“Which of you knows a tale of epic adventure worthy of entertaining us?” he asked.
I was a little surprised when a woman stepped forward and bowed to us.
“I do, Father.” Behind her, the gathered people began clapping their hands and stomping their feet.
“Tell us your tale,” Hades said, settling back into his chair.
The woman’s tale wasn’t the work of fiction I was expecting but a retelling of the time she was sent to Earth to torment another god for slighting Hades. Apparently, this god had a real child with another god, and Hades had been excluded from the kid’s birth celebration. The only god to be excluded.
So the woman had swapped the god-born child with a mortal one. The god and goddess who had been so proud at the birth of their offspring soon grew ashamed of its lack of godlike attributes. Eventually, they’d tossed it from the heavens. The woman telling the story had saved that child and returned it to its parents, who had been unknowingly raising the god-born child. The couple made the trip to a local temple and prayed to gain the gods' attention so they could return the god-born child. The couple was rewarded for their good care of the child, but the child, having been loved by humans for so long, remained supportive of the humans and Zeus’ care of them, much to his parents’ dismay.
I wasn’t exactly sure how I felt about stealing kids for payback, but it was a pretty interesting story.
After she finished, to a round of clapping and stomping, another person volunteered.
I listened to story after story about how Hades was wronged and what his people had done to “right” those wrongs. While I didn’t agree with all the methods, I did see how horribly Hades had been treated throughout the ages for no real reason. The other gods were all a bunch of long-lived bullies with superiority complexes.
And I slowly realized Hades had been locked away in his own version of my Uttira prison. We’d both been screwed over in so many ways.
I reached out and took his hand in mine, holding it as I continued to listen to the current tale. When I started to yawn, he rubbed his thumb over my knuckles, and I glanced at him to give him a sleepy smile. His thumb paused momentarily before he returned my smile and resumed his gentle caress.
I clapped with everyone else when the tale ended, but Hades raised his hand before the next person could proceed with another story.
“Thank you, my children. You’ve entertained us well.”
He bowed to them all, and for some reason, that simple act of acknowledgment and respect to creatures who were well beneath him in terms of strength and ability made my heart swell with pride and affection.
I accepted his help to stand and willingly welcomed his embrace as he portaled us from the throne room to our bedroom. The crown was missing from my head when the room solidified around us.
“That was fun,” I said, smothering another yawn. “Sorry I got so tired. Long day.”
“It was.” He pulled back the covers for me.
“Those stories were really interesting. I need to see if Megan can find some audiobooks for us all to listen to. They’ll take a lot longer, but I bet everyone would like that. We should try going back to the viewing pool again. I want to look at libraries and cozy reading rooms.” After watching his rapt interest tonight, I could picture him relaxing in one with a good book.
“Perhaps,” he said, pulling the cover over me. I reached out and flipped the other side down.
“Get in here,” I mumbled.
He chuckled, and instead of walking around the bed like he usually did, he leaped over me and landed with a bounce. I answered his playful grin with one of my own and tipped my head up for a kiss. He didn’t disappoint.
The tender caress of his tongue against mine set my heart racing. His arms slipped around me and stroked over my back, pulling me close.
“I’ve changed my mind,” he said softly when he ended the kiss. “I no longer want to claim my due. We can stay as we are.”
I snuggled against his chest, understanding what he wasn’t saying.
“You’re beginning to believe me and are afraid I won’t come back.”
“I’m afraid you won’t return as you are now. And I would do anything to keep you as you are now. Even go without what I want most.”
I barely snorted, and he pulled back to scowl down at me with a slightly playful frown.
“You disbelieve me?”
“Oh, I believe you’re serious about keeping me the way I am. I’m struggling to believe you’d say no if I told you to strip me naked and have your way with me.”
His lips curved into a smile that stole my breath.
