“Antoni will take you home,” Hades said, having already summoned the cyclops. He stood outside Hades’ black Lexus. He expected Persephone to protest, but she looked up at him, a gentle expression on her face.
“Thank you.”
She climbed into the back of the car, meeting his gaze through the window as Antoni closed the door.
Watching her leave felt different this time, like they had found common ground. Like they were closer to understanding one another…and he felt hopeful.
As soon as his car was out of sight, Ilias approached, handing him a file he had created on the dryad who had followed Persephone into his club. He glanced over the content and handed it back to the satyr.
“Thank you, Ilias,” he said and vanished, appearing in the small room where the dryad had been held. She screamed when she saw Hades and shrunk against the wall, shaking.
“Rosalva Lykaios. Assistant to Demeter. Funny that your résumé does not also include spy.”
She spoke softly, voice quaking. “P-Please, my lord—”
“I will be brief,” he said, cutting her off. “You have two choices before you. Either you lie to your mistress and tell her Persephone was not here tonight, or you tell the truth.”
He moved toward her as he spoke, and the girl cowered.
“If the first, you risk the wrath of Demeter,” he said. “If the second, you risk my wrath.”
“You are asking me to do the impossible.”
“No,” he said. “I am asking you, which of us do you fear more?”
CHAPTER XV - A GAME OF TRICKERY
It was early when Hades made his way to the Underworld stables. They were located at the back of his estate and just as grand as his castle. Marble floors lined a wide aisle flanked by stalls with glossy black doors. Hades had four sable-black horses, Orphnaeus, Aethon, Nycteus, and Alastor, who occupied each pen, and as he came into view, they neighed, pawing the ground with their hoofed feet.
“Yes, yes, I know. You are wasting away in these stables, and you want to go for a run,” he said as they complained noisily. “I’ll bargain with the lot of you. Be good while I brush your coats and trim your hooves, and I’ll let you roam the realm.”
They snorted in response—an agreement. “Who wants to go first?”
They were quiet.
They were fire and brimstone, and they had seen battle as Hades had seen battle. Despite how he tried to care for them, their spirits were wild, their dreams haunted. They were tortured like he was tortured.
“Come now. The longer you wait, the further you are from freedom.”
That got their attention, and they all responded at once, knocking against their stall doors.
Hades grinned and laughed. “One of you will just have to charm me.”
He sidled along the marble walkway, pausing at each stall.
“Alastor?” he questioned, and the horse mewled. Of all his horses, Alastor was the most gentle, an irony considering in battle, he was known as the tormentor. His memory was long, and he never forgot an enemy.
“Orphnaeus?” The beast whined.
“Aethon?” The stallion blew a harsh breath from his nose and knocked against his gate, the most aggressive of the four.
“Nycteus?” The youngest of the four snorted.
Hades chuckled and then approached Aethon’s stall. “Alright, since you were so vocal.”
He opened the gate, leading the beast to the wash station in the stables. He did not need to secure him to keep him from running off. Despite their wish to roam, they would not disobey their master. Hades began the process by cleaning Aethon’s hooves, prying dirt and mud free from the soles of his feet. After, he curried the coat, loosening mud and grit and dirt. As he worked, he spoke.
“Hecate tells me you four have been grazing in her mushroom grove again.”
They snorted in denial at the accusation.
“Are you sure?”
They shook their heads, neighing.
“Because Hecate said she called to each of you, and you fled like shadow, eyes aflame.”
They were all quiet.
Then, Alastor brayed, and Hades laughed.
“Are you suggesting Hecate hallucinated the whole thing?”
The four snorted in agreement.
“While I don’t doubt Hecate’s use of hallucinogenic mushrooms, I also do not doubt your use,” he said.
Hades moved on, working the knots free from Aethon’s main and tail. He brushed his coat two more times, with a stiffer brush and a finishing brush. Last, he used a damp cloth to clean around Aethon’s eyes, muzzle, and ears.