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I can’t say for certain if it’s jealousy of Hercules that spurns me on. Or desire for him.
She’s the most priceless thing in my life, the one person I could never replace, not even if I searched the world over.
We were made for each other, two twisted trees that grew to lean on each other to the point where they won’t survive alone.
She’s withering with every day that passes, and I want to see her bloom once more.
“Why?” she finally asks. “Because, love, we’re going to seduce him. Together.” And, in doing so, we’re going to bring all of Olympus to its knees.
I know this man better than any other person in this world, but right now he feels like a stranger to me.
He can’t change and neither can I. We fit so well… but it’s not a perfect melding. It never will be. The thought brings sorrow too great to bear and I shift closer to lift my face to his. He catches my mouth, anticipating my kiss. Hades always seems to know what I’m going to do before I do it. That annoys me most days. Right now, it’s a relief.
He smooths my hair back. “It’s you and me, Meg. Forever.” Threat or declaration of love? I don’t know. I’ve never known. I look into his dark eyes, and in this moment I can truly believe that this man loves me above all others. That it would hurt him beyond measure to lose me. That he would raze this city to the ground if it meant my happiness was on the line.
When I wake, I’m alone. Just like always.
Mine and Hades’s, though he stopped doing these quiet walkthroughs with me years ago. It doesn’t stop me from looking for him every single fucking morning. I should know better by now, but my stomach still drops a little when I don’t find him waiting for me in the lounge.
I am Megaera, Queen of the fucking Underworld. I do not indulge in petty temper tantrums. It takes far longer than it should to wind myself back into something resembling calm. A facade, and not even a good one, but it’ll have to do.
“Some things aren’t capable of being fixed. The faster you figure that out, the faster you’ll get ahead in life.”
I love him so much I stay despite the tiny cuts he deals out during every conversation, unintentionally or not.
Hades reads me better than anyone.
“Tonight is yours, Meg. Just yours.”
MEG WITH THE STRAP??
Fuck, but they’re beautiful together. The brightest star and the darkest night, both made better by the presence of the other.
I could fill those gaps for them, I could be the softness to their jagged edges.
Is that what she wants? To walk in the sun with a man like the one holding her so close while she sleeps?
“I feel like I’m unnecessary. Replaceable.” Hercules inhales sharply. “What?” Now that I’ve started, I can’t seem to stop. “Hades shares with you what he won’t share with me. He doesn’t shut you out.” God, it hurts to admit that, hurts more than I could imagine.
“You’ve dimmed your light, and I’m to blame, at least in part.”
I find myself holding my breath. This is what I want. Well, I want a lot of things, but this is so fucking important. These two people are two broken halves to the same whole, and they’re in danger of shattering because they don’t talk. It seems the simplest of fixes, but ten years is a lot of time to build up baggage. It’s easier for me to pinpoint the problems because I haven’t been here this whole time. I have an outsider’s perspective.
Ugh I hate both sheathed and to the hilt
Stay with us. Does he know how much those words mean to me? Even having a place of my own in the Underworld, I still crave exactly what he’s offering me. A place with them. Something permanent. I’m scared to even hope for it.
Trust. As if it’s really that easy. As if I haven’t had every man I’ve ever trusted walk back on it. Even Hades, though he would claim otherwise. He didn’t let me essentially sell myself for his gain, but when he shut me out, it damaged us. Hercules is the only one who hasn’t, but surely it’s only a matter of time. The odds are not in his favor.
“Yes.” The word just pops out into existence despite my attempt to keep it silent. “The only reason you’re here is—” “Because I want to be. I chose to be here when I made the deal. Now I’m choosing this, choosing you. Both of you.” As if it’s that simple for him. He decides this is what he wants and that’s enough to go for it. His optimism humbles and terrifies me. He leans up and kisses me softly on the lips. “Choose us, Meg. Please.”
Maybe they’re right and this is the start of something new. Something special.
