I’d become far too involved staring at the mirror pool these past few weeks, ignoring newly arrived souls for days from fear I’d miss something. Today was no different as I sat slouched in my onyx throne, one robe-covered arm hanging from an armrest, the other supporting my head. The mirror pool, situated in a raised podium of blackened stone near the river Styx, suddenly brightened. My spine straightened, and I flared my ember wings, using them to propel me there that much faster.
Gripping the edges of the pool, I stared at the imagery, damn near whimpering at what it always showed me—what I desired. There she was with that resplendent smile, wheat-colored hair hanging in shimmering waves over her shoulders. She ran barefoot through a meadow, her cheeks having turned rosy from the effort. Several other women were with her as they usually were, but I never paid them any mind. That one, the vibrantblonde with sapphire eyes and freckles littering her nose, was my obsession and salvation. The Underworld hadn’t seemed as bleak whenever I was able to simplywatchher.
Today wasn’t unlike any other with her usual trek through the meadows, her mother, Demeter, following close behind and watching over her. I’d never seen her with a god or mortal man, but the pool only showed me this particular meadow, so it was impossible to know for sure. The thought alone had an inconvenient pang of jealous rage surging through my veins.
The blonde beauty lifted her hand, spirals of sparkling wisps and daffodil petals floated from her fingertips. She danced her magic around her mortal female companions, making them giggle.
A whimpering wail sounded from behind me. I’d have assumed it belonged to one of dozens of souls still waiting in Styx for their eternal resting places, but that particular whimper belonged to no other than my mythical canine.
Sighing, I waved my hand over the pool, summoning its dense fog to cloud the brightness, and turned to face my titanic-sized dog with his three drooping heads. “Don’t you have a job to be doing, Cerbie?”
Cerberus was to guard the Underworld’s exiting portals for any soul who may have found an ingenious loophole to escape. Very few attempted it, let alone figured out the means, but even one soul rising from the dead to inhabit Earth could make for chaos I didn’t wish to explain.
Cerberus huffed air from all three pairs of his nostrils, jutting one head toward the pool I was still standing by. Another head nudged the massive bone he’d been gnawing on for weeks, reduced to the size my arm. He kicked it toward me with his massive front paw, and the ears on his central head drooped.
“You certainly worked through that one rather quickly, didn’t you, boy?” I nudged the destroyed bone with my foot. “We’llhave to watch out for the next time Achilles or Odysseus slays a manticore or sphinx, old friend. In the meantime—” Producing the large leather ball I kept hidden in an ethereal air pocket, I used my magic to launch it into the darkness behind my giant canine. “—fetch.”
A faint flash of lightning sizzled in the distance, and I let out a disgruntled groan. Dragging a hand over my face in trepidation, I flared my ember wings and waited for my brother to announce his arrival formally—my youngest brother, the king of kings.
“Brother, do you realize there is a line of souls down nearly the entire length of Styx?” Zeus asked, jutting a thumb behind him at the river of wallowing spirits. Smoky, distorted faces would appear from the surface, only to have the Underworld’s power draw them back in to await judgment.
Guilt prickled the back of my neck, and I wrung my hands together, kneading between each pale knuckle. “I have noticed.”
Zeus squinted at me, his silvering, grey brows furrowing. His golden armored chest plate reflected the fiery scones, the only light source in the dimly lit throne room. “That isn’t like you. What’s going on, Hades?”
Cerberus came galloping from the shadows, all three of his tongues flopped out, and drooling. The ball landed in a slobbery mess between me and Zeus, and my canine sat and whimpered once he noticed the king of the gods.
Zeus propped his sandal-covered foot atop the ball, rolling it back and forth. “Name it, Underworld king, and it’s yours. I need you focused.” He kicked the ball, launching it further than I had, and Cerberus sprinted for it.
Snapping my ashen robes, I turned away from him with a snarl. “There is nothing to name. I’m fine. At times, this job can be a lot to handle on my own. Despite my stony demeanor, I, too, can get overwhelmed.”
Zeus hung a hand on his sword’s hilt, strolling around what little I kept in the throne area—sconces, the throne elevated atop rock, bone, and ash, a table with bowls of vibrant fruit, and the mirror pool. My spine tensed, but I didn’t wish to draw attention to it. “I never said you couldn’t have a partner in your endeavor. It’s been hundreds of years since you took the throne.” Zeus slid in front of me, tilting his head to the side and making his long silver hair shift over one golden, plated shoulder piece. “Maybe if you frowned less, a woman might grace you with her warmth down here, hm?” He smirked and bumped his shoulder against mine as he passed.
Visions of my blonde beauty dancing in the sunlight, its beams kissing her skin, had me grinding my teeth together.
“I told you, I’mfine, Zeus,” I barked, immediately regretting the haughtiness lacing my tone, but when I turned to face him, my onyx heart dropped to my feet.
Zeus stared into the mirror pool. The goddess was alone, picking flowers and placing them in a wicker basket. She wore a light pink dress today with patterns of red peonies. A circlet adorned her head; rows of smaller meadow flowers and angel’s breath weaved throughout it. Why was she alone, however? She was never alone, even if it was only her mother nearby.
“For the love of me,” Zeus breathed out, his attention on me now. “Thisisabout a woman. How long have you been spying on her?”
My eyes had been wide, my hands clenched tightly against my sides. and I shook it away. “I’m not spying on her. Just—” Edging closer, I leaned on the stone, the sight of her vibrant, carefree smile putting me at ease. “—watching over her.”
Zeus appeared next to me, circling a finger in the water around the woman’s figure. “Do you want her?”
The thought of having her in any capacity gave new breath to my ethereal lungs. Even the idea of talking to her, smellingthe sun on her hair, had my mind in a frenzy. But it was selfish. It was greedy. It was wrong to think of such light plunging into darkness.
“No,” I growled. “No, Zeus. No godsdamned meddling. Do you hear me?”
Zeus flashed one of his arrogant, all-knowing smiles before letting droplets of water fall from his fingertips, rippling through the mirage of the woman in the meadow. “Her name is Persephone. She’s a spring goddess, you know?” The king referenced the dark, misty cave walls around us. “She would bring a lot of brightness to this place.”
Persephone.
My chest swelled with traitorous idealizations again—her dancing the same way she had on the surface, but here in the throne room instead. I’d fill the cave to the brim with firelight if only to simulate the blazing sun she was so accustomed to.
“Stop it, brother.” I splashed my hand into the water to make the beautiful scene of her disappear, only to have it return in shimmering ripples moments later.
“So, you don’t want her?” Zeus grabbed my shoulders and turned me to face him. “Or is it you don’t have the gall totakeher?”
