“Emmie,” Brennan’s mouth murmured, his arms reaching out to me.
“Don’t do that,” I said, but my heart was uncertain. It would be so easy to close my eyes and imagine that it was Brennan. But. It. Wasn’t. I gritted my teeth. “Don’t call me that. You are not Brennan.”
“Let’s not debate the details,” Hades suggested, seating himself on the soft bed and patting it. “Come sit with me. Let’s enjoy this peaceful evening, shall we? And there are a few things we should discuss.”
“Things like what?” I felt my eyes narrow suspiciously. Brennan’s amber eyes glowed at me in the dark, but they lacked Brennan’s warmth. Beneath the surface, coolness dwelled. It was a dead giveaway.
Hades smiled serenely. “I thought we should discuss why your father was willing to trade your soul to me- why you are so expendable to him.”
My heart practically stopped beating. It was a question that had plagued me for a thousand years.
Chapter Fifteen
“Yes. Let’s discuss that,” I replied weakly as I sank onto the bed beside Hades. He smiled in satisfaction, but I wasn’t sure what he was satisfied about… having me near or knowing something that I didn’t. Probably both.
Hades stroked my back in between my shoulder blades with Brennan’s hands, in exactly the spot that caused me tension. I didn’t ask him how he knew, I just leaned limply against his deft palms.
“What do you know about my father?” I asked. I was dying to know and terrified at once, an interesting quandary that made my heart palpitate.
“I know something that you don’t,” Hades said calmly, still kneading the sensitive skin of my back with his cool fingers. Another dead giveaway. Brennan was blazingly warm.
“Are you going to share that information?” I twisted away from him and turned to look into his eyes. Brennan’s beautiful eyes. I shouldn’t be here. I should be with Brennan. The feelings overwhelmed me as quickly as I had them, filling me up with panic. I shouldn’t have left him- no matter the reason.
“Just tell me,” I pleaded. “I need to leave here.”
“Why ever would you leave here?” Hades asked innocently. “Life is perfect here. Watch this.”
He turned and gestured toward the sky. Vines instantly grew across the canopy, lush and green, their spindly tendrils spreading down the legs of the bed. He snapped his fingers and the vines instantly bloomed, exploding into color- the bright blue of Olympus Lotus Blossoms. They were the food of the gods, the manna that kept them young and beautiful, along with the nectar.
They hung above us now, beautiful and vibrant. Hades reached past me and plucked one perfect blossom from the vine. Leaning into me, he held it to my lips.
“Eat,” he urged me. “Lotus blooms are truly the most delicious things in existence.”
The soft blue petal lingered against my lip, resting as it waited for me to eat it. I could smell its heady scent beneath my nose and it drew me in, tempting me to bite.
“Just try it,” Hades added. “I know you will love it.”
I glanced at him suspiciously. Something about his tone set me on edge. Why did he want me to eat it so badly? I asked him as much.
He looked innocently at me, his eyes widened. “I just thought you would like it,” he shrugged. He tossed it onto the mossy earth and ground his heel into it. “We’re not in the Underworld,” he told me with a smirk. “I’m not going to try and trick you into eating here so that I can keep you.”
“Well, you’ll have to forgive me for doubting you,” I told him wryly. “It’s sort of your MO.”
He threw back his head and laughed, a hearty, throaty sound that warmed my heart yet again. It was the first time he had sounded sincere in all of my dealings with him. Hearing this genuine reaction from him, this true and honest emotion, pulled me closer to him when I really just wanted to back away.
“Why?” he looked at me with lucid and glistening eyes. “Why do you resist me so much, Empusa? Am I so horrible?”
My heart twinged again. Something that I had learned in my thousand years was that rarely was someone ever completely horrible. People were varying shades of gray. Only in rare circumstances, like my father, were they completely evil.
“You’re right,” Hades stared at me thoughtfully. “And that’s a very insightful belief. Very few people in this world are all good or all bad. I’ve said that for eons. I should definitely know.”
“Yes, you would know,” I agreed. “And there’s probably a lot more to you than meets the eye, but I don’t have time to discover it right now. Can we talk about my father, please?”
Hades’ expression hardened just a little. I could practically see the clouds rolling across it. He didn’t like that I had cut him off when he was trying to connect with me. I backtracked.
“I’m sorry,” I amended. “I’m just curious at what you know. I’ve been curious about Mormo’s motives for so long. I’ve always wondered how he could treat me as he has. I’ve never done anything to him.”
“Of course you haven’t,” Hades agreed, his tone softening now. “Mormo is the type of person, the type of creature, who doesn’t need a motive. He’s conniving, heartless and cold. But this time, this once, he does have a motive. A very valid motive.”
“And what is his motive?” I asked through gritted teeth. My patience was growing very, very thin. This was so important to me, even though I’d like to pretend that it wasn’t and I felt like he was trifling with me…playing with me a like a cat does a mouse.
“You’re not a mouse, Em,” he smiled. “You’re more like a kitten. A fragile little kitten. What do you think Mormo’s motive is? Have you given it any thought?”
“I’m not fragile,” I snapped. “And don’t you think that I’ve given this subject quite a lot of thought? Of course I have. I have no idea what his motive is. I’ve never done anything to him.”