Chapter 11
HADES
The sky outside of my office was turning from a bright and sunny morning to a dark, stormy afternoon. Of course, I didn’t mind, darkness was where I excelled. I leaned against the window frame, watching the sky darken, sipping the ambrosia from my wine glass.
“You must know you will not win.” The voice came from my own the reflection on the window. Max Evergreen stands with his arms crossed.
“You must know how foolish you are to challenge the god you willing let possess you.” I swirled the wine glass aimlessly.
“I was grieving. I made a mistake. You promised justice and offer nothing but vengeance.” Maxx continued and I sighed, swallowing down the rest of the ambrosia and effectively silencing the voice. I turned my attention back to the darkening clouds.
Did Zeus know? I wondered, watching the darkening skies as lightning struck in the distance. My brother was surely upset about something. A hand pressed on my shoulder, making me jump. I smiled at the sight of a bundle of blond hair behind me.
“Persephone, my love.” I leaned into the touch, missing the warmth that once filled her fingers. It had been decades since I felt the warmth of her live skin. Decades since her form was more than a vision in my head that I knew wasn’t real. Not the way I was real, but soon enough she would be again. Soon enough we would rule the whole upper world.
“My husband.” The goddess greeted me with a warm smile, still as innocent and youthful as I remembered from years ago. Her hand lifted from my shoulder to my cheek. Her ocean blue eyes were filled with worry.
“What is my love?”
“I am worried for you my dear.” Persephone moved closer, resting her head on my shoulder.
“Worried for me? I am fine, my love.” There was a hint of amusement in my voice as I tried to calm her worries. “Everything is falling into place. You will see. Soon we will know who the White Queen is. We will know where your sisters lie in wait. We will defeat our enemies and you will rise again.”
“Yes. We have come so far Hades. So far.” The ghost of my love whispered. “Do not lose focus now my love. We are almost done. I can feel how close we are. All I wish is to be back in your arms. That’s all I need. Not as a mere shadow of you and not as a mere human. As your wife.”
“I know the mission. I know what we must do.” I take another sip from the wine glass. “But we must take one step at a time, dear. You are still too weak to return to your Goddess form, or I would’ve had done the ritual already. We need the vessel of the White Queen so you may gain your strength. Then you and I can be together as humans. And when you are strong enough and your family destroyed, we will return as gods, more powerful than my brothers could ever imagine.”
“Your brother is just as weak as every other god. Just as weak as I am. It isn’t he whom you should be worried for. Our focus needs to be on keeping us together., not those who wish to keep us apart. You keep wasting magic, killing his servants. We’re losing time. I can feel it. We must hasten the path that brings us together, not the path that separates us forever.” Persephone’s face darkens, erasing the look of innocence.
“He is not any other god Persephone.” I corrected, laying a hand on her shoulder. “He is King of Olympia. He is king of all of us. He is our threat, and we must be aware of that. We must make sure he has no idea what I’m doing until it is too late. By fighting the small battles, I am keeping him too distracted to see us coming. By the time he knows what is happening, his throne will be broken.”
Her eyes bore into mine, still worried. Still concerned. “Are you sure this isn’t jealousy you are letting get in the way. That you truly know the path you are taking?”
“I know what I am doing love. It is not Zeus I want; it is your arrogant sister.” I replied, shaking my head. “I want the goddess who killed you to pay for your death and in turn, resurrect you to life once again.”
“And it is she who must pay. No other innocent god.” Persephone agrees, placing a kiss to my cheek.
“Zeus is anything but innocent.” I snapped, pulling away. “He is the reason this all began in the first place. If he’d just listen to reason, if he listened to our love we wouldn’t be here. But it is his hatred for me that burned our chance at happiness and allowed the vile witch to send her armies after us. For that, he is just as responsible as your sister, and he must also pay the price.”
Persephone sighed. “I fear you put too much on your plate. I can feel your vessel growing weaker. It won’t be long before it is time to trade him.”
“I have a plan for that too.” I smiled down at her. “Maxx has a son from who I need no permission to enter because of the pact Maxx made when I entered his body. When the time comes, I will have a vessel. Willing or not.”
“I love you my dear Death god.” Persephone leaned in, kissing his cheek.
“I love you.” I said simply, leaning into the goddesses touch, humming softly, “I miss you so much.”
“And I you.” She smiled back at me. “That is why I am so anxious to return.”
“We will be together soon. Don’t you worry my love.”
“I will worry until I can hold you in my arms and not feel the touch of a ghost.” Persephone exclaimed.
“Soon enough, but for now I must find the White Queen.” I whispered back. “And that means finding every witch I can under her body is found. But fear not, it won’t take much longer. I have a plan to speed things up.”
“And what is that plan?” Persephone asked curiously.
“To force the witches to come out in the open. To see where the strongest among them lie. The strongest one will be the warriors we are after. And then, my dear, we will live forever once again.”