looking to kill me.” Zeus’s gaze darted to the door. “Speaking of, have you seen my wife?”
Hades didn’t have time for this. He needed to get an answer, and he needed it now.
In the blink of an eye, he teleported himself directly in front of Zeus. He caught hold of the god’s shoulders when Zeus stumbled back, forcing him to stay in place and look into Hades’ eyes.
“You’re her father,” he snarled. “You’re the only one who can give her away, and I’m asking you to give her to me.”
Zeus waved a finger in the air. “Ah, no. That’s never been proven, actually. I’m faithful to my wife.”
Hades pointed at the nymphs racing away from his temple.
“They’re nymphs,” his brother replied with a scoff. “They don’t count.”
“Zeus, I don’t have time for this. I will not argue with you. I’m telling you I am here because you owe me a debt and I want your blessing.” Hades stared into his brother’s eyes with a stony gaze. “You sent me to the Underworld. You tricked me into becoming its Lord and now I stay out of your way. Do you want the Olympians to know what really went on when we split up the world?”
The tremble in Zeus’s shoulders was likely fear and Hades didn’t care. His brother could suffer for all eternity, and it would never repay what he and Poseidon had done.
Hades may have been intrigued by the Underworld. But they had tricked him into taking it. Now, he would get repayment for that.
Zeus took a deep breath, then sighed. “What do you want me to do then? Give my blessing?”
“Yes.”
“Then you have it. Take the girl. I don’t care what you do to her, just keep it quiet.” Zeus tugged his blanket up and over his shoulder like a toga. “I’m not interested in what you want her for or why the sudden obsession. Do whatever you want with the girl, but if Demeter makes a fuss—”
“She won’t notice anything until the girl is gone.”
“Good.” Zeus tilted his nose in the air and followed the nymphs. “Then you have my blessing, Aidoneus. On that condition. I don’t want to hear a peep from Demeter!”
Hades wasn’t certain he could keep the goddess quiet, but he could get Kore away from her with no one noticing until it was too late.
Chapter 12
Demeter brushed Kore’s hair with a fine-toothed comb, humming under her breath. “Your hair is getting long, daughter. Perhaps we should cut it.”
Kore pulled the heavy length over her shoulder and stared at herself in the mirror. It fell almost to her hips now, the dark toffee strands shimmering in the sunlight. “I’d like to keep it long.”
“Well, we’ll have to put it in a net then. I can’t brush it all the time for you.” Demeter ran the brush from the crown to the ends once again. “Though I do enjoy it.”
So did Kore. It was times like these when she felt closest to her mother. They weren’t arguing or having a disagreement. They were merely enjoying their time together.
She sighed and leaned back against her mother’s chest. “Thank you for letting me keep it long. I want to wear it like you do.”
Demeter always had a circlet or crown atop her head. Where most women wore their hair in intricate braids, Demeter let her wild curls free. They escaped even the weight of the circlet and fell around her face in graceful coils.
Her mother passed a hand over Kore’s head once more before putting the brush back onto the table. “Then you can wear it however you want, my darling girl. Now, let me get a look at you.”
Kore stood, and her soul felt lighter than it had in a long time. She looked beautiful in the mirror with her glistening chestnut hair tumbling down to her waist. The pale peplos she wore was more like a gown than a robe. Sheer fabric hinted at the shape of her body beneath it, and it was the first time she noticed her natural curves. She might not have been the most beautiful goddess, but she was lovely in her own way.
Maybe she could tell her mother about Hades. Maybe she could explain that she wasn’t a little girl anymore, and that she wanted to become a woman. She wanted to be with him, in whatever way that meant.
Demeter would understand. Her mother was already allowing changes to happen. Obviously she didn’t mind if Kore kept her hair longer.