Down below

Chapter 31. xxx

>>smut warning<<

'What's happening to me?' Elianah asked, emerging from the afterglow as her mind started to be engulfed by images after images.

'Your body recognized mine. Are your memories coming back?'

'What did you do to me?' she asked, frightened.

'Me?' he asked as he propped himself on his elbow, frowning slightly due to his wound. 'Do you still not know who I am?'

   She looked at him for a long moment, scanning his face, but she didn't see anger there, nor cunning, only concern.

'You're my husband.'

He smiled and fell back on the couch.

'Thank gods. You scared me for a second.'

'Answer my question!' she demanded, sitting up.

'The spell is broken. Let your memories return to you on their own.'

'I want to know now!'

'Welcome to the club!'

'Stop playing with me, Hades!' she said, conjuring and pressing her dagger against his neck, but he didn't seem to care, he just smiled at her with a mixture of pride and lust.

'That's my queen. And I'm not playing. You wanted freedom, I gave it to you. Then you disappeared without a trace and missed the agreed deadline to return.'

'So you became my stepfather once you found me? How messed up is that?'

'I found you in an orphanage, in a child's body and you had absolutely no idea who I was.' Hades explained calmly, but she could see resentment darkening his eyes. 'Dumping the truth on you would have been traumatic. Hello there, I'm your husband and by the way the Ruler of the Underworld. Snap out of it! You possibly would have run away the first chance you got, thinking I'm some kind of crazy person. Besides, spells like these come with all sort of terms and conditions, so I didn't want to risk losing you again. I took my time and trained you myself like we train any new recruits, introducing you to our world step by step, hoping you will remember me one day, Persephone.'

   She stared at him. Hearing her name triggered the memories, flooding her mind faster, overwhelming her senses. She flinched and held her head in her hands, trying to get a grip on reality, but she was drowning.

'Darling, are you alright?' Hades asked, touching her gently, but she pulled away, so he waited patiently, giving her space.

'How long?' she whispered.

'Five decades and seventeen days.' he replied quietly.

'I remember some things now, remember you, but I don't know how I...' she stopped and looked at him, tears in her eyes. It was all too much to process.

'Give it time. It will all come back.'

'I thought you were after me. Kenny...you killed my friend!'

'That was my busybody subordinate parading as me. He was punished for acting without my approval – by you.'

'So I sliced his throat when I thought I killed you?'

'Correct. You have the power to kill demons and you did.'

'I was tortured! He branded me!'

'You ran, disobeyed your handler, ignoring your mission. You know the punishment for that. You got off easy.'

'After I thought I killed you, I ran all the way to Asgard. I told Odin and Frigga some terrible things. I lied to them, so they take me in, give me refuge.'