“Not now. I thought they were perfumes.”
He picked up a larger vial, opened it, and offered it to me.
“This is your favorite.”
I sniffed it and jerked my head back.
“That’s awful.” It reminded me of decaying garbage. “She actually wore that?”
He capped it and set it aside.
“Which bath oil did you like?”
I handed him the citrus one and watched him smell it.
“This reminds me of the grove you favored on Mount Olympus.” His expression shuttered as he handed it back and turned away from me. “Try the larger vial again. I’ve changed it.”
I was a little wary to give it another sniff test but found it very close to the bath oil scent and dabbed some on my wrists and neck.
“Perfume is pretty common back home. The nice smelling kind, not whatever that first one was.” It gave me an idea, though. “Let’s spend some time at the viewing pool. There are so many things I’d like to show you. And things I’d like to see. The internet was great for exploring the world, but I think that pool would be even better.”
Standing, I went to him and set a cautious hand on his back.
“Like you said, we’re still trying to figure out how to trust each other. Calling me a liar and asking for more doesn’t sit well with me. Just as I’m sure my refusal doesn’t sit well with you. I’m sorry for trying to hide away. I know that won’t solve anything. Sometimes, I just need a little time to myself to regroup. It’s been a rough few weeks for me.”
He turned and pulled me into a crushing hug.
“Stay as you are. I like this version of you.”
“This is the only version there is,” I mumbled against his skin.
The steady drip-drip-drip that abruptly echoed around us let me know he’d already moved us to the viewing room as I’d asked.
“Thank you.”
“It is my pleasure to provide whatever you desire.” He pulled back to look me in the eyes. “Whenever you desire it.”
The heat in his gaze had me swallowing hard and easing from his hold for some breathing room. I went to the edge of the pool and sat on the short stone wall.
“Is there anything you’re interested in seeing?” I asked.
“Whatever you wish to see.”
“Okay. I’d like to check on my friends. Kelsey, Zoe, and Eugene.”
“Think of which one you’d like to see first, and the pool will find them.”
I thought of Eugene, the newest human in Uttira, and how unafraid he’d been by all of it. Out of all of them, he was the one I worried about the most. I pictured his smirking face and dark hair. However, on the next drip, the pool changed to a picture of the bathing room Hades and I had shared last night.
“Um…”
Hades cleared his throat. “Try dipping your finger into the pool.”
I stuck my fingers into the warm water and thought of Eugene again. On the next drip, his image rippled into existence. He was sitting in his house, staring at the TV with a bored expression. The windows behind him were dark.
“Who is that?” Hades asked with an underlying note of anger.
“One of the humans who live in Uttira.”
