Page 35 of Tempted By Hades

“Don’t you want me?”

The words hit him like an arrow straight through the chest. “I want you to be sure about this,” he said. “That you’re not sleeping with me for the wrong reasons.”

“I’m an adult—a goddess, hundreds of years old,” she reminded him. “It’s not like I was saving myself for marriage or anything. I just never got the chance, you know? Not that I would sleep with just anyone.”

“I know you wouldn’t,” he said. “And that’s why I want you to be very, very sure this is what you want. Do you understand me? You can’t just decide on something like this in the heat of the moment.”

She seemed to mull it over before she spoke. “I…suppose.”

“Please don’tbe mad at me.”

She hesitated. “I’m not. I mean…oh dear, I was the one who kissed you!” Scooting backward, she covered her mouth. “Did you even want me to kiss you? You don’t feel like you had to kiss me back, did you? That you were forced to, just so I can be spared the embarrassment?”

Now, that brought a smile to his face. “Of course, I wanted to kiss you.”

She looked relieved. “Oh good.”

“But I didn’t want to take advantage of you. Yes, you’re an adult, but this is all new to you.”

“That’s true, I guess,” she said, chewing at her lower lip.

“You have to be very sure this is what you want. You can’t undo this.” And neither could he. He reminded himself of the last decision he made before coming to her today: to allow her to make an informed choice. Once he drew her into his plan, there would be no turning back. He would not stop until he got his revenge against Zeus.

But for now, he could not scare her away until he figured out how he would tell her the truth. There was still time; the ceremony was a few months away. Perhaps once he got to know her better, he could find a way to tell her everything.

Standing up, he offered his hand to her. “I think perhaps I should take you back home.”

“Only if you promise that you’ll come back to see me.”

“Always.”

Without hesitation, she took his hand, and they transported back to her apartment. Unfortunately, in his haste to bring her back, he had forgotten first to confirm that there was no one home.

And someone was home.

“Persephone,” Demeter exclaimed as she shot up from the couch. “I—you!”

“Mother!” Persephone jumped away from Hades. “What are you doing here?”

The initial expression of worry melted away from Demeter’s face, replaced by fury. Swirling shadows clung to her form, and the misty clouds tinged with ominous darkness accentuated her divine presence. Her flowing robes and hair held an eerie glow that hinted at the power of nature’s darker aspects. The air hummed with foreboding energy in her presence, and the subtle scent now carried a hint of earth disturbed and flora wilting. Demeter’s countenance, once reflecting maternal warmth, now portrayed the wrath of a goddess scorned.

“I’ve been worried sick, wondering where you were…and all this time you’ve been with him?” She threw a hate-filled glare at Hades. “How dare you intrude in our lives? What have you been doing with my daughter?”

“That’s none of your business, Demeter,” he replied calmly. His power was a hundred times that of hers, so he didn’t fear her. This display, of course, was for her daughter.

“Get away from him, Persephone,” she bellowed. “You are to never see him again or even be seen in his company.”

He half expected Persephone to cower and meekly obey her mother. But, knowing what she knew of her and what he saw in her, he wasn’t even mildly surprised when Persephone pulled herself up to full height and stared down her mother defiantly.

“Mother, I’m a goddess in my own right.” There was a subtle glow in her brown eyes. “I can make my own decisions.”

“You are my daughter,” she countered. “I did not take you away from that world and save you from that life so that you could just go back and run into their waiting claws!”

“What world, Mother? Back home with the other gods and goddesses?”

“Yes! You don’t know what kind of life they lead?—”

“And I never will because you never gave me that choice!” A chilling gust of wind blew in from out of nowhere. “This is about him, isn’t it?

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