“That explains the shorts. Which you rock, by the way. Eliana would be ecstatic,” Megan said.
“Doubt it,” Oanen said.
She shot him a look. “Why? They’re super cute.”
Oanen snorted. “No, they aren’t cute. They’re hot. And if you were wearing them, my thoughts would be focused on one thing. What do you think Eliana would be feeling from Hades right now?”
Megan looked at Hades, who was wearing a small smirk of his own.
“Oanen is wise,” Hades said. “Are you ready, daughter?”
He didn’t wait for a yes before the room collapsed around us and solidified into picturesque rolling hills. The strong afternoon breeze whipped my hair into my face and robbed all my exposed skin of heat.
“More clothes, please,” I said. Jeans immediately encased my legs, and a warm hoodie and windbreaker covered me.
“Better?” Hades asked, hugging me from behind.
“Much. Thank you. Where are we?”
“This is Crete,” Megan said. “Oanen and I stopped here during our self-proclaimed honeymoon.”
I twisted to look at Hades. “I’ve always wanted to see Crete. Show me what you remember.”
He glanced around. “There was a village here with a monument to me.”
I saw the disappointment in his gaze and wanted to hug him.
“There’s a village nearby and a museum there. Maybe they have something.”
We spent several hours exploring both and saw some really cool remains of the time when the gods were still worshipped. Hades was pretty quiet, only commenting when the details on any given artifact were inaccurate. I could only imagine how it felt to realize everything you’d known was long gone.
“I wish to see Mount Olympus,” he said when we left.
“Are you sure?” I asked.
The area around us twisted in on itself in answer. It solidified as the side of a mountain for only a moment before another room appeared around us. Bright white marble, like it was lit from the inside, and mosaics depicted humans in their everyday lives. Sorrow. Struggles. Triumphs. Death. It was all there. At the front of the oblong space sat a very large, empty chair.
Hades stared at the empty throne for a long time as he held my hand in silence. The three of us gave him the time he needed to process what we’d been telling him all along. The gods were gone, except for Thanatos and Hades.
Without saying anything, he teleported us to another room. And another. They were all beautiful but all very empty. On a balcony overlooking the distant sea, we watched the sun dip below the horizon.
“I’m sorry, Hades,” I said softly.
“And I am not,” he said, pulling me into his arms in front of him. “The gods cared little for me, and I cared little for them. You are all that I need.”
My stomach growled again, reminding me it was lunchtime back home.
“I know just the place,” Megan said.
“Lead, and we will follow.”
They disappeared, and a few seconds later, we met them in another quiet back street. She led us to a restaurant that wasn’t as fancy as the previous night. The open eating area had bench seating tables.
Megan ordered for all of us. Things I’d never heard of. Saganaki, which was long, thick cuts of fried cheese drizzled with honey and chopped pistachio, for an appetizer, along with Dolmades, which were tender grape leaves wrapped around a herbed-rice stuffing. Both were delicious. And for the main course, we had Moussaka, which was eggplant, potatoes, and meat with a creamy yet tomatoey sauce. It reminded me very vaguely of a lasagna. I loved every bite and sat back with a groan when I finished.
“So good,” I said.
“Agreed,” Megan said. “But the night is still young. Want to go somewhere else?”
