Queen Of Hell & Paradise (Immortal gods: Book 1)

Chapter 22- A Haunting Past

Hades

Samantha smiles from her doorway, unknowingly causing my throat to close up. Even under the muted light of the moon, she radiates beauty.

The darkness does nothing to hide her loveliness, and I find that my fingers ache to touch her- to hold her- before she disappears. I can feel them twitching at my sides, an unconscious reminder that I need to pull myself together. It is not the first time I have felt this way about a woman and I do not know the repercussions of my impulsivity.

I must keep in mind that the last time I allowed myself to express emotion, I almost managed to extinguish life on earth. I single-handedly succeeded in bringing in the largest influx of souls the Underworld has ever seen.

I can not forget the desperation I felt in those moments. To know I was the cause behind the wails of sadness of a mother and the tears of sorrow of a man who lost his family was almost unbearable. My selfishness was the reason songs of melancholy were being sung on the surface, why mortals' crops were withering and starving them to death. I went through excruciating efforts to keep Persephone beside me in an attempt to find happiness.

And for what? She did not love me- our failed marriage only increased the disdain the Olympian gods already held for me. 

How quickly had she not left the Underworld? She was practically dying to leave my realm, to avoid my presence at all costs! Loving a woman who felt nothing but scorn for me was quite possibly the most humiliating thing I have ever experienced.

Demeter and the other olympians had laughed at my expense, who would not? How amusing it was to see the stone- cold outcast being made a fool of! Was it not entertaining to see the god of the dead following the young goddess like a lovesick imbecile? 

Indeed, it was. When I asked for her hand in marriage I was mocked and ridiculed. Voices and images of the memory haunt my mind and vision, transporting me to a time thousands of years ago...

Zeus' laughter thunders through the walls of his palace. His eyes are crinkled in amusement at the same time his brows are raised in surprise. Those present in his throne room seem to find my request entertaining as well, and they join him in his laughter.

"You want my permission for the hand of Persephone?" Zeus manages to wheeze, snorting.

I stare at him with bland interest, I did not ascend to his abode to be mocked. I simply wanted to formally handle the matter- I have never been one to do things irrationally and impulsively. I should have known, however, that I would not be taken seriously.

"Yes, I believe that is what I asked," I say flatly, becoming mildly irritated with Zeus and his subjects' response.

Zeus bends over in his throne laughing, hitting his knee with his palm.

"Hades, my brother, you can not be serious!" Zeus snickers, turning to Hera and jamming a thumb in my direction. Hera sits still, eyeing me and her husband surreptitiously. Their public chain incident is still very fresh, I doubt she is in the mood for jesting.

She casts a stony glance in her husband's direction, lifting a questioning brow.

"I do not find this a laughing matter, Zeus. All the gods and goddesses of Olympus, even the ones lesser in years, have already found a companion. What is so amusing about the eldest of the gods finding interest in a young maiden?"

She waits for Zeus' response with a sharp, expectant stare. Her raised brow silently challenges him to contradict her, and their guards and palace officials shrink in apprehension with the tension building between the two. Zeus' bellowing laughter slowly recedes into an awkward chuckle.