The day passed delightful y. Elysia was an endless adventure where beauty and harmony had been melded perfectly together. And everywhere they went, souls of the dead responded to Persephone's presence. She was moved beyond words by the happiness that she saw on the faces of the spirits as word passed throughout the Underworld that there was a Goddess abiding among them.
Hades stayed close to her side, often guiding Dorado close enough so that he could touch her. The reaction of the spirits to Persephone's presence fil ed him with a bittersweet pleasure. The dead respected and feared him. Some were even intensely loyal to him, but he had never evoked within them the love and joy Persephone's presence did. He did not feel envious of the Goddess's effect on his realm. He understood it. How could he not? She had awakened the same feelings within him. Again, he wondered how he had existed so long without her. He could not bear to think what would happen to him or to his realm if she chose not to remain.
Daylight had faded and the night sky was beginning to twinkle with the souls of the Hyades when they final y neared the rear grounds of the palace. Hades nudged Dorado close to Orion and reached over to take Persephone's hand. She smiled at him. Hades' hand felt warm and strong, and she was content to lace her fingers through his and daydream about the wonders of the day as they entered the familiar pine forest. When they reached the bottom tier of the gardens, Hades pulled Dorado to a halt, causing Orion to snort and stop short.
"There is one last thing that I would like to show you today, if you are wil ing."
"Of course," she said.
"We must walk," he pretended to whisper.
Lina dropped her voice to a conspirator's level. "What wil we do with" - she waggled her fingers at the two stal ions who had their ears cocked back, obviously listening - "them."
"Leave them to me."
He dropped athletical y from Dorado's back and then held his arms out to help her dismount Orion. She slid against his body, loving the erotic feel of having muscular horseflesh on one side of her, and a hard, hot God pressing against the other. Hades leaned down and nibbled the sensitive lobe of her ear before whispering, "I believe it is time to be rid of our chaperones." Then he straightened and barked the command for them to return to the stables in a voice so powerful that the leaves on the trees surrounding them whipped wildly in response. Orion and Dorado reacted instantly by plunging into the palace grounds.
Lina raised her brows at him. "I'm impressed. I didn't think they'd go so easily." Hades lips twisted. "They were just surprised. I rarely command them to do anything. Actual y, they are rather spoiled."
"Then they'l be mad at you later."
"Probably." He laughed and linked his fingers with hers.
"What I want to show you is this way." He led her to a path that skirted the edge of the gardens. They walked beside rows of ornamental hedges trimmed into curling cones. Sleeping flowers shadowed the hedges, and Lina was careful not to let her fingers pass too close to any of the closed blossoms. When Hades stepped from the path and entered the line of cypress trees that ringed that side of the gardens, she couldn't contain her curiosity any longer.
"Where are we going?"
"Not far. To a field there." He pointed ahead of them.
Al lina could see was more of the huge trees, but they were close enough to the palace that the land was stil wel -ordered. The ground beneath the trees was grassy and free from brambles and debris. The night forest had been emptied of the songbirds' tril ing melodies, and Lina began to feel intimidated by the vast silence.
Speaking in a whisper she said, "What's in the field?"
Hades squeezed her hand. "You do not have to be quiet tonight."
"Oh," she said feeling a little embarrassed. Raising her voice to a normal level she repeated her question. "What's in the field?"
"Fireflies."
"Fireflies?"
The God nodded.
The one last thing that he had to show her of the mysteries of the Underworld was fireflies? She'd seen fireflies before. Lots of them.
Reading her expression he grinned mischievously and said, "I believe that you wil find these fireflies unique."
Lina shrugged and kept her mouth shut. Maybe the real Persephone would have thought a field of fireflies was unique, but it would take a little more than summer bugs to raise the eyebrows of an Oklahoma girl, especial y after the wonders she had already seen that day.
"Ah, here is the break in the trees. Watch your step, we must cross this smal gully first." Lina's attention was focused on stepping across the little ditch, so she didn't look up until she was actual y standing in the field. When she did her eyes widened with surprise. The field was fil ed with light, but it wasn't the familiar butter-yel ow firefly light she had grown up chasing. It was light the color of moonbeams, lace, and...
"Narcissus flowers!" She gasped. " Misericordioso madre di Dio! They're making narcissus flowers." Hades' soft chuckle sounded happily self-satisfied. "Few outside of the Underworld have witnessed their like. So, Goddess of Spring, do you approve?"
Lina stared at the field. What must have been thousands of fey fireflies were hard at work. And they were spinning flowers. From the middle of tufts of ordinary-looking green foliage a group of the tiny insects would swarm, then they would begin flying in a sparkling spiral, around and around until, like miniature comets, their glowing tails took on form and mass, leaving behind a perfect narcissus in ful bloom.
"It's incredible. Is this how al of the narcissus are made?"
"Al of them that exist in the Underworld. Occasional y, a group of fireflies wil get confused and drift too close to the opening to the land of the mortals. Sometimes they create a flower in the world above, but I try to prevent that. As you may have noticed, the fragrance of my narcissus bloom is different than those in the World of the Living. Mortals find it too intoxicating." Lina remembered the night she had bent to breathe in the scent of a very unusual narcissus bloom.
"I can see how that might cause problems," she said faintly. As if the sound of her voice had just registered on their smal consciousness, several of the closest groups of fire-flies paused in their flower building. Then, like they al had the same thought, in one glowing flock they flew to Lina. They hovered in front of her spinning in sparkling circles and making strange little chirping noises that Lina thought sounded a lot like soprano-singing crickets.
"What do they want?" Lina whispered out of the side of her mouth to Hades. The God tilted his head and then smiled. "They want you to create flowers with them."
"Real y?" she said, undecided about what to do.
"Real y," he said. Hades let go of her hand. "Go to them. I wil wait for you." She pretty much had to. She was supposed to be Goddess of Spring. Building flowers would definitely be a part of her job description. And, as she stood there pondering what she should do, she realized that she wanted to join them, very much.
Just touch them and wish the blossom into being. They wil bloom. Her internal monitor told her. Lina stepped into the field. The long grass swayed softly against her calves. The fireflies danced in dizzying circles around her, chirping happily. Lina approached a clump of green that wasn't grass and wasn't flower. Hesitantly, she stroked the wide, flat leaves with her fingertips, thinking about how much she would like it to bloom. In a burst of bright light that reminded her of a fireworks display, a bril iant white blossom exploded from the center of the plant. She bent and inhaled the unique fragrance. Lina laughed aloud. She had created that beautiful flower. The joy of youth and new beginnings fil ed her. Without thinking, she fol owed the lead of her body and did a graceful pirouette and a little leap step to the next cluster of greenery. The fireflies haloed her body as she caressed the flower alive and then danced to another bloom. Hades stood at the edge of the field and fil ed his eyes with her. How could anyone be so lovely?
He felt a ferocious desire to have her, and through that act to final y gain true belonging - the kind of belonging that he had born witness to so many times as he had watched it reflected in the eyes of soul mates.
She spun and danced and cal ed the narcissus flowers alive. And wasn't she doing the same to him? The Lord of the Dead, the God who had considered himself immune to love, had fal en in love with the Goddess of Spring. No matter how ridiculous or ironic it seemed, it had happened. And he didn't want it to end. The decision was made. He wanted to do more than to watch the ghosts of love - he wanted to experience love for himself.
He rubbed his chest automatical y, anticipating the burning, but it didn't come. Even though Persephone made his body ache and his blood pound, she did not make his choler flare. His hand stil ed and he tried to remember the last time he had felt the burning in his chest. Hades blinked in surprise. It had been the night he had offended her and walked out of dinner. Not since then. He smiled. She was not only the breath of spring; she was also balm for a weary soul. Perhaps his loneliness had truly come to an end.
Lina felt his eyes on her and as another narcissus burst into blossom, she looked back to where he waited. He stood at the edge of the meadow, tal and dark and silent, watching her with an intensity that sent a thril through her blood.
But why must he always just watch? Suddenly she wanted more for him. A wonderful thought came to her. She'd been frolicking with maidens and nymphs since she'd arrived. It was definitely Hades' turn. Smiling happily, she danced up to him, trailing a mist of glittering fireflies in her wake. She grabbed his hand.
"Come on! Make flowers with me."
His eyes were shadowed with sadness. "I am the God of the Dead. I cannot create life."
"You can if I help you," she said with more confidence than she felt and tugged at his hand.
"No, I..." He sighed. "Persephone, I can refuse you nothing." Reluctantly, he al owed her to pul him into the meadow.
Surrounded by the sparkling fog of fireflies, Lina led Hades to a clump of not-yet-narcissus. She motioned for Hades to stand behind her, then she reached back and slid her hands down the underside of his arms until his hands enveloped hers and his arms encased her. She splayed her fingers wide, as if she had just thrown a bal .
"Lace your fingers beside mine." His nearness caused her voice to be a husky purr. "And think about how much you would like to make the narcissus blossom."
Lost in her, Hades let her guide his hands. He did wish he could make the narcissus bloom, but even more he wished that he could make this Goddess his own, that she would stay beside him and relieve his loneliness for an eternity.
His fingers began to tingle as the magic within Persephone's body merged with his own. Incredulous, he watched as the bril iant narcissus burst into being beneath their joined hands. Lina shouted with joy and turned, face blazing with joy. "We did it!" Hades' arms wrapped around her and he looked into her glittering eyes. 'Together, Persephone. I could not have done it without the Goddess of Spring. I wish I could find words to tel you what great pleasure it gives me to share my world with you."
His voice was serious, his expression earnest, and she felt completely lost in his eyes. Hades wanted more from her than a quick kiss, or even a quick affair. She knew that she should make a little joke and dance away from him. But she couldn't make herself. She burned to be with him as badly as he ached for her. She kissed him, pressing herself against the hard length of his body. Abruptly Hades ended the kiss. Resting his forehead against hers, he concentrated on control ing his ragged breathing. He would not grope her in the woods again. Persephone deserved more than that. She deserved al that he could give her.
"It is late. We should go back to the palace now," he said, kissing her forehead gently. She looked up at him. "I'm not tired."
"Nor am I."
"And I'm not ready for the day to end."
"Then it shal not." He took a deep breath. "You have not yet seen my private quarters. Would you like to?"
Lina saw how difficult it was for him to ask. She felt her heart pounding - a heart that was not truly her own, inside a body that didn't belong to her. But her soul did, and it wasn't simply her body that desired him. She loved his sweetness and sense of humor. She loved the sound of his laughter. She loved his power and his passion, and the care and wisdom he showed in his dealings with the spirits in his realm. Lina touched his cheek, and admitted the truth to herself. She loved him.
"Yes. I would like to very much."
Joy flashed over his face, fol owed quickly by desire, and he bent and kissed her again, hard and fast. Then he reluctantly released her from his arms, took her hand in his, and began to retrace their steps. Lina heard a high-pitched buzzing behind her, and she and Hades turned. The fireflies were hovering in a huge cluster at the edge of the field. Al of them were turned toward Lina.
The God laughed. "Persephone wil return. She is not leaving the Underworld." Their frantic buzzing eased a little.
"I'd love to come back and make more flowers with you," Lina assured them, and their buzzing changed to happy chirps. Smiling, Lina and Hades continued on then-way. "It's nice that they like me so much."
"Al of my realm adores you, Persephone," Hades said.
Lina glanced up at him. "Just your realm?"
The God's lips tilted up. "No, not just my realm."
She squeezed his hand. "Good."
It was as they stepped from the trees into the ornamental garden that Lina heard the sobbing.
"Someone's crying," Lina said. Peering around in the gentle darkness she tried to discover who it was.
"There," Hades said.
He was pointing ahead of them in the direction of the road that passed in front of the palace and led farther into Elysia. Lina could barely make out a blur of human-sized brightness near the edge of the road.
"I think we should see what's going on." Lina looked up at the God for confirmation. "Don't you?"
"Yes. It is odd that a spirit would cry in Elysia." He explained as they started toward the blotch of light. "The dead might miss family and loved ones from the Land of the Living, but by the time they are ferried across Styx and enter Elysia, their souls are fil ed with joy, or at the very least, peace. The. ability to cease longing for the living - or at least the ability to understand that al partings are only temporary - is built into the mortal spirit. Those who have earned an eternity in Elysia find that they are content."
As they got closer to the spirit the brightness took shape. Lina could see that she was a pretty young woman with long, upswept dark hair and a plump figure. She was sitting at the edge of the road, face in her hands, weeping with such passion mat she did not even notice their approach. Instinctively, Lina motioned for Hades to stay back, and she walked to the woman's side. Just before she touched her shoulder, Lina noticed that the spirit's body looked unusu-al y dense. If she hadn't had the typical y pale luminescence of the dead, Lina would have believed that she was a living woman who had somehow gotten lost and stumbled into the Underworld.
"Honey, what's wrong?" Lina asked softly.
The woman jumped, and raised a tear-stained face to peer with frantic brown eyes at Lina. Instantly she recognized the Goddess, and began to bow her head. Then she caught sight of Hades, and her hand went to her mouth. She changed the direction of her bow, but ended up bobbing back and forth, not sure which of the immortals to acknowledge first.
"I did not mean to disturb the gods!" she cried, wiping her eyes. Climbing awkwardly to her feet, she began backing hastily away from Lina. "Please forgive me."
"No." Lina held out her hand in what she meant as a calming gesture. The woman jerked to a nervous halt, staring at her outstretched arm. Lina thought she looked like a frightened mouse. She sighed and modulated her voice to the tone she used to reassure young animals. "Don't go. You didn't disturb us. Hades and I were taking a walk and we heard you crying. We were concerned, not angry."
She seemed to relax a little.
"What is your name?" Hades asked in the pleasant, fatherly voice he used with Eurydice. She glanced nervously at him. "Alcetis."
"Tel us why you were crying, Alcetis," Lina said gently.
Alcetis looked down and spoke to her feet. "I am so very lonely. I miss my husband and my family desperately." She pressed the back of her hand against her mouth, trying unsuccessfully to stifle a sob.
Lina's worried gaze found Hades. She saw that he, too, looked surprised at the spirit's words. Then she saw him tilt his head to the side and his face took on a listening expression. In a moment his eyes seemed to darken and he pressed his lips together before speaking to the spirit.
"It was not your time, Alcetis," Hades said in a voice shadowed with sadness. The spirit drew another ragged, sobbing breath. "No, it was not. But I had to come." Hades frowned. "You did not have to. It was your choice."
Alcetis raised her dripping face. "Do you not understand? He asked others. They would not. I had to."
Completely confused, Lina shook her head. "Wait , I don't understand. What are you two talking about? Has some kind of mistake been made?"
"Alcetis, tel Persephone why you have entered the Underworld," Hades said. Alcetis took a deep breath and wiped her face with the sleeve of her burial robe. "I have only been married a short time. My husband's name is Admetus." The spirit's damp face brightened as she said the name and she almost smiled. "Yesterday at dawn the augurs prophesized that Admetus would die before the sun set. My husband immediately petitioned Apol o, and the God of Light concurred. Indeed, the prophesy was true. The Fates had finished weaving Admetus' life, and at dusk his mortal string would be cut. But my husband has long been a favorite of the God of Light, and Apol o heard my husband's cries. He granted Admetus a new fate. He would be spared if someone would agree to die in his place. First, Admetus went to his parents, who are old and not wel , but they refused. Then he went to his brothers. They, too, would not die in his stead. He asked his closest friends, assuring them that he would see their families wel cared for, but the answer was always the same. No one was wil ing to die for him. In despair, he returned home to await his fate." Alcetis paused, looking searchingly at Lina. "I could not let him die." Hades' jaw clenched, but when he spoke his voice betrayed no anger. "And he let you die for him." The spirit turned wide, wet eyes to the God. "He wept and rent his garments. His sadness was great."
"But not great enough to stop you," Hades said.
"You must see that I had no choice. I had to take his place." Alcetis began weeping again.
"That is why you feel such loneliness and pain. It is not your time. Your life's thread is stil spinning. Your soul knows this and you cannot find peace." Hades spoke solemnly, as if a great weight pressed down upon his words.
"Wel , this can't be right," Lina said. "Look at her - she doesn't even have the same kind of body as the rest of the spirits."
"That is because she is not like the rest of the spirits. She is misplaced, outside of her al otted fate."
"Then it sounds to me like you need to fix this," Lina said firmly.
"She is here because a god meddled in a mortal's life, something that happens far too often, and for far too many selfish reasons. I do not believe in interfering with the lives of mortals."
"But she's a part of your realm now. You're not technical y meddling. You're doing your job." Hades spoke through gritted teeth. "Persephone, do you not remember what happened the last time you made a judgment about sending a spirit back to the Land of the Living?" Lina flinched as if he had slapped her. "This is different, and I can't believe that you are heartless enough not to see that." Her voice was ice.
"Oh, please!" Alcetis threw herself on her knees between the two immortals. "I did not mean to cause strife between the King and Queen of the Underworld."
"What is it you cal ed Persephone?" Hades said, fast and sharp. "What title did you give her?" Trembling, the out of place spirit answered the God. "I cal ed her Queen of the Underworld, but I did not give the title to her, Lord. I simply repeat what she has been named in the world above." She managed to smile shyly at Lina. "It is wel known that she is now reigning at your side." Lina was struck speechless. Queen of the Underworld? People were real y cal ing her that? She looked at Hades and the dark God captured her gaze. His eyes flamed and his face seemed to burn with transparent joy. As he spoke, Lina could not look away from him, and she forgot to breathe.
"Pronounce your judgment, Persephone. I bow to your wil ."
And then he did, almost imperceptibly, bow his head to her.
Lina forced her eyes from him. She smiled shakily at Alcetis. "Then my judgment is that you return to the mortal world and your husband to finish living out your fate. And tel your husband that he can continue fol owing whatever new thread the Fates have woven for him." With a happy cry, Alcetis jumped to her feet and took Lina's hand. She kissed it, then held it to her wet cheek. Through shining eyes she beamed at Lina.
"Oh, thank you, Queen of the Underworld. My children and my children's children shal make sacrifices to you every spring until the end of time."
"That's real y nice of you, but you should know that I prefer a little wine and honey scattered around the ground. I don't so much like the blood sacrifices," Lina said quickly. Alcetis curtsied deeply. "I wil always remember your kindness, Goddess."
