"Oh, come on!" I growl, spinning around and kicking the wall.

Hades quietly watches me as I throw my tantrum. He only speaks up when I finally stop kicking the wall. "Have you finished?"

I huff and fold my arms tightly over my chest. "Yes."

"Good." Hades nods. "You need to concentrate, Evie."

"I am concentrating!" I explode angrily, throwing my hands up in the air. I take a deep breath and run a shaky hand through my hair. "I've been concentrating for the last two months, Hades. Fat lot of good that's done for me! We've been at this for over sixty days now, and I'm as close to mastering mind-projection as Pluto is to fitting into a cat carrier!"

"You will not be able to concentrate if you are angry, Evie. You need to take a deep breath and calm down."

I pause, and slowly turn to stare at him.

"Tell me to calm down again." I say in a low voice. "I dare you."

"Alright." Hades steps forward and slowly lowers my hands to my sides. "Perhaps we should take a break."

"Yeah, you think?" I snap. Hades raises an eyebrow. I let out a long breath. "I'm sorry, Hades. That was uncalled for."

"It is okay, Evie." Hades squeezes my shoulder reassuringly after a moment's hesitation. "I understand that you are exhausted."

I nod mutely and allow myself to lean into his touch for a moment. An electrifying shiver ripples through me, right from the spot that his fingers press into my tense muscles. If I thought I was in love with Hades two months ago, I had no idea how much further I'd fall after two more months in the Underworld with him. Even the mere feeling of his hands on my skin turned my knees to jelly and caused my heart to skip a beat: I had seriously underestimated how much the mere touch of him would affect me now. Never in my life had I ever experienced anything like this, felt like this about anyone, and that scared the crap out of me.

But despite all that, this moment, right now, with Hades standing a mere breadth away, was the closest to intimacy I'd had with him over the past two months. Ever since we'd started my training, he'd become distant, distracted, and more focused on helping me develop my abilities than spending time with me. Every day, he would disappear the instant he decided to end the training, and I wouldn't see him again until the following day. He'd barely touched me and barely smiled at me, let alone kissed me. I knew, in the logical part of my brain, that his behaviour was because of the situation with Kronos, and his obsession with trying to piece together all the information, but a part of me still couldn't help but feel hurt by his reservedness. He'd promised he wouldn't keep me at arm's length anymore, and even though I knew Hades wasn't doing it on purpose, I couldn't ignore how much I missed his companionship.

Silence swallows the conversation for several, long beats. My eyes flutter open and hesitantly meet his gaze. Hades stares at me, his eyes flickering down for a millisecond, before he steps back. His hands find their way into his trench-coat pockets.

"Go and find Kezia. She will provide you with refreshments and a short respite. I will find you once you are finished and we will resume your training."

"What about you?" I stretch languidly, smiling a little when I hear the satisfying pop! of my back cracking. "Aren't you going to refresh yourself?"

"I barely feel the need anymore." Hades shrugs. "There is also some business that I must attend to. I will find you once it is resolved."

"Do you want any—"

Hades disappears with a swish of his trench-coat.

"— help." I finish lamely. I stare into the space he'd occupied mere seconds ago and sigh heavily.

Another day, another disappearance. I feel so trusted.

"Evie!" Calla pokes her head around the doorframe. She shoots me a timid smile. "If it pleases you, your highness, Kezia has sent me to kidnap you."

I bite back a grin. "Calla, you do know what the definition of kidnapping is, right?"

A blush reddens her ebony skin. "Come with me or I'll hurt you?"

"Ooh, I'm shaking in my boots." I tease. "You're as scary a mouse, you know that?"

"Mice can be scary!" Calla protests indignantly. "They can bite, and ruin your food, and carry diseases!"

"Alright, I take my comment back. You're as scary as a cotton ball."

Calla pouts at me. "You know, for a queen you're really mean."

I give her an exasperated look. "How many times do I have to tell you, Calla? Stop calling me your queen; I'm your friend."

"Well, then you're a mean friend. The last queen — friend I served wasn't this mean to me."

"What do you mean, 'the last queen'?" I stare at her. "What other queens have you served?"

Calla sticks her nose in the air and turns on her heel. "Follow me, your friend-ness."

"Calla, wait! What queen?"

Purposefully ignoring me, Calla swiftly leads me down the hallway and through the palace. Before I know it, we're walking out of the palace doors and into the garden Kezia had shown me all those months ago. Calla leads me past the wooden rows of herb gardens and disappears down a pebbled path. I round the corner to be greeted by a small, round cottage, sitting in the middle of an overgrown thicket. The large trees surrounding the area almost look like natural pillars, and extend all the way up into the sky, creating a natural dome above the house. Mushrooms of all colours and sizes litter the ground like brightly coloured decorations, nestled both in disorganised clumps and large circles. Tendrils of ivy climb the wooden walls of the cottage, stretching their thin fingers all the way up to the thatched roof, and a variety of wisteria flowers in different shades of purple, red and blue dance happily in the light breeze.

Calla glances over her shoulder at me, and gestures me forward when I don't move from the iron-cast gate. I shoot her a curious look.

"Where are we?"

"The Underworld." I throw her a deadpan look and she motions me towards the front door. "Just go inside and you will find out."

I eye her warily for a moment, before striding past her and pushing the door open. Almost instantaneously, I'm greeted by a mouth-watering aroma, a wave of heat and a smirking red-head.

"My queen." Kezia bows melodramatically. "Welcome to my humble abode."

I spin around in a circle, taking in my surroundings. The cottage is made up of a singular, circular room, and it looks suspiciously similar to the kitchen, save for an unkempt queen bed at one end and a gigantic, ornamental mirror at the other, one that looked like it had been stolen right out of mediaeval times. Herbs still hang from the roof like living ornaments, and there's even a small, iron-cast cauldron tucked away underneath a well-used wooden bench. Warmth radiates from the fire crackling away next to the bed, and a terrifying array of what looks suspiciously like human and animal skulls decorate the mantelpiece.

I look back to Kezia. "This is your house? I thought that..."

"That I permanently lived in the kitchen?" Kezia arches an eyebrow. "Honey, I'm not your live-in chef. I live here on a permanent basis, just like you."

"Why are you in the kitchen so much? And cooking?"

"Because I don't mix work with home." Kezia clicks her tongue in disgust. "One such as myself needs an office to work from just as much as they need a place to relax."

My eyes flicker back to the skulls. Kezia follows my gaze and smirks at my unease.

"Oh, don't mind those. They're just mementos of a happier time."

"Right." I reply slowly. "Do I want to ask?"

"If you want to hear my, and not to mention the accurate, version of the Salem Witch Trials, then sure." Kezia shrugs. Calla and I both stare at her.

"You were involved with the Salem Witch Trials?"

"Of course I was." She scoffs. "Did you really think I'd let humanity get away with unfairly punishing the innocent? I had to teach them a lesson. And I thoroughly enjoyed it."

My unease grows as I glance back at the skulls. "Those... those aren't real human skulls, are they?"

Kezia flashes me a grin that would have terrified even the Cheshire cat. "Do you really want me to answer that question, your highness?"

I shudder and shake my head. "Well, Hades was right about one thing. This conversation has thoroughly refreshed me. I think I'm ready to go back now."

Kezia snorts and rolls her eyes at me.

"Oh, don't be a wuss. You're going to deal with far worse once you start judging souls. Besides which," She claps her hands, causing a platter filled to the brim with food to appear in her hands. "I've already gone to the trouble of providing you with real refreshments. Do you really want to turn me down after all my hard work?"

I can't hold back the massive grin that spreads across my lips when I realise what she's prepared. "This is your idea of refreshments?"

"God no." Kezia scoffs. She pours a glass of orange juice and offers it to me. "But considering you're the only one out of us who still feels the desire to eat, I thought I would prepare something that you'd prefer. So, pizza, sugar and orange juice it was."

I raise my glass to her with a big smile. "I love you."

"Girls night!" Calla cheers, waving her hands in the air. She shrinks back, red-faced, when Kezia and I stare at her. "Too much?"

"Just a little. You're getting better, though." Kezia pats her on the back, not unkindly, before clicking her fingers again and falling back onto the plush sofa that materialises behind her. She grabs a piece of pizza and shoves it into her mouth. She moans in approval. "Wow, I see why you like pizza, Evie. This is amazing. I almost wish I could appreciate the taste more."

"What did I tell you?" I shrug as I throw myself down onto the opposite sofa. "Pizza is the best food in the world."

"You clearly haven't had my patented bread and butter pudding."

Kezia and I both turn to Calla. She blushes again.

"What? It's really good."

"You never told me you could cook." Kezia's still staring at Calla, surprise etched into her features. "How has that never been a topic of conversation? You make me cook for you all the time."

"I like watching you cook." Calla says softly. Kezia gives her a dry look, though I detect a hint of a smile turning the corners of her lips up.

"Are you using me for my body, Calla?"

"Kezia, you know I wouldn't..." Calla lowers her voice. "I wouldn't use you for your body."

My gaze darts between the two. A grin starts to appear. "What's going on, you guys?"

They both startle, as if they'd forgotten I was still there. Kezia, unashamedly, grins at me, while Calla hides her face in her hands.

"I don't know what you mean." Kezia shrugs nonchalantly. When Calla continues to stand there awkwardly, she rolls her eyes and tugs her down. "Sit down already, C. You're making it so much worse by just standing there."

"Okay, okay!" Calla squeaks, ungracefully tumbling down next to Kezia. Scowling at the smirking goddess, she huffs and takes a moment to re-compose herself. "You did not need to do that."

"Are you saying you don't like a little rough and tumble? Because I have to say, that's a dealbreaker."

My grin grows as I watch the two of them quibble. How did I not see this before?

"Kezia! Time and place, please." Calla mumbles, looking over at me very pointedly.

"What? She's the queen of the place; she was going to find out eventually. Either that or Hades was going to tell her."

"Kezia!"

"Calla no, it's okay." I smile reassuringly at her when she starts to get up. "Don't be embarrassed! I think it's amazing! How long have you two been together?"

"Wow, Sherlock! How did you figure it out?" Kezia gasps sarcastically, slapping her cheeks in mock shock. I give her a deadpan look. She grins. "Since you were in your coma, actually. She refused to leave your bedside, and I, well, I saw that as a challenge."

Calla abruptly jumps to her feet. Avoiding eye contact, she mumbles, "I... I have to go. There is... something I must attend to."

"Calla, wait, you know I was only joking —" Kezia tries to stop her, but Calla slips out of her reach and rushes out of the cottage. Kezia sighs, remorse washing over her usually mischievous features.

"I may have pushed too far there."

"Wait, where did she go?" I sit up straighter, glancing over my shoulder. The door swings shut, clicking into place with a bang. "Is she okay? Why did she leave? Was it something I said?"

"No. You were as awkwardly weird as usual." Kezia stares at the door soberly. "It's something I said."

My forehead furrows. "Should we go after her?"

Kezia shakes her head. "There isn't any point. She'll want to be alone, and whenever Calla wants to be alone you can't find her anywhere."

A sharp pang of familiarity stings my heart. Now who does that remind me of?

"Why does she want to be alone, though? I still don't understand what just happened, Kezia."

Kezia sighs as she gets to her feet. With a wave of her hand, the food disappears from sight, the cheery atmosphere dissolving along with it. She leans against the wooden counter and stares out of the window. "She wants to be alone because I got fed up with dancing around the truth around you, and decided to finally let you in on our little secret."

"Why?" My frown deepens. "I think it's incredible that you two are together! I mean sure, I'm still a little worried that you're going to eat my poor friend alive, but if anyone can have a good influence on you then it's her."

Kezia turns to arch an eyebrow at me. "Interesting choice of words there, Evie."

"What? Oh, god. Kezia!" Embarrassment stains my cheeks red as I glare at her. "Get your mind out of the gutter and stop dodging the question."

Kezia snickers. Then her expression sobers up. "You know me, I don't like beating around the bush with things. But Calla... well, Calla still struggles with being... open about her nature."

"Really?" Sympathy courses through me when she nods. "Why? She knows that I won't judge her, right?"

"Of course not, Evie. You're a normal human being, and normal human beings don't judge each other for who they love. If that was the case, I would be judging you hard for who you've chosen to love." Kezia retorts. I give her a deadpan look, which she just throws back in my face. "I think that you're forgetting when Calla grew up, Evie. Her experience as a young, black woman living in Victorian England wasn't exactly the easiest, particularly when you throw in the fact that her preferred sexuality didn't exactly conform to her society's ideals. She grew up being told not only that her dark skin made her a slave or a glorified servant, but also that her feelings were essentially heresy just because she loved women over men. Can you blame her for being nervous about other people finding out, when the last time someone found out about her sexuality they literally killed her?"

Shock grips my spine with an icy fist. My voice comes out barely louder than a whisper. "That's how she died?"

"She didn't tell you?" I shake my head, and Kezia sighs again. Guilt steals through her expression for the third time in five minutes. "Then I've said too much, again. Sweet Salem, I'm on a role today."

"I don't understand. Why did they kill her just because of her sexuality? Did they meet Calla?"

"Why did they hang women just for sneezing funny?" Kezia shoots back. "The world wasn't as accepting as it is now, Evie, particularly towards women and even more so towards someone like Calla. But that's all I'm going to say on the matter. If you want to know more, you need to talk to Calla about it, not me. It's not my story to tell."

"Yeah, you're right." I let out a long breath and run a hand through my hair as I process it all. My heart goes out to my gentle-mannered friend. I hadn't even thought there might be a reason as to why she was so quiet and softly spoken, and now I knew, I felt like an idiot for not putting two and two together. Even worse, I felt like a terrible friend, for not even considering what she might have had to endure while she was alive.

Kezia catches a look at my expression, and squeezes my shoulder assuringly. "She's okay now, Evie. Hades has always made sure to treat her with as much care and respect as he would me or anybody else that works in this palace, and he has a deal with her that she can leave whenever she wants to. She's here because she wants to be, and she's never once complained about you or the way you've treated her. She's happier now than she ever was when she was alive."

"Okay." I nod at her, smiling gratefully. "I hope you know though, if you ever hurt her I will kill you."

"You'll kill me? That's cute." Kezia raises an eyebrow. "That's a lot tamer than what I have in store for you if you ever hurt her."

I narrow my eyes for a moment, before we both crack a grin.

"You're alright, Evie." Kezia slaps me on the back. "I'm sure she'll come find you at some point before tomorrow. Try not to worry too much before then."

"Tomorrow? What's happening tomorrow?"

"Oh, you don't know yet, do you?" Kezia cackles at my confused expression and winks. "You'll find out soon enough. For now, though, let's—"

She pauses, her expression smoothing out as she stares blankly into space. After a few beats of dead silence, she blinks and focuses on me.

"Change of plans, your majesty. Looks like our time together is up." A grin worms its way onto her lips as a knock immediately follows her words. She strides forward and opens the door, revealing a familiar, cloaked figure with a flourish. "Duty calls."