Page 81 of Flowers Near Me

“Ouch.” Hecate grimaced. “What was your first question?”

One side of his mouth quirked up. “I asked them if she was my wife. They said yes.”

“When did you ask them?” Hecate turned her face towards him, the glimmer of intrigue in her deep brown eyes.

Hades returned to his desk chair and sat down. “A few weeks before I brought her here.”

Hecate pressed her lips together, but her cheeks lifted as she bobbed her head. “Who knows about the Fates’ pronouncement?”

“Charon, you, me.” He paused and leaned back in his chair. “And Demeter. I asked for her blessing, which she refused to give. Then I told her I’d asked the Fates, and she said I was lying.”

“Oh my.” Hecate’s gaze grew distant, as if deep in thought. “When will you tell Sephy?”

“Not until she agrees to marry me.”

“Otherwise, you’d always question whether or not she would have agreed if she didn’t think it was inevitable.”

Hades nodded. “She was never going to work for me or spend time with me unless she was coerced. Binding her to a contract was simple. Persuading her to love me is complicated.”

“Yes, but having the Fates on your side puts you at quite an advantage.”

With an affirmative hum, Hades said, “It’s been a comfort.”

“Well, I’m relieved to hear it. I was worried about the time when she’d return to her old life. It was going to be inconvenient if I had to avoid you for months or years as you recovered from her exit, sulking around and what not.”

“You’d have to avoidme?” Scoffed Hades.

“Yes. You’re clearly smitten with her. Completely obsessed. Single-mindedly focused on winning her affection.” Hecate’s mouth slid into a feline smile. “I have things to do, you know. I’m working on something that involves Charon, and your heartbreak would’ve caused a lot of problems.”

“Really? What are you and Charon working on that I’m not involved in? Last I checked, she’s Sephy’s and my assistant, not yours.”

“I’m aware,” said Hecate, “but I’ve found a good match for her. We both know all she does is work, so she’ll never pursue love on her own. But I met another psychopomp, and he asked about her.”

“It sounds more like youstumbledupon a match thanfoundone.”

Hecate laughed. “If things work out, I’m taking credit for this one.”

“I hope it does.” The idea of Charon dating brought warmth to his heart. Perhaps Charon would treat Hades as sweetly as she treated Sephy, if she were in love.

The muffleddrone of water through pipes buzzed on the other side of Hades’ guest room wall.Sephy’s taking a shower,he thought, then hurried out to the kitchen. He grabbed the kettle and filled it from the tap. With the coffee grounds and pour-over filters in place, he lit the stove, then drummed his fingers on the countertop.

“Cerberus?” He called for his dog, but didn’t see him in the living room.Must’ve slept with Sephy.He rolled his eyes, feeling ridiculous that he was jealous of the hound. Cerberus split his nights between the two of them, but the little beast was lighter on his feet every morning after staying in Sephy’s room.

It had been weeks since Sephy had figured out his primary bedroom was upstairs, but she made no fuss when he remained in the guest room next to hers.

Yesterday, when he’d crashed Sephy’s fitting, he had a moment where he questioned if it was a good idea. She wanted to keep it a surprise from him for the event, but he wanted an excuse to be near her. When he saw her in the gown and how hard she tried to stifle the joy in her face, he almost portaled her out of there and into his bedroom. Now he regretted it, because the image of her in that dress consumed his consciousness.

Strolling around, he plucked Cerberus’ toys from the floor and shot them like a basketball into the dog’s basket. He didn’t use his power, simply tried to see if he could make each shot or not. When he found he’d collected them all, he summoned the entire contents of the basket, then scattered them across the room. Meandering around the furniture, he scooped up toys one by one and continued to toss them back into their container.

A shriek sounded from Sephy’s room and Hades’ throat caught. He portaled to her and was immediately hit with an overwhelming earthy scent. With his front paws on the bed, Cerberus was eating the garden of poppies that had sprouted all over Sephy’s blanket. Wrapped in a robe with soaked hair, Sephy screamed, “Stop, Cerberus!”

Hades held out his hand, and Cerberus froze. He guided the frozen dog away from the bed, then released his hold. Cerberus sat at his feet and tilted his head from side to side.

Bending down on one knee, Hades scanned his dog by placing his hands on either side of his fur covered neck. No hint of poison or malady.

“Don’t worry, he’s fine,” he told Sephy.

“They’re poisonous. We have to get him to a vet or he’s going to die,” she said in a hurried breath.

---