Hades (The God Chronicles #3) (8 page)

“Shall we?” he asked, holding an arm out to me
in an odd offer as an escort.

I hesitated a moment, the marks on my arms
smarting some from his strong grip, and he rolled his eyes at
me.

“Oh good grief,” he said, striding towards me
and grabbing my hand. “You could at least act a little happy to see
me. I had all of your favorite foods brought down and they’re going
to go cold if we don’t head to dinner now.”

“Brought down?” I asked, letting him lead me to
the door and open it for me.

“Don’t get your panties in a bunch,” he said,
joining me in the hallway and taking my hand once again, swirling
the liquid in the cup he apparently was bringing along.

I wanted to pull away, but it seemed like this
was something he would normally do. He was married to Persephone,
holding hands wasn’t that odd. Was it?

“I made sure all of your precious human food
was here and ready, properly stored. You check every year when you
return. Such paranoia!”

“I can’t eat food from Hades or I’ll be stuck
here,” I said, mostly to myself as I remembered more of the myth
involving him and the capture of his wife.

“Yeah, yeah. I still think that eating it now
won’t do you any harm—you’re stuck with me, get over it—but if you
want to make sure your sentence can’t be extended somehow by eating
my food, fine. I will go out of my way to make you stop whining
about it. But, I expect you to hold up your end of the deal and
hold my hand on the way to every meal in return.”

I sighed in relief, thankfully going unnoticed
by him as he took another sip of his drink. It hadn’t even occurred
to me about the food. If I’d eaten some of it, who’s to say I
wouldn’t have been trapped here like Persephone?

He lead me down the hall I’d come through some
more, turning down a corridor and taking us out of the open air
into a large ballroom type area. Inside the castle was actually
cooler, which I could have cried for as well. The outside and the
room we’d been in were both so hot, I’d thought for sure I would
sweat my ring right off my finger.

We ascended a grand staircase in silence, which
I also assumed to be normal for him. So far, he hadn’t noticed
anything different about his wife, including the fact that I wasn’t
her. If I could keep it up, I would be out of here in a few months
and would be able to breathe freely again.

Reaching the top of the stairs, we turned to
the left and headed past a grand tapestry. It depicted a very
bloody war, one I wasn’t familiar with, which wasn’t too
surprising. A pair of huge, ornate doors opened before us and the
dining hall was revealed to me, a sight that almost took my breath
away.

The long table probably could have seated over
one hundred people, but there were only two places set; one on each
end. The two seats were high backed and covered in black velvet,
obvious care and workmanship put into their design. On the table
was a spread of more food than I could ever eat. It was obvious
that the two sides were eating something different, but neither of
them carried food I was very familiar with.

When we reached the closest chair, Hades
released my hand and pulled it out, motioning for me to sit down. I
did so quickly, trying not to look like I was gawking around at the
room. As he turned his back on me and walked across the room to his
own chair, I did just that, though.

There was no natural light to speak of, or even
windows that I saw. The walls were made of the same black stone the
outside was, with golden candelabras holding hundreds of lit
candles. A few smaller tables sat in strategic places against the
walls, some of them holding things like water pitchers and extra
plates, others left bare. The greatest attention draw was the
magnificent crystal chandelier that hung over the table, though. It
was the biggest I’d ever seen, stretching down in several tiers,
the stones glittering in the warm light.

“Is something wrong?” Hades asked loudly from
across the room.

I drug my eyes away from the decorations and
looked at him, wondering what thing I’d not done right
now.

Erebos sure hadn’t told me hardly anything, had
he?

“No,” I said simply, looking down at the food
around me. “Why?”

“You don’t usually wait for me to start
eating,” he chuckled. “You seem out of sorts tonight. Was your trip
back eventful?”

“No,” I said, grinning nervously. “I guess I’m
just tired.”

“Well, eat up,” he said, picking up his own
silverware and stabbing a piece of meat over onto his plate. “We
can go to bed after.”

His words brought the knot back into my stomach
instantly, though I hadn’t noticed it ever leaving.

Bed. With the king of the Underworld. Was I
supposed to . . .?

I put the thought out of my mind and reached
for the salad to my left, it being the only thing I was sure I’d
like. Everything else appeared to be foods from around the world,
places I’d never visited and dishes I’d never tried. It was such a
waste, how much had been prepared. I doubted it had ever all been
eaten, not with the way Persephone’s body looked.

Could gods not gain weight?

We ate in silence as well, which made my nerves
dance around in happiness. I was surprised I’d lasted this long
without freaking out and ruining everything. Maybe it was the
thought of what could happen to me if I did.

After we’d finished, Hades stood and started
walking to the door behind him, not looking back to see if I was
following.

“I’ll have your bath drawn for you,” he called
over his shoulder, disappearing through the exit without another
word.

“Um,” I said quietly, now stuck in a room with
no idea where to go.

Slowly, I got up and began clearing my place
the best I could, leaving the uneaten food where it sat. After I
stacked my dishes, I used the napkin to wipe down around
them.

“Highness?” a voice asked timidly from behind
me.

I jumped about a mile, turning around quickly
and laying eyes on a girl probably around my own age.

“Yes?” I asked, a hand to my heart.

“I’m sorry Highness,” she said, tears forming
in her eyes. “I didn’t mean to frighten you, I should have
announced myself.”

She continued to blabber on, obviously becoming
more upset as she went before I interrupted her.

“It’s not a problem,” I said, smiling tightly,
but kindly. “What do you need?”

“I have your bath ready,” she said, hiccupping
as she tried to wipe away the few tears that had fallen.

“Lead the way,” I said, motioning for her to go
ahead.

She looked at me in surprise again, but
scurried to do as I asked, her gaze falling to the floor when I
tried to look her in the eye.

Quickly, she headed for the door that Hades had
left through, pausing only a moment to make sure I was behind her.
She led me down another hallway and up another, smaller staircase
before turning down a passage with only three doors. The first two,
on opposite sides of each other, were closed. The third, at the
very end of the hall, was open and I could see the bathtub inside
it.

I followed the girl inside, looking around at
the still blackened and darkly decorated room. It appeared that
black was the ultimate color of choice here. The tub was already
filled with steaming water though, a sheer night gown and under
clothes hanging on a hook on the wall.

The door clicked shut behind me and the girl
made herself busy unzipping my dress and helping me out of it. Once
done, she moved to take my ring off for me as well.

“No,” I said, sharper than I intended. “I’ll
keep this on, thank you.”

She nodded her head, my rudeness having no real
effect on her.

Once I was in the bath, I thought I would be
left to myself. On this, I was also mistaken. She washed my hair
for me with a lovely smelling shampoo and then helped to wash my
body. It was an awkward feeling for me, having never been bathed by
someone that I could remember before. At the end, instead of
soaking in the water and unwinding like I so desperately wanted, I
got right out and was helped into my night clothes. The nightgown
wasn’t as see through as I’d originally thought, which was a
welcome discovery.

At last, I emerged from the bathroom, my helper
curtsying to me and walking away with my dress, other duties to
attend to.

At least I was left to myself to find the
bedroom and didn’t have to feel so stressed about picking the wrong
one.

I walked the few steps down the hall and
stopped between the two doors I had to choose from. They looked
exactly the same and no sound came from either. Taking a deep
breath, I picked the one on the right and went inside.

The room was dark, but I could make out the
giant bed in front of me, light curtains hanging around it. By the
movement in the bed, I guessed I’d picked the right
room.

“Persephone?” Hades asked, his voice somewhat
surprised.

Stiffly, I walked around the side of the bed
and pulled back the covers, crawling in and pulling them up to my
chin.

My skin prickled as he slid up next to me, his
arms wrapping around me and pulling me into his bare chest. Good
grief, he felt the part of a perfectly fit god. His chest was well
muscled and abs rippled against me. Warm breath washed over my face
as a hand brushed my hair away. I tried to fight the goose bumps
forming all over me as his lips brushed my ear.

“What are you doing in my room?” he whispered
dangerously.

Chapter Eight

If I hadn’t already been practically paralyzed
already from the fear of having to get into bed with him, I would
have frozen solid. His room?

“Do you really expect me to think you want to
be in here with me?” he cooed softly, his fingers still dancing
through my hair, lips on my skin. “I’m not stupid.”

“No?” I managed to get out.

“I left your room just the way you did—you can
clean it up yourself. I’m not your maid and neither is anyone else
when you’re off gallivanting around for half the year.”

His touched turned to one of force as he shoved
me away from him, all but pushing me out of the bed and onto the
floor.

I stumbled off the mattress and across the
room, turning around quickly to look at him. I had no idea where I
was supposed to go and was getting more and more frayed by all of
the surprises that kept getting thrown in my face.

He sat up, the silky sheets sliding down his
torso and revealing what I’d felt as I laid next to him. It made my
head feel even fuzzier, trying to look at him without gaping. I’d
been telling the truth when I told Stacy I’d never had sex with
Josh. I’d just left out the part that I’d never done it period. I’d
never even seen a man in bed like this except for in the
movies.

“Don’t come in here pretending to want me again
unless you plan on getting a treat,” he said, a wolfish grin
covering his face.

Blushing, I wrapped my arms around myself and
hurried to the door, peeking at him over my shoulder as I slipped
through it.

He looked curious, almost . . .
Suspecting?

Gulping down a cry of fear, I let the lock
click shut behind me and bolted for the door right in front of me,
locking it and resting against it as soon as I was in the
room.

This room was much lighter than any other I’d
been in so far, decorated in whites and purples. It was a welcome
escape from the darkness I’d been thrust into. On one side of the
large space was a bed much like Hades’s, only it was white and
lacked the shroud of curtains. The light covers had been ripped off
it and were lying all over the floor, along with what looked like a
cracked dresser drawer. The dresser itself was on the wall adjacent
to the bed, the remaining drawers haphazardly sticking out of it.
Little pieces of glass littered the room, something unrecognizable
that had been smashed before I arrived.

Gingerly, my bare feet padded around the room
as I headed to the closet, wanting to make sure I was finally
alone.

Half the size of the room, the closet was a
mess as well, though the clothes Hades had said he’d gotten for me
were hanging neatly in their spots. It seemed Persephone had thrown
quite the fit here before she left.

My perusing confirmed to me what I’d most hoped
for—I was alone at last. With a great shuddering sigh, I quickly
crawled onto the bed and fought down the tears I so surprisingly
wanted to shed. My nerves and feelings were completely shot from
all of the day’s events. Something about the way he looked at me
made me feel that Hades wasn’t falling for my performance either.
Silently, I cursed Erebos for sending me here. Then I cursed myself
for being so stupid and naive to agree to something without knowing
what it really was.

A wall of exhaustion slammed into me as I
allowed myself to sink further into the feathery mattress, my
eyelids drooping heavily as if I’d been drugged. I didn’t want to
sleep though—I wanted to stay awake and not miss anything that
could cost me dearly in the end. There was no feeling of security
here, like I’d crawled into a pit of poisonous snakes and somehow
expected to make it out alive.