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He must be running around her head right now, asking herself why he kissed her after how he acted that morning, and the previous night. He could read that much in her eyes before he sent her back to her mother’s, the confusion setting in.
Ignoring her was part of his plan. It had taken much self control to force himself to turn away from her last night, to fall asleep beside her without touching her or nuzzling his face into her neck and her hair. He’d gripped the edge of the bed, holding himself to his side until her breaths steadied with sleep.
Then he’d left. Sneaked from his own bed, his own room, to one of the only rooms unoccupied in the palace. Several guests remained in the rooms provided, but most left after hearing Persephone’s screams of pleasure from the bridal chamber.
Staying away in the morning had been harder. He’d been eating at the table when he heard her light steps down the hall, heading for the stairs that ended right behind his chair. Cowardly, he ran into the rose garden to avoid her.
He almost missed her, only deciding to say goodbye at the last possible moment as he watched her head toward the gate. Almost let her leave as he watched from the door. The only way he could ensure she would return desiring him, or ideally, wanting to torture him, was to say goodbye in a way a normal husband would his normal wife.
So, he embraced her and kissed her. Relishing in the feeling of her body softening against his, resting her cheek on his chest and leaning against him completely, as she stepped into his perfectly laid trap.
The only part that went wrong, the worst part of their final interaction, was his own feelings. He had melted into her as well, had felt something rise in his chest as he held her. Had known in that moment that he needed to make Persephone the queen he wanted through any means necessary, needed her to feel for him what he felt for her.
Even if he had to torture her to do it.
20
LEAD THE WAY, PERSEPHONE
The deep growl of Cerberos could be heard for miles before the ten-foot hound came into view. Hades watched as his serpentine tail swished back and forth across the narrow bridge to the Underworld, the tip dipping into the shallow depths of the Styx. The closer he came, the faster Cerberos wagged his tail, his three heads bobbing up and down with excitement.
Hades dragged a hand up his bronze side, carefully avoiding the mane of snakes encircling his neck.
Those small snakes frightened him more than the three heads, serpent tail and lion claws Cerberos bore. Of course Hades had the power to alter the guard dog’s appearance and rid him of the slithering mane, but Cerberos enjoyed scaring the entering souls immensely so he couldn’t bring himself to remove them. No matter how much he hated them.
A golden throne appeared behind Hades, dull in the dim light of the entrance. The King had removed the torches previously lining the walls, and the large bonfires scattered around the shores of the Styx that had helped instill fear into the entering souls. When he adopted Cerberos, however, it quickly became clear that the dog’s eyes were too sensitive for the light they were emitting.
“Any new souls yet this morning, Cerberos?” Hades sank into the throne, popping a red cushion from the dining table’s chair onto it as he did. This was a replica of his main judgment throne, much smaller for traveling and lacking the intricate carvings. It had a golden carved screech owl resting on the apex, but otherwise it was simple and smooth.
A low growl from the middle head came in answer: no.
“Well,” Hades smacked his thighs and settled into the throne, leaning his back against the cool metal, “I’ll be complaining until they arrive.”
He conjured three large cattle, dropping them at Cerberos’ feet. All three heads charged toward them, tearing into them without hesitation, the low moos quickly cut off as the sound of crunching bones echoed off the entryway’s walls.
“I may have made a mistake marrying Persephone. I didn’t realize how,” he shuddered, “nice she is. I’m not sure she can be the queen we need down here.” He needed a second opinion, Minthe couldn’t be trusted completely, the nymph was known to have ulterior motives whenever she was kind. It’s what got her trampled and turned into a damn plant.
Cerberos grunted in reply, not pausing as he inhaled the cattle.
“No.” He poured finality into his tone. “I can’t simply torture her like the any other soul down here, Cerberos.” He leaned forward, gripping the armrests of the throne. “First of all, she is an immortal. Not just an immortal, but a goddess and—”
Cerberos growled low and long, interrupting Hades and staring him down, legs and innards hanging from the maw of each mouth.
“Hmm, yes, a queen. Apologies.” Hades rolled his eyes when he looked away, returning to stuffing his faces. Relaxing back into the throne, he said, “Whether she is a queen or a goddess, we have no way of torturing her, aside from sending her to rot in Tartaros. It’s never been done. It cannot be done, if she cannot die she cannot be tortured here, she would have to be locked up below for eternity. And if I did that, what was the point in all of this?” A grumble and a glare from the leftmost head. “Well, yes actually I would know seeing as I am the king of this realm and make the rules,” he growled, slamming his fist down on the armrest.
A scream echoed toward from the stairs on the other side of the wall, barely louder than a whisper at this distance.
“Unless,” Hades said, leaning forward once more, “I don’t have to torture her in the traditional sense.”
Each of Cerberos’ head looked up with an inquisitive sound, one after the other. Six large, black eyes stared into Hades own, frozen for only a moment before the sounds of bones snapping between their teeth resumed. Slivers of bones and drops of spit flying to the ground with every sloppy chomp.
“All we need is to make her distraught and heartbroken. That is easy enough.” Cerberos raised his eyebrows, and Hades brushed off his concern by explaining, “I’ll just kill Pelops again. She’ll be so fragile and broken that she’ll be easy to mold into the queen we need. The queen I want,” he said, grinning.
Hades jumped up, the throne disappearing. The grass is sat upon undisturbed, as if it had never been there in the first place. “Thank you, Cerberos, you have been an immense help.” He rubbed the top of each head lovingly, kissing their snouts before leaving the narrow cave entrance. “You can eat today’s souls.”
Cerberos jumped once, shaking the stalactites above him enough that two splashed into the Styx below, splashing water high into the air before rushing away in the current. Hades boomed a laugh and smiled as he rounded the corner out of the narrow entrance, into the dark expanse of the Underworld.
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