Chapter Thirteen:

"At least you took me back to my apartment this time, instead of assuming I wanted to go straight to the Und-"

Hades turned me in his arms as his warm lips found and covered mine, tongue teasing the corner of my mouth until I parted it on a sigh and he explored, running his hands up and down my back as I arched myself against him, tasting cinnamon, nutmeg and campfire-roasted marshmallows and moaned, ever so slightly, bringing my hands up between our bodies.

"I said I'd stay in the Underworld, not be with you," I said, shivering as his teeth found a sensitive spot on my earlobe. "Tartarus doesn't change anything."

"It changes everything," Hades snarled, low in his throat. "You've been taken from me one too many times, Emma, and it's driving me insane. I denied our connection because I didn't want to admit that I'd screwed up, where Persephone was concerned. If I had waited a couple of millennia more - if I hadn't been so desperate for someone to spend my life with, I would've waited, and would've found you first."

"But you didn't," I said, trying to wrestle free even as his arms around me tightened. "I meant what I said before; I won't be that person. I won't be with you while Persephone is cursed."

"What if it's forever?" He asked, eyes boring into mine. "What if my efforts to win her back fail and she willingly marries Prometheus? What if he never manages to convince her, and she stays cursed here, in Portland? In either scenario, I lose her, Emma. What happens to us then?"

"I don't know, alright? But this," I said, indicating the crushed space between us, "isn't a solution. It's a reprieve for how guilty you feel right now."

"Guilty?"

"Yes." I shoved against his chest again and he let me go, stepping back. "If you hadn't saved my life from the Fury, Poseidon wouldn't've kidnapped me, you wouldn't've had to come to my rescue, and we wouldn't be in this situation right now." I strode towards the doorway, stopping short when he blocked me in.

"You want me to ignore the way I feel about you, is that it?" He asked, eyes hard. "That's great coming from someone who tried for years to get my attention."

"Do not go there again," I hissed.

"How long do you want me to wait, Emma?" Hades asked as I stomped into the kitchen. "How long before I'm forced to forfeit Persephone to Prometheus and Portland? Before you're allowed to act on your feelings for me without so much goddamned guilt?"

"I don't know, but not right after I was almost forced to marry your dad. Give me a little space, please." I shoved a filter into the coffee pot, measuring out some grounds with hands that trembled. I felt him join me - could physically feel the heat that emanated from his body, reaching across the space to me, but didn't dare turn around.

"I'm the only man you've ever met - will probably ever meet - who you can be yourself around. Who you don't have to hide anything from, because I understand what you're going through. The Fates never make a mistake, Emma," he said, and the low vibration in his voice rubbed itself along my spine.

"I don't give a crap what they want; it's my life, and I'll love who I want to love and right now, that doesn't include you." I smacked a mug to the countertop, mixing milk and sugar together as I waited for the coffee to stop dribbling into the base.

"You can convince yourself that's true, but I know you," he said. "The thought of the Fates binding you to me excites you; it's probably one of the only reasons you keep coming back, even after everything."

"No," I said slowly, turning to face him. "You bound me to the Underworld, remember?"

"Oh, come on, Emma," he said, the hint of a smile flitting across his face. "You and I both know that you could've talked me into releasing you, so don't use it as an excuse. Haven't you ever wondered what it would be like to be with me?"

I scowled in return, carrying my mug to the couch. "Of course I have - too many times to count - but it doesn't matter. I'm not going to ruin my relationship with Persephone, and I won't let you do it, either."

"She has to take the life of her best friend," he said, sinking down next to me as I twisted towards him.

"Please tell me you're joking."

"Sara's name appeared on her lists this morning, and something tells me she's not going to be in a rush to come back home after that, even for me."

I slid off the couch, pacing in front of him. "So, the Fates have a twisted sense of humor. So what? As soon as Persephone remembers her life in the Underworld with you, she'll come home, because despite the forced marriage and manipulation - love," I corrected as his eyes shot bits of fire at me, "she loves you. Which is why I can't be around when that happens."

"Emma-"

"No, Hades, please don't fight me on this, alright? When she comes back, you're going to need space to rediscover who you are together, and I can't be around distracting you while you're busy doing that. It would hurt too much."

He nodded slowly, picking at a piece of invisible lint on his shirt. "Because you care about me."

"Yes, and because I care about her, too. I'm not going to forget that I'm your soulmate, but there's not enough space in the Underworld for the three of us, and I won't put her, or you, in the position of having to choose."

"So you're not coming back to the Underworld with me."

It wasn't a question, but a judgment, and I glared long and hard at him in return. "No, I'm not, and don't you dare try to change my mind."

He sighed heavily, leaning against the cushions of the couch. "You're infuriatingly stubborn, you know that? You're also forgetting about the souls and the Furies, both of whom are waiting anxiously for you to make a mistake so they can take advantage of you, and hurt you to get to me. Being here, in Portland, puts you in harms' way."

"The only way you're ever going to stop that from happening is if I'm never allowed out of your sight again," I said, resuming my pacing back and forth, back and forth, as Hades watched me, eyes hooded...brooding. "That's completely out of the question."

"And what about the promise you made to me - twice? Does that mean nothing to you?"

Shit. Yes, I did forget about that. Well, hell.

I smiled sweetly, tucking my hands behind my back so he couldn't see them shake. "Hades, I said what I did in the heat of the moment because I didn't want to marry your dad, and-"

"So, you used me."

I said nothing, pursing my lips together into a thin line and he sighed again, looping to his feet.

"I can't say that I'm surprised by it, but if Persephone comes home, it means she's no longer a death goddess, which means that she can't help me with the spirit load. Just you. I need you to be ready to pick up that slack."

"I don't want to, Hades."

"I'm not asking, love. I'm ordering."

"You're not in a position to order anything, you little piece of-"

"Hey, guys."

I glanced up as Poseidon sauntered through my front door, Amphitrite in tow.

"Hold my mug," I said to Hades as I marched over to them, rearing back and punching Poseidon square in the nose. He howled and buckled to the floor, trying to stem the flow of blood as I smirked and rejoined Hades, taking a sip of coffee. "That's for kidnapping me, you stupid asshole."

Amphitrite helped him up, glaring at me. "Was that really necessary?"

"Yup."

"He did what he did to rescue me and now you're going to punish him for it?"

"Look, Amphy - can I call you that? He used me to get what he wanted, despite my warnings and protests. He could've figured out another way to get you without involving me and now, thanks to him, I almost became Queen of Hell, and bargained away some of Hades' power over Kronos in the process."

"So, you won't help someone unless it benefits you in return?"

"The line between 'help' and 'human trafficking' is pretty clear."

"Stop it, both of you." Poseidon tucked a bloody handkerchief into his back pocket. "Emma, I'm sorry for what I did, okay? But if I could do it over, I would."

"Is that supposed to be an apology?" I snarled, grabbing my empty mug and raising it over my head as Hades reached out and gingerly took it from me, setting it on the coffee table.

"Bringing Emma to Tartarus wasn't a smart move, brother. She could've been hurt or killed."

"I didn't have another option brother. Besides, Kronos wouldn't've killed her, not when he realized what she could do."

"That wasn't your decision to make. Gods alive, Poseidon, since when did we take free will away from mortals?"

"Since you let that mortal intrude into our family's business," he said, gesturing to me. "The only reason she's allowed to live in both worlds at all is because you lack the balls to make her immortal like the rest of us. How long are you going to continue to protect her against every imagined threat before you realize how fragile she is?"

"I can take care of myself, thank you very much," I said, glowering back as he sent me a long-suffering glance that I itched to smack from his face.

"She's a liability as long as you refuse to acknowledge this fact. And I won't be the last god to ask for favors."

"Did it ever occur to you that I may have already tried to convince her to become immortal?" Hades asked, laying a hand on my shoulder.

"Don't try - just do it."

"Woah wait a damn second," I said, starting towards him. "No one has the right to do that without my permission. He offered, I refused. End of story."

"And, suppose that I did it - took that choice away from her. She would never forgive me for it," Hades said, stroking his lip in thought.

"But, she'd be safe."

"Guys, I'm standing right here, and I say hell no to this plan of yours," I said, waving my hands in front of me uselessly.

A parade of emotions crossed Hades' face as he stoically ignored me, the two men staring each other down.

"She's rather obstinate, foolhardy, persistent-"

"Impatient, judgmental and, right now, pissed off," I said as Hades blinked, looking down at me.

"I'm sorry, Emma, but it pains me to say that Poseidon has a point. If you were immortal, the Furies couldn't hurt you, and the souls couldn't overwhelm you to a lethal level. This might be the best option you have."

"Are we really going to revisit this conversation right now? Why don't I just pack up everything I own, break up with Sam, and move here permanently, huh? Then we could all be one big, happy family."

I jumped when Poseidon roared with laughter. "Wait, you have a boyfriend on the side? Oh, that's rich. How did Mr. Mean and Scary here react?"

"Jealous and moody, like always. Sam might not believe that I can do what I say I can do, but he's been trying lately, for me. But, back on topic. When I say that I don't want to do something, please listen, because nine times out of ten, I'm dead seriou-"

"You told him?" Hades' nostrils flared to life and I held up my hands in supplication against the tidal wave of anger I could feel seeping from every pore.

"Back off, alright? He doesn't know about you, or the Underworld, or my connection to it all, and even if he did, like I said before, he wouldn't believe a word of it. But I like having someone on the outside who I can be myself around. I want the chance to live a normal life, remember? Things like having a husband and kids someday. Maybe not with him, per se, but with someone who isn't already married and who I don't have to hide things from."

"Normalcy vanished for you the second you walked through my front door, remember?" Hades hissed, and I flipped him off as he arched an eyebrow in warning.

"Well, that message came through loud and clear! If you won't take our very generous offer of help," Poseidon said to me, tucking Amphitrite's arm through his, "some advice, yeah? You're far too smart to think that you can do this all alone, despite your behavior now, and not smart enough to realize how much you need the assistance. Just think it through, alright? It would be better knowing that you couldn't be killed, no matter what kinds of shenanigans we devise for you."

"I don't care."

"And maybe that's true, and maybe it's not, but I do know this: you panicked when you thought about what Kronos could've done to you, didn't you? And you'll continue to feel that way every single time you're in a position where your life could be in danger. I'm not sure how much longer Hades will put up with that, but my guess is not long. Charming apartment, by the way."

He saluted us, disappearing from sight and I stomped back to the kitchen, Hades in tow.

"You seem angry."

"Gee, I wonder why." I moved to brush past him, but he stepped in my path, blocking me.

"You know I couldn't stop Poseidon from taking you to Tartarus."

"I know, but it doesn't change how livid I am with you right now."

"Me? Why?"

"You're kidding, right? For about five minutes, you actually considered doing it - taking Poseidon's advice and making me immortal despite all your talk about free will. Don't deny it, either, because I saw it in your eyes. It's exactly the same look Hera gave me the night of the party when I told her that you took my gifts away. There'd be no consequence for your actions, either. No twinges of guilt as you saddled me to Olympus and the Underworld for the rest of eternity. But I don't want that, Hades. I never did. Teach me to protect myself against the souls, and you won't ever have to worry about keeping me safe, except maybe from your maniac brother, who I don't like."

The ghost of a smile lifted his lips as he watched me. "This requires you to be in the Underworld, Emma."

"Can't it be done anywhere else, hmm? Like...here?"

"No, it can't, because I also want you to start coming with me to the docks for two hours each morning."

I felt my mouth pop open, breath quickening. "No, Hades. Just...no. That's not a good idea, and you know why. A majority of those souls are angry, spiteful and-"

"Evil, yes, I know, which is why I think it's the perfect setting for you to learn. Because if you come back here, and the souls overwhelm you again, you need to know how to fend them off."

"If I come back?" I folded my arms across my chest, giving him a steely-eyed glare. "I wasn't aware that by agreeing to go back to the Underworld with you, I was forfeiting my freedom...again."

He blinked, confused. "You're not."

"When you come back would've been a more appropriate thing to say, Hades. One is conditional, the other given."

"Your return here is conditional on the progress of your training, Emma. I'm not sending you back until I know that you're thoroughly ready for it, and considering the length of time since your last training session, it could take us a while to get to a level that I'm satisfied with."

"Yay," I muttered, crossing to the kitchen to deposit my cup in the sink.

"This is for your benefit, never forget that. I'll have Hermes move your things to my room as soon as we get there," he said, holding a hand out to me.

"I don't want to sleep there with you. I have my own room, remember?"

"Per our agreement, you're required to stay with me while you're in the Underworld. Or did you forget about that stipulation, too?"

"No, I didn't."

Yes, I did, and I was hoping you'd just forget about it, like everything else I said while I was desperate to leave Tartarus.

A wry smile twisted Hades' lips. "You know I can hear you now, right?"

"I just figured, since so much has happened the past twenty-four hours, that you'd understand my need for...space."

"It's because of everything that's happened in the past twenty-four hours that I need you to stay near me. This isn't a punishment, Emma. Please, just take my hand."

I eyed him for several seconds. "If I come with you, I won't be with you once I'm there. Understood?"

"Only a complete fool would press the issue any further. Are you done now?"

"I want my own blankets in the bed, space from you when we're not training, the freedom to choose when we train outside of the two hours at the docks and-"

With a muttered curse against the Fates and Furies, he surged forward, wrapping me in a vice-like grip as the world around us spun.