Page 25 of The Trickster's Heart

“What do you want?” Hermes’s voice dropped, and Hercules felt a rush of possessiveness. He hadn’t heard Hermes take that tone of voice before. In fact, he’d never heard anyone take that tone of voice about him before—not since his mother died.

Persephone’s smile widened. “Easy, Herms.” She turned to Hades. “He’s the one.”

Hades looked at Hercules with a face completely devoid of expression, moving towards him. Hermes stepped closer.

“What in the Underworld is going on?” Hermes grunted, his scepter appearing in his hand. The possessive feeling in Hercules’s chest magnified.

“Hades, cut the shit,” Hecate snapped, sounding bored. “Since everyone is intent on ruining on my day, you’d best get on with it.”

Hades’s laugh in response was a low, dark sound, and he nodded his head in Hecate’s direction.

“Persephone told me about our Underworld visitors, and frankly, I was too intrigued to wait until tomorrow to meet the infamous Hercules.” He looked at Hercules and Aeëtes again. “Although, it seems that I was indeed interrupting.”

“I’m so glad that you did,” Persephone chimed in, earning another scowl from her consort.

“What do you want with him?” Hermes pushed again, clearly still put off by Hades’s presence. Hades glared at Hermes and tightened the grip on his bident.

“I think that’s between Hercules and I.”

Hermes visibly puffed out his chest as the wings on his sandals flapped erratically, and he rose to Hades’s eye level.

“Don’t try me on this, Hades,” Hermes grunted in an assertive tone that he hardly ever used.

Hades didn’t say anything in response. He simply raised a cold eyebrow and studied Hermes for a second before looking past him to fix his sights on Hercules again.

Hercules’s body ran cold as Hades’s gaze raked over him. It was like he’d jumped into freezing water. When Hercules thought he was going to fall to his knees under the scrutiny, Hades turned his attention back to Hermes.

“Oh my…” Hecate smiled from the sidelines where she’d been speaking quietly to Aeëtes and Persephone. “It doesn’t take much to rile up Hermes on the topic of Hercules, does it?”

“They grow up so fast,” Aeëtes chimed in, much to Hermes’s horror.

Hermes spun around to see if there was some chance Hercules hadn’t heard them, but of course, he was grinning like a mad man—despite the stare down he was getting from Hades.

Hermes quickly dropped to the ground and addressed Hades. “Seriously, Hades, since when do you make house calls?”

Hades pushed Hermes out of the way and didn’t stop until he was standing directly in front of Hercules. Hercules finally understood why people were afraid of the gods, how they could respect or worship them.

Hades was something otherworldly, authority dripping from every pore as he spoke in a voice that could only belong to someone who wielded ultimate power. It was a voice that wasn’t made for conceding—a voice that never had its commands ignored.

“What is your purpose here, Hercules? The rumors of your feats have traveled far over these past ten years, and it seems that your labors have finally brought you to my doorstep. Should I be concerned?”

Hercules didn’t know how to respond. What was the best way to approach a god?

Hey, Hades, love what you’ve done with the place. I’m a big fan. You wouldn’t mind if I borrowed your infamous hellhound, would you?

“You can tell him,” Hermes murmured softly, appearing next to Hercules’s side.

The presence of the god soothed Hercules immeasurably. He took a deep breath before picking up his head and finally making eye contact with Hades.

“I need Cerberus.” Hercules’s voice was absolute, even if it was quiet.

He felt Hermes tense beside him as they waited for Hades’s response. Even Persephone, Hecate, and Aeëtes went quiet as they watched the king of the Underworld.

Hades didn’t move. For a minute, it didn’t look like he was breathing; only the dark smoke that curled around Hades’s shoulders kept moving.

Hercules waited…and waited…until he was so wracked with nerves, he was about to drop to his knees and apologize for bringing it up.

“You are a son of Zeus?” Hades finally spoke, his voice tense.

---