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back into a stoic expression.
“Whatever you have that gets me in a state of not giving a shit who, what, or where I am.”
The Reevka only blinked but seemed completely unruffled as he nodded his head in agreement.
“Very good, sir.” The older gentleman bowed and became a cloud of shadows and smoke. The Reevka blending into the hallway’s shadows and disappearing.
Devon sighed. He wondered if this would ever feel normal to him. If he would find his footing here in the Underworld. Running his hands through his hair, his habit created out of frustration through the years, he summoned the strength to walk up the stairs.
He ran through the mental map he created earlier in the day so he did not end up wandering the castle for the next five hundred years. He managed to find the room a lot easier than he thought.
He also found an almost imperceptible pull to the room. Perhaps the memories that he had pushed way down deep, seeing the only home he truly felt belonged to him again, had created a
mental tether to the room. Or maybe it was more of Persephone’s magic.
Right now though, he didn’t care about new mysteries. He pushed into his room, thinking only of being alone. Shutting the door with his foot, he pulled off his shirt to ready himself for bed. As his hands went to the zipper of his pants, a flash of light caught his attention. It disappeared and left behind a decanter of alcohol and glass on a table between two chairs.
Like a hound on the scent, he moved to the table. Not bothering with the glass, he grabbed the decanter and took a swig as he sat down in one of the seats.
Enjoying the familiar fire of whiskey burning its way down his throat, he heard a soft knock at the door.
“Come in.” He closed his eyes and leaned his head back against his chair. He knew who it was before she even said a word. Thankful that she had knocked and not just shadow jumped into his room, he opened his eyes and raised an eyebrow at her in question.
Persephone stood there plainly, not a flicker of her Goddess form appearing. Even without the crown, she managed to cast a glow. She glided to the table and lowered herself into the chair beside him. The Goddess glanced at the generous drink in his hand but didn’t say a word.
“Would you like a drink, Goddess?” he asked, leaning forward to reach the glass. When she nodded, he poured her a dram and passed it over. Her pale, slim fingers grasped the glass carefully below his hand.
“I gather from the nightcap that training was educational,” she said wryly.
Devon released a dry laugh, so course it could be mistaken for one of Cerberus’ barks. “You can say that.” He sunk deeper into the chair. “I don’t know how you all do it.”
“The work will get easier with time,” she told him. “And don’t worry if your powers aren’t
coming to you- “
“No,” he interrupted, “I don’t mean the… magic, as much as it still blows my mind that the word now applies to me.” He caught her gaze, the blue eyes that had seen civilizations rise and fall. “It’s the time. I don’t know how you do this work, forever.” He shook his head. “How am I supposed to wrap my head around immortality when I spent my entire adulthood expecting to die every day?” He laughed again. “I did die.”
Persephone took a sip of her drink. “When I was young, time passed slowly,” she murmured thoughtfully. “As I grew older, time compounded, and the years went by like days.” Another sip. “Before I knew it, the empires I recognized had fallen, only to be replaced by others. Humans changed, but only marginally. You’ll find that, in the Underworld at least, humanity seems ironically consistent.” Her eyes drifted to her glass. “They always die.”
“What do you do?” he asked, bristling a bit at her mental painting of humans. “While the humans die and Thanatos reaps them?”
The Goddess lifted her stare to his. “I oversee the demigods in the Underworld, hold court, arbitrate problems. My magic supports the realm,” she explained, then paused. “I also govern some aspects of the human world.”
Devon raised his eyebrows. “I thought you were the Queen of the Underworld.”
She straightened. “I am,” she agreed. “After the Great War, my sisters and I stepped in to take a more active role in the recovery of humanity, putting in place structures to prevent conflict reaching that level again.”
She paused. “You have heard of Cerberus Financial, yes?”
“Yes,” he finally replied, stretching out the word.
“I am the head of the company,” she stated.
Studying her, Devon tilted his head. She was the head of the largest financial company in the world. This seemed almost too much, and without thinking, he shook his head as if to disagree. He tried to think back to who was always mentioned in the news, though he rarely paid enough attention to the photographs in the social papers.
“I thought Korinna Porter was acting head of the company.”
Persephone simply smiled.
