Page 79 of Flowers Near Me

“Hermes.” The clipped greeting did little to console the fidgeting messenger in his office, but that wasn’t Hades’ problem.

“You summoned me?”

Hades leaned over his desk to bend closer to Hermes’ sweaty face. “I have a message for your former employer.”

Hermes’ eyes widened, but he remained quiet. The man’s timid look coaxed a smile on Hades’ face.

With his elbows leaning on his desk, Hades set his clasped hands down in front of him to see if the continued silence would prompt Hermes to spill more of his worries. When Hermes’ gaze started to move around the room, Hades said, “Tell Demeter the ‘snake bite’ virus is dead and the app’s better than ever. And, oh—” A cruel thought popped into his head. Something he knew would rattle Demeter. “One more thing. Let Demeter know Sephy’s magic smells incredible.”

Hermes’ bewildered expression confirmed his suspicion.Most don’t know she has power.

Sephy had denied having powers on par with the rest of the gods. Initially, he’d assumed she was lying to him to protect herself while in his domain. But the past few months had proved Sephy was only now discovering her divine abilities. Her astonishment at seeing the poppies appear was his first clue, but as she tried her hand at using her power, the newness of it all was written in the bright look on her face.

Hermes asked, “What’s she the goddess of?”

Shoulders stiffening, Hades stared at Hermes for a few beats. “Maybe one day you’ll get to ask her.” Hades flicked his hand. “We’re done.” The messenger disappeared, cast out from Hades’ office into Underworld Unlimited’s lobby.

Hades left Sephy in the dressing room of the tailor’s hours ago, but the image of her in the satin dress lingered. The way she lifted her head, back straight, and kept her eyes locked with his—unfazed by the fact he’d barged in—made him want to kiss her and never stop. She was beautiful in everything she wore, but seeing her in a gown tailored to her body made his heart pound and his pants tight.

Of course, Charon tried to hide the date and time of the final fitting from him, but she couldn’t remove the transaction history from his account. Ever since the dress fitting conversation at his apartment between Sephy and Charon, he periodically checked to see if there were any boutiques listed in his ledger. One day he recognized the name of a well-known clothier and scoured Sephy’s calendar for it. Realizing that Charon would schedule it as something else, he set an alert on his phone if Sephy entered the shop’s location. It pinged today during his meeting with the director of Helena’s school, and he fled as if the place had caught fire. Fortunately, the director was a woman of few words and seemed almost relieved that the meeting ended early.

Work was not providing enough of a distraction for him to forget the way the black silk wrapped around Sephy’s waist and hips. She had the body muses raved about and artists toiled to capture. Nothing compared to her.

Finished with the interviews, but not yet time for in-person events, Hades planned to take Sephy on their proper date in a few days.

Outside his office door, the sounds of Hecate’s portal magic crackled like one of Helena’s “fairy slimes” she’d left at his apartment after their last dinner.

Two knocks and Hecate opened the door. “Where’s Sephy?”

With a flippant toss, Hades threw one hand in the air. “Hello, Hecate. Good to see you too. I’m well. Thanks for asking.”

Hecate sat in the chaise near the window and looked out at the city. “I thought I was meeting Sephy.”

“Since when were you on a nickname basis?” Hades clicked open his email to see if Charon had tagged any new messages for his review.

“Well, if you’re allowed to say it, then we all must be able to.”

Hades turned to see the wide grin on Hecate’s face.

“That so?” He laughed, and Hecate shrugged.

Hades got up to stand next to the chair Hecate sat on. “How has training been going with Sephy?”

“Slowly, but not for lack of effort. It’s as if her magic is hiding.”

“Strange,” Hades replied. His lips pressed in a line.

Hecate asked, “Do you have any idea what sparks it? Any pattern?”

“That’s the problem. It’s inconsistent. I’ve had her try a few basic things around our place, but beyond lifting objects, nothing else has worked.”

“Has she tried to portal?”

Hades’ chest felt tight. “I didn’t want her to get hurt. I have no clue how to teach that.”

“You have no clue? Or you didn’t want her to get away?” Hecate scoffed.

Lowering his brow at her, Hades said, “I don’t have her chained in a dungeon. And I think she’s moved on from hatred of me towards curiosity.”

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