Page 62 of Hades

I follow him back into the cabin, not wanting to argue but still needing answers. “Hades, what happened to you?”

“I needed to show Themis that she no longer had power over us. And reclaiming my birthright was the only way to do that. But you now have a choice. Once you leave Treachery, you’ll be as you were before she banished us, a goddess,” he informs me, and I’m not really sure how to react.

Grateful, I guess.

Confused, definitely.

“So, I can leave?” I ask, not sure what he’s implying. “And I won’t forget you?”

Hades shakes his head. “No, you won’t forget me.” He says, but his statement has no emotion; it’s simply a matter-of-fact.

“Why does it sound as if there is abutto your answer?”

Instead of answering, Hades grabs my hands. “Could you love me like this?” he asks, and I hesitate for only a moment. But apparently, that moment is too long for his liking. “I didn’t think so,” he whispers. “I’ll bring you back to wherever you want.”

“But what about us?” I ask, though, by his reaction, I can already tell whatever I thought we had, died when he traded who he was for who he is.

Before my eyes, his fiery horns and strange eyes revert to the man who has won my heart so many times, I can’t count. I want him to take me in his arms and once again tell me everything will be okay. But he doesn’t.

“Is this better,” he asks.

“It was just the shock of seeing you like that. I still love you,” I add, touching his bicep. For a moment, I think something I’ve said has hurt him. But the look that I thought I saw quickly disappears, and in its place is a cold sternness I’m not used to seeing.

“Well, I’m glad to hear you’d still love me in my true form,” he replies, but something about his answer seems more sarcastic than genuine. “So, what’s your choice?” he asks without any emotion in his voice.

“Umm, I did have a life, Hades. I—”

Hades doesn’t let me finish. “Then you’ve already made your decision.”

Before I can argue, we’re standing beside my white Jeep, still parked in the rest stop lot. I can feel a renewed energy coursing through my body, a power unlike anything I have ever felt.

Is this what being a goddess feels like? Before I can ask him anything, Hades walks toward the rundown diner.

“Hades? Why are you doing this?” I yell, but he doesn’t bother to look back, he just continues to the diner as if he doesn’t hear me. “Hades!” I yell again, just before he enters the building.

Frustration and anger flow through me, and the ground begins to shake. For a moment, I fear it might be an earthquake, but then I realize it’s coming from me. The ground is shaking due to my anger, and I have no idea how to control it.

Running to the diner with the earth shaking beneath my feet is difficult, but somehow I manage. I nearly tumble through the door and have to catch myself on the Formica countertop.

The same old woman who was here the last time stands glaring at me with her arms crossed. “Well, well, well, look what the cat dragged in,” she says as she grabs a few menus and seats the three truckers waiting.

My eyes dart around the small diner, looking for Hades, but he’s nowhere to be seen.

“You looking for that handsome fella you came in with last time?” she asks, and I give her a nod as I continue to scan the diner. “He left, sweetheart,”

“What? What do you mean, he left? I’ve been outside the entire time. I never saw him leave.”

The old woman gives me a cackle-laugh. “Oh, come on now, you and I both know he don’t need no door to vamoose. He paid for the damage you caused and gave me some extra for keeping your Jeep nice and safe since you’ve been gone. Then he just…” She snaps her fingers.

“Did he leave through the back door?” I ask, though the question is stupid and I regret even asking it. I know he’s just gone, unlike when he dumped me in Treachery. Even then, I could still feel him, but now, there is an emptiness inside me—a hole where my heart used to be.

She tilts her head as if to say I should know better, then crooks her finger at me. “Come here, sit down,” she says, pointing to a seat at the counter and pouring me a cup of coffee. “Don’t be coy with me. What did you do to that man? He was pretty distraught when he came in, and I’m sure it takes a lot to get him riled.”

I let my head fall forward, not wanting her to see me cry. “I basically told him I wanted my life back,” I choke out.

“Men like that don’t like to be anyone’s second choice, sugar. Maybe you need to find yourself. You seem to have a new energy about you,” she adds, and I can’t believe what she’s saying or how she knows. But before I can ask, she continues, “My husband, God rest his soul, was the pack master in these parts. I’m no stranger to folks like you and Mr. Hades. Or that bitch of mother of yours, though I don’t need her back here. Lord knows she’s more trouble than she’s worth.”

“I don’t even know what I am,” I admit to this stranger as I sip my coffee. “And he still has my dog,” I cry.

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