Chapter Eight:

"I'm sending you to Portland," Hades said, setting his fork aside as I glowered into my wine cup.

Six days of awkward silence, coupled with his renewed attempts at getting Persephone back, meant that I spent more time than usual sulking around my room, something I knew he hadn't failed to notice.

"Not that it matters what I think," I said carefully, playing with the end of my fork, "but I would prefer to stay and work from here for now."

He laughed, folding his hands together on the table. "Oh, please, Emma. You've been itching to get away from this place, and me, for a few days now, admit it. And besides, I need you to do some reconnaissance work for me."

I can't fight with him. Not here. "I know you think it makes sense for me to get closer to her, since right now, she's not exactly fond of you, but I'd rather not."

He leaned back in his chair. "You're not the only one who needs space to think."

Ouch.

"What is there to think about? I'll work for you until the book is finished, and then you'll never see or hear from me again. That's what I call a win-win." I attempted a smile, though my heart definitely wasn't in it.

"Emma." He ran a weary hand across his face. "I didn't say what I did to hurt you. I don't feel the same way about you as you do me, but that doesn't mean I don't care about you. I just need Persephone here, and everything will go back to the way it was before."

"So, you want me to do what, exactly? Convince her that you're a good person? That she should trust you? Just admit it - your entire relationship was built around this idea that if you didn't have something, but wanted it, you could just take it. She's content in Portland, alright? She doesn't need you for that anymore. So please, leave her alone."

"I need her here, by my side, where she belongs."

"Oh my gods, Hades," I groaned, gripping the fork tighter. "If you're going to be so goddamned stubborn about this, fine, but I can't help you anymore. I had ten souls find me yesterday, and eight the day prior, and I'm exhausted. I'm returning to Portland because I want to, not because you're trying to order me into it. Plus, being here with you right now is a serious mood kill. It's taking a toll on my wildly optimistic outlook on life."

He quirked an eyebrow. "Since when?"

"Since when...what?"

"Come on, Emma. I'm not the one who's had food delivered to my room because I was afraid of a face-to-face encounter."

"I had work to do."

"Every meal? Every single day this week?" He pressed, smiling, ever so slightly.

"Fine! I didn't want to see you. Are you happy now?"

"Not even a little bit, but I understand."

"Hades, why is there a pint-sized mutt running from Brom? I thought it was an oversized rat and - oh, hello." A man skid to a halt just inside the dining room, limpid blue eyes scanning me curiously.

"Poseidon, this is Emma," Hades said, snapping his fingers as Bailey appeared in my lap, trembling and wet, crazy cow-licks sticking up all over her body and in the distance, a pathetic, frustrated howl shook dust from the rafters.

"Oh right, your human. You never said how pretty she was, though," he said, leaning casually against the back of a nearby chair as I rolled my eyes, taking a bite of chicken. He smiled, toying with the beads woven into his long blonde dreadlocks. "I don't suppose you wanna come back to my place and check out my aquariums?"

"Not really, thanks," I said sweetly as he blinked back at me, stunned.

"I think that's the first time I've ever been flat-out refused before. It's an oddly exciting feeling. Okay, what about my weapons' collection, huh? If you're a good girl, I'll even let you hold some of them."

I dabbed at the corner of my mouth with a napkin as Hades watched, lips twitching.

"You know, I just want to finish dinner right now, maybe go for a walk around the indoor lake afterward, or visit Persephone's gardens, but I appreciate the offer. Hades is free, though, if you're desperate for company."

"My treasure vault, then," he insisted, leaning towards me. "I have a rather vast collection of diamond and ruby necklaces, rings and bracelets. One of them would look ravishing on you."

"I said no thank you," I replied, patience wearing thin.

"What about-"

"That's enough," Hades said, surging to his feet as I collapsed against my seat cushion, feeling the tail end of dizziness subside. "You're welcome in my home, brother, but not when you bother my guests, and if you ever use magic on her again, you'll answer to me. What do you need?"

Poseidon watched me as I stood, too, scooping Bailey up under an arm. "Mother is creating a new island in the South Pacific. I need a place to crash for a while until she's done."

"Fine. But you're not allowed to relocate any marine life to the lake or-"

"Oops, already done, sorry. And it's now a saltwater lake so, surprise!"

"Emma."

I glanced over my shoulder at Hades.

"Please stay away from the lake, for now."

"Okay. I should pack anyway, so-"

"No, I need you to remain in the Underworld for a little while longer."

I ground my teeth together, hard, as I glared at him and thought about the hundred and one ways I'd like to end his life.

"Put her in my room, please," I said, holding Bailey out to him, and he poofed her away as I marched right up to him, smacking him across the face as the sound reverberated through the room. "You said that I could leave."

He massaged his jaw as Poseidon whistled.

"You need a little instruction on how to handle your women, brother."

"And you," I said, rounding on him as he watched, amused. "I get the whole Playboy vibe you're going for, but it's not working because it's creepy. Back off, alright?"

"I'm not leaving him alone here, so while I go see about getting Persephone back, you need to god-sit," Hades said, shrugging into his coat.

"But, that's not fai-"

"You're bound to me, and the Underworld, and I'm ordering you to stay put," he interrupted, vanishing into thin air and I groaned aloud, whirling around as Poseidon followed.

"So, how about a tour, narrated by yours truly, of the mysteries of deep-ocean life?"

"Get dead."

"Movie and popcorn works, too."

***

"A month was completely uncalled for," I said as Hades stomped snow off his boots, greeting Bailey as she rushed up to him, tail wagging uncontrollably. "Three souls became Furies - don't you dare give me that look, because it's your own goddamned fault for giving me a clingy, needy distraction, and speaking of which, Poseidon tried to sleep with me no less than eight times."

"Nice to see you too, Emma. Are those cookies I smell?"

"Busy work. Are you going to make him leave, or not? How long does it take to create an island, anyway?"

"Centuries."

He moved to the side of the entryway, hanging up his jacket as a woman joined him, light brown hair curling loosely around her heart-shaped face...

"Persephone!" I surged forward, wrapping my arms around her, and she leaned away slightly, frowning. She smelled like lilacs and peonies, just like I remembered, and I inhaled the scent greedily, only slightly aware of the rigidness of her body.

"Do I know you?"

"Oh." My heart sank as she glanced around the living room, eyes wide. "No, I guess you don't. Hugging complete strangers is just something I love doing - ask Hades - and is that a dog?" I gestured to the ball of fluff clinging to her leg, begging to be held, and Bailey reached around me tentatively to sniff it.

"Maddy is picky about who she likes and hates, just fair warning."

"Thanks for letting me know, but Bailey is chill around other dogs, except Hades' hellhounds, who've almost mauled her to death three times. I'm sure she'll survive anything Maddy throws at her."

Persephone smiled at me as I took her bags, shifting awkwardly from foot to foot. What do you say to someone who forgot that you already know each other?

Hades stepped up to her, laying a hand against the small of her back and she immediately shied away from the touch, picking Maddy up.

"Why don't we go upstairs? I'll show you our rooms," he said, meeting my eyes for a moment, frustration and anger evident as he led her away.

"She's going to give him hell," Poseidon said, joining me as he tossed a gold coin in the air, spinning it between his fingers.

"She needs to remember who she is before Hades takes all that pent-up anger out on one of us. Probably me, since I know how to push all the wrong buttons."

"I filled his lake with saltwater and dumped all of my marine creatures in it, even the sharks. I'm confident he'd rip into me, though you're a close second."

I snorted, shaking my head as he moved closer to me, wrapping an arm around my waist and I shoved him away. "In your dreams, fish boy."

***

I sat on the bottom step of the marble staircase, watching as Persephone brushed past, tablet clenched between her hands and Hades joined me, dropping his head into his lap as tremors shook his whole body.

"What did you do this time?" I asked, arranging my skirts around my feet.

"She killed a Fury."

"Awesome," I breathed, smiling wide. "But, that doesn't explain why she just stormed out of here without so much as a 'hello, Emma, I'll see you later', or why you look so...miserable."

"She turned the Fury into a tree, Emma. It was reckless, and I tried to stop her, but she tapped into all of her power, and when the Fates saw what she did, they turned her into a death goddess."

What did this mean for me?

"She's been trying to help you with the souls for as long as you've been together, right? This should be a good thing, and still doesn't explain the stomping."

He seemed a bit ill at ease. "I may have lied to her about being able to go back to Portland on a permanent basis."

"Why would you do that? You know how much her freedom means to her."

"It was desperation, Emma! You have no idea what it's like to care for someone so deeply, only to have them reject you at every turn. And she did that before she was cursed, too."

You might be surprised.

"You're trying to mold her into something she was before the curse, but she changed, in more ways than one, and she might never go back to the old Persephone. Are you ready to accept that and move on?"

"Psst. Over here."

I inhaled sharply, glancing at the soul. "If you don't mind, we weren't done with our conversation."

"It's okay - work. I need to go smash something," Hades said, standing.

"What are you going to do about Persephone?"

He shrugged, running an agitated hand through his hair. "I don't know. The Furies still want to punish her for what she did to one of their own, so please try not to make any more of them, alright? See you at dinner." He left, and I glared at his back before turning to the soul.

"You're not going to become a Fury if I make you wait another five minutes, are you?"

He shook his head.

"Okay, then. Wait right here. Hades!"

He stopped mid-stride, eyes hard and tense. "Emma, I don't have time right now."

"You get into these moods whenever you can't control a situation. And I know that she hurt your pride by wanting to leave you again," I said as he tried to walk away, "but you can't let her be the sole focus of your life. You're the freaking lord of the dead, for crying out loud, and other people occasionally need your help. Like me."

"What do you need help with? You're getting more confident with the souls, and I've given you more than enough material for your book today alone, with Persephone's little...spat..."

"I want to know why Hera claimed me, and why she thinks that I deserve these gifts."

"Mortals," he mumbled. "She gave you those abilities freely - she's not always known for being nice - and your only response is to ask 'why me'? How about a little 'thanks' first?"

"Someone listened to me that day on the beach, alright?" I said, smacking a hand to his chest. "I knew I was goner, and then I wasn't. But why did I come back at all? Why can I do what you can, without the excuse of being a god?"

"I can't answer those questions."

"Exactly, but she can."

He watched me for a minute, jaw clenched.

"My sister doesn't always answer my summons. In case you hadn't noticed, I'm not exactly the most popular god."

"She would, though, for me."

"You don't know that-"

"And you do? Just admit it, Hades. Since the moment I agreed to let you help me, you've wanted to know why she thought I was so special. This is your chance to find out, and my chance to finally get the answers I've been craving for years. So, could you please just try?"

He sighed, closing his eyes as his lips moved, and I felt a tingling sensation zip up and down my spine before subsiding again. He looked down on me, eyebrow quirked. "I told you it wouldn't work."

"Wait, that was it? Try again."

"No, Emma."

"You want to abandon this because you're having connection issues?"

"She said she was 'very busy' and to 'stop bothering me, brother.' I'm sorry, but let this one go."

He strolled out of sight and I huffed out a frustrated breath, biting my thumbnail as I wandered back to the soul. "I'm sorry that took so long, but what can I help you with?"

"Is he gone?"

I glanced up in surprise at the woman who stood next to us, smoothing a hand down her red poppy dress, and the soul rolled his eyes.

"I can see this isn't going to happen, so if you'll excuse me, I think I'll go find that death goddess instead."

"No, wait, I can do it! Damn," I said as he disappeared. "If I can't help the souls, what's the use in being here at all?"

She smiled, stepping forward. "He won't be the last soul to abandon you, now that my lovely niece has taken over Hades' job. Speaking of which, I think you wanted to see me."

I looked her over head to toe. "You're Hera?"

"One and only."

"I, um..."

Brilliant response, Emma.

What did I want to say to her? 'Thanks for saving my life, and slapping me with paranormal gifts that I've only recently begun to fully comprehend'? How about 'I appreciate what you did for me, but why did it take you so damned long to show yourself'?

Admittedly, there was a tiny amount of anger associated with her, and I knew it didn't make sense, because Hades was right - I should be grateful to her instead - but the four years after I almost died would've been so much easier, and less stressful, had she just told me what she expected me to do with these gifts, and why she gave them to me in the first place.

"I'm glad that Hades is teaching you how to handle the spirit world, and I'm proud of how far you've come."

Proud. She was proud of me? Why? Because I didn't die under the weight of the gifts she gave me? Yeah, nice. "Okay, so, you brought me back to life, and I'll always be thankful you did, but I could've done without the aftereffects."

"You mean the souls? Why not? You and Hades weren't going to find each other the normal way, so I had to give you a little advantage, though you should know that your gifts were always there. I just heightened them."

"You wanted us to meet? For what possible reason other than massively complicating my life?"

"Your connection, of course, Emma! The Fates knew you and Hades were soulmates, and admittedly, they had their own reasons for keeping you apart, but that was just cruel, so, I intervened on your behalf."

I doubled over, laughter rippling through me as she raised an eyebrow in question. "I'm sorry, but Hades? That's impossible."

"The two of you are separate halves of one soul, and to be honest, I'm surprised that you didn't know this, because he does."

I felt like laughing and punching something at the same time, neither emotion winning, just sort of floating together, bouncing through me like an old-school Windows icon.

She can't be right except, in a weird way, it made sense. And he'd been so focused on returning Persephone to the Underworld to, what, distract himself from the fact that I was his soulmate, and not his wife?

This news doesn't change anything, though. "Even if this is true, he's told me time and again that he doesn't feel that way about me."

She rolled her eyes, head shaking back and forth. "I may not like my brother all the time, and we've had our share of epic fights in the past, but I've known him for thousands of years and in that time, he's never cared about the wellbeing of a human until now. You're special to him, and have been since you two first met."

"How long has he known that we're - you know...?" I couldn't - wouldn't - say the word 'soulmate', not yet.

"Your first night here, in the Underworld. Something snapped into place for him, so he convinced Persephone to give you another task to keep you here, where he could watch you, and protect you."

Writing a novel for them, tricking me into eating the pomegranate seeds. "That little rat-fink!"

Hera blinked at me in surprise. "I'm sorry?"

"Gods, why didn't I see this before? He doesn't want to deal with the guilt of being married to Persephone and having soul-mate level feelings for me at the same time, but he's been trapping me in situations where I'd never be far from him. Oooh, just wait until I get ahold of him. He's going to be sorry he hid this from me. Wait, did Persephone know? Before the curse, I mean."

Please say no, please say no.

She shook her head and I sighed in relief. There was a good chance that nothing would ever come of this knowledge, even if I could somehow get Hades to admit how he really felt about me, not with one half of the equation currently cursed and living in Portland.

"What the hell am I supposed to do with this information?"

She shrugged, unaffected. "Whatever you want to, I suppose. You deserved to know the truth, and now you do. What happens next is up to you."

"That's not as comforting as it should be...or less complicated."

She smiled in response, wandering over to the bar. "I'm not going to pretend to be sad if you were part of my family on a more permanent basis, but I won't force the issue, either."

"This might make things more awkward between Hades and I than they already have been lately."

"He doesn't know that you know and quite frankly, it's a little satisfying thinking about you having that leverage over him. May I?" She indicated the bottle of single-malt Scotch whiskey and I nodded. She winked conspiratorially at me before disappearing, glass and all.