Chapter 9

Persephone

I had no clue how Lucifer had gotten water jets installed on such short notice. It didn’t matter how he’d accomplished it; the new water jets were divine.

A small moan escaped my lips as I relaxed in the tub with my book. I loved a good crime novel. The book I was reading had been written by one of my favorite warlock authors. It was part of a series about a tough witch who solved crimes using magic and her wits. I’d loaned the first book in the series to Beatrice, but she’d complained it was too violent. Bea wasn’t normally squeamish, but she preferred lighter reading. I loved a book or movie that kept me on the edge of my seat and made me jump at every little sound.

Try as I might, I couldn’t focus on my book. I still wasn’t sure how I was going to deal with Hades. There was no denying he could be scary to others. Never to me. I’d never once feared him. It was possible my choice in books and movies had desensitized me to violence enough to make Hades seem less intimidating.

My thoughts of Hades were interrupted by someone pounding on the bathroom door.

“Persephone!”

My mother’s shout was enough to cause me to sit up and drop my book in the tub.

“No!” I shouted as I scrambled to save my poor book before the pages were too damaged by the water.

My mom beat on the door harder and shouted at someone else. “He must be in there with her! I heard her cry out. Someone open this door before I break it down!”

Shaking the water from my soggy book, I let out a sigh. So much for my relaxing bath time. “I’m fine, Mom,” I called out. “I just dropped my book in the tub.”

“Oh no,” she said with genuine sympathy. My mom shared my love of reading and had experienced her own bathtub mishaps with books.

Setting my book on the side of the tub, I climbed out and dried off, thankful I’d brought a robe into the bathroom.

Never would I have expected my mother to show up in Hell. I paused to let that fully settle in. My mom was in Hell. I had no clue how she’d even found Lucifer’s home. I certainly wouldn’t have been able to find Lucifer’s home on my own.

When I opened the door, I saw my mom pacing the bedroom. There was plenty of space for her to walk back and forth. Honestly, the bedroom was nearly as big as my apartment. Shaking my head, I reminded myself that it wasn’t the time to think about the size of the bedroom. I needed to focus on easing my mom’s concerns.

She looked a lot like me, with red hair and green eyes. We’d been told countless times we could pass for sisters. Her hair was more of a dark auburn than an actual red, but I’d heard that, in her younger years, it had looked browner. While we both had green eyes, hers changed colors based on her mood. As she paced my room, I noticed that her eyes were almost blue. They were always blue when she was sad or worried. The color would last for days. My mom was also nearly six feet tall. At five-foot-seven, I was short for a witch.

“Hi, Mom,” I began with a bright smile, hoping that if I showed my mom how safe and happy I was, she’d stop freaking out.

It didn’t work.

“Why are you in Hell?” she demanded before adding, “Again. You came back to Hell. I was very reasonable the first time, and then you came back a second time.”

It seemed like a bad time to point out that she hadn’t been very reasonable. It also wasn’t the time to admit that I came to Hell on a regular basis to visit Beatrice. That might be enough to send my mom into a true panic. No, she wasn’t in a true panic at that point, as hard as that might be for most to believe.

“Hades was worried about me,” I began, but my mom didn’t let me continue.

“Hades?” she nearly screeched. “You’ve spoken to Hades?”

“Didn’t I tell you about that? I must have told you about that.” I’m a terrible liar, and I always sound like I’ve sucked on a helium tank when I lie.

My mom inhaled deeply before taking a seat on the edge of my bed. “Why are you keeping so much from me?” she finally asked.

“I told you I’d be staying in the demon realm for a little while,” I reminded her.

“Something tells me you come here more often than you’ve admitted to,” she accused. “You’ve also never mentioned spending time with Hades or even meeting him. This is why I was so afraid of your coming here. This place is dangerous for you. Hades is dangerous.”

“Hades is the reason you were worried about me coming to Hell.” I giggled. When my mom glared at me, I continued. “Sorry. It’s just that there are definitely reasons to worry about me being in Hell, especially this close to the detention areas. Yet, Hades is what you’re most afraid of. Is it because of the curse?”

“You know?” she asked before letting out a humorless bark of laughter. “What am I saying? Of course, you know. Even if you hadn’t met Hades, someone would have mentioned it to you the first time you were in the demon realm.”

“Yes, everyone warned me about the curse.” Everyone except my parents.

“I’d hoped you would never run into him,” she told me. “From what I’ve heard, he no longer leaves the demon realm and never associates with other species. Are you angry that I didn’t tell you?”

“Not really,” I replied. “I am a little confused. You should have told me, but I’m glad you didn’t. When I first learned about the curse, it was right before I met Hades. I didn’t have time to worry about what he’s like or assume the worst about him.”

“He’s a monster,” my mom whispered.

I opened my mouth to argue that he was a very nice man, but he wasn’t. Instead, I decided to just tell her the truth. “I like Hades. He’s been very nice to me, and he tries hard to be on his best behavior around me.”

“He hasn’t tried to abduct you?” she asked.

I shook my head. “He’s had plenty of opportunities, but he hasn’t tried kidnapping me. I told him it would upset me if he made me miss work and that I don’t find kidnapping romantic. In the beginning, he’d promised Lucifer he wouldn’t abduct me, and I think he tries to listen to Lucifer. I’m not sure of all his reasons. Hades is a very complex man. He’s sweet, in a strange way.” My smile turned wistful.

“You really do like him,” my mom remarked in wonder. “He must realize you aren’t the one to end his curse. It’s good that he recognized that before kidnapping you.”

“I’m the one.” It was the first time I’d spoken the words with certainty. At first, I’d said I might be the one because that’s all I’d been certain of. The longer I knew Hades, the more I believed I was the woman he would fall in love with. We were meant to be together.

“How do you know that?” my mom asked. “You don’t deserve this. You’re too good for this curse.”

“It’s not a curse for me,” I assured her. “Hades isn’t the monster you believe he is.”

“This isn’t what I wanted for you,” my mom said, gesturing around us. As her eyes scanned the room, she laughed. “That came out sounding like I don’t want you to live in a huge mansion.”

“I know what you meant,” I assured her. “You don’t want me to live in Hell. As a fallen angel, Hades has to live here. If I stay with him, this will be my home. It’s not what I envisioned for myself either. There are times when I wonder if I can do this.”

“Hades won’t give you a choice,” she told me.

“That’s where you’re wrong,” I argued. “Hades is trying to take the choice away from me, but not in the way you think. He’s avoiding me. We still message each other, but he hardly ever sees me in person, and when he does, it’s because I’ve caught him off-guard. He is doing his best to stay away from me, even though I can tell he wants to be with me.”

“This is strange,” my mom mused. “It’s good though. If you come home with me now, you’ll be free of him.”

I shook my head. “No, I can’t leave him. I’d miss him. He’d always be in my thoughts, so I’d never truly be free of him. Part of the reason I’m here is that I may be in danger, but the biggest reason is Hades. I want to be with him, and I need to find a way to make that happen.”

“I want to kidnap you and hide you from him forever,” my mom confessed. “But you’d never forgive me.”

With a grin, I sat beside her and wrapped an arm around her shoulders. “I love you, Mom. I’m so lucky to have you.”

“I still don’t trust him,” she admitted. “Tell me about your relationship with Hades.”