More than a month had passed since  she had dreamed of Hypnos but every night since, she kept thinking about that kiss. The warmth of his lips and caress of his tongue. The firmness of his body against hers, strong arms wrapped around her. Even thinking about it now, she felt heat building in her core. It was the most intense, thrilling kiss she’d ever had, and she wanted more.  

Still, she couldn’t make herself say the words out loud. 

Hypnos had been there; it wasn’t Dream Hypnos. She knew because he hadn’t returned to her Slumber since then. The Hypnos in her dreams now felt different, and she noticed the change. He hadn’t mentioned the kiss in the waking realm.   

Every evening, he came to her chambers to watch mindless television shows with her. They cooked dinner together in her homey kitchen, and she tried to teach him how to lattice a pie. He usually fell asleep halfway through, so she’d send him to the couch and finish it herself. Their routine gave her a sense of comfort she hadn’t felt since being with her mother. 

True to their word, they hadn’t spoken of Hades.   

The mention of him broke something in her in a way she hadn’t expected. Before he turned her away a month ago, he used to make her have dinner with him every night. When she asked him why, he said it was so she wouldn’t be alone. She told him she hated it, and in some ways she had. But now, the emptiness she felt was worse than being with him.    

“You’re distracted,” Hypnos murmured from his perch on the stool at the kitchen island. “You’ve been rolling that same piece of dough for ten minutes.”   

Looking down, the dough was so thin she could see the outline of the countertop beneath. “Why haven’t you asked me about that night in Slumber?”   

He lifted his head to meet her gaze and raised an eyebrow. “You know why.”   

“I’m not the only one who wanted it that night,” she said defensively. “You kissed me back.”   

“That wasn’t the question. The question was, why I hadn’t brought it up?” he said with a shrug. “You know why I haven’t brought it up.”   

“But you did want it?”   

“A kiss from a gorgeous goddess who knows how to cook? Absolutely.”   

She watched him for a moment, thoughtful. “Why haven’t you come back to my Slumber?”   

“You know why,” he said again.  

“When was the last time you slept with someone?”  

It was his turn to look pensive. “Since Pasithia died.”   

She remembered Pasithia had been his wife. Her aunt Here arranged the match, and Hypnos had fallen deeply for her. Their story wasn’t often told on Olympus, but she always thought it was endearing.  

“No one really knows how she died.” Pasithea’s death wasn’t discussed on Olympus. “Her death was why you took over Slumber, isn’t it?”   

“Slumber became my escape.” He said before narrowing his eyes at her. “Before you ask, she fell sick from an illness caused by Slumber demons.” He held up a hand when she tried to speak. “No, I don’t want to talk about it. This conversation is over, and I’m not interested in kisses from a goddess anymore.”   

He floated off the stool and drifted out of the room. That went well, she thought as she watched him settle on the couch. A rerun of their favorite show was on, and he swiftly drifted asleep, his soft snores filling the room.   

If she weren’t covered in flour, she’d take the chance to sketch him again. He had quickly become her favorite subject. The angle of his face compared to the softness of his eyes and lips fascinated her. Even the way he relaxed completely in his realm inspired her creativity.   

She couldn’t remember the last time she had a friend, because that’s all she and Hypnos were. All they would ever be. Her mother had been the only constant in her life that she hadn’t been taught to hate. Sure, she was close to people in the Upperworld, but none of them understood what it was like to be trapped here. Only Hypnos saw this side of her.    

After putting the pie in the oven, she glanced at Hypnos one last time before leaving her chambers. She needed a walk to clear her head. Hopefully, by the time she returned, Hypnos would be in a better mood and she could apologize.   

She walked down the path to the main throne room—a massive cavern more than a room—where she noticed a gathering of souls outside of Hades’ office. It was strange to see them gathered since Hades was such a busybody that didn’t know how to stop working.  

“If the door’s closed, he’s not in,” she told the group as she approached.  

When they responded, their voices were no more than bells. She’d never learned to communicate with them because she hadn’t cared enough to. Maybe it was time to change that. With a wave of her hand, she shooed them away.  

She knocked on the door, and waited, but no one answered. She stepped inside. The office was dark, as he always had it, with only the eerie red from Tartarus. The room was empty, but she noticed a faint glow from his computer screen.    

Curious, she snuck around to look at the screen. Ledgers of damned souls filled the screen. She scrolled through the pages before she noticed there was an email tab open. It was from Nyx. Before she could stop herself, she clicked and opened the message.   

She’s ready, Hades. You know it. She knows it. You need to let her go before someone in the Upperworld realizes she’s here.   

Persephone’s heart stuttered in her chest. Who was she? A mortal? No one would care if Hades had another goddess in his chambers. She’d had lovers in the Upperworld herself. She wouldn’t care if he had too; the gods knew he needed to get laid. Maybe he’d be less of a prick if he did.  

A sound in the distance made her snap her head to the hidden entrance that led to Hades’ chambers. Persephone, always one to enjoy gossip, realized that the door was still cracked open. Apparently, his secret guest was so distracting, he didn’t notice the little details.  

She silently stepped through the doorway, listening. They weren’t in the kitchen, nor in the living room. At least he had the decency to take his guest to his chambers before sleeping with them.   

She smirked as she crept through his private space. She’d been here enough to know the layout but had never gone beyond the living room. The hallway off the living room led to his bedroom and two other guest rooms that were unused. She had no reason to go further until tonight. Whoever was back there wasn’t supposed to be, and she was about to have leverage over him she’d never had before.   

They weren’t quiet, which made it easy for her to find the right room. It wasn’t his bedroom at the end of the hall—they were in the room that was supposed to be hers, once. She took some satisfaction in knowing that he hadn’t taken her to the other room. Maybe he was still pining for her after all.   

She stopped short of the doorway, the door open wide. Hades had a mortal woman tucked against him now, their triste finished. They were speaking softly, unaware she stood in the darkened hallway.   

She watched as he crushed the silver locket around her throat. The metal links snapped, and blue flames flickered over her skin. Suddenly, her soul became visible. The telltale amber glow of an immortal illuminated the room, and Persephone stifled a gasp.   

Hades was sleeping with a Champion.  

That knowledge should be enough to make her blood sing with triumph. It didn’t. Something about the tender way he looked at the Champion as she faded softened the anger that danced beneath the surface of her skin. Their anguished ‘I love you’ as he squeezed the amber glow to speed up the process made her skin crawl.   

He hovered over the empty space for what felt like ages. Then his head snapped toward her; electric eyes finding her in the darkness, just as they always did. Grief mixed with anger filled his gaze. Gone was any tenderness he had for her.  

“If you so much as utter a word about her, I will kill you myself, Persephone,” he growled as he rose from the bed. His clothes materialized before both feet touched the ground, and he boxed her in with his arms, a feral snarl on his face. “Hate me all you want, princess, but she is innocent in this.”   

She couldn’t respond, not with the roaring in her head. Anger, heartbreak, and confusion ripped through her, and she barely registered his threats. He slammed his palm against the wall, and she snapped out of her thoughts.   

“You pushed me aside for a mortal?” she growled. Before she could stop herself, she slapped him, the sound echoing through the hallway. “A Champion, no less? Gods above, how desperate are you?”  

He pulled away from her, the murderous look still in his eyes. “How dare you pretend that I’m the one who pushed you away, Persephone? You’ve been pushing me away since Mother Dearest told you I was the villain. I gave you what you wanted. Now please leave me alone.”  

“How did it happen?” She asked, watching his anger seethe beneath his skin. When he got this angry, his blue eyes looked electric, deadly.   

Attractive.   

“What does it matter?”  

“It doesn’t,” she whispered. “I just want to know.”   

He didn’t owe her an explanation; she knew he didn’t. But she wanted him to answer because the look on his face made her heart ache. She didn’t think he was going to answer. As she moved to leave, he sighed, shoving his hand through his hair in a way that betrayed his caving in to her request.  

“The Fates are punishing me for coveting you,” he said, his anger fading.   

“Why now? After all this time?”   

“Your guess is as good as mine, Seph.” He stepped away and leaned his head back, staring at the ceiling. Tension roiled through him, but the electricity in his eyes dimmed. “Maybe they finally got tired of everyone bitching about me kidnapping you and wanted to punish me for it.”  

She didn’t think it was that simple. Why not free her from her curse if they meant to punish Hades? If she could just leave, no one would have to hear about them anymore. There was more to the story, and she was going to find out what it was. Why? She didn’t know. She shouldn’t care about the inevitable explosion that was going to happen when the Fates learned he’d broken the most important Champion rule: never fall in love with a Champion.    

This felt too targeted to be the Fates simply messing with him.   

“I won’t tell anyone.” She heard herself say before she realized the words had left her mouth.

Editor: Lucy Cafiero