“This displeases you,” Hades said moodily.
The food disappeared.
“No pig head,” I said quickly.
“Tell me what would please you,” he demanded.
“A pizza. A big one. Lots of pepperoni with melted cheese that stretches when you take a bite of it.”
Hades frowned at me.
“It’s a flat piece of bread with toe-may-toes on it,” Zotera said with a confused shrug at him. “Mother craved it previously. I tried to make it to understand, but I didn’t get it right.”
Something deadly reflected in the depths of his brown gaze when it shifted to me.
“Tell me, Goddess. Did you eat what I did not provide?”
CHAPTERTHREE
“No, Father,”Zotera said. “Mother’s intent was never to eat what I created. She was simply explaining the dish.”
If Zotera had created a restaurant-quality pizza, though, I doubt she would have been able to hold me back from it. But considering the way the ground was starting to tremble with Hades’ erupting temper, I was smart enough not to say that.
“No,” I said, holding his gaze as I answered for myself. “I did not eat what Zotera created. Although she tried to replicate what I was describing, it wasn’t what I wanted. A pizza is a common food in the area of the human world where I lived.”
The trembling stopped, and some of the anger bled from his gaze.
“Describe it to me,” he commanded.
I went through the same process I did with Zotera, explaining the crust, the sauce, and the toppings. Hades didn’t know half the vegetables I listed, at least, not by the names I knew them.
What he produced was a sad, soggy mess, and we all looked at it doubtfully.
“I’m willing to try it,” I said, not wanting to hurt his feelings.
He made a sound of disgust, and the not-pizza vanished.
“I tire of this game. What do you wish to eat?”
I could see it in his eyes then. His anger that he hadn’t gotten it right and his need to provide me with something I really wanted. I recalled how desperate he’d been to please me those first few meals and almost smiled.
I had him. Finally.
“Pizza,” I said firmly.
He glared at me.
“I do not know this food.”
“Do you want to know it? So you can make it for me whenever I’m craving it?”
He gave a single nod.
“All you have to do is call down one of your furies and ask them to bring one back so you can see what it looks like.”
He didn’t explode in anger. No, he knew exactly what I was up to because he slowly leaned forward in his seat before speaking his answer clearly.
“No.”
