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“Hello!” she called. “Anyone there?”
She continued to pound on the door until her arms hurt. Just when she thought about giving up, the door flew open, the ogre who had been staffing it last night, glared at her. Persephone stumbled into him and quickly pushed away. In the daylight, he was even more gruesome looking. His thick skin sagged around his neck, and he stared at her with small, squinted eyes.
“What do you want?” His words were a snarl and it wasn’t lost on her that he could crush her skull with his hand alone.
“I must speak with Hades,” she said.
The ogre stared at her and then slammed the door closed.
That really pissed her off.
She banged on the door again. “Bastard! Let me in!”
She’d always known ogres existed, but she’d learned some of their weaknesses by reading a few books from Artemis’s Library at school. One of them? They hated being called names.
The ogre tore the door open again and snarled at her, blowing his stinking rot-breath in her face. He probably thought it would scare her away—and it had doubtless worked on others in the past, but not on Persephone. The mark on her wrist drove her. Her freedom was at stake.
“I demand you let me in!” She stomped her foot, and her fingers curled into her palms. She considered how much space remained in the doorway. Could she get past the huge creature? If she moved quickly enough, his girth would probably throw him off balance.
“Who are you, mortal, to demand an audience with the God of the Dead?” The creature asked.
“Your lord has placed a mark upon me, and I will have words with him.”
The creature laughed, beady eyes shining with amusement.
“You would have words with him?”
“Yes, me. Let me in!”
She was growing angrier by the second.
“We are not open,” the creature responded. “You will have to come back.”
“I will not come back. You will let me in now you big, ugly ogre!”
Persephone realized her mistake as soon as the words were out of her mouth. The creature’s face changed. He grabbed her by the neck and lifted her off the ground.
“What are you?” he demanded. “A tricky little nymph?”
She clawed at the ogre’s steel skin, but he only pressed his meaty fingers deeper into her own. She couldn’t breathe, her eyes watered, and the only thing she could do was drop her glamour. As her horns became visible, the creature released her as if she burned.
Persephone staggered, and inhaled deeply. She pressed a hand to her tender throat but managed to stay on her feet and glare at the ogre in her true form. He lowered his gaze, unable to look upon her or meet her bright, eerie eyes.
“I am Persephone, Goddess of Spring, and if you would like to keep your fleeting life, then you will obey me.”
Her voice shook. She was still rattled from being handled by the ogre. The words she had spoken were her mother’s, used at a time when she’d made threats against a Siren who refused to help her search for Persephone when she wandered away. In reality, Persephone was only a few feet away, hiding behind a nearby shrub. She’d overheard her mother’s crude words, and filed them away, knowing that without powers, words would be her only weapon.
The door opened behind the ogre, and he stepped aside, lowering to his knees as Hades came into view. Persephone couldn’t breathe. She’d spent all day remembering what he looked like, recalling his elegant but dark features, and yet, her memory was nothing compared to the real thing. She was pretty sure he was wearing the suit from last night, but the tie around his neck was loose, and the buttons of his shirt fell open at the neck, exposing his chest. It was like he’d been interrupted in the middle of undressing.
Then she remembered the woman who had wrapped her arms around his waist—Minthe. Perhaps she had interrupted them. She took great satisfaction from that thought, even though she knew she shouldn’t care.
“Lady Persephone,” he said. His voice was heavy and seductive and she shivered.
She forced her eyes level with his—they were equals, after all, and she wanted him to know it because she was about to make demands. She found him studying her, his head tilted to the side. Being under his gaze in her true form felt strangely intimate and she wanted to call up her glamour again. She had made a mistake—been so angry and so desperate, she’d exposed herself.
“Lord Hades,” she managed with a curt nod. She was proud that her voice did not shake, though her insides did.
“My lord,” the ogre said, hanging his head. “I did not know she was a goddess. I accept punishment for my actions.”
