‘I know exactly –’
‘But you don’t.’ I cut him off. I don’t care to hear his excuses, his protests. I don’t care for anything he has to offer, actually. ‘They’re just words to you and if they’re not on one of your little scrolls then you don’t give a damn. I can’t believe I came in here like I could change your mind – you don’t have an opinion in the first place.’
‘I have no idea what you’re talking about.’
‘Oh, believe me, I know,’ I say. ‘You have dominion over a realm of humans. You could change the world if you wanted to but you don’t. You have all this power and you don’t care to use it.’
‘The Underworld is fine,’ he says abruptly, his lip curled like enough contempt might dismiss my entire argument.
‘No, it isn’t. You have people here who have been beaten, abused and murdered right alongside those who inflicted those crimes. So why wouldn’t the humans on Earth fight and steal and hurt people when there are no consequences. Consequencesyoucould provide. You could change everything but you don’t know why you should. You don’t deserve your power or your throne. You don’t deserve any of this.’
‘Why should I care about humans hurting each other?’ Hades asks like it’s ridiculous.
‘That’s the saddest thing I’ve ever heard. Why should you try to minimize the pain in this world? Why wouldn’t you? I was going to try to convince you to change things around here, but I don’t care what you think any more. Someone has to run this place and clearly it’s not you.’
‘More threats. Are you planning on taking my realm from me,Kore?’ he says my name like it’s an insult because that’s precisely what it is.
‘I don’t need to,’ I say because I can already feel this realm pulsing beneath my fingertips, like it’s been begging for someone to do something with it. If Hades won’t, then I will.
‘And what exactly is it that you plan on doing?’ Hades asks with a wry smile. It’s so condescending that my temper flares yet again.
‘Something. Anything. Which will be a first for this place and better than all you’ve done. I’ll do more than allow truly evil beings to simply wander fields for eternity.’
‘You have the stomach for delivering punishment, do you?’
‘Yes, I do,’ I say and he stares at me a while.
I’m not sure what he finds in my eyes but it’s enough that he concedes the point and hurries on like he’s searching for anything to say. ‘You don’t even know where to start.’
‘Of course I do.’ I’m surprised to find I’m telling the truth.
‘Are you a fool?’ Hades steps forward, anger returning. ‘You think usurping my power won’t break xenia?’
I laugh and it’s like a whip cracking in the air. I think of all those spirits under the control of this man. I can hardly help them if I am too. ‘I don’t care any more. You wanted me to break xenia? Well, why don’t I do you a favour? I revoke my request for safety, for hospitality and hearth.’
His anger falls, knocked off his face by the shock that replaces it. ‘Youarefoolish,’ he says quietly.
‘Go ahead, hurt me,’ I say, picking up my blade from the floor and flipping it casually in my hand. ‘I would love to see you try.’
I do not run from the room. I walk slowly, giving him every opportunity to change my mind. But change is clearly not something he is interested in.
‘YOU REALLY WERE SERIOUS,’Hades says the next day. He’s standing in the arched doorway, his aura completely gone, leaning against one side of the door frame. His clothes drape in such a way that I can see the sharp angles of his hip bones and the angular slant of his shoulders. This man is all lines and smooth planes and, again, I find I can’t deny there’s something about it that draws the eye.
I force myself to focus on his quirked, condescending eyebrow instead, and feel my irritation spike. That is at least the sort of response I can rationalize.
I have no idea what time it is. I don’t know how many meals I’ve missed. Time has seemed to drag while I’ve been reading these scrolls. I might have worked through the night or I might have skipped a whole day. I’m having to squint through creased eyes, like without sleep they’ve decided to find their own alternative.
‘Of course I was serious,’ I say. When I meet his gaze it feels like a challenge and I refuse to break away. I am not quite scared and not quite angry but something very similar to both.He doesn’t make any signs of leaving so I add, ‘You won’t stop me.’
‘Oh, I have no intention of stopping you. They’re just humans. You can do what you like.’ He shrugs.
Like I need your permission, you insufferable ass.
‘Excellent, then we will have no further problems,’ I chirp, like nothing he says, no matter how dry and dismissive, can get to me.
He scans the chaos of the room. So many scrolls are rolled to particular paragraphs. Some scrawled scraps of parchment are pinned to them; others litter the floor. I am sprawled on the floor too, in my crinkled dress, despite the library having a sizeable desk. I’ve never tried to put my own hair up and I was too embarrassed to call for Tempest’s help, so I ended up twisting it into a knot round a paintbrush. I must look dreadful.
Hades’ eyes linger on a discarded scroll as he weighs up saying something. He’s such a hypocrite. I’ve never seen him at a meal without one of these boring things – if only he cared as much about the humans as he does the words they’ve written. I can’t design an afterlife for the humans if I don’t know what they want, and I can’t stop the decaying of their souls to ask without draining myself like I did yesterday. So here I am, desperately reading anything I can get my hands on that might offer a glimpse into their minds.
