Hermes shrugged, and the feathers on his boots and helmet shrugged with him. “There’s something about her I can’t quite place, but I swear I’ve met her before. That irks me. I’m not often so perplexed by a face, let alone a mortal’s.” Hermes and his feathers shrugged again. “My imagination does love to run wild.”
Cerberus couldn’t care less. “I have a deal to make with you,” he said. He didn’t like that Hermes thought about Cyane. When a god became fixated on something, their attention remained there until something else distracted them, and the fact that Hermes clearly fixated on Cyane annoyed Cerberus. She was not the winged god’s responsibility.
Which made what Cerberus was about to ask all that much harder.
“A deal? From Hades’s loyal hound?” Hermes guffawed. “I don’t recall you ever making a deal with anyone but our dark and terribly murderous lord. You’ve intrigued me Cerberus, as only a bevy of naked nymphs can do. Spill it out, for I may die of curiosity in the next second!”
Cerberus could hardly keep his contempt for Hermes out of his voice. “This is about our mortal guest.”
Hermes’s gaze shot towards Hades. He lowered his voice. “Let us go somewhere else to speak.”
“Follow me,” Cerberus said, striding away from Hades’s dais and towards one of the candlelit walls. There were shadowy places, but not many today. The Day of Deals was not to be a private event for the very same reasons as Cerberus sought privacy with Hermes.
Even though Hermes’s sandals were silent, Cerberus didn’t need to see if the god followed. When he got far enough away from the others, he turned to see Hermes was behind him, eagerly awaiting a little bit of mischief.
Cerberus scowled under his helmet. “I want you to take Cyane from here if something should befall her between now and Persephone’s descent.”
“And why would I do that?”
“Because she is innocent in all of this.”
Hermes rubbed his jaw. “Innocence won’t save her from us gods. Do you not know what Hades has in mind for her?”
“I don’t feel comfortable with her safety,” he admitted.
Hermes cocked a brow. “You care for her? You? The creature that has cared for nothing but nature’s law and Hades, despite the body given to you. Our little mortal guest must be quite something, something more than is being let on.”
Cerberus clenched his jaw and his hands, resisting the urge to ring them around Hermes’s neck. “It doesn’t matter what I think or feel, and Hades shares his plans with no one. She has sworn an oath to Styx and to me that she is not here for any reason of her knowing, that she’s not here to cause harm. No one has ever trespassed into Tartarus who has not sought to upset this place or to steal from Hades. But shehas.”
“Oh, I think it matters greatly, Cerberus. Are you certain she is telling you the truth? Certain enough that you would stake eternal loyalty and your immortal life on it? If what you say is true, Hades is scheming, even killing his loyal followers with a smile, so why would I risk myself to help her? What do you have to offer me?”
“I will open the gates of hell for you, and only you, for this next mortal year so you might spy on Persephone for Demeter. You and Persephone’s meddling mother will finally know what happens when she is beyond your view. Demeter would owe you if you brought her such a gift.”
Hermes narrowed his eyes. “Not enough.”
“I know you still burn that Zeus chose Hades over your suit for Persephone’s hand, even if she was not your bride.”
“You assume much! Aphrodite is my loin’s torment.”
“Perhaps I can procure a poppy from Hypnos. A poppy potent enough to make even Zeus himself fall into slumber.”
Hermes sucked in a breath. “How do I know this isn’t a trap?”
“I come to deal with you of my own accord, and I vow on Styx as we speak, Hades, nor any other being, knows of my objectives,” Cerberus growled, feeling the vow hit him.
Betrayal, anger, and shame beat at him as well.
Hermes growled back. “If Hades ever finds out, he will make you pay. Make me pay. You believe this mortal woman is worth this?”
“Yes.”
Yes. He hated how far he’d fallen in such a short amount of time… Frustrated that he needed Hermes for anything.
“She is not what she seems, Cerberus, regardless of any vows.”
Cerberus countered, his patience wearing thin. “Will you make this deal or not?”
“For the price of a poppy, I will steal her from here and return her above—if something should happen between now and Persephone’s descent.”
