Reversal [by TheSuperSass]

Chapter 5

In a matter of seconds, everything vanished into a vacuum of darkness and silence. Before Persephone could even look back, the world he knew disappeared behind him. His eyes saw nothing, his ears heard nothing, his body felt nothing. For what felt like an eternity, he was suspended in Erebus, wondering if the world still existed.

Eventually, his sensations came back to him, one by one. He felt the pressure of Hades' tight hold on his wrist escalate from a dull ache to an acute pinch, the rings on her fingers digging into his skin. He heard his own quick breathing and felt the rattling of the chariot below his bare feet. He saw the outline of her body, her face a featureless shadow.

As her kingdom came into view in the distance, his confusion switched from where he was to why he was here. Her gaze stayed forward, casting him him no sideways glances, her tight hold on him the only acknowledgement he even existed next to her. Meanwhile, every part of Hades was tense, her focus singular and determined. The arrow's power flowed through her, and she defaulted to the part of her that saw a challenge and overcame it even in the midst of chaos. It had served her as a fighter, as a queen, and it was all she knew when struck suddenly by love.

Persephone hardly had time to admire this new world in front of him. After speaking with her and hearing her account, he often wondered what the Underworld must look like. It made him restless, as he had not seen even much of the Earth beyond their home. But now that it was in front of him, he could hardly register what his own eyes showed him. The shock of being pulled below with no explanation or warning made his heart pound, his breath race, and his thoughts scatter.

As the horses finally slowed, he opened his mouth to speak, but hardly knew what to say. The woman who had dragged him into her chariot was not the same woman whose hair he had braided with flowers. This woman followed violence with silence, and it made him increasingly nervous. Before the chariot had even stopped moving, Hades jumped from it, pulling Persephone with her. He stumbled after her as she practically dragged him behind her by his wrist.

"Hades!" he finally called after her. She abruptly stopped and spun to face him, hearing her name from his mouth halting her resolve. He flinched back at the wild look she gave him. She looked him in the eye, her intense, accusatory look unsettling him even further. His distraction threw her off; she needed to get him to her room. There were no coherent thoughts beyond this goal. She had to get him to her bedroom, now. She persisted forward and this time he followed through the winding labyrinth of her palace without protest.

At last they reached the destination, the grand bedroom of the queen. The heavy door shut with a slam, leaving an unnerving quiet in its wake. The lamps were lit low, their flames flickering shadows across the walls. She slowly turned to face him as he tried to adjust his eyes to the light. Now that she had him where she wanted him, her body hummed with anticipation, her mind a maelstrom of desire.

Giving into the potent magic burning through her, she surged towards him, releasing his wrist and grabbing his jaw, pushing him hard against the door. She took his face in both her hands, holding his face still. She pressed her lips against his, slow at first, relishing the thrill even the softest touch gave. Persephone stood rigid, this kiss more physical intimacy than he'd ever had with a woman. As she persisted, taking his lips between hers over and over, he relaxed enough to abandon his confusion and enjoy her mouth on his.

This gentle, chaste kissing alone did not satiate Hades for long. Her hands slid down his neck, across his shoulders, her nails skimming his chest while she took his bottom lip between her teeth and pulled on it excruciatingly slowly. His hard muscles under her fingertips fanned the flame burning inside her. Her hands smoothed over him back up his body, her fingers rushing over his broad neck and tangling into his hair. She grabbed a fistful in both hands and shoved his head against the door behind him. He gasped at the jolt, shivering when she look advantage of his head back to kiss a line up his neck, nose tracing along his jaw, taking his earlobe between her teeth.