Page 52 of Raising Hell
It was easy to lose myself in the simple joy of the music when I set my mind to it, and I enjoyed several songs before I noticed the circle of space around me had shrunk considerably. I looked around for Hades and spotted him on the other side of the dancers. He was speaking with a group of people but glanced at me while in the middle of the conversation. When he found me watching, he immediately took a step away from the party, and I shook my head.
He paused, visibly torn.
I waved my hand at him and went back to watching the dancers.
Persephone was an idiot. Hades was head over heels for her and so attentive. Sure, Hell wasn’t my first choice in living destinations, but it wasn’t horrible enough to make me want to maim people and make blood rain.
When I glanced at him again, he was still with his group but didn’t look as engaged in the conversation. I quickly looked away again, feeling guilty that I’d stolen his joy with a single look.
“Goddess, a drink?”
Distracted by my guilt, I nodded and accepted the drink. The weight of the golden goblet helped ground me in the present and think of something other than Hades. I took a sip of the wine.
“The pain will pass quickly,” the man beside me said.
He’d barely finished speaking when heat engulfed my throat. Searing pain like one thousand tiny knives followed.
Wild with panic and fear, I looked at the man beside me before my gaze darted across the room. I tried to call Hades’ name, but only a gurgle of noise emerged.
My vision started to darken at the edges, and the cup fell from my hand as I clawed at my throat.
“Father!” Zotera’s cry barely registered under the buzz filling my head.
My knees started to buckle.
Hades appeared in front of me, catching me in his arms and lowering me to the ground as I shuddered and convulsed. My tongue felt too big for my mouth, and I started to choke on it. I clawed at his arms, desperate for him to help me. To keep his promise to keep me safe.
Anger twisted his features as he looked down at me. Fire lit his eyes, and his horns erupted. He opened his mouth and tipped his head back. As his lips moved, wings burst from his back. I couldn’t hear anything, but the ceiling above cracked in my greying vision.
One of his hands pressed down on my chest, pinning me to the floor, and the other covered my burning throat. Light flared around us, and the pain suddenly vanished. My tongue no longer blocked my airway, and I gasped for air, still clawing at Hades' arms.
He lifted me from the ground and crushed me to his chest.
“You are well again. Breathe, Goddess. Breathe.”
I stopped clawing at him and clung to him instead, shaking with fear over what had almost happened. When the shaking eased, he relaxed his hold enough to look at me.
His horns and red skin were still present. I couldn’t see any emotion in his glowing red gaze, but when he spoke, I heard his anger.
“Tell me what happened. Speak the name of the one who tried to poison you.”
I looked at Hades’ throat, trying to remember. It had happened so fast. His face hadn’t been familiar. He’d had a short haircut and a neatly trimmed beard.
My eyes went wide, and I realized I’d seen that beard before.
“I don’t know his name, but I saw him in the hallways outside the hall of records. I told you about him, remember? He had acted surprised to see me. He disappeared when I called your name. But I remember his beard.”
“Beard?” Hades asked, looking around. “Find who did this and bring him before me.”
As they scurried away to do his bidding, I realized it wasn’t just me shaking. The building shook too.
I cupped Hades’ face, drawing his attention back to me as the room emptied.
“You promised to try. Please stop making everything shake.”
He closed his eyes, letting his anguish show, and slowly the tremors stopped, and his horns receded. Once they were gone, he set his forehead to mine.
“Someone tried to harm you,” he said. “Name your due.”
