I almost begged just then but caught myself at the last moment. Begging excited monsters. I could only imagine what it would do for a god.
“I-I’m not her,” I repeated. “I’m human. My name is Ashlyn.”
He stopped and considered me for a moment.
“A human?”
I nodded.
“And your name is Ashlyn?”
“Y-yes.”
His lips curved in a sensuous smile that sent my heart racing. Once again, I wasn’t sure it was entirely all fear.
“And are you a living human or the soul of a dead one?”
“Living. I’m living.”
He exhaled heavily. “So be it. How did you come to be in Hell Ashlyn?
I was so relieved he was finally listening and wasn’t angry that I almost started crying, but I knew how much he hated that and swallowed past the urge.
“A druid spell gone wrong. They sent me to Hell by mistake. I didn’t know where I was at first. Everything was dark. I could hear monst—the children of the gods roaming the halls. Avoiding them is how I found your room. I never meant to disturb you.”
He gave a mocking laugh. “Goddess, the creativity you expend to disturb me ceased astounding me centuries ago. Please, continue.”
With a sinking heart, I realized he wasn’t believing a word I said. Would I want to believe someone I loved was dead? No. Maybe that was what had driven him crazy. Maybe he’d lost Persephone, and someone had chained him up with her to keep him from going crazy on everyone else. Reminding him of his dead goddess probably wouldn’t end well for me, but I wasn’t sure how else to get him to believe what I was saying.
“You were chained to the wall. Do you remember?” I asked cautiously.
His eyes flared red, and the stone beneath my feet gave a shuddering rumble. For a moment, I thought I’d pushed too far. Then he exhaled heavily and crossed his impressive arms over his bare chest.
“How long must we play this game? What are the rules?”
I wanted to pull my hair out in frustration.
“This isn’t a game, and I don’t know the rules. But I can prove that I’m human,” I said, suddenly inspired. “My uncle is here. He killed himself a month ago. He’ll tell you who I am.”
Hades snorted. Like actually scoffed. It was so ungod-like that I stared at him, forgetting my fear and desperation for two heartbeats.
“You want to speak with a soul?” he asked in disbelief.
“The soul of Theodor Trammer, my uncle.”
Hades considered me for a long, calculating moment then held out his hand. “I will help you find this soul and only this soul.”
“Okay.” I hurried to place my hand in his.
He looked down and stroked his thumb over my fingers.
“Look at her skin. Why can’t this be real?”
I stared at him in horror. Did he really just forget the last few days between one heart beat and the next? What was I supposed to do?
He lifted his gaze to mine. “The price of my help is a kiss, freely given, without tears or revulsion.”
Oh boy.I eased my hand from his.
