The Power of Hades (The Hades Trials, #1)

by Eliza Raine

'OK. Zeus has decided that Hades needs a wife. Women have been trying to earn the position of Queen of the Underworld by completing a series of Trials. I was supposed to meet the last contestant here today.' 'Can Hades not just choose someone he likes?' I asked, frowning at my own question. This was absolutely mad. 'No. He swore after his first wife that he would never remarry, but he upset Zeus in a pretty big way recently. And the big man's punishments cut deep.' 'Hades is being forced to marry as a punishment?' 'Yep.' 'So... what's this all got to do with me? And how do you know who I am?' A worried look crossed her beautiful face, then she let out a big sigh and closed her eyes. 'What a fucking mess,' she breathed, and opened her eyes again, fixing them on mine. 'I could refuse to tell you, but I guess you'll find out sooner or later.' 'Find what out?' 'You're Hades' first wife.'

Nothing happened. That didn't mean anything though. There was no way I was the wife of Hades. I'd been watching too much Netflix.

I knew this man. All notion of this being a crazy dream, all ideas that I was hallucinating, all the rational thoughts and truths that I'd been clinging to disintegrated as I stared into those desperate pools of silver. I knew this man. This was real.

'I know him,' I said quietly, looking down at my glass. 'Yes,' said Hecate, and crouched in front of me, her blue eyes full of compassion. 'But... My life. My life in New York...' My real life felt distant in my spinning head, like it had just been a game, or a dream. I could feel it slipping away. Was that because I was dying somewhere in New York? Would this all end soon too? Or was this the reality? Hades' eyes... I knew, more surely than I'd ever known anything in my life, that this was not the first time I'd seen those eyes. They meant something to me, down to my very core.

'Harm a single hair on her body and we'll find out once and for all which king is strongest,' hissed a voice, at the same time as my skin felt like it was being covered in ice. A smoky form shimmered into existence beside Zeus and tension literally crackled through the air. Then Zeus slowly began to shrink, the tension easing as his size decreased.

'Not during the Trials, no. And anyway, I don't want to hurt you. There are many other things I'd rather do with you...' A stronger wave of heat blew over me, and I thought I saw Hades' chest solidify under the smoke for a second. 'Right,' I said, flexing my fingers. 'Well, in that case, I would like to take this opportunity to inform you that you are a colossal prick.'

'If I was already married to Hades, how come they don't know who I am?' I asked Hecate quietly. 'The gods wiped you from Olympian history. Only they, and a handful of lower gods from the underworld, like me, know you ever existed.'

'He broke one of their very few sacred rules. He created new life in Olympus.' 'Life? But he's all about the dead.' I frowned at Hecate, and she cocked her head at me. 'Hades isn't like the other Olympians, Persy. There's far more to him than people see.' I thought about those silver eyes, so full of emotion. But then the fire, the taste of blood, the smell of burning filled my head and I sighed. 'People only see smoke,' I said.

I swear if it was him bringing her back 💀

'He wasn't always like that,' she answered quietly. Something in my stomach tightened. 'What happened?' I asked, but deep in my gut, I already knew the answer. 'You.'

'Why did he come back?' 'Some descendant of his went and woke him up, is what I heard. But he was good mates with Hades back in the day, and they've fallen in together again pretty quickly.' 'So that's why Zeus is so angry? He's scared?' 'I wouldn't say it to his face, but yeah, that's what I think.'

Hmmm

'Hades,' I said, as I came to face-to-face with his smoky form. 'Persephone,' he replied, his silver eyes swirling. My rational thoughts scattered. 'You look...' I trailed off, biting down on my lip as I struggled to find a word to finish the obligatory compliment. 'Smoky?' he offered. My mouth quirked into a smile at the unexpected comment. 'Yes. Smoky.' I felt my shoulders relax a little. 'If this wasn't being broadcast to the whole of Olympus, I would have been willing to lose a bit of the smoke.' There was no ice in his voice. 'Why do you not let them see what you look like?' 'The King of the Underworld isn't especially popular. They expect a monster, so I give them one.' His swirling shoulders shrugged. 'But... You're not really a monster?' I asked hesitantly. Hopefully. Hades paused before answering. 'I'm every bit the monster they believe me to be.'

'Hello,' said a woman's voice as a beautiful tan-skinned man with short dreadlocks apparently called Theseus took my hand. I nodded politely at Theseus and turned to the voice. Red mask. Dammit.

NO NOT THESEUS GET OUT OF HERE

'You were never cruel, Persephone. You were fair and kind and I...' he trailed off, hopeless sadness pouring from his beautiful face. I stepped towards him before I could help myself, and he lifted his hand to my cheek. Ever so slowly, he brushed his thumb across my skin, wiping away my solitary tear. Electricity shot through my body at his touch. His touch was warm, and for some reason I had expected him to be cold. Frustration welled inside me again. I knew so little, and I needed more. 'I hate this place,' I whispered and he flinched. 'Please, please make me understand how this was once my home. Because I know it was. I know you were.' 'It wasn't always like this. It was before you came, and it was again after you left. But when you were here...' His eyes bore into mine. 'You brought light, and life, to a place where I thought none could exist.' He spoke hoarsely, and his words crashed through all the mental armor I'd built up since coming to Olympus. He loved me. I could see it in his face, hear it in his broken voice, feel it in his electrifying touch. All this time, all those years alone in New York, and someone, somewhere, loved me this much. And I never knew.

'Hades-' she called, but the King of the Underworld roared, and the man screamed. 'You dare enter my realm, and try to kill her?' His voice carried so much power, so much terror, so much danger, that my limbs collapsed. 'You dare to try to take her from me?' The man whimpered as he hovered in the air, and black spots danced in front of my eyes as the screaming in my head grew louder, and flames began to obscure my vision.