Vowed to Hades (Romancing the Seas #4)

20. Persephone

PERSEPHONE

P ersephone’s limbs were heavy when she came around. Her eyes fluttered and she yawned.

Her brain scrambled to make sense of her surroundings and why she felt so heavy.

She blinked up at the swirling black mist where the ceiling should have been. Then to the ornate vase across the room.

She yawned and tried to move, but something—or someone—had her pinned to the plush bed.

With a start, she registered the tattooed arm draped over her stomach.

She followed the ink designs of snakes and crows leading to a bare shoulder. Soft black hair obscured the face of the man in the bed next to her. But she knew who it was.

Her stomach tightened.

She was in bed with Hades .

Recent events put seeds of doubt into her mind. But in that moment, one thing was certain. She did not want to be in bed with the God of the Underworld.

She shoved his arm off her and wriggled out of bed. When her bare feet touched the cold stone floor, she shuddered.

With a start, Hades jerked away and tossed his hair to the side to blink up at Persephone.

“Where are you going?” he asked, rubbing his eyes.

Persephone staggered backward. “Did you put a spell on me?”

Hades groaned as he sat.

The sheets fell away, giving Persephone an eyeful of his bare chest.

“Are you wearing any clothes?” The words almost got caught in Persephone’s throat and came out with a squeak.

Hades gave a long-exaggerated sigh and climbed out of bed.

Persephone flinched as the rest of him came into view, but her heart rate calmed at the sight of the black shorts covering his lower half.

“Despite what you may think, I am not a monster,” he said, stretching out.

The candlelight licked the muscles of his back, and Persephone’s mouth grew dry as she surveyed him for a moment.

But then she forced a serious look when he turned to face her .

“You didn’t answer my question,” she said, crossing her arms.

Hades swaggered to Persephone, looking far too pleased with himself.

She wondered what happened while she slept. Did he do something to her?

“I am many things, but I am not a liar,” Hades said when he reached her. He gently squeezed her upper arms. “Yes. I did put you under a sleeping spell. You were so tense, so worried. I needed you to calm down and rest.”

Persephone shook out of Hades's grasp and backed up until she felt the stone wall against her.

“How can I know anything is real with you?” She gestured to the fine furniture around them. “All of this could be just an illusion. Another one of your tricks.”

Hades's smile faded for a flicker of a moment, but his dark brows settled as he gave her a knowing smile. “Is it so bad for me to want you to rest after almost being buried alive?”

When Persephone did not reply, Hades strolled to the nightstand and conjured a goblet of wine. He lifted it to his lips. “Is it so terrible that I wanted to watch over you, to protect you while you slept?”

The silky tone of his voice had Persephone’s knees weakening. But she shook herself, angry at the way her body reacted to him.

She watched his biceps bulge and his tongue sweep across his bottom lip after he took another sip.

“Did you know you talk in your sleep? ”

The words landed on Persephone like a slap to the face. Her cheeks stung, and she was certain that they were flaming red. “What did I say?”

Whatever it was had put Hades in an uncharacteristically good mood, and that unnerved her.

“It does not matter. But I do have a question for you,” he said, offering her the goblet. When she shook her head, he lowered it to the nightstand in resignation.

“I need to know if you still wish Isis to resurrect Adonis.”

The question caught Persephone off guard.

“Of course, I do,” she stammered.

But something in her stomach lurched, stirring a sense of nausea.

Hades pressed his lips together. “Then we need to go on a journey together.”

“But Atlantis is in ruin…” Persephone began, but she stopped at Hades's scoff.

“That was a side quest. It matters not. No, Isis has given me an important mission. One that I simply cannot do without you. But in order for you to come back to me, I need to restore your memories.” Hades began to pace the room, tapping his fingers one by one like he was checking off a list of things to-do.

“First, we need to find Poseidon’s body. Then take it to Isis, but not before we find Loki and take back what he has stolen. But before we can do that, we need to get that book to restore your memories. Then you can use your powers… ”

“Powers?” Persephone blurted, struggling to follow Hades who was speaking at a rapid rate.

He paused to give her a dull look, like she had just asked him about the weather. “Yes, love. You have powers. All goddesses do.”

“But I’m just a—” Persephone began, but she paused under the heat of Hades's stare.

“If you say human, I swear to Prometheus…” He dragged a hand over his hair in exasperation.

Persephone’s eyes narrowed on Hades.

He was surely giving her more lies.

“Very well,” she said, deciding to humor him. “What powers do I possess?”

Hades folded his arms. “Don’t give me that tone.”

Persephone shrugged. “I do not know what you mean.”

To her surprise, Hades was at her side in an instant, and his calloused fingertips were grazing her jawline.

“You may have forgotten, my Queen. But I remember everything about you. A thousand years is a long time to love someone.”

He reached round and tangled his fingers in her hair. “I have memorized every inch of your curves. Your taste is branded on my tongue. Your little mannerism in every situation is burned in my cranium. You cannot lie to me. You cannot hide from me.”

He leaned closer, and a shiver ran down Persephone’s body as he growled five little words. “You are vowed to me.”

Persephone's breath caught in her throat at Hades's commanding words and smoldering gaze. She trembled under his touch, torn between desire and defiance.

"Even if what you say is true," she whispered, "I don't remember any of it. My vows, my supposed powers, our supposed history together. It's all lost to me." She searched his obsidian eyes, seeking truth behind the intensity.

Hades sighed heavily and released her. "Which is precisely why we must embark on this quest. To restore what was taken from you. From us." He began pacing again. "Isis assures me the ancient tome we seek holds the key to unlocking your sealed memories and powers."

Persephone bit her lip, mind reeling.

Could she really trust anything Hades said? The Lord of the Dead was renowned for his trickery. And yet, some deep instinct urged her to hear him out, to follow where he led, as if answering a siren's call from her forgotten past.

"Say I agree to this journey," she ventured cautiously. "What dangers will we face? Poseidon is one of the most powerful gods. If someone managed to slay him?—"

"They caught him off guard," Hades cut in brusquely. "Poseidon may be strong, but he grows complacent in his watery domain, blind to threats. We will not make the same mistake. "

He turned to Persephone; determination etched on his angular features. "I will allow no harm to befall you. No one will take you from me again. That is my vow, whether you remember or not."

Something about his fierce protectiveness made her pulse quicken.

Hades was still a mystery to her, but he stirred sensations she couldn't deny, much as she tried.

"I will go with you to find this book," Persephone decided, holding his piercing stare. "And if my memories return, then...then we shall see if your claims are true. But I make no promises beyond that."

A slow smile curved Hades's lips, making him appear at once alluring and dangerous. "I would expect nothing less from my willful queen. You always liked to make me work for your affections. But you will remember in time that you are mine, as I am yours. Nothing in this world or the next can change that."