Page 32 of Raising Hell
He snorted. “How very goddess-like of you.”
I scowled at him and returned my attention to Unt.
“The room is dark and unpleasant to me. I’d like to make it prettier, but only if it wouldn’t be an eyesore to everyone else.”
“Pretty is good,” Unt said.
I turned back to Hades and arched a brow.
“Can you make the room lighter and prettier, please?”
A murmur ran through the room as Hades cocked his head at me, and his hand stilled.
“So be it.”
A ripple of magic spread throughout the room, changing the walls and floors from stone to smoothly polished marble. The remaining statues all changed to beautiful nature-inspired objects, from vegetation to peacefully grazing animals. Instead of torches in holders along the way, a strip of fire ran the perimeter of the room just above the tallest monster’s head.
The space went from looking like a dirt and stone castle dungeon to the pictures of the Pantheon I’d seen. Only, this room even had windows open to the night in the walls above us, delivering a fresh, cool breeze.
“Does this suit you?” Hades asked.
“It does. Thank you.”
Zotera glanced back at me, frowning slightly before she turned her troubled expression away.
“Would it suit you to allow our children to do what pleases them?” Hades asked close to my ear.
I was more than ready to let them go on their merry ways and tried not to let my relief show at his suggestion.
“As long as that doesn’t involve chasing me, they can do whatever they’d like.”
An even louder murmur ran through the room at that.
“Celebrate your freedom while you can, my children,” Hades said.
The creatures scattered, racing from the room like he’d just threatened to beat them.
“I feel like I missed something important,” I said.
Zotera turned toward me, her worry plain.
“You just freed them to enjoy themselves. Half of them will swim in the lake. The other half are going to eat things that taste good. Are you sure you want that, Mother?”
I turned to look at Hades. His mistrustful brown gaze daring me to revoke their freedom…and likely pay a price.
“You don’t need to trick me into giving you what you want,” I said, wondering what it would take to get him to see the differences between Persephone’s personality and my own. “Just ask me for what you want like I ask you.”
“Allow them to choose how they appear before you,” he said with a challenge in his tone.
“If you mean they can just suddenly appear when I’m in the middle of a shower, no thank you.”
“Their appearances,” he clarified. “Allow them to look as they please.”
I pictured even more horrific versions of monsters as I slowly nodded my agreement. They likely also had a human form that would be a little less terrifying. Hopefully, they would choose that instead.
Hades narrowed his eyes at me and clasped my chin.
“Allow them to choose how they appear forever.”
