Page 81 of Going to Hell
“Unlikely,” he said even as he followed me.
It took another moment for his meaning to click, and my face heated. Zotera’s presence in the hall distracted from it, though.
“Mother?” she said, her gaze flicking from me to Hades. “Are you well?”
“I’m fine. Are you all right?”
“Yes, Mother.”
“Are you hungry?”
Surprise lit her face. “Yes.”
“Perfect. Let’s go to the throne room.”
I motioned for her to lead the way, still a little unsure of the direction but mostly because I didn’t want to turn the corner first and run into anyone unexpected. The hallway was quiet, though. When we reached our destination, the table from the day before waited in front of the thrones.
“Can you make the table a bit bigger so Zotera can join me?” I asked, glancing at Hades.
Jaw twitching, he didn’t look at me. Ahead, the table changed, growing longer and wider. A bowl appeared in front of my stool, but nothing in front of the stool that materialized for Zotera.
“Thank you, Mother,” Zotera said, her nervous gaze shifting from Hades to me. “I know you enjoy my hunger pains.”
My mouth dropped open for a second.
“Actually, I don’t. You can have some of my food.”
“No,” Hades said, his tone hard. “You will eat what I provide you. Zotera will eat what she’s given.”
“Okay,” I said quickly.
Hades stopped abruptly before we reached the table.
“I will return after I speak with Creon.” He turned on his heel and left us standing there.
“I’m sorry I misunderstood, Mother. I should have realized sooner you wanted me to eat your portion so you wouldn’t have to. Hopefully, it’s not the stew again.”
We went to the table, and I saw it was stew. I didn’t mind eating it again, but I felt bad that Hades only magicked bread for Zotera.
“So what would happen if I gave you some of this?” I asked after a few bites.
“Father would punish me for stealing the food meant to nourish you.”
“Yeah. Thought so,” I said, looking down at my bowl and hating this messed up world.
“Would you like me to eat your stew, Mother? Or change it into something you won’t enjoy? After escaping Father’s punishment this morning, I’m sure he’ll punish me very severely, just as you like.”
“Zotera, I don’t want him to punish you. I just want you to—wait, did you say you can change my food?”
“Yes. Father hates when you ask me to ruin your food. It’s one of your favorite ways to make him miserable.”
“Could you change your food into the same kind of stew I have?”
“Yes.” She touched the bread, and it changed to stew before my eyes. She sniffed it and shook her head. “It smells delicious, Mother. Are you sure you want me to have this?”
“Yep, I’m sure. Eat up.”
“Will you cut me open and watch it leak from my gut when I’m finished?”
