in her heart. She hoped the emotions were conveyed in the gesture and in her gaze, because nothing would come out of her mouth.
Hades seemed to understand her feelings. He held his hand out for her to take and nodded toward the thrones. “Shall we?”
Letting him draw her to the thrones felt like she was taking the first step toward her real life. The life she was meant to have. The life she’d always wanted but hadn’t ever dreamt would be the path she would take.
Kore sat down on the wooden throne and felt that dark thing inside her take flight. All along the throne, flowers bloomed. White flowers with drops of nectar falling from their petals and pooling on the ground like syrup out of a tree. She set her hands on the arms and thorns grew between her fingers, deadly and sharp.
She looked over at Hades who took his own seat, lounging in comfort as he looked at her with pride in his eyes. A dangerous queen perhaps wasn’t what he’d thought he was getting when he married her. But that was the woman he got.
Looking toward the door, she let her voice raise like thunder. “Let the hero in.”
The doors swung open and a monstrous man walked through them. If she hadn’t known this man was supposed to be Heracles, she would have wondered if Zeus himself strode through the door.
Heracles wore only a loincloth over his waist, with a lion’s pelt draped over his shoulders. The open maw was stretched over his head like the cloak of a great cape. The paws fell down his arms and rested against biceps that were larger than life. His barreled chest swelled with each breath, the slick muscles of his torso rippling like water when he moved. A beard covered his face, although she could see the handsome features underneath.
Yes, this was Zeus’s son. And a powerful one at that.
Narrowing her eyes, she waited for him to stride through the throne room. Each detail of his stature was measured and weighed in her mind.
He didn’t show any sense of fear as he walked toward them. His shoulders remained straight and proud, his jaw set, and his eyes narrowed. This kind of determination put him apart from the rest of the men she’d seen before.
And when he reached the dais before them, Heracles was not too proud to take a knee before the King and Queen of the Underworld. “My greatest respects,” he said, his voice humbled and low. “It is an honor to be granted a few moments of your time.”
She glanced over at Hades and saw hatred written across his features. He did not like this mortal man at all, although she had to wonder how much of that was connected to his brother, and not to Heracles deeds.
The hero had shown them respect. A respect that most mortals seemed to forget when they were in the presence of gods.
Kore bowed her head, just enough to repay him the favor. “Brother,” she replied. “Welcome to the Underworld.”
The first word sent a ripple through Heracles. His shoulders tensed, his hands curling into fists, and she wondered if this was the first time in his life that someone had caught him off guard. He appeared to be all the features of a hero. The big body. The courage and bravado that would see him through any trial. Even his features were that of a warrior, and he wore the pelt of the Nemean lion around his shoulders.
Yet, as she watched, her word for their relationship settled through his very soul and rippled through his entire body. He bowed lower until his head almost pressed against the floor. “My queen. I have spent long months learning about you and your mother. The mortals worship you far more than any other dark goddess, and I am honored to meet you.”
He didn’t return the favor of calling her sister, she noticed. But Kore was more interested in the other details he’d revealed. “The mortals?”
“Yes. In Eleusis they worship your teachings.”
Teachings? She wanted to say she had no teachings, nor had she provided the mortals with any direction whatsoever. She was shocked they even knew she was here.
Glancing over at Hades, she noticed a frown had spread across his features. Apparently, he was also unaware the mortals had spread the word of her abduction. Unsettled, she turned back to Heracles and decided it was better to get this over with sooner, rather than later.