“Basil loves you, that is true, but if you don’t love him in return, it is meaningless.”
“Better to be loved than not at all,” she countered.
You are a fool, Hades wanted to say. Instead, he asked, “Are you sure this is what you want? You have already petitioned Zeus for a divorce, now you have asked me to resurrect your lover in the event I cannot meet the terms of your contract. Hephaestus will know.”
Aphrodite was quiet, and he recognized her uncertainty in the way she toyed with her lip.
Finally, she answered.
“Yes. It is what I want.” She took a deep breath then and managed a smile. “Six months, Hades. That should be enough time. Thank you for the entertainment. It was…invigorating.”
With that, the Goddess of Love vanished.
CHAPTER III – A GAME OF RESTRAINT
Make someone fall in love with you.
The words were a cruel taunt that echoed in Hades’ mind as he prowled the darkness of his club to clear his head.
Perhaps he had gone too far in criticizing Aphrodite’s choice to ask Zeus for a divorce, but Hades knew the goddess loved Hephaestus, and rather than admit it, she thought to force the God of Fire into expressing his feelings by goading him. What Aphrodite failed to understand was that not everyone worked like she did, least of all Hephaestus. If she won his love, it would be through patience, kindness, and attention.
It would mean she would have to be vulnerable, something Aphrodite, goddess and warrior, despised.
And if he understood anything, it was that. Aphrodite’s challenge forced him to acknowledge his own vulnerabilities, his weaknesses. He frowned at the notion of finding someone who wanted to carry his shame, his sins, his malice, but if he failed, the Fates would get involved, and he knew what they would require if he returned Basil to the land of the living.
A soul for a soul.
Someone would have to die, and he would not have a say in the Fates’ victim.
The thought made his body tighten, another thread added to the others marring his skin. He hated it, but it was the price of maintaining balance in the world.
A smell brought him out of his thoughts and gave him pause. It was familiar—wildflowers, both bitter and sweet.
Demeter, he thought.
The Goddess of Harvest’s name was sour on his tongue. Demeter had few passions in life, but one of them was her hatred for the God of the Dead.
He inhaled again, taking the scent deeper. Something about it was off. Mingled with the familiar aroma was the sweetness of vanilla and a mild, herbal note of lavender. A mortal, perhaps? Someone with the goddess’s favor?
The scent drew him out of the darkness in which he had lingered to the edge of the balcony, where he scanned the crowd and found her immediately.
The woman who smelled like vanilla, lavender, and his enemy sat poised on the edge of one of his sofas in a pink dress that left little to the imagination. He liked the way her hair curled, falling in luminous waves down her back. His fingers itches to touch it, to pull it until her head tipped back and she looked him in the eyes.
Look at me, he commanded, desperate to see her face.
She seemed to look everywhere before her gaze halted on him. His hand tightened around his glass, the other gripped the balcony rail.
She was beautiful—lush lips, high cheekbones, and eyes as green as new spring. Her expression was startled at first, eyes widening slightly, transforming into something fierce and passionate as her gaze swept his face and form.
She is yours, a voice echoed in his head, and something inside him snapped. Claim her.
The command was feral. He had to grind his teeth to keep from obeying, and he thought he might shatter the glass in his hand from clutching it too tight. The impulse to whisk her away to the Underworld was strong, like a spell. He had never thought himself so weak, but his restraint was a thin, frayed thread.
How could he want this woman so badly? What was this unnatural pull? He stared at her harder, searching for a reason, and became aware that he was not the only one feeling the effects of their connection. She fidgeted beneath his gaze, her chest rising and falling as her breath hitched, her skin turning a pretty pink, and he had the thought that he would like to follow that flush with his lips.
He would give anything to know what she was thinking.
He was so preoccupied by his own salacious thoughts, he had not felt anyone approach until arms snaked around his waist. He reacted quickly, latching onto the hands that held him and twisted to face Minthe.
“Distracted, my lord?” she purred, amused.
“Minthe,” he snapped, releasing her arms. “Can I help you?”
He was frustrated by the interruption, but also grateful. If he stared at the woman any longer, he might have left his position on the balcony and gone to her.
“Already zeroing in on your prey?” she asked.
For a moment, Hades did not understand her comment, and then he made the connection. Minthe assumed he was searching for a potential love interest, someone who could help him fulfill Aphrodite’s bargain.
“Listening in the shadows again, Minthe?”
The nymph shrugged a shoulder. “It is what I do.”
“You gather information for me,” he said. “Not on me.”
“How else am I supposed to keep you out of trouble?”
He snorted. “I’m millions of years old. I can take care of myself.”
“Is that how you ended up in a bargain with Aphrodite?”
He narrowed his gaze, then lifted his glass. “Did I not tell you I am not to have an empty glass tonight?”
She gave her best fuck you smile and bowed. “Right away, my lord.”
He made sure Minthe was no longer within sight before returning his gaze to the floor. The woman had turned back to her friends.
Hades studied them in an attempt to discern the kind of company she kept, when he noticed someone he was not particularly fond of—a man named Adonis. He was one of Aphrodite’s favored mortals. Why, he had no idea. The mortal was a liar and had a heart as dark as the Styx, but he supposed the Goddess of Love had a hard time looking past his pretty face.
He hoped the woman did not share that quality. He frowned, wondering if she would leave the club with him tonight, and then scolded himself for having these thoughts. His concern should go as far as fearing for her well-being for the mere fact that Aphrodite was fond of punishing anyone who gave her lovers too much attention.
“Your drink, my lord,” Ilias said.
Hades glanced at the satyr, relieved that he had sensed his approach.
Ilias could be best described as another assistant. He had worked for Hades almost as long as Minthe, filling roles wherever Hades needed: bartending at Nevernight, managing his restaurants, and enforcing Hades’ rule in the Upperworld. He was best at the latter. With an unassuming, pleasant appearance, Hades’ enemies were often surprised by his ruthlessness.
Hades did not often employ satyrs. They were wild, prone to drunkenness and seduction, but Ilias was different and not by choice. He had severed ties with his tribe after they betrayed him, raping a woman he loved. She had killed herself and Ilias had killed them.
Hades took the glass, and before he thought too long on the subject, said, “I have a job for you.”
“Yes, my lord?”
Hades nodded to the woman who had triggered him with her golden hair and green eyes.