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“The pastor will be coming to our house at seven o’clock,” Arisa warned her niece sharply. “Make sure you show proper gratitude that he’s been understanding about us canceling on the dinner a week ago.”
“Yes, Aunt.” It had been one week since she had come back to a world without him, and as the days passed by, it was also getting harder and harder to believe that what she had experienced was real.
It didn’t help at all that when she woke up in the library, not even five minutes had passed, and when Ever returned to her aunt’s home, she had come to realize that nothing had changed.
Arisa still believed she owned the right to enslave her niece.
She was still caged in poverty.
And the only Hades she knew was the one who loved Persephone between the pages of a book.
“I will never forget the shame that you have forced me to endure, having to lie to Pastor Nolan about an emergency, when really, the only reason we can’t entertain him is because your cooking—-are you listening to me?”
Arisa’s scream startled Ever out of her thoughts, and she said quickly, “I’m sorry, Aunt.”
Heaving an irritated sigh, Arisa muttered, “You’re getting worse every day.” She didn’t know what had changed, only that something had happened to her niece. Every day, the girl was growing paler and steadily losing weight.
Could a spirit have possessed her niece?
The thought came out of the blue, but as soon as it occurred, Arisa had a feeling it was exactly the problem. Thank heavens the pastor was coming over! She would tell the good pastor of her suspicions, and she was sure the pastor would know what to do.
“May I leave now, Aunt?”
Even with her looking so gaunt, Ever also had never looked lovelier, and the thought so incensed her that Arisa couldn’t keep her jealous anger from spilling over. Grabbing the Bible from the bedside table, she threw it at her niece, snarling, “Stop acting like you’re my prisoner!”
A cry escaped Ever as the thick Bible came flying at her, and she quickly lifted her arms to shield her face. She was only able to partially block it, one corner of the book still managing to hit her left eye.
When Ever lowered her arms, Arisa was privately aghast at the way her niece’s eye had started to turn red. “It’s your fault,” Arisa charged defensively.
And of course it was, Ever thought numbly. It always was, and she really had to get used to that.
Her life with Hades had been a dream.
This was her reality, and Arisa would end up killing her one day if she didn’t get herself back to her emotionally distant self.
Without looking at her aunt, she hurried out of the bedroom and shakily pulled the door close.
Pain seized her chest, and she suddenly had a hard time breathing. A part of her wanted to burst into tears, the same part that wanted to fly to the heavens just to ask God...why?
Ever blinked furiously and squared her shoulders.
Crying is a waste of time, Ever Carlisle, so repeat after me.
Your life with Hades is a dream, and this is your reality.
She repeated the words over and over in her mind as she ran down the stairs, hoping that one day by doing so she would even manage to completely forget that once upon a time, she had thought she could be the queen of the Underworld.
Entering the kitchen, she began to wash this afternoon’s pile of dirty dishes.
Your life with Hades is a dream, and this is your reality.
She scrubbed and scrubbed, and when it was time to rinse the soap off the dishes, she turned the tap on.
Your life with Hades is a dream, and this is your reality.
Tears started to fall, mingling with the tap water, but she bit her lip hard and forced herself to concentrate on what she had to do to survive.
Your life with Hades is a dream, and this is your reality.
Behind her, she heard Hades say, “It’s time to come back.”
She bit her lip harder until she drew blood, trying to use the metallic-tasting liquid, hoping it could cure her from her seemingly growing insanity.
Your life with Hades is a dream, and this is your reality.
Hands settled on her shoulders.
Ever froze.
And then she was being turned around—-
She started to sway, or maybe it was vision.
She wasn’t really sure. The only thing she did know was that someone – something – who looked very much like Hades was standing in front of her.
Impossible.
So repeat after me—-
The imaginary Hades started pulling her towards him.
Your life with Hades is a dream—-
His mouth closed over hers.
And this is your—-
His tongue dove into her mouth.
Her eyes flew open.
She was still being kissed.
Hades lifted his head. “Now, milady,” he purred, “do you believe I’m real?”
Hades.
The god of the Underworld stood in front of her, dressed entirely in black, just like the first time they met.
He was even more handsome than she had let herself remember, his hair and eyes the same impossibly dark shade of black that couldn’t ever exist in this world.
Hades.
Was he really here?
When Ever only continued to stare at him, Hades smiled crookedly at her, but his voice was hoarse as he asked, “How do you want me to prove to you I’m real?”
Tears started to form in her eyes, and she asked brokenly, “Are you...really...here?”
When her voice caught in the end, he could no longer help it, and Hades snatched her back into his arms.
“I love you,” he whispered fiercely against her hair. She started to cry, and his arms tightened around her. “I’m sorry you had to go through this.” Pulling away, he cupped her face and said rawly, “I am so damn sorry, Ever.”
She shook her head, still crying. “There’s nothing to be sorry about.”
From above, they both heard her aunt demand, “Ever? Who are you talking to?”
Ever immediately tried pulling away, but Hades’ arms had turned into chains that kept her imprisoned in his embrace.
Wiping her tears away, he said quietly, “You no longer have anything to fear, my queen.”
Ever jerked. “I’m not your—-”
From the upstairs hallway, Arisa cut her off with a screech, “Who are you talking to, Ever?” The sound of her heavy footsteps followed as she came barreling down the stairs. “Answer me! Did you let a man come into my house?”
Ever’s eyes flew up to Hades in horror. “Let me go—-”
Arisa stopped dead at the kitchen’s doorway upon seeing her niece locked in a stranger’s possessive embrace.
A stranger who was quite positively the most handsome man she had ever seen, and that he would belong to her poor idiot of a niece—-
“Leave this place at once if you don’t want me calling for the police.” Arisa’s voice shook with a mixture of anger and jealousy.
“Aunt, it’s not—-”
“It’s exactly what you think,” Hades cut her off with a drawl. Tightening his arms around Ever, he bent his head down and licked the trail of tears on her face.
Ever’s body quivered, and she said weakly, “Hades.” She knew she should try to move away, but she couldn’t.
Arisa let out a bellow of outrage. “I am going to call—-”
Hades’ lips moved to the corner of her mouth. “Your tears taste beautiful. I think I should make you cry more.”
“What?” But even at his sadistic threat, all she could do was stare up at him with eyes that were ready to spill more tears any moment. “Are you really here, Hades?” she whispered.
“Yes, my queen.”
She stiffened.
“And yes, you did hear me say that twice. You are my queen.”
She slowly shook her head. “Please.” Her voice was paper-thin. “Let’s not—-”
“The lord would fall because of her, and I did, did I not?”
Ever shook her head. “No, you—-”
As if he didn’t hear her speaking, the god of the Underworld continued, “The lady would disappear because of him.”
Oh.
“And you did, did you not?”
Her fingers clutched his shirt. “Hades.” Ever’s head started to reel, and her heart slammed hard against her chest. She had disappeared through the door – and by doing so, she had fulfilled the second condition of the prophecy without planning it.
“Tell me what the next line is,” Hades said softly.
Swallowing, she said unevenly, “And when these two came to be—-”
And it had.
“The Underworld would have made its choice.”
As she spoke, Hades’ hands began to move in the air, and her heart started beating faster and faster as she recognized what he was doing.
Oh, please, God.
“When I realized you were gone, I tried using this same method to find you and bring you back, but it didn’t work. I don’t know if it’s because I didn’t have a crystal key to find you or if it was the work of fate, but it simply didn’t work.”
His hands paused mid-air.
“Just thinking of you trapped in this world, knowing that anything could happen to you—-” His lips twisted. “I can do a lot of things with my powers, but one thing I can’t ever do is bring someone back from the dead.” His jaw clenched. “The thought made me frantic. Desperate. I knew I had to do everything I could to bring you back—-”
Hades drew a deep breath. “And that was when it hit me. Prophecies aren’t about fate making a choice for us. Prophecies are meant for us to make a choice for ourselves—-”
Letting her go, he faced the wall and his hands ripped the air.
The Underworld appeared before them, gloriously and beautifully dark.
Hades’ hands moved again, and it was like a camera panning and zooming, and suddenly she was seeing the throne room—-
Oh.
And she started to cry again.
All of his people were on their knees, and upon seeing her, the male Olympians bowed to her in greeting while the female Olympians curtsied.
Hades said quietly, “This is how I am able to come to you. This is why I’m able to find you. It’s because I choose you, Ever, to be my queen, and so do my people and my family.”
“Hades.” She wished she could say more, but all she could do was cry harder and harder, a part of her still unable to believe that what she had already tried to forget and thought impossible was now real and more beautiful than ever.
Through the blur of her tears, she saw the god of the Underworld offer his hand to her. “Will you be my queen, milady?”
She sobbed out, “Yes,” and placed her trembling hand in his.
He started to draw her towards the Underworld, and she was halfway to him when she realized something.
Why was her aunt so uncharacteristically silent?
She turned to look at Arisa over her shoulder, and a strangled gasp escaped her.
Arisa had no mouth, and it was the ghastliest sight she had ever seen.
Ever turned to the god in horror. “You took away her mouth!”
“Do you wish for me to take anything else?” he asked seriously.
“What? No!” And then she realized that this was eerily like déjà vu as well, and a choked laugh escaped her. “Oh Hades.” Life was really going to be strange and fun with the god of the Underworld.
He tugged her to him, saying impatiently, “I want you crowned now so I can marry you.”
“What?”
His eyes bored through her. “I’m fairly certain,” Hades drawled, “you heard that part of my conversation, too.”
“What? No!” But since she could already feel her cheeks turning red even before she finished speaking, she knew she was pretty much busted.
“Shall I propose to you now?”
“What?”
“Never mind, we can talk about it later.” As Hades began to drag her towards the portal he created, they heard someone knock on the door.
Hades stilled. “Are you expecting someone?”
Her eyes widened.
A moment later, they heard the door open, and the pastor’s blustery voice boomed out, “I’m coming in.”
That man was certainly doing as he pleased, Hades thought even as he waved his hand negligently in the air. The scene revealing the Underworld returned to its original state, and by the time the unexpected guest came to join them, there was only a plain wall behind Hades.
The newcomer was a heavyset man in his fifties, with receding grey hair and beady eyes, and his eyes nearly bulged out of its sockets when he saw Ever’s aunt in the corner, eyes wild with terror and her hands desperately cover her mouth.
“What has happened to you, Arisa?” The pastor rushed to his Arisa’s side. “Are you alright?” He scowled. “Has that man hurt you?”
Arisa nodded vehemently, thinking that the pastor could save her from the demon beside her niece. Oh, she knew it! She had it right from the start! Ever was indeed possessed, and the demon responsible for it was right beside her niece.
The pastor glared belligerently at the stranger. “Leave this house, sir, before I call for the police.” He turned to Ever. “Come here, child,” he commanded. “Attend to your aunt.”
Ever shook her head and inched closer to Hades.
“Ever,” the pastor warned, “do not disobey—-”
Hades would have been content to leave the man alone, if only out of pity for the fact that the man reeked of human sickness. In a few years’ time, Hades knew that the man was certain to die if not of chronic heart failure then of lung cancer.
But then he heard the man dare command and threaten his prophesied queen—-
Hades glanced at Ever. “Is this man good to you, milady?”
“Err...” She didn’t want to lie, but she didn’t think it was right to state the truth either.
“How dare you ask such a question?” The pastor’s voice shook with fury. “I am a man of the cloth—-”
Ignoring the other man, Hades kept his gaze trained on Ever. “Well?”
Slowly, she shook her head.
His gaze narrowed. “Has he done something to you?”
“He hasn’t a chance to,” she said uncomfortably.
Hades turned to the pastor again, just in time to catch the man in the process of staring at Ever with a crazy mix of lust and possessiveness.
Ah.
Ever gasped when Hades’ hand started to rise. “Hades?”
Hades’ fingers snapped.
The pastor fell to his knees with a cry of excruciating torment.
The sight made Arisa broke down in tears and she pressed her hands even more tightly to her mouthless face, realizing that she had been defeated.
“What did you do to him?” Ever stammered.
“Cut off his cock,” Hades answered dispassionately. “About the same thing that happened to your aunt, only for this man it was not painless.”
Ever’s face drained of color. “You...what?”
Hades ripped a sheet off the air, and the Underworld came into view once more. “Let’s go, milady. We have wasted enough time here.”
“B-but—-” She looked at her aunt and the pastor, torn between wanting to run into the Underworld with Hades and wanting to make sure that Hades hadn’t permanently harmed the other two.
Hades sighed. “You truly have an inordinate ability to worry.” He glanced at the two other mortals, murmuring, “These two have hurt so many people I think it is more than fair if we leave them as they are.”
“Hades!” She looked at him pleadingly. “Please.”
Her large blue eyes enslaved him, and Hades said resignedly, “You win, milady. As always. I will make sure what they’ve lost will be restored. Now, may we leave?”
She threw herself at him. “Thank you!”
Not wanting to waste time, Hades tightened his arms around her waist and carried her back to the Underworld in the next second.
When Ever opened her eyes, she was at the very center of the throne room, and the eleven Olympians stood before her in a semi-circle.
Oh.
My.
Goooooooood——-
The Olympians burst into laughter as the future queen of the Underworld started jumping up and down.
“Athena is right,” Zeus, the god of thunder, murmured in their ancient tongue. “She is indeed a living trampoline.”
Hades was watching his future queen with a mixture of love and exasperation. “Do you think you can stop jumping long enough for us to crown you?”
She grinned at him. “Probably! Not!”
And there it was again, Hades thought.
Those stars in her eyes that no other being in the world had.
It was strange, magical, and sexy as hell.
His cock twitched to life, and he yanked her to him. As she fell against him with a cry of surprise, he said swiftly, “I now pronounce you queen of the Underworld.”
Although caught off guard by how the hour-long ceremony was suddenly reduced to ten seconds, Thanatos had the presence of mind to fly to his king’s side to give him the queen’s crown.
The next thing Ever knew, an intricately carved silver and black crown was placed on top of her head.
Hades took hold of her hand and as they faced the crowd, he declared with quiet pride, “The Queen of the Underworld.”
Everyone in the throne room cheered and roared their approval.
The god of the Underworld turned to her. “Now that that’s over...”
“What—-mph!” In front of everyone, Hades pulled her to him and slanted his mouth over hers in a deep, hard kiss.
Whaaaaaaat—-
Before she could even try to struggle, Hades had already transported them to her chamber, and she fell against the bed with a gasp that remained trapped in Hades’ kiss.
She felt him run his hand over the side of her body, and her clothes disappeared.
Oh!
Hades moved on top of her, and now he, too, was naked.
Oh!
His cock began to rub against her belly, and with a moan of surrender, she kissed him back even as her legs parted wide open. His cock thrust into her, and she shuddered, her eyes stinging anew because oh, she thought this, too, had been lost to her forever.
Cutting the kiss only when he knew she had to breathe, Hades captured her gaze with his as he sought to increase the pace and pound into her harder and faster.
“I love you, Ever.”
“I love you, Hades.”
And no other words needed to be said.