Hades Rewound (Hades Series #2)

Chapter One

Chapter One

It always used to frustrate me when people told me death wasn't the end.

I mean, in my defense it does sound pretty ridiculous when you think about it. "Death isn't the end, it's the beginning of a new adventure!"

I always wanted to laugh in their faces - which obviously, was never a good idea at funerals. Of course it's the end. You're dead. You've stopped breathing on this earth. Your body has stopped functioning. Your brain function has ceased. Your organs have failed. You have died. After all of that, how in the hell can death be the beginning of a new adventure?

Then, four years ago, my perspective on life after death was changed drastically.

Now, I wouldn't say death was the end - although, I wasn't exactly allowed to divulge that kind of extremely important information to humans on earth. For most people, death wasn't the beginning of a new adventure either. It was the means to an end. It was justice. It was a reflection of your life. It was a reward for all the troubles and toils that you went through as a human being. Sometimes the end result was eternal happiness, paradisal bliss, other times it was unremitting punishment and agonising torment. I'd like to say I've seen my fair share of the former, but unfortunately the latter is almost just as normal. Sometimes it was the person's own decision to punish themselves, other times, that decision was where I fit into the picture; hello, Queen of the Underworld, at your service.

For me, on the other hand, it was exactly what I used to make fun of. It was the beginning of a new adventure. If I was going to be really cheesy - and let's face it, I am - I would say that it was the beginning of the rest of my life. I really didn't think that, all those years ago, when I was practically forced to look death in the face by my best friend dying right in front of me (well, he didn't exactly die either; that's one of the perks of being an immortal god, as I was later informed) that I would meet the Lord of the Dead and fall in love with him. I also didn't think his brother Poseidon would try to break their father Cronus out in an attempt to take over the world and almost kill us all in the process; go figure. Yet, that all happened, and even though technically I didn't die, I still count it as an adventure after death; because after it was all over, I ended up as an immortal goddess in the Underworld, the Queen of the Dead, with the most amazing guy in the world (and Underworld) by my side.

It's honestly all very confusing. Hell, even I'd be confused if I hadn't just lived through it and seen it all happen right before my eyes.

I honestly thought it was all over. I thought that I'd lived through the one big crisis of my life. In my defense, it was an extremely large crisis; as in a, if-we-messed-up-the-whole-world-would-be-brought-crashing-to-it's-knees kind of large crisis. I didn't think that anything else would happen after that, that I'd be able to relax (as much as I could with my new job and all) and make, as my best friend delightfully puts it, goo-goo eyes at my fiancee.

I was so wrong. God, we were all so wrong.

---

"You're ignoring me."

"Agápi mou, I could never ignore you."

I narrow my eyes at him. "Trying to sweet talk your way out of the situation isn't going to work, buster."

He blinks back at me, his face devoid of emotion. "I don't know what you are talking about."

"Of course you don't! Because you're ignoring me."

"Ignoring someone is different from not electing to acknowledge what they're talking about."

"Are you trying to use big words to confuse me again?" I accuse, pointing at him. A small grin cracks through the impassive mask. "You totally are! Tell you what, I'll offer you a deal."