Chapter 4

Hades

A day working in the prisons would keep my mind off Persephone. I needed to stop thinking about her. After almost kissing her, I’d tried jerking off for the first time in at least four centuries. The result had been exactly what I’d expected—a chafed cock and no relief. I wanted her more than I could remember wanting any woman.

Each night, I was plagued with dreams of her. Those dreams often led to me flying near her apartment, longing to knock on her door. Some nights, I imagined breaking down her door and carrying her off to my home. I wanted her with everything in me, yet I never acted on my impulses.

Persephone confused me, and I don’t like being confused. Before meeting her, I’d never pondered my actions or worried about making a mistake that could hurt someone else. It was time to make a decision. I couldn’t keep stalking her. Either I needed to find out if she really was the one to break my curse or I needed to stop going near her. It was time to stop acting like a pussy.

“There you are!” Ares called out from behind me.

“Fuck my life,” I muttered before turning to find Ares, Athena, and Artemis.

The asshole convention had come to town.

“Aren’t you happy to see us, Uncle?” Artemis asked with a sly smile, looking much saner than most from Olympus. Her long brown hair was secured in a thick braid, and her amber eyes were locked on me as she waited for my reaction. I’d once gotten along fairly well with Artemis. We’d even hunted together a few times when she’d wanted to piss off the others on Olympus. There’d always been something almost childlike about her, an innocence that went beyond her virginity. Like the others on Olympus, she could still be spiteful and cruel when she didn’t get her way.

Athena, once a skilled warrior, looked lost and confused. Her short black hair was covered with an old helmet. Her armor was tarnished with age. In her younger years, Athena had been brilliant but impulsive. She’d also been a jealous bitch who’d constantly bickered with the others.

Ares had skipped the armor in favor of old jeans and a black tank top with a section cut out for his wings. While most on Olympus stayed out of trouble since the fall of our pantheon, Ares had tried starting more than few wars. He still hadn’t gotten far enough with his attempts to end up in prison, but it was only a matter of time, in my opinion.

“You only call me Uncle when you want something,” I muttered, tempted to walk away. I had work to do, and I honestly didn’t give a fuck what my brother’s offspring had to say.

“Zeus wants to see you,” Athena announced, sounding more coherent than I’d expected considering her glassy-eyed expression.

“How nice for him,” I replied as I began walking away. Sadly, they followed me into the main detention area. It was one of the nicer prisons, so there was no putrid smell of rotting flesh and no screams for help. I wouldn’t be at that prison long. If they continued to follow me, the next prison would send Ares, Athena, and Artemis running.

“Why do you do Lucifer’s bidding?” Artemis asked with a sneer. “You’re one of us.”

“One of you?” I asked with a bark of laughter. “Sure, we hung out a few times, and others have come to me for favors, but I’ve never been one of you. Lucifer is more than my cousin, he’s my friend. Let’s not forget, he’s also king here.”

“You used to rule the underworld,” Ares spat out. “Don’t tell me you’re satisfied being an underling now.”

Ares was an idiot if he thought I wanted to rule Hell. Lucifer taking over my job had been the best thing to happen to me. I didn’t want to deal with the bureaucratic bullshit or visits with Azrael, the asshole angel of death. There wasn’t one thing I missed about ruling the underworld.

“Let me guess,” I began in a bored tone. “You have all decided to start some kind of rebellion in Hell. Are you hoping to take over? Kill Lucifer? Is that why you’re coming to me? Do you think I’ll stab my cousin in the back in the hopes that we can all be friends? Look around.” I gestured to the prison. There was a demon being dragged off by one of the guards as she cursed and spit acidic venom at the guard. Several other demons were sitting outside makeshift huts, trying to appear invisible. They were all dirty and thin. “This is one of the nicer prisons. You won’t end up in a nice prison if you fuck with Lucifer. His patience with you will wear out, eventually.”

“Zeus can’t stop talking about Persephone,” Artemis taunted. “He seems quite taken with your little redhead.”

I tensed at her words, fighting to keep my emotions under control. I wanted to pull Artemis’s intestines out through her nostrils for daring to even speak Persephone’s name. It might sound impossible, but I was willing to try.

“And?” I asked in a bored tone.

“No one wants to see her hurt,” Ares replied with a smirk.

“It would be very foolish to threaten me.” My words sounded casual and unconcerned as I continued walking. “Even without your threats, I’m tempted to hurt you. I want to hurt you. The reason I work in the detention areas is that I enjoy causing others pain. You three.” I stopped to point a finger at each of them for emphasis. “I don’t give a rat’s ass about any of you.”

Ares decided to make a last appeal to me, one that would have worked centuries ago when I’d still longed to be accepted by my siblings and their children. “No one wants to hurt her. You have every reason to hate us. In the past, we wronged you by forcing you to live alone. We messed up, Uncle. Come, live with us on Olympus. Fuck being God of the Underworld. We’ll redefine the pantheon.”

“Humans will worship and adore you,” Artemis crooned from close by. “You can even bring your little witch to rule by your side. She’ll have everything.”

“You can pretend all you want, but we know you care for her,” Athena added as she moved closer. “We’re offering you everything you’ve ever wanted and the chance to make your witch happy.”

The fools couldn’t imagine anyone wouldn’t crave the adoration of humanity. I’d been feared by nearly everyone for most of my existence. While I might have craved adoration many lifetimes ago, I’d long since moved past that desire.

“No one wants to see your witch hurt.” Ares’s words definitely sounded like a threat.

“I’m not about to play your game, Ares,” was all I said before I stormed off to deal with a fight that had just broken out between two demons. Normally, I’d let them work it out, but I needed to beat the crap out of someone before I went to Lucifer to tell him about the potential trouble brewing on Olympus. I was tempted to beat the hell out of Ares, but I knew him well enough to realize it would only encourage him.