Beneath

Chapter Eleven:

"When are you taking me back to the Underworld?"

Poseidon glanced up from his coffee as I stormed into the dining room. "Good morning to you, too."

"Don't play coy with me. Whatever your diabolical plan is, Hades will figure it out. It's up to you if you'd rather me tell him to kill you on the spot, or wait to hear your explanation."

His lips twitched. "I was under the impression that you never wanted to return."

"Oh, so it's better being your prisoner?"

"You're not my prisoner, Emma. I thought I've made that abundantly clear."

"Political captive, then. I'm here to prove a point, right?"

He leaned back in his chair, intrigued. "And what point would that be?"

"That you can take what belongs to Hades anytime you goddamn please."

"Maybe I just enjoy your company."

"Bullshit."

"Sit, please," he said, gesturing to the chair next to him, and I hesitated a moment before joining him, eyeing him warily.

He gathered his dreads into a low ponytail, unfolding his newspaper. "Have I treated you like a prisoner since you arrived last night? I put you in the most spacious suite I have, ordered you a hot bubble bath, and gave you unfettered access to my minibar."

I flinched, buttering a piece of toast. "You wanted to join me in that stupid bathtub."

He smirked. "Can you blame a guy for trying?"

"Yes, I can, because it was frustrating. Why are you trying so hard to seduce me, anyway? I can't be your type."

"I have a type?"

"Of course you do. She's probably athletic, snarky and completely full of herself, based on what I've learned about you."

He laughed, spearing some fruit on the end of his fork. "I've been wondering how Hades managed to break through your tough outer shell, since it's obvious that his fire and humor doesn't come close to your own."

I shrugged, nonplussed. "He was incredibly aloof but also didn't try to sleep with me every chance he got."

"His loss."

"Okay," I said, carefully laying my knife across my plate so I couldn't do something drastic with it, like stab his eyes out. "Other people say things like that and it sounds sweet. You say it, and it's creepy and self-gratifying. Do you want to know the real reason why I keep coming back to the Underworld, month after month? Not because I'm contractually obligated to - because you know I could talk my way out of Hell - but because he tries to make me a better person. He protects me and in return, I work with him."

Until recently, that backstabbing bastard.

"Don't you mean for him?"

"No. I can leave whenever I want, as long as I return when he calls me back - oh."

Well, shit.

Poseidon smiled at me pityingly. "You're not free, Emma, even if you think you are. Hades keeps you on a short leash for his benefit, not yours. If the rumor I heard is to be believed, you can no longer see or help the spirits of the dead, so why does he keep you around? Sooner or later, he'll toss you to the side."

"For my sparkling wit, of course," I bit back, trying not to let his words get to me. It'd been a week since the souls disappeared and in that time, I'd been distracted by Persephone's gardens and trying to avoid Hades, who likewise hadn't been interested in a face-to-face interaction, until last night at the party, but that didn't mean he wanted to get rid of me.