Lords of the Underworld [malexmale]

Chapter Forty

Chapter Forty

I wasn't sure if I was just sleeping, or dead.

But either way, I was dreaming again. Or rather, experiencing yet another memory that made my skin crawl.

I sat on the bench in the garden at my palace. The flowers bright and glowing like a million multicolored lights poking out of the ground, surrounded by rich dark soil and brilliant green grass. The pomegranate tree over my head was filled with bright reddish fruits, but my heart was heavy. I felt sick to my stomach with guilt, misery, rage, and other emotions I wished I could bury at the time. I was still young, and pathetically fragile after Zeus's betrayal. Even worse, it was right after what I'd done to Persephone.

After we'd come to the agreement that she would stay here for half the year, and in the mortal realm with her mother for the other half, Persephone refused to speak to me for weeks. She dodged and fled at the very sight of me and spat at the thought of sharing a room with me. I knew what I'd done had been stupid. She obviously didn't want to be here and I was being a selfish prick by holding her here, but I didn't want to be alone again. The thought of being in this dark dreary palace alone again for the rest of eternity made my stomach churn and at the time, my future wasn't bright in the lover department.

My reputation was still soiled by Zeus's lies and anyone who came near me either sneered or fled. I was treated like an animal, not a god.

So I'd retreated to the garden that Persephone had been pampering during her stay. It was eerily calming and she'd tended the tree so well that you'd never guess it was winter. I reached up to the tree and plucked a fruit from the tree, bringing it down to study in the light that poured in through the opening in the cavern ceiling.

"Oh." A voice said, making me shoot to my feet and whirl around, tucking the fruit behind my back. I stiffened at the sight of Persephone standing in the opening of the garden. She wore a beautiful white silk chiton with her strawberry blonde hair piled in luxurious curls on her head, falling down over her shoulders. Her eyes were red from crying, cheeks a bit puffy as she sniffed uncomfortably, using her pinkie to wipe at the eyeliner beneath her eye. I swallowed hard and moved away from the bench, but when I started to, Persephone cleared her throat.

"Please," She said after a moment, "Sit with me." It was the first thing she'd said to me since she told me she hated me and wished I was dead after her parents and I had come to an agreement over her staying here. I was hesitant to stick around, but reluctantly sat back down on the bench with the pomegranate in my lap. Persephone walked over and sat on the opposite side of the bench from me.

We sat in a long awkward silence before Persephone spoke softly, wringing her hands out in her lap nervously.

"Why didn't you tell me who you were when we first met?" She asked. I narrowed my eyes and clenched the fruit in my fist, resisting the urge to smash it completely.

"If I had told you who I was in the beginning, would you have still been kind to me?" I asked dryly, glancing at her out the corner of my eye. She blinked, then peered over at me.

"No," She told me honestly and I rolled my eyes before she cleared her throat sternly again and I looked at her to see her frowning at me, "But you cannot blame me. My mother was quite clear to stay away from you." Of course she was. Demeter wouldn't want me to sully her daughter. She was the only one who knew what happened that day in the shed.

"Yes, I also listen to rumors." I told her sarcastically. Persephone was miffed. Apparently women didn't take kindly to sarcasm.

"Excuse me," She exclaimed, offended, "Word is the only thing we can go by nowadays. I had never met you and the rumors were basically all the same. Every lie is rooted in truth, Hades." I bit my tongue to keep from snarling at her. She didn't know. It wasn't her fault. And yet, I was still angry over her words.