stocked with all the necessities
from what I could see. To the right was a sitting area and
bookshelves, along with two closed doors I assumed were a bedroom
and bathroom.

“I like it,” I said as Hades came in behind me
and closed the door.

“Good,” he laughed, carrying the basket over to
the table and setting it down. “I’m glad.”

“What’s for breakfast,” I asked, walking over
to him.

“Let’s open it and see.”

I unpacked the food while he grabbed plates
from the cupboard and soon we were ingesting the delicious waffles
and fruit that had been prepared for us. Also in the basket were
things for lunch and dinner, both simple meals as well, but just as
delicious looking.

For the first time since I’d arrived in the
Underworld, I felt like Hades and I were a real couple, in our own
house, taking care of each other. We washed the dishes together
after we were done eating, put the extra food away until later, and
enjoyed just being in the presence of the other. We didn’t need to
fill the time with idle chatter. It was just the two of us, being
ourselves.

Once everything was put away in the cabin,
Hades invited me to go out and tour the entire garden with him. I
readily agreed, still surprised he took care of the entire thing
himself. A single servant had never been out here, only him. I was
deeply honored that he’d chosen to show it to me, especially after
all the grief he’d had in his marriage over the years. My heart
soared to think he cared for me that much.

The garden, while not as large as I originally
had thought, was beautiful. A small stream ran along one side, the
product of the waterfall I’d seen at the entrance. Along with
flowers and fruit trees, herbs and other foods were growing here as
well, each arranged in a fantastic manner and adding to the overall
magnificence of the place.

As we rounded back on the cabin, hand in hand,
I sighed contently.

“I can’t believe you keep this place a secret.
I mean, I understand why, but so much work has gone into it. It’s a
shame no one gets to enjoy it.”

“I enjoy it,” he chuckled. “And you can enjoy
it now. That’s enough for me. I didn’t make it to show off, just to
relax and be myself.”

“I can tell,” I said, smiling at him. “You seem
much happier here, more laid back.”

“No one is trying to talk to me about a dead
person problem,” he laughed. “Don’t get me wrong, I do enjoy my
job. I’m the only one who can do it, the only one who will do it.
Even the dead deserve to be looked after and I’m more than happy to
do it. I wasn’t always that way, sure. I’ve felt cheated in the
past. But that was my lot in life. It wasn’t until I discovered
this place that I realized I got to choose how I felt. Once I
decided to be happy, I was. The things that upset me before became
trivial for the most part. The only problem I really had was
you.”

He grinned at me then, squeezing my hand as I
rolled my eyes.

“Even that worked out for me in the end,” he
added on.

“Lucky for the both of us,” I said with a
smile.

We fell silent as we walked the rest of the way
to the cabin, slowly. I found myself wishing we could stay here
forever, away from everything he was supposed to do and hidden from
those who would force me to do something that would surely hurt
him. My heart felt sick to know the happiness he was sharing wasn’t
really with me. If only I could show him who I really was without
ruining it all.

Chapter
Nineteen

The rest of the day passed just as leisurely,
with us breaking for lunch after our walk around the garden. After
that, we went back outside and he showed me what he’d been working
on recently. It was a rose patch, the bushes growing up taller than
I was and covered in the sweet smelling flowers. I helped him with
it a little, learning how he handled them, and resulting in the
need to wash up once we were finished.

“I brought you an extra dress,” he laughed,
trying to wipe dirt off my face with his own messy hands. “There’s
a little something special planned for this evening and I thought
you might want to change after our ride and all. There’s a shower
in the cabin that we can get cleaned up in.”

“Sounds good,” I said, wrinkling my nose as he
rubbed it. “Thank you.”

“It’s my pleasure,” he said, leaning in and
kissing my lips quickly. “Let’s head back.”

“Okay.”

We put away the tools we’d been using in the
shed on the outside wall of the cabin and went inside, laughing
over my newfound skills in the garden. I was more used to working
with the animals on the ranch versus growing things, so it had
definitely been a learning day for me.

“You go ahead and get in the shower,” Hades
said, opening one of the closed doors and revealing a bedroom.
“It’s just through here. I’ll lay your dress out for
you.”

“What about you?”

“I have some stuff to set up out here. Don’t
worry, I’ll clean up, too. Take your time though,
really.”

“All right,” I agreed, kissing him quickly
again as I passed by him and entered the bedroom.