AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Kore
Though he’s slept with many, Kore’s never shared a person’s bed for thepurposeof sleep. Tonight he does, sitting up beside his queen as she slumbers. Time is a strange concept in this isolated world that exists only for them. Hours pass in what feels like seconds, while every minute brush of Hades' skin tortures Kore for a short eternity.
For the first time, Kore didn’t take his pleasure before another’s. He watched Hades as he unraveled her control—his cock hard in his jeans, but Kore never moved to relieve himself. At that moment, all that mattered was Hades' pleasure. Despite being tied up—at Kore’s mercy—Hades ruled that moment. Nothing mattered but her .
For Kore, it feels that way still.
He releases a sigh.This is bad.
The clock resting on that damned mantle informs Kore the hour is late, so late he will be useless by breakfast. Kore leans his head against the wooden headboard. It’s not comfortable, but is a work of art. Kore studies the glossy wood, pressing his hand over the renditions of split pomegranates. He can decipher its history through pulses of energy that radiate up from the wood, into his palm. The piece, made of Honduran mahogany, was carved in an early mortal century after the Christ child roamed the earth. Originally, the headboard belonged to a mortal princess who swore she was the reincarnation of Persephone, a woman who only ate pomegranates in the hopes that a dark king would come, claim her, and drag her home to the Realm of the Dead.
“A romantic,” Kore chuckles to himself.
“What are you doing?” Hades' voice shocks him from the memory swimming into Kore’s mental view—a younger version of Hades casting judgment over the same mortal princess.
Kore swallows, returning to now, focusing on the thoughtful frown that turns down the corners of Hades' mouth.
“I was reading the wood,” he confesses. Kore’s fingers dance across the small but exquisite details of seeds.
Hades' gray eyes narrow with consideration, “I didn’t know there were gods who could read the earth. I assumed that was a gift only three goddesses possess.”
Gaia. Rhea. Demeter.
Kore knows the three who hold dominion over the earth. Rhea is the weakest of the three; her powers, like Kore’s, are an echo of her mother’s. Gaia taught her daughter to continue her work on the earth. Demeter was supposed to teach her daughter in the same vein—a powerful mother and a helper daughter.
A new line of feminine power; one that lacks ties to that bastard Zeus.
Kore knew Demeter’s bitter sermons by heart.
“If Persephone is real,” Hades says, filling the extended silence. “She should be the fourth.”
Persephone is,Kore thinks but doesn’t say. Instead, he takes hold of Hades' hand, drawing her soft skin closer. His lips graze against her palm, kissing the curve of her eternal lifeline. “I learned many things in Demeter’s greenhouse.” Kore’s evasive reply.
Perhaps Hades senses his reluctance to share and allows the issue to drop away.
“It’s too early,” Hades says, breathing out a groan.
“We could stay in bed,” Kore suggests, grinning down at his queen.
“I don’t have that luxury. I’m eons behind.” Hades sits up, the fall of her dark hair spilling like careless ink down her back.
Instead of running his hands through her hair, Kore says, “How can I serve you?”
Hades casts an appraising glance over her shoulder, silently measuring him before she replies. “How good are you at organizing?”
* * *
Hades'staff is predominantly women. Hecate. The Moirai: Clotho, Lachesis, and Atropos. The Erinyes: Alecto, Megaera, and Tisiphone. The only other male in the room is a nymph called Minthe.
“Nyx is never here,” Hecate complains as she introduces the various deities standing before them. “Minthe isn’t the only male here. The twins, Thanatos and Hypnos, also work for Hades.” Hecate’s smile is soft when she adds, “They typically work right at her side.”
She is the mother of stolen children. That’s what Demeter whispered about Hades; Thanatos and Hypnos were often named “stolen heirs”.
“What would you like me to do?” he asks Hecate, unsure of where to begin. Kore’s duties for Demeter always involved living things; he’s unaccustomed to the dead.
“We’re always thousands of years behind schedule for certain souls. Others make their way here with relative swiftness, but there’s a few who wander the shores before Charon finds them.”
“What about the rivers?”
