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“I must stop you there. He won’t be remembering everything.”
“But—”
“He cannot,” Hades said, his voice suddenly commanding and ruthless, leaving no room for argument. “If he remembers you he will still love you and try to keep you with him during that six month hiatus from me and the Underworld.” Setting down his wine, he gestured to himself with one hand, touching his chest, and the bleak world outside the palace with the other. “I do not like when others’ want what belongs to me. I’ve never been one to share, and I won’t be starting with my wife. I’m not very good at holding myself back either, and I’m certainly not going to start now,” he picked up his glass again, swirling the wine, seemingly calm, before sneering, “with a mortal.”
“Okay,” she breathed in deeply, failing to hide the shaking in her voice, “he won’t remember everything.” Her voice had dropped to a whisper as she looked down at her hands, picking at her nails under the table. It was okay if Hades wiped her from Pelops’ memories, she wasn’t worried because their love was stronger than Aphrodite herself and he could never forget her. No matter how powerful Hades was, their love was stronger.
She swallowed the smile that arose when her thoughts drifted to Pelops remembering her despite Hades’ adamance otherwise, and looked at him with cold eyes.
While her face was stern and her shoulders tensed, she continued to nervously pick at the skin around her nails, peeling short strips until they stung and bled.
It wasn’t that she was afraid of Hades, not really, but the way his voice filled the room, demanded every ounce of her attention made her want to cower and run from the room. He was so much more powerful than her, so much older and assertive. The authoritative tone in his voice chilled her blood while simultaneously heating it, the heat rushing to her legs and pooling between them.
What was going on with her body? She couldn’t control herself around him. Her mind wanted to punch him, slap him across the face for speaking to her like a child, but her body wanted something else entirely.
Having him so close, with only this short table between them, she couldn’t decide if the heat rising in her face was from the fear he instilled in her, or the need building inside her with every slow look of his eyes.
She swallowed again, rubbing her hands along the tops of her thighs as she said, “I won’t belong to you. I am my own person, Hades,” with as much scorn and strength as possible.
“Hmm, of course. But a wife is still a wife, no matter how much autonomy you have.”
Persephone looked down, anywhere but at his eyes. He was right, of course. She only had so much power, so much sway in this relationship as a wife. It would be entirely within his rights to end Pelops’ life at any moment he felt it necessary. Hera may be the Queen of the Gods, but she wasn’t exactly one for wives’ rights.
So she dropped it.
“Alright,” he said, clapping his hands together and standing, “any more conditions?” He walked around the table, the empty glass following closely behind and sliding onto the counter. He gently grazed her bare arm with his knuckles as he passed her, his touch sending an unwelcome shiver through her and she jumped a little in her seat, just out of his reach.
He ignored her reaction, walking past her to stand before the fire. The flames danced around his silhouette on the floor, highlighting the edge of his body as Persephone turned in her seat to watch him.
“Um – no,” Persephone said, staring at the back of his head, “no, as long as he’s still him then that’s all I had,” she finished confidently. “But, please,” her voice quiet and hesitant again, “don’t kill him when he’s alive again.”
He sucked his teeth in contemplation, the sound too loud in her ears. “Okay.” His answer was short and tense.
Persephone said nothing as she watched the flames gild strands of his hair, his face looked softer and kind in its warm light. Much more approachable and handsome than usual, so much so that Persephone pushed the chair away from the table as quietly as she could manage and stood.
She was beside him and reaching out for his arm, her hand halfway between them before she remembered who, exactly, Hades was.
“I can get one of my priestesses here within the hour.” He turned to face her and she quickly dropped her hand to her side, the action making herchitonbillow gently out.
Her hand shot to clutch at her chest as his words registered, “No!” She took a step back, “What? I need my – my mother and my friends and – and there’s a plan,” she said firmly, though her eyes were darting with extreme speed and anxiety. “I’ll go home, talk to my mother, plan the wedding with her and my friends, and then when I return…” she trailed off, starting to pace up and down the side of the table.
Heart racing, hands flying around as she whispered list after list to herself, counting items and events off on her fingers. All while Hades stood silent and still where she’d left him. She stopped talking altogether when she remembered he was there, her hair flying as she whipped back to face him.
“Can they even visit here? How will we have a wedding here? In this dark, dingy—”
“Dingy?” He held a hand to heart at the offense.
“It’s the Underworld. Death is dingy,” she said, brushing him off.
Hera may not even come to officiate the ceremony, and if she didn’t, then Demeter would have a fit. Not that her mother would be thrilled with this match, anyway. In her eyes Hades will be better than Pelops, a god always trumps a mortal, but he was still King of the Underworld, and Persephone would live here. With him.
She couldn’t think of that now, her stomach already roiling at the thought of calling this place home.
“Yes,kale,” his voice brought her back to the present, “they can visit for the wedding,” he smiled tight-lipped, “and as for the dinginess of our home…it will all be in order by the time our guests arrive.”
She was careful to ignore the cringe bubbling up her throat at his use of plural pronouns. Our home, our guests.
She smiled back at him, just as tight-lipped as his own, before choking out, “Great. I will…see you in a week?”
