AllFreeNovel
Share Us
She sits in stunned silence for a long moment, staring up at her baby brother with an incredulous expression.
“No,” Hades replies, downing her drink. “This has been wonderful, as always, Zeus, but it’s time I made my way home.”
He stands before her with another of those glowering expressions Zeus wears for her benefit. “It wasn’t a request, Hades. It’s a command.”
“Last I checked, brother dear, we decided when Kronos fell that there would be three rulers. Me, Poseidon, and you.” She narrows her gray eyes. “I don’t recall you getting to decide what happens with the ruling Queen of the Underworld.”
Zeus grits his jaw. “Poseidon agrees with me.”
“Of course. Because the boys stick together, don’t they?” Hades' words come out with venom. She shoves out of her seat, into his space. She’s a tall woman, taller still with her high heels, and stands nearly nose to nose with Zeus. “Do not make me regret coming here, Zeus.”
“I am the king of all, Hades, or did you forget that I am in a position to bend you to my will?” He grips her around the wrist. The electric energy buzzing through his veins shocks Hades' skin. Zeus always carries the electric charge of his power; it radiates through him the way Hades' powers pulse through her. The energies are intrinsic to the gods’ natures, but both Hades and Zeus know better than to lash against each other with those abilities.
“Do youwantwar?” Hot rage burns at the back of Hades' throat.
“War is what I’m trying to avoid,” Zeus admits, softening when he sees she will not yield.
“You’ve got a funny way of showing it,” Hades shouts. She yanks out of his hold, fuming that his mark lingers on her wrist—near invisible white lines that dance in a pattern of lightning over her skin.
Zeus steps back to his decanter, pouring himself another large drink. “There’s unrest because you’ve no king beside you. The people at court fear that I am allowing you to rule alone due to favoritism.”
“Your last forced marriage didn’t go well, or have you forgotten the hell your sons put Olympus through while fighting over Aphrodite?” Hades was called in to make her nephews yield, and this is how her brother repays her loyalty.
Zeus shuffles. “I haven’t forgotten.”
Giving Aphrodite to Hephaestus was a fool’s decision. It wasn’t a fortnight before she settled her gaze upon Ares and they fell into bed. Hera still hasn’t forgiven Zeus for the rage between her sons—a war that was born of their father’s stupidity.
“I am not one of your pawns, Zeus. I will not marry because you force my hand.” Hades planned never to marry. Her father and mother weren’t the healthiest examples of wedded bliss.
“Fine, don’t marry. But you’ll pretend to bow to my will.”
“Meaning?” She asks him with a narrow gaze. Zeus knows better than any man that Hades bows to none.
“Meaning, we’ll host a ball where all the eligible bachelors of the realms come to vie for your heart.”
Hades can tell he’s been planning this for a while, and she remains cautious of Zeus' motives. He’s suspicious of other gods; those who hold favor and sway in his realm without having ties to Zeus' line. Hermes and Dionysus are the two outsiders Zeus wants to control; Hades has a feeling he believes he can tame one of them through her. Neither god appeals to her. Hades would sooner shove a spike into her stomach and twist than marry either of those men.
Wary, she asks, “How long are you forcing me to endure this?”
“However long it takes to find a husband,” Zeus says. When she glares, he groans. “I need you to try for a year.” The room’s lights dim. “Make it look as if you are sincere in your search. If no one suits you, in that time, Hades, you may quit the farce. A year of being insufferable shouldn’t be hard for you.”
Hades releases a sigh, mentally weighing her options. A war with Olympus is a waste of time and resources; Hades isn’t wasteful. Pretending to search for a husband is favorable to being forced to marry one Zeus selects for her; a year of pageantry is nothing compared to keeping peace in the Underworld. “Fine, tell them I’m looking to be married. I need you to emphasize that I’ll only marry the one who sways my heart.”
“Dear sister, what if one of them does?” Zeus asks her with a teasing grin, hope lilting his tone.
Hades' lip curls in disgust. “Have you forgotten? I have no heart to sway.”
3
Kore
“Kore,” a voice calls from behind him, and he turns. The joint in Kore’s hand is only half-rolled as the satyr, Dimos, enters the greenhouse at the center of Demeter’s sacred gardens.
“What’re you doing here?” Kore asks the short beast. “You know Demeter will shit a mule if she sees another guy here.”
“You’re in here,” Dimos points out.
Kore rolls his eyes. Of coursehe’sallowed in the greenhouse; he’s the only disappointing child of Demeter, Goddess of the Earth and Harvest. If it were up to his darling mother, his wet nurse would’ve buried him at the bottom of the sea—for the dishonor of being born a male.
