That Fatal Kiss (39 page)

As if he could read her thoughts, Hades said, “Allow me.”

The goddess’ heart seized. Was he proposing to be forsworn and endure a thousand years of misery, simply to save her from the burden of a guilty conscience?

“Well?” Zeus prompted.

Hearing his voice reminded the goddess of how they’d come to this pass—Zeus’ thoughtless, if well-intentioned, decree. Condemning her father to the darkest, most malodorous and fiery pit in Tartarus, Persephone now covered Hades’ lips with her fingers, saying, “No. Allow
me
.” Facing her parents, she said in a rush, “Then let me be six months below ground and six months above.” Persephone uncovered Hades’ mouth and laid her suddenly heavy head against his chest, praying that the Fates would forgive her.

“I’ll have six months with her!” Demeter breathed. “May I have my share of the year beginning now?”

And that’s when Hades reached the end of his tether. “No! Have I not tolerated enough for one evening? By my Grandfather’s tattered testicles,” roared the Host of Many, “what I have endured for love of my wife! I came up here to claim what is mine by right, am being good enough to share, as Dionysus noted, the spoils of this apparently incessant battle, am duped into giving Persephone up for an outrageous total of nine months—”

“Six months, Hades,” Persephone corrected him softly.

“—six months, yes, of course,” Hades amended. “And now, when the only thing in the entire cosmos that I want is to return my wife to my bed,
where she belongs
, I am told to surrender her, instead, to her mother?” He gesticulated wildly to emphasize his points and Dionysus had to duck out of the way twice to avoid Hades’ flailing fists. “It is insupportable! No, I say, absolutely and unequivocally no! I demand she spend the next three months—”

“Six!” Persephone said, hoping the others attributed his confusion to his extreme agitation.

“—
six
months with me!” Hades concluded, very nearly out of breath.

At that precise moment of utter quiet, Poseidon emitted a loud, gasping snore, startling a few of the gods into giggles and forcing Zeus to conceal his own amusement.

Persephone cleared her throat and said, “Hades, what if I remained above ground for only three months, this time around? It would give my poor mother some time to adjust to things and it’s not as bad as parting for the full six.”

Hades regarded her resigned features uncomprehendingly. “Not as bad?” he blurted, “but—”

“Please, Aidoneus?” she said, her eyes wide and shimmering.

Hades sputtered inarticulately for several moments but found himself no match for the considerable force of his wife’s teary charm. He finally sighed in defeat and muttered, “Oh, all right. Damn it.”

Persephone raised herself up on her toes to place a thankful kiss upon Hades’ cheek but was pulled away into the embrace of her mother, who now sobbed with relief.

Zeus gave a wide smile. “Sublime!” he said. “Now, let husband and wife seal their union with a kiss so that we may begin the celebration of yet another wedding!”

Persephone gladly returned to her husband’s embrace and offered herself to be kissed. But the sardonic smile Hades wore was full of contradictions. Persephone knew the final concession he’d had to make put him out of temper, but the strain of the day had taken its toll on her as well, and it was archly that she observed, “You don’t have the look of one who has just won the day, Husband.”

Linking his fingers loosely behind her back, Hades said, “That is merely due to my present confusion.”

“Confusion?” she said. “Over what?”

A dimple appeared in Hades’ cheek as he clarified, “It’s just that I’m beginning to wonder who got the better part of the deal…myself, for your gain or your mother, for your loss.”

The gods broke into appreciative chuckles, even as Persephone gasped. She pressed her hands against Hades’ shoulders to push him away but he pulled her close to claim her lips with a swoop of his dark head. At first she resisted but soon returned the kiss with equal ardor. The gods gave a cheer, then laughed again when the kiss continued and grew more passionate.

Athena took Demeter’s hand, saying, “Come, everyone, let us retire to the banquet hall and await the newlyweds at their leisure.” One by one, the Immortals vacated the throne room until Persephone and Hades were alone.

When they finally drew apart, Hades eyed his wife with concern. “That was awful for you.”

“Yes,” Persephone agreed. “Awful. But necessary.”

“Are you all right?”

“I will be,” she said simply. “But Hades, whatever made you think to compromise?”

“I knew that some would object to our marriage and no proclamation from Zeus would quell the threat of insurrection if they thought he acted in error. Choosing not to spend the rest of eternity wondering when they would come battering at my door for your release, I hoped to thwart the inevitable.”

“You’re not only handsome but wily in the extreme,” Persephone complimented him. “However, I suspect that was not the only reason.”

“You have better insight into my character than you claim, Wife,” Hades said. He brought one of her hands up to his lips and kissed the tips of her fingers. “I knew you were pained by your mother’s reaction to your decision. I hoped to ease both your suffering and Demeter’s by offering to share you, so to speak. Also…well. If insuring your happiness means sharing you with all whom you love, then…so be it.” Here, his eyes betrayed the unease his tone and demeanor sought to conceal. “I trust you will find your way back to me at the appointed time—” He was cut off by her sudden kiss. “What was that for?” he asked, after she’d pulled away.

“That was but a hint of the reward that awaits you upon my return to Erebus three months hence,” she said, tracing a finger gently down one side of his face.

The corners of Hades’ lips curved as he looked down at Persephone. “I’m to be rewarded for loving you?”

“Repeatedly!”

“Would you believe that my earlier confusion has entirely dissipated?” he said huskily, about to claim another kiss.

But Persephone drew back, saying, “Enough of that, now; we’d better join the others before Demeter sends Artemis after us!”

“A fate worse than damnation in Tartarus,” he affirmed, inviting her to thrust her arm through his before leading her out of the throne room. “Ah, I’ve just remembered—there’s some unfinished business between us I would like to resolve before we reach the hall, if possible.”

The goddess cast a curious glance up at her husband’s profile. “Go on, then; I’m all aquiver.”

Hades shot her a positively smoldering look. “Not yet, you aren’t, though I intend to remedy that just as soon as I can get us away from our damnable relations.” He laughed at her rosy blush, then gave her an affectionate smile. “Do you recall how this day started out?”

So much transpired that long day that Persephone had to think about his question. “You mean my ministry to the shades?”

“Specifically, the means by which you communicated with them.”

“By touch?”

“Yes, that. As I watched Hermes lead you off, it occurred to me that such communication might be possible with beings transformed.”

“Beings transformed…Oh! Do you mean, Leuce?”

“Precisely. I thought some clarification of her final wishes necessary but, as I had to prepare for my journey above ground, I had no time to procure it myself. So I sent Hecate a message, asking her to discern for us if Leuce wished to remain in Elysium or if any spot along the Acheron would do. Luckily, my message reached the Witch and hers reached
me
before I embarked on my ride.”

“But Hecate’s been above ground all day, has she not?”

“She returned to Erebus just long enough to sort this matter out for us.”

“Did she, now?” Persephone couldn’t decide which impressed her more; that the Witch acted so quickly or that she could keep such gossip to herself when they’d spent nearly the entire evening together. “And was she able to communicate with Leuce?”

“In fact, she was,” the god confirmed, coming to a standstill. Hades waited for Persephone to stop as well, then said, “Leuce told Hecate she would actually prefer to be in Thesprotia, so that she might be more readily accessible to her sisters. As soon as I knew that, I transported her at once.”

“Ah. Well, yes, of course.” Persephone felt a wave of relief wash over her. Yet she was being truthful when she added, “You know, Hades, after the trials we have endured today, had Leuce expressly told Hecate the opposite, that she wished to remain in Elysium, always, I would not have argued against it. No one should be forced to go where she is unwilling.”

A shadow crossed Hades’ face. “Which brings me to the matter in need of resolution. It was by force that I made you my bride, and for that, Persephone, I am so deeply repentant. Ashamed. Though I’d gained your father’s consent, I felt the complete… injustice of what I was doing. When I snatched you up from Etna, I felt it. When I brought you back to the palace and you challenged me, I felt it. And that night…that…horrendous night, when I…when we fought and I…I hurt you, I felt it. Yet I continued to plot against you, having Hephaestus bring those accursed chains. If you hadn’t spoken, if I hadn’t stopped—”

Persephone covered his lips with her free hand. “But you did stop. And you did listen to me, Hades, because you cared enough about me, enough about what was right, that you forbore. You’d erred, gravely erred, but you committed yourself to a worthier course of action. You mastered yourself, you even taught me to do the same. For all of that, Hades, I forgive you.”

He removed the fingers covering his lips and kissed the back of Persephone’s hand. “You forgive me. As undeserving as I am.”

“Let us thank the Fates that we sometimes receive better than what we truly deserve,” Persephone said, her expression solemn. Then she smiled, saying, “Come, our wedding feast awaits us and I would be glad to fortify myself with some nectar.” She tugged Hades forward, adding, “Besides, you promised to set me all aquiver and I am anxious to see if you are capable of it in my mother’s house.”

Hades came to a rigid stop, his formerly penitent mien giving way to a look of horror. “Your mother’s house?”

“Of course, my mother’s house,” she said, pulling him on toward the hall. “Where did you think we would spend the night?” Then it was she who suddenly stopped short. “I’d assumed you wouldn’t return to Erebus until morning, but…Oh, Hades, you will stay with me tonight, won’t you?”

“Just let anyone try to stop me,” Hades said, and there was a menacing undertone to his words that relieved Persephone’s mind immediately. “However, I feel it would be best if we stayed at the home of Eros and his wife instead, in a chamber far removed from theirs. Far, far removed.”

Persephone’s flesh tingled with anticipation. “A sound plan,” she panted, then cleared her throat. “Now, we’d really better get ourselves to the hall.”

As they made their way down the long corridor, they heard the tuning of lyres, as well as bursts of already tipsy laughter. They were just outside the doors of the hall when Ares suddenly loomed before them. His face mean with drink, he looked ready to make trouble. “Lo, here comes the craven! You were lucky, you useless wretch, that I didn’t tear a strip from your hide back in the throne room. I am only amazed that you do not turn tail and fly back down to your dismal little hovel in terror.”

Hades turned to Persephone. “It seems my nephew would like a word with me. Would you mind very terribly if we paused on our way to our wedding celebration?”

Persephone gave an elegant shrug. “Not in the slightest.”

Ares snorted. “He has to ask his wife’s permission! Ha! I’d never have believed it if I hadn’t seen it! Still, I shouldn’t be too surprised, really.” His upper lip curled into its habitual sneer. “In fact, it wouldn’t surprise me at all if you asked Persephone to fight your battles for you as well!”

With a smile for Persephone, Hades said, “I wouldn’t rate your chances very highly in a contest against my wife.” Turning back to Ares, the Lord of the Underworld asked politely, “Now, you mentioned tearing a strip from my hide; would you like to try it now, or would you rather wait until later, after the banquet is over?”

Nearly drooling with eagerness to fight, Ares shouted, “Now!”

“Very well.” With lightning speed, Hades grabbed the younger god by the scruff of his neck and slammed Ares’ face brutally against the opposite wall. Hades watched with malevolent pleasure as the God of War slumped down to the floor and remained there in an ungainly heap.

Pulling Persephone forward, Hades announced, “Conniving Cronus, that was invigorating! I really must come back up here more often, as I’d forgotten just how entertaining these idiots can be.” As they entered the hall, they saw Apollo strumming beautifully upon his lyre, and Hades turned brilliant eyes to his wife. “Shall we dance?”

The disapproving shake of her head belied by her own laughing eyes, Persephone said, “Oh, Hades, however shall I tame these savage tendencies of yours?”

“You are more than capable of anything to which you set your fine mind, August Persephone,” he replied, giving her a twirl and sweeping her into his embrace. “Only I suspect that you want me just as I am.”

“As it happens, my Lord Aidoneus,” the goddess said, “I rather do.”

EPILOGUE