The Passion of Hades - Eliza Raine Page 0,13

the anger and frustration and injustice of everything that had happened breaking free from the fragile container I'd built around them. 'I was fucking kidnapped! From a life I loved! And now you're threatening me? Do you have any idea at all what you people have put me through?'

'You are the same,' Poseidon hissed, his eyes glowing an intense blue. 'Your wrath is no less as a human, your temper as hot and unpredictable as it ever was.'

'You'd lose your fucking temper if you'd had your memories and power stolen!' Rage was burning through my blood, heating my whole body, and sending almost painful tingles across my skin. 'Everyone is happy to talk about my past, but nobody will tell me what I did! I'm being forced to risk my life, and the lives of strangers and the only friends I have here, for your entertainment! And nobody even expects me to survive, let alone win! Do you understand that I am not here to make your life difficult? I don't want to be here!'

Something black burst from my hands as I threw them in the air angrily, and I stumbled backwards in shock. Vines. Black vines were curling from my palms, barbed and glowing.

'What the-' I started, but in a flash Hades was there, between me and Poseidon. The sea god grew, his trident pulsing with blue light, and Hades smoke flickered and danced outward, matching Poseidon's size.

'Goading her into losing her temper isn't very fair, brother,' said Hades calmly. I barely heard him over the rushing in my ears as I stared dumbly at the vines still coiling from my hands towards them.

'Stop,' I pleaded quietly, but they kept growing.

'You need to see that she is still a threat. You are blind to the danger she poses,' Poseidon said loudly.

'Zeus brought her here, not me. Go and take it up with him.' Black spots were creeping into my vision now, the vines almost reaching Hades.

'Fine. But you've not heard the last of this,' snapped Poseidon, then vanished.

'Shit, shit, shit,' muttered Hades the second he left, the smoke disappearing from around him as he turned to me. 'Persephone, you need to lose the vines, now.'

'I'm trying!'

'They'll go if you calm down, take deep breaths and think about something that doesn't make you angry.'

'Everything here makes me fucking angry!' I shouted, and the vines burst out further, curling around his feet. Frustration crossed his face as he pushed his hand through his hair, then the world flashed white.

When the light cleared, I instantly felt the surging rage inside me change; a brighter, optimistic feeling forcing it out of my veins. I was in the conservatory.

'Vent. Use your power, give it to the earth,' Hades said. I didn't need to ask him what he meant, his instruction felt like the most natural thing in the world. I flicked my wrists towards the closest flower bed, and the vine glowed as a vivid green color snaked over the black. It spread fast, turning the whole vine green in seconds. The end of the vines hit the soil, and a joyous feeling made my chest expand, the vines burrowing deeper.

I didn't know how long I stood there, channeling all my rage and pent up energy into the soil, but Hades said nothing the whole time. Eventually the vines melted away, and I felt a pang of loss as the blissful feeling faded. Being connected to the earth like that was more than incredible. It was as though I'd finally found a place I had always yearned for but didn't really know existed.

I turned to Hades and almost took a step back at the hunger evident on his face.

'You're beautiful,' he breathed.

'Erm, I just offended Poseidon, showed everyone I can't control my temper or power, and had some sort of out-of-body experience with a flowerbed. I fail to see the attraction just now,' I said on a long breath.

'When you use your power to grow things, to create life, you... You become practically irresistible.' He ground out the last word, like he really was struggling to resist something. To resist me.

'But... doesn't creating life kinda undermine what you do here?'

He let out a long breath.

'Yes. I have never understood it either.' A wave of exhaustion rocked over me before I could reply, and I stumbled, dizzy. Hades was there in an instant, his strong arms supporting me.

'You smell awesome,' I told him, my vision clouding. He tensed.

'Do you have any idea how hard it