Chapter Seven:

Emma, The Underworld, two years later...

"Emma!"

I skid into the hallway, socked feet slipping and sliding on the polished floor as I chased the curved staircase to the first floor, bursting into the dining room at full speed.

"What? Oh my gods it's freezing in here," I said, wrapping my sweater tighter around my chest.

Hades glanced up from his paperwork long enough to chuck a ball of flame at the stone fireplace, which sputtered to life. "I need your help with something."

"Wait a damn second," I said, marching over to him. "You bellowed for me, at the top of your lungs, mind, for work? I thought you were in trouble!"

"I'm sorry that I worried you, but I needed you here as quickly as possible. Why is Mr. Poddaski's name not on my list for tomorrow?"

"Because he's on his way to Elysium?" My palms felt sweaty, face flushed.

"Who sent him there without my permission?"

Well, shit.

"Me."

He squeezed his eyes shut as he fought for calm. "Emma..."

"You were busy! I happened to see your tablet on the way to my room this morning, and checked in. He's a close family friend, for crying out loud. If he had to die, why not end things from someone he knew? It was also helpful for me to see the death process before I took their soul."

"Except that he wasn't yours to take in the first place."

"What's the difference? A soul is a soul. No matter when they die, they'll still end up on those docks, right? You'll still have to sort them."

"There's an order to death - a professionalism that I was hoping to maintain, and I don't like the thought of you getting caught in the crossfire, should things go sideways with a souls' passing."

He still doesn't think I'm ready for this, not fully. Ouch. "I was trying to help."

He sighed, running a hand across his chin stubble. "I know, and I appreciate the concern, but I'm not a wounded animal you need to coddle, Emma."

I quirked an eyebrow at him in response, crossing my arms. "Really? Last time I checked, you've smashed nearly every single vase in the castle, the servants are afraid of you, and you always want to be alone, even when I'm here, just waiting for an invitation. Friends talk to each other."

"We're...friends?"

"You've been to my apartment several times, I've been here off and on for the past three years so, yeah, we're friends, you stubborn jerk. The only thing we're missing is mom making us chocolate chip pancakes while we watch Saturday morning cartoons. And, even though you tricked me into eating a whole pomegranate yesterday, knowing full well that it would bind me to this place forever, you need someone here who's not afraid to stand up to you whenever you get into a 'woe is me' funk."

"You know the reason for that funk."

"Just because I understand it doesn't mean I'm okay with it. She's been gone for two years, Hades, and she's no closer to ditching Prometheus now than she was six months ago. You can live life alone and miserable, or you can make lemonade out of this truly craptastic situation. Up to you. But if you're going to be this gloomy and depressing all the time, maybe I can bribe Hermes into bringing me home again until you're more...civil."

I spun around as his hand shot out, wrapping around my arm, eyes glowing beneath a mask of pain.

"Stay, please."

I paused a moment before reaching up, curling my hand around his cheek as he shivered, bristles rough against my fingertips. "She'll come back, Hades. Just give it time."

"I don't know if-"

"She will, because even curses have design flaws. That little twat can only pretend for so long before he slips up."

He closed his eyes, taking a couple of deep, shaky breaths. "Don't take a soul without asking me first; it's not your place to do my job for me, just send souls for me to sort. How's the story coming?" He asked, all business again as my hand fell away from his face.

"There hasn't been a lot of new material since Persephone went to Portland. She basically works, comes home to Prometheus and her dog, eats two - sometimes three - meals a day, sleeps, and repeat."

"She hangs out with Sarah, too."

"The more she does that and ignores my calls and texts, the less chance I have to do any real digging into who she is now. I swear, sometimes I think Sarah's a Fury, and she's purposefully distracting her." I glanced over, straight into his deadpan expression. "Not funny?"

"Not so much. If Persephone remembered little snippets of our lives together here, that might help to bring her back."

"I can't believe she has to marry that douchebag to break the curse."

"That won't happen," Hades said, jaw firmly set, and I shrugged, laying my sweater over the back of a chair as I sat down, smoothing a hand across the scooped wood tabletop.

"Are you sure about that?"

"I won't let it happen, because her love for him isn't real, as I've tried to tell her multiple times now."

I winced, shaking my head. "You know, there were probably other ways you could've gone about that instead of insulting her to her face. As Amy, she believes that what she has with him is the real deal, and if you ever want her back here, I'd suggest a slightly lighter touch. Thanks for beating Prometheus up, by the way. That made for a really great chapter."

He scowled. "Glad to know that my suffering is your literary gain."

"Hey, you told me to write about your life," I said, hands in front of me like I was getting ready to ward him off. "This is a major part of it and besides, you waited two years to approach her at all, so the only person you should be blaming right now is yourself. Honestly, though, those stake-outs with you were more than a little creepy. You could've told me all I needed to know yourself. I didn't need to come along as your glorified snack carrier."

"What would be the fun in that? It was like having a side-kick. A really talkative, annoying side-kick who questioned everything I did."

"You almost kidnapped her dog!"

"But I didn't."

"Yeah, because I was there to talk you out of it and-oh." The realization hit me like Mack truck and I pressed my lips together. "I want to believe that you're capable of doing the right thing yourself, not because others make you do it."

He smiled, not without a tinge of malice. "I'm afraid that my decisions, where Persephone is concerned, aren't always the most rational. Having you there with me was like having another subconscious, one who wasn't so invested in the outcome."

I felt my mouth pop open as servants brought us fresh fruit and platters of pancakes, laying them on the table before retreating again.

"You don't think I care what happens to her? She's my friend, Hades." You're such an asshole sometimes.

"A friend you gave up on the second she was out of the picture. I had to drag you, moaning and complaining, with me to those stake-outs, Emma. If you were even half as dedicated to bringing her home as I am, you would've tried harder from day one."

I stared back at him as my mind tried to think of the right words to say in response other than you insufferable jerk-face, which I had a feeling wouldn't go over well with him. I couldn't tell him how I really felt about Persephone's absence; that her living in Portland, despite the circumstances, was the happiest I'd seen her since I met her, how well Prometheus seemed to treat her, and how not being around the souls of the dead, and Hades, brought out her inner light.

But it was also a selfish reaction to her happiness on my part, considering how I felt about a certain unnamed person in the room, which I knew was stupid, because it would never happen. I'd made peace with that fact, but if Persephone were stuck in Portland with Prometheus for the rest of eternity, wasn't I allowed the feelings I felt towards Hades, even if feeling them felt like a betrayal?

I hated how the conflicting emotions mashed themselves together in my gut, and the one person I would usually turn to for comfort and advice was currently living cursed in my hometown while I nursed a small crush on her husband.

It's just because the two of you have so much in common, working with the souls.

"You're right. She's your wife, and I'm just the hired help. Speaking of which, I should get back to work."

I lay my napkin on the table as his eyes narrowed.

"There's something different about you."

"I'm just tired."

"It's eight o'clock in the morning, Emma. I know for a fact that you woke up at seven, same as you do every morning."

"Okay, then I'm tired of you. Not everyone likes to be chastised before they've had breakfast. Or coffee."

On cue, a servant girl returned with a steaming mug, setting it in front of me and I thanked her, wrapping a hand around the base. "Yell at me some more when I'm actually awake, okay?" I stood, cradling the coffee and last-minute bagel as I shrugged back into my wrap. "Have a good morning, Hades, and when you have more material for me, send it my way."

I turned to leave and found him blocking my path. I yipped and screeched to a halt, giving him the best bitch-face I could muster.

"Dammit, Hades, I've told you not to use your super-speed around me! Especially when I'm carrying breakable objects!"

He reached forward, ripping the plate and cup from my hands before stepping closer, crowding my personal bubble.

"I know you miss her too, Emma, but the real question is: why are you pushing me away?"

"I've been accused of caring too much and not caring enough in less than a few minutes, and quite frankly, it's a little grating, okay? Make up your damned mind." I huffed out a frustrated breath as he smiled, framing my face between his hands.

"Hold still. This will only take a minute."

I jerked myself away like a cat in water, putting some space between us as he stalked his way back to me.

"Ah, hell no. You're not reading my mind!" I said, holding my balled-up fists in front of me, and he sighed heavily.

"I'm not going to fight you, but I can't have my employees keeping things from me, either."

I jumped back, Super-Mario style. "Oh, that's rich, Hades. I've bounced back and forth between here and Portland, going from sorting souls for you to becoming a glorified biographer, and you can't even give me the courtesy of leaving my thoughts alone? You're unbelievable. Friends don't do this to each other."

"Which am I, hmm? Your friend, or your employer?"

"Neither at the moment, just the unfortunate bastard who's dangerously close to being punched in the nether regions."

"This is ridiculous," he muttered as he yanked me to him with very little effort, twisting my hands behind my back. "I don't know why you insist on making things more difficult for yourself, but I don't care, because I'll find out the truth one way or another."

I felt his fingertips whisper across my forehead as I tested the hold, groaning when it didn't budge.

Just think about nothing, or anything else. Potato, spinach, mushroom, tomato, green chilies, eggs, ketchup, cheese...

"What are you doing?"

"I'm trying to remember my mom's garbage omelet recipe. Is it distracting you yet?"

"NO." He growled the word, pushing more insistently against my skin as I gasped, feeling his power snake its way through my head.

Mix all the ingredients together, toss them into a frying pan for about eight minutes, or until the egg isn't runny anymore. Flip it onto a plate and...and...dammit, what's the next step? Don't think about the feel of him pressed up against you, or the woodsy way he smells, like a pine-needle campfire. Sprinkle cheese over the top before kissing him as his arms wound around me...

NO!

He released me as I stumbled away, breathing hard like I'd just run a marathon, and he smiled, but it was pitying in nature and made my stomach hurt.

"Oh, Emma. That's never going to happen."

"Don't you dare do that to me ever again, not if you want to keep all ten digits."

"Is that why you're less than enthusiastic about Persephone returning? Because you like me?"

I tried looking anywhere else but directly at him, feeling stupid on so many levels, not just for wanting something I knew I couldn't have, but for getting caught in the moment of weakness.

"Taking away her happiness because you feel entitled to her doesn't make it right."

"She's my wife," he hissed, running a hand through his hair. "And she's with him because he cursed her."

"How long will it take you to realize that she might never be un-cursed? Have you thought of that yet? She loves him, Hades, despite what he did to her."

"It's a lie."

"So are my cover stories whenever my parents call to check in on me, and I can't tell him that I'm about to travel to the Underworld where I'll be out of touch for a couple of weeks. She and I live this weird double-life right now, but it doesn't mean that her story can't end happily."

"I can't accept that. I have to try to get her back, because doing nothing isn't an option."

Of course. Duty before decency.

I tucked a lock of hair behind my ear, picking my dishes back up. "Then I'll be in my room."

He made a move to grab me as I brushed past him, but I gave him the meanest look I could muster and after a moment, his hand fell away again.

"I'm sorry, Emma."

"No, you're not, so please don't pretend otherwise. You don't get to do what you just did to me, Hades. Being a god, my employer, or hell even my friend isn't an excuse, so don't use it. You don't have the right to infiltrate my mind, because my soul isn't yours yet."

I looked back at him - really looked - at the way his eyes glowed like hot coals in the faint light, and kicked myself. Of all the people to be attracted to, despite how close we'd been lately, I had to pick the one guy who was absolutely unavailable for all of eternity.

Let him go.

I walked away slowly, clutching my mug to my chest as I muttered and fought with myself, even as I felt his eyes drilling a hole through my back.