“Lady Persephone, this is Antoni,” Hades said. “He will ensure you make it home safe.”
Persephone raised a brow at the God of the Underworld. “Am I in danger, my lord?”
“Just a precaution. I wouldn’t want your mother banging down my door before she has a reason to.”
She has a reason to now, she thought angrily, and the mark on her wrist felt hot. She met his stare, intending to glare and communicate her anger, but she found it difficult to think at all. The God of the Dead had eyes like the universe—vibrant, alive, vast. She was lost in them and all they promised.
She was thankful when Antoni distracted her from those dangerous thoughts. Nothing good would come out of finding Hades interesting. Hadn’t she learned that already?
“My lady,” Antoni said, opening the rear car door.
“My lord.” She nodded to Hades as she twisted from him and slid into the black leather interior.
Antoni shut her door carefully and then folded himself into the driver’s seat of the car. They were on the road quickly, and it took everything in her power not to look back. She wondered how long Hades stood there before returning to his tower—if he was laughing at her boldness and her failure.
She stared down at the flashy gold bracelet that covered the black mark. In this light the gold looked brassy and cheap. She pulled it off and examined the markings on her skin. The only thing she could think to be thankful for at this moment was that the mark was small enough and in a place where it could be easily hidden.
Create life in the Underworld.
Was there even life in the Underworld? Persephone knew nothing about Hades’ realm, and in all her studies, she had never found descriptions of the land of the dead, just details of its geography, and even those seemed to conflict. She supposed she would find out tomorrow, though, the idea of returning to Nevernight to make the descent into the Underworld filled her with anxiety.
She groaned. Just when everything seemed to be working out for her, too.
“Will you be returning to visit Lord Hades?” Antoni asked, glancing in the rearview mirror. The cyclops had a pleasant voice. It was warm and spiced.
“I’m afraid I will,” Persephone said absently.
“I hope you’ll find him pleasing. Our lord is often alone.”
Persephone found those words strange. “He doesn’t seem so alone to me.”
She thought of the jealous Minthe.
“Such is the case with the Divine, but I am afraid he trusts very few. If you ask me, he needs a wife.”
Persephone blushed.
“I am certain Lord Hades isn’t interested in settling down.”
“You’d be surprised by what the God of the Dead is interested in,” Antoni replied.
Persephone didn’t want to know Hades’ interests. She already felt like she knew too many and none of them were good.
Persephone watched the cyclops from her seat in the back. She wondered how the monster came to be in the service of the God of the Underworld, so she asked.
“My kind were freed from Tartarus by the three after we were placed there by Cronos,” he replied. “And so we have repaid the favor by serving Zeus, Poseidon, and Hades from time to time.”
“As a driver?” she didn’t mean to sound so repulsed, but this seemed a menial task.
Antoni laughed. “Yes, but our kind are great builders and blacksmiths, too. We have crafted gifts for the three, and shall continue.”
“But that was so long ago. Surely you have repaid their favor?” Persephone asked.
“When the God of the Dead gives you life, it is a favor that will never be repaid.”
Persephone frowned. “I don’t understand.”
“You have never been to Tartarus, so I don’t expect that you will,” he paused and added. “Do not misunderstand. My service to Hades is my choice, and of all the gods, I am glad to serve him. He is not like the other Divine.”
Persephone really wanted to know what that meant, because from what she knew about Hades, he was the worst of the Divine.
Antoni arrived outside her apartment and squeezed out of the driver’s seat to open her door.
“Oh, you don’t have to—I can open my own door,” she said.
He smiled. “It is my pleasure, Lady Persephone.”
She started to ask that he not call her that, but then realized he was using her title, as if he knew she were a goddess, yet she wore her glamour.
“How did you—”
“Lord Hades called you Lady Persephone,” he explained. “So I will, too.”
“Please...it is not necessary.”
His smiled widened. “I think you should get used to it, Lady Persephone, especially if you visit us often, as I hope you will.”
He shut the door and bowed his head. Persephone wandered into her apartment in a daze. This day had been long and bizarre thanks to the God of the Dead.
There was no reprieve from it, either, because Lexa stood in the kitchen when Persephone came inside and pounced.
“Uh, whose Lexus dropped you off in front of our lame apartment?” she asked.
She wanted to lie and claim that someone from her internship had dropped her off, but she knew Lexa wouldn’t believe that—she was supposed to be home two hours ago, and her best friend had just watched as she’d literally be chauffeured to their home.
“Well...you’re never going to believe this but….Hades.”
While she could admit to that, she wasn’t ready to tell Lexa about the contract or the mark on her wrist.
Lexa dropped the mug she was holding. Persephone flinched as it hit the floor and shattered.
“Are you kidding?”
Persephone shook her head. As she moved to grab a broom, Lexa followed.
“Like...the Hades? God of the Dead Hades? Owner of Nevernight Hades?”
“Yes, Lexa. Who else?” Persephone asked, irritated.
“How?” she sputtered. “Why?
Persephone started sweeping up the ceramic pieces.
“It was for my job,” It wasn’t technically a lie. She could call it research.
“And you met Hades? You saw him in the flesh?”
Persephone shivered at the word flesh, recalling Hades’ haphazard appearance. “Yeah.”
“What does he look like?” Persephone turned away from Lexa and grabbed the dustpan. She was also trying to hide the furious blush staining her cheeks. “Details. Spill!”
Persephone handed Lexa the dustpan and she held it as Persephone swept up the shattered mug. “I...don’t know where to begin,” Persephone said at last.
Lexa smiled. “Start with his eyes,” she said.
Persephone sighed. It felt intimate to describe Hades and part of her wanted to keep him all to herself. She was well-aware she was only describing a toned-down version of the god because she had yet to see him in his true form. There was a strange anticipation that followed that thought, and she realized she was eager to know the God in his Divinity. Would his horns be as black as his eyes and his hair? Would they curl on either side of his head like a rams, or reach into the air, making him even taller?
“He’s handsome,” she said, though even that word didn’t do him justice. It wasn’t just his looks, it was his presence. “He’s…power.”