Something about that girl, Kore, tugged at his very soul.
He bared his teeth in a snarl. “You aren’t going to say a word about this to Demeter.”
Hermes grinned. “What’s in it for me?”
Oh, there would be no deal between them. Hades would make sure of that. He launched off the bench, caught his brother in a headlock, and pinned him to the ground until Hermes promised this would remain a secret between the two of them for all eternity.
Chapter 5
Somehow, Kore hid everything that happened from her mother. No other gods told Demeter anything had happened, Artemis certainly wasn’t about to, and they returned to their home without incident.
Kore still wasn’t sure how that had happened, but whatever luck was on her side, she would take it. How was it possible that her mother didn’t know?
She’d grown up thinking Demeter knew everything. That she had some all-seeing eye and looked into the future just to be certain her daughter was doing everything exactly as Demeter ordered. She certainly saw more than most parents.
But now, she was curious if maybe her mother didn’t know everything. Maybe her mother was just as lucky as her daughter.
Three days had passed since she’d gone to Olympus. Three days for her mind to run in circles about the strange man who’d found her in the gardens.
He’d been so different, it was hard to even consider him as an Olympian. She only personally knew a few of the gods, but they’d all had so many children it was hard to guess who he might have been.
He’d worn his dark hair long, tied at the back of his neck but still falling around his face in tendrils. Those dark, soulful eyes had seen right through her and into her very soul. His square jaw proved him to be a stubborn man, but his broad shoulders looked like they could carry the weight of the world.
She had thought about him every night since. Who was he? Why hadn’t she asked his name?
And he’d come so close to kissing her... why hadn’t she let him?
Cyane walked around one of the marble columns that held up the roof of Kore’s private home. “The oceanids sent me to invite you to the tide pool.” She tucked a strand of inky hair behind her ear. “We were all hoping that... well, maybe you’d tell us about Olympus?”
She shouldn’t. She was supposed to be waiting for her mother because there was a mortal festival they had to attend. Mortals loved Demeter more than they loved Zeus, although they’d never admit it out loud. The King of the Gods would kill them for such thoughts.
Kore glanced up at the sun. The festival of the harvest wasn’t until later tonight. Surely she could go with the oceanids for a little while? They could help prepare her for the festival. Then she’d be ready when her mother called and still have time to see her friends.
She grinned, then tossed a bundle of peplos and himations at Cyane. “Then you need to dress me for the festival.”
“Is that tonight?”
“Yes, and Mother will be livid if I’m not perfect when I need to be.”
Cyane clutched her heart and nodded fiercely. “We’ll make you stunning. She’ll be so impressed with how you look! Now hurry, or we won’t have time to ask all our questions!”
Giggling, Kore grabbed her friend’s hand, and they raced away from her home.
She was never allowed in the ocean. Demeter hated Poseidon so much that she wouldn’t let her daughter anywhere near the sea. But Kore could wander into the tide pools where the oceanids waited. They couldn’t come out of the water at all.
Technically, Cyane wasn’t supposed to be able to leave the water either. But she’d begged her father to serve Demeter as a handmaiden. She could exit the ocean a few days a week to serve her mistress, but then had to return to her home.
Sometimes the sea gods did that. Especially with daughters like Cyane, who were wanderers and terrible at listening to their parents.
Kore picked her way across the jagged rocks to the oceanid’s tide pool. It was deep enough to reach her neck and swirled with glittering blue magic. Nine oceanids waited within. They reached out their arms and helped ease her into the chilly saltwater.
“Kore!” They all murmured in excitement. “You’ve been to Olympus!”
She finally felt as though she had something worthwhile to tell them. She’d always stayed quiet while they talked about