Page 19 of Seeking Hades' Ember

Chapter 10

Jillian

After a long bath, which I wasn’t sure I was going to climb out of, I wrapped myself in a warm fluffy towel that made me giggle. I couldn’t get over that I was in the largest bathtub in a giant bathroom that was larger than the room I slept in with thirty girls. My giggles were short lived as I turned to the mirror. You could easily see my bony shoulders, my gaunt face, and large bags under my eyes. My hair was dull and lifeless and I’m sure I weighed a hundred pounds wet.

A large sigh escaped my lips. How Loukas and Hades brought the girls and I to freedom and kept me was beyond a miracle. Then they pick me out of all the girls and bring me here, to this beautiful home. The other girls were prettier, fed better and had curves in all the right places. Me? They purposefully had me malnourished, to keep me small and have a pretty price over my head.

Walking out of the bathroom, I headed to the closet. I really didn’t want a maid to come in and dress me. I helped too many girls get ready out of pity. I didn’t need any of that since my body was so disgusting. Hunting through the closet I found an abundance of clothes. Dresses, skirts, pants, jeans, shirts, just about anything a girl could want. Did he know my size? Weird.

Thumbing through the rack I found a pretty plum colored dress that covered up my bony shoulders and stitched at the waist. I still had plenty of room to go in the waist area, but the way Loukas had been forcing food the past two meals, I knew I would gain it fast.

My hair was dry and with a bit of concealer to cover the bags under my eyes, I was ready for someone to retrieve me. Part of me wanted to venture out on my own but with a room as big as this only made me worry how big it was on the outside. I wasn’t one to get lost or get into some sort of confrontation with some maids since there was a fight earlier between them.

Before I could let my mind wander into thinking of all the things that could go wrong, there was a knock on the door. Jerking my head up and walking to the door, I cracked it open to see who it was on the other side. It was Hades and my smile widened on its own accord.

“Hello Hades,” I muttered. Hades’ smile widened as he took in my appearance. I haven’t even opened the door and he was looking at me like I was the light of his world. His eyes looked happier than what they were the first time we met. The dark shadow had left him and was looking more, dare I say, human?

There was no mistaking he looked like a god carved from stone. His body towered over mine easily and the recently shaven face made me want to touch it. It only makes me question more of his name, of his friends’ names. I was lucky to have something to read at night. The history books were a favorite and Greek mythology always fascinated me. I would read about them over and over until I fell asleep at night. Wouldn’t that be amazing if he was the real Hades, God of the Underworld? He certainly had the looks for it. Ha, is it hot in here?

I bet they are in the Mafia and those were the names they picked for themselves. Don’t they use code names? Teddy’s men used code names, but they weren’t as cool as Hermes and Ares. Their names were Spike, Rage or Rogue. Could they be into something illegal then?

My imagination was running away from me as I continued to look up into his dark eyes.

“Are you ready?” His smile widened even more. I blushed looking down at my feet. “You might want to open the door a bit more if you plan on coming out.” He grinned.

“Oh, right,” I muttered again and opened the door.

“You look beautiful, Jillian.” His hand brushed a piece of my hair away. I gave a tiny smile, looking away. I felt anything but beautiful. The bruises are still fresh, and the lifelessness of my face will tell me otherwise. “Look at me.” He put his finger under my chin and ever so gently lifted my head. My eyes burned with unshed tears.

“If all the painters of the world tried to recreate your beauty on canvas for a thousand years, they still would come up short because no one can recreate your perfection.” I looked at him in awe as my mouth parted. No one has ever told me such words or attempted to say anything kind to me and this man, the one who bought me, made my heart melt.

We stood in silence, looking at one another. His hand never left my chin as we stared into each other’s eyes once again. He glanced at my lips, and I hate to admit, I looked at his too. Hades began to lean in until I heard a loud bark that made me jump.

“A dog!” I squealed. Beside Hades was a giant dog that reminded me of a bulldog but much larger. His jaws are massive and his teeth even longer. This animal may not even be a dog for how ferocious he looked but it didn’t scare me. The body was large and full of powerful muscles. He had black sleek fur and had a twinkle in his eye.

“Can I pet him, please?” I almost started jumping up and down and Hades chuckled.

“Of course, you can. This is Cerberus.” I didn’t have to even bend down to pet him, he easily reached my mid-torso. I hadn’t petted an animal in all my life and the large canine didn’t even frighten me. He felt familiar. Reaching out, he automatically leaned into my touch. His breathing was heavy, and his head rubbed into my palm.

“Aren’t you a good boy! You are so sweet!” I smiled widely at him. He jumped a little to lick my cheek. “What kind of dog is he? I didn’t know dogs could get this big.”

“They definitely can. This is a specially bred dog. There isn’t really a name for him, one of a kind.” I continued to pet him until I found a sweet spot on his chest and started scratching. His foot banged harshly against the floor, and he finally rolled over onto his back. I started laughing, continuing my assault.

“Does my big boy like that? Do you like that?” I cooed at the large dog as it groaned in delight.

“All right, that is enough of that. You are going to make me jealous.” He laughed again. It was a wonderful deep laugh that I’m sure rumbled in his chest. His hand took mine to lift me from the floor and he put it in the crook of his arm.

“Come on, Cerberus, you attention hog,” he growled out playfully. Hades walked down the large hallways. This wasn’t a mansion; this was a palace or a castle! The statues, the paintings, portraits, there was one we passed by that caught my attention and made me stop. It was a picture of Hades in a long dark robe with a dark crown on his head. He looked angry as he sat on a throne full of thorns and skulls, a scepter in one hand and another hand gripping the arm of the throne.

A small gasp left my lips and Hades gripped my arm tighter while he cleared his throat. “Uh, that was a bit of a gag gift.” He laughed lightly. “My family has a sick sense of humor.” He cleared his throat again. “Anyway.” He continued to walk me down the hall. “It was great seeing you laughing with Cerberus.”

I hummed in response. “Yeah, I don’t remember the last time I laughed that hard.” Hades patted my hand that was still around his arm. His touch was warm and inviting, something I wouldn’t expect of a man of his beauty. At first glance, he’s cold and desolate. When I am around him though, my heart flutters violently like it never has before, and I doubt it is because my blood sugar is low.

Cerberus takes a giant leap ahead of us, shaking me from my thoughts again as we entered the enormous dining room. Hermes, Ares, and Vulcan were talking and sipping on glasses of wine until we approached the table. Hades pulled out my chair and I muttered a quick ‘thank you.’

“You look ravishing, Jillian. Who knew you would clean up so well?” Hermes gave a wink as he drank another sip. “I’m sure Hades told you all about how gorgeous you look tonight.”

I pursed my lips to try and hide a smile. “I take that as a yes,” Vulcan added.

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