“Wouldn't you like that? You'd have all your memories intact. There would be no cleansing of your past. You could view the world completely as yourself, with the knowledge you've gained over all your lifetimes. You could even visit Wren.”
“I could?” I whispered.
“You miss her, don't you?”
“Yeah. A little. I mean, I'm mostly worried about the kid. She's useless without me.”
Hades nodded. “What do you say?”
“I don't know. How old a body are we talkin' here? How fully grown?”
“Not too grown.” He shrugged. “How about 21? I believe that's the age most humans like the most.”
I rolled my eyes. “Only cause you can legally drink. But that's just in America and it would mean that I'd lose 21 years.”
“If I make your body, it will never age.”
I sat back and stared at him, my spidey senses tingling. “Why would you give me immortality? Isn't that against the rules? I know it's not the usual deal for a blessed soul. They—I mean we—become witches, not immortals.”
“I am the Lord of the Dead. They are my rules to break.”
I wasn't sure that was exactly correct, but I wasn't about to argue with him. Nor would I accept his offer until he spelled it out, including the fine print. “What's the catch? Will I be your servant forever?”
“No, you will have free will. I wouldn't bind you to me with a mark, as I do my Cerberuses. But that also means you wouldn't have magic, Agnes. Not from me or as a reward for being a good soul. Your reward would be immortality in the body of your choosing. That's it. It is an either-or-deal.”
“I can handle no magic. I've never had it, so I won't know what I'm missing. But why would you offer me this?” I narrowed my eyes at him. “You know I escaped the Underworld for another shot at life on my terms. But I had to possess Wren to stay, and that wouldn't have been a permanent deal. Eventually, she would have died, and I would have had to find a new host. I mean, if she hadn't mated a Cerberus. Whatever. My point is, you know I want to go back as a free agent. And here you are, offering me everything I want, out of the blue, and I'm supposed to believe it's out of the goodness of your heart?”
“You helped Wren when I couldn't. And that means you helped to save the life of a Cerberus.”
“Oh, you're good.” I leaned back and stared at the god. “Butthisis my reward for doing all that.” I held out my arms to indicate my house. “You don't have to offer me anything else. So, why are you? What do you want from me, Hades? Just be straight with me. What will I have to do in exchange for this special treatment? What's the divine Greek catch?”
Hades leaned back in his chair, looking as if he couldn't care less what my decision was, but he held my stare in a way that made the rest of it a lie. “I want you to mate one of my Cerberuses.”
I blinked. Could he read my mind? Did a soul have a mind? I suppose I wasallmind. Wholly mind. Nothing but mind. So, could he readme? The only thing that would have made his original offer sweeter to me was a Cerberus. You mate a Cerberus and it was a done deal. You get three—count 'em,three—men dedicated to you forever. For. Ever. Only you. No cheating, no wandering eyes, and definitely no wandering hands. They loved you and only you. Period. The end. That's all folks. Oh, and there is no such thing as an ugly Hound of Hades. Hades made them, with some of his Hades-ness, if the rumors were true, and so they all looked a little like him. Just a little, but a little was more than enough when Daddy Hades had a mug like that. Yum-meee! An underworld bad boy. Hell, yeah.
Again, it was an obvious yes for me. But I didn't like the way Hades had tacked on a Cerberus team as if it was a hardship. As if that were the catch. Three hot-as-Hades men in love with me and only me forever? That was not the catch. That was a bonus that he thought to trick me into believing was the catch.
“That's all? I mate one of your packs, and I get to be immortal with all my memories intact?”
“All the Cerberus mates become immortal.” Hades shrugged.
“Yeah, but I'll be starting that way.”
“It doesn't matter. The destined mating will give me an excuse to make you immortal. I can argue it's for your protection since I'll be sending you back fully grown. I just need you to decide to reincarnate, then request that your reward be to return as a fully matured woman. You have to state it to me.”
“Nope. I still don't buy it.” I crossed my arms. “What do you get out of this?”
Hades clenched his jaw and stared at me. I stared back.
At last, he said, “Fine. I will level with you.”
“Great. I'd appreciate that.”
“You are destined to help me discover the identity of an enemy—an enemy who has been plaguing me recently.”
I blinked. “An enemy? You don't know who it is? Why don't you know who it is?”
“He hides under magic—a mask that he calls Silas. So far, all I know about him is that he can bring back the dead, and he has an Olympian protecting him. Silas is raising armies of humans all over America to destroy my hounds. I need to stop him before—”
