so quickly he slammed his foot into the post of his bed and had to stagger to the door. Throwing it open, he braced himself on the frame and stared at the woman waiting for him on the other side.
Hades had already thought his wife was beautiful. He knew every inch of her chestnut colored hair and the beauty of her face. He knew the way her eyelashes flicked up at the ends, and how her nose would wrinkle when she was mad. He knew the face she made when she was happy, sad, and in between.
But he’d never seen her as beautiful as she was right now. Standing in front of him with a baby tucked into her arms, red fabric draped over them both.
“My queen,” he said, the murmur echoing through the room. “You’ve returned.”
“And I brought you a gift.” She held up the child so he could see the baby’s face. “You have a daughter, Hades.”
His knees went weak. He clutched the door frame and hoped it would hold him up as he lost all feeling in his legs.
“A daughter?” he croaked.
“With ten fingers, ten toes, and a head full of hair that looks like yours.” She lifted a brow and eyed the room beyond. “Could we come in or are you going to make me stand out here holding her?”
He jumped into action. What a fool he was for making her stand when he could hold his own child. Hades reached for his daughter, then drew his wife into the bedroom with him. If Hecate stood outside still, he had no idea. He saw nothing other than the beautiful wife who had given him the most precious gift of all.
Telling himself to breathe, Hades sat on the edge of the bed with their baby in his arms. “Look at her,” he whispered. He touched a finger to her forehead and grazed the tops of her perfect cheeks. “She’s so beautiful. Just like her mother.”
“Oh hush,” Persephone said with a laugh. She winced as she sat down beside him, and that didn’t escape his notice. “You flatter me.”
“Are you still in pain?” He furrowed his brows, caught between staring at the little being they had created and taking care of his wife.
“A bit.”
He snapped his fingers, and a bathtub appeared on the other side of the room. With a blink, he had filled it with hot water, enough to keep her warm and comfortable while he took care of the baby.
Hades stood, reaching out a hand to help her while holding their daughter with the other arm. “Come here and get in the tub. I should have had it ready long before you got here.”
She let out a little chuckle. “Well, it only took a few seconds for you to conjure.”
Perhaps, but he still felt as though he should have been more prepared. He’d just been sitting here, waiting for her to return, when he could have been preparing things for both of his girls.
His girls.
Sighing happily, he conjured another, much smaller tub for the baby. “Let’s get her cleaned up as well.”
While Persephone settled herself into the hot water, he took the time to bathe their child. The baby was well behaved, although he also noticed the strange sadness in his daughter’s eyes. She saw too much. Already the power in her had aged the spirit within her body.
There was a legend about god children. That though the Olympians were born fully formed, their children would be born as babes. But within that tiny body was a creature who knew and saw more than just a child. She was already a goddess and already knew impossible things.
He wondered what she saw in him. Did she see a suitable father? A man who would care for her no matter the personal cost? Or did she see a terrified man who had no idea what he was doing?
“Hades?” Persephone asked.
He rinsed the last suds off his daughter, then lifted the baby into a towel. “I think she’ll sleep.”
“I’ve never seen a child so quiet.”
“Perhaps because she’s not a child,” he murmured. “The power in her seems... familiar. Somehow.”
Persephone lifted an arm and rested it on the side of the tub. The long, lean shape of her muscles made heat bloom in his chest. Heat that felt more like hope than physical attraction.
She grinned, almost like she knew the thoughts running through his mind. “Hecate said she’s like her.”