My Ex From Hell (The Blooming Goddess Trilogy, #1)

If you can't beat 'em, poison 'em (Part 4)

I found myself in a cavernous room. The walls were hewn from the same large blocks of green stone as outside. It was as vast as a football field and empty save for a large throne set on a base halfway across. Theo stood beside the throne, waiting for me.

I made my way across the slick, jet-black floor warily. The throne seemed to rise from the ground like an island from the sea. Cut from one giant block of obsidian, it stood thirty feet tall. Even getting to the foot of the throne from its base took about ten tremendous stairs. How large were these gods?

"Here's the Cliff notes," Theo began. "You know that Hades is Lord of the Underworld. He's not the Christian interpretation of Satan. Not pure evil. Totally power-mad and arrogant, though, like his brothers. Hades is obsessed with gaining a bigger share than he got. And he's raised junior to be the same."

Some things were coming back to me. "Yeah. And Kai was getting tired of waiting for the throne. Hades always put him off, going on about how great Hades himself was, and how disappointing Kai was. Kai was going to do something about it."

"Just Kai?" Theo countered.

I couldn't answer him so I climbed the stairs at the base to examine the throne.

Kai and I stood on the base, having been summoned by Hades. The Lord of the Underworld lounged lazily on his throne, attended by an entourage of nymphs. In one fist he grasped a wineskin from which he drank greedily. His face, still handsome, showed the toll of his excessive pleasure taking.

"My son," he boomed to his various sycophants. "Your next ruler of Hades." He sneered. "A whelp enthralled by a slut of Zeus."

I hated him. How could my father and mother have left me here? Why hadn't they taken Kai and me away back up to Olympus?

"Better enthralled by a goddess then pawing desperately at any half-female, willing or not," Kai shot back.

"I rue the day I sired you," Hades glowered. He shifted, revealing a brilliant round sapphire set into the centre of the throne.

"Not more than I," Kai retorted.

I snapped my head up. The gemstone was still there. I clambered up onto the seat.

The sapphire called to me. "Daughter of Demeter, born of Zeus," I murmured. "My mom gave me this when I was born ..."

"... And Hades took it away when he kidnapped you," Theo finished.

I nodded. "No one besides than me can handle it, so Hades made me set it into the throne for him, just to rub it in. Then he cast some spell on the stone so that if anyone tried to steal it, he'd know."

I shot a cocky grin at Theo. "Luckily, I figured that one out ages ago. He would have noticed if I kept it, but he couldn't prevent me from holding it." I was thrilled at how much was rushing back to me. "Hat tip to you, Theo, for bringing me back to this baby."

"Pleasure's all mine," Theo replied.

I rubbed my hands together to warm them. The trick was to place my palm over the entire stone, binding the pendant to my skin. I sighed in delight as I felt it adhere, pushing at my touch. Bit by painfully slow bit, I pulled my hand back, drawing the sapphire with it.

Finally, the pendant popped free. I held it up to the light. Only a couple inches in diameter and about the size of a small egg, it was finely etched. A tiny silver loop at the top could be used to thread a chain.

One etching showed a thunderbolt, the other a sheaf of wheat. The symbols of my two parents. I clasped it tightly in my palm. For not knowing it existed ten minutes ago, I was incredibly relieved to have the gem back in my possession.

"You really have to stop touching my things."

The menace underneath that silky tone sent shivers down my spine.

Hades. He may have been massive at twenty feet tall, but the past sixteen years hadn't done him any favors. He appeared even more bloated and red-faced. His once jet black hair was now shot through with a lot of white. Even so, he exuded an enormous amount of charisma. There was something incredibly compelling about the god, despite his scariness. Probably where his son got it.

I straightened my shoulders, my head held high, trying not to feel like an ant before an elephant. "How did you know I was here?"

"As if I wouldn't know what was going on in my realm? The second you removed the gem, you triggered an alarm."

Theo shot me an "I thought you knew what you were doing" look.

Hades smiled. Not kindly. "Hello, Prometheus."

"Wasn't sure you'd recognize me," Theo said.

"Who else would accompany our Persephone? But don't blame her. The second I discovered she'd been murdered, I changed the spell on the stone." He sighed as if weary. "I'm not surprised. She was too irritating to truly be dead."

"Now what, Hades?" Theo sounded bored. "Torture? Fiery death?"

I elbowed him. Why give Hades ideas?

"Wine."

Not the answer I'd been expecting.

Hades plucked me off his throne and ushered us around to the back of it. I thought his touch would be scaly, cold, and evil. Not so. His meaty fingers were surprisingly smooth and warm. I guess he didn't do a lot of manual labor. He placed his hands on the base, splayed his fingers and pushed.

I gasped as a huge block of stone swung open to reveal a door in the base.

Hades manhandled us through.

The door silently swung closed again, blocking us in. The back of my neck prickled in fear, but curiosity got the better of me.

As black as the outside of the base had been, the inside radiated a warm gold. Because it was gold. I whistled. A hallway led off the room. I could see far enough into it to know that it sloped steeply. It must have led under the floor of the throne room.

I glanced up at the ceiling to see if it was gold as well—which it was—but was distracted by a black iron chandelier. I knew that lighting fixture. "Oh!" I inhaled sharply. "That light. I stared at it ... after ..." A flood of images assaulted me, none of them pleasant. I grasped my sides reliving the agony of my murder once again.

"It's just a memory," Theo soothed. "It can't hurt you."

"Such a good day, your death. We could always reenact it." Hades sounded amused with himself.