the gift of immortality

reached the bare skin on the back of my neck. I could feel the cool metal against my fingertips and unfastened the clasp. Keeping my gaze locked on the key, I placed it on the table. I should've known that this was made by Hades, the Helm of Darkness should've been a clue.

"I don't understand," I murmured, sliding my gaze to my father and Persephone. "Why would the Queen need the key to the Underworld? And wasn't this key given to the Hellenicus centuries ago?" The more I thought about it, the more confused I became. "Queen Rhea couldn't possibly be alive. I mean, her soul always lives on through different bodies every time she was born to earth but she wouldn't be Rhea back then, right?" I rolled my eyes. "Unless of course, her name was also Rhea back then but my point is, they can't be the same person."

Persephone folded her arms across her chest and wiggled her eyebrows, enjoying the fact that she knew more than me. "Actually they can."

I lifted one quizzical brow. "How?"

"Isn't it obvious, Izzy?" mused Persephone. "It's because she's immortal."

My jaw dropped. "What?"

"She lives throughout the centuries, using the same body," She reached for her wine glass and twirled her wrist, making the content spiraling inside, "looking exactly the same. Almost like gods and goddesses except the fact that she doesn't have any power."

Using my thumb and forefingers, I massaged the bridge of my nose. All of this information was overwhelming and confusing at the same time.

"Okay. Let's just say Queen Rhea is immortal," I placed my hand flat on the table and swallowed, "doesn't matter whether she was bitten by a vampire or did a satanic ritual." Hades chuckled. "That still doesn't answer why she needs the key to the Underworld." He was about to answer when I quickly held up one hand and added, "I have one additional question."

Hades smiled. "What is it, dear?"

"Can an immortal even procreate?" I asked curiously. From what I'd watched from TVD and Supernatural (I wouldn't admit ever watching Twilight), they didn't. Except for Klaus but like the show always reminded the viewers, it was one of the nature loopholes. I wondered if Scarlet was just like Hope.

"Well, she does have a daughter, doesn't she. So yes, immortals can procreate just like gods can." He took a drink from his cup and swallowed. "Who do you think the person that lives here in the Underworld that she'd like to meet?"

"Scarlet?" By the look my father was giving me, he wanted me to think harder. "No. Not Scarlet," I corrected. "Scarlet died a few months ago but you gave the key to her centuries ago." I dropped my gaze to my hand resting on my lap.

Who was it? Who was the person the Queen would like to meet here? I watched the blue veins in my wrist and suddenly remembered Vladimir. When I'd been here, he'd tried so many times to kill himself so he could join me.

"The pain and suffering of losing one's soulmate are so unbearable that death didn't seem like a bad option."

It took me a while but I finally figured it out. "Could it be," I hesitated for a moment, "her soulmate?"

"Exactly!" Hades beamed, looking like a proud parent. "She comes here every seven years to see him even though the meeting only lasts for seven seconds."

"Seven seconds?" I yelled and quickly covered my mouth with one hand. "That's so short. How can someone satisfy the seven years of longing in seven seconds?"

Hades put one hand on top mine on the table and squeezed gently. "It is better than nothing, Avery."

"Yeah," I agreed. "But that's hardly enough for a conversation or a decent hug."

Persephone shook her head and tried to keep the sadness out of her voice when she said, "she can't touch him. The living can't touch the dead and vice versa."

I blinked rapidly, trying my best to refrain the tears from falling. Hades, knowing that I was about to cry, ran his thumb over my knuckles repeatedly.

"His body was left on earth, sweetheart," he explained. "Only his soul was sent here and no one can touch the souls."

I choked on a sob, and squeezed my eyes shut against an onslaught of tears. "That's so sad."

"It is," he nodded briefly. "It took decades before the rebirth."

Every time a soul was sent to the Underworld, it would stay here for a certain amount of time, which was determined by the judges of the dead (Minos, Rhadamanthus, and Aeacus) depending on their actions in its last life on earth.

As Lady Isabella Stavros, I was born in 1849 and died in 1867 but it was not until one hundred and fifty years later, in 1999, that I was reborn as Avery. The biggest wrongdoing that I'd done was betraying Icarus' trust by having a relationship with Jonathon, yet I was punished to spend one hundred and fifty years. Although for me, it didn't feel a punishment since I got to spend time with my father and Persephone.

While other souls had to suffer through expiation and purge by The Erinyes (also known as the Furies: Alecto, Megaera, and Tisiphone), my father only had to touch the center of my forehead, taking my memory away and keeping it safe until my next visit. He usually kept it in a jar by the door and when my soul fled through that door, the memory would find me and return by itself.

Last time, the memory oddly didn't greet me and my father had to pull something in order for me to remember. It still bothered me why I'd forgotten about Vladimir even for a moment back then but now was not the right time to bring this up.

It was probably a glitch, I thought dismissively. Every site suffered a glitch at least once in its lifetime, maybe my memory had had a glitch.

"You've been awfully quiet," commented my father.

I jerked my head up and realized that all eyes were on me. "I'm sorry."

A warm smile slid on his face and he wrapped one arm around my shoulder. "There's nothing to be sorry about," he said kindly.

My back straightened as a question popped into my head. "Pa," I shifted in my seat to face him. "Why did Dionysus save me? I mean," I swallowed nervously. "I'm glad that he did but I wonder why he did it. I didn't even know he exists until today."

"Said the girl who claimed she had watched both Percy Jackson movies." Persephone clicked her tongue and shook her head.

First was Vlad and now Persephone. I fought the urge to groan in frustration while putting a mental note to rewatch those movies again the minute I got back to earth. Of course, provided that there weren't a bunch of people waiting to chase me down to the end of the earth.

"Dionysus took a human form and spent time protecting Rhea. Even with the gift of immortality, a Hellenicus can still die, just like the others," my father continued.

"Wait, so Zeus' son, this wine god," I watched Persephone glare disapprovingly at how I carelessly called her half-brother in the corner of my eye but chose to ignore it. "Dion-whatever came to earth as a human to protect Rhea? Why?"

Persephone answered my question, "because his father asked him to, duh. More like he ordered him, to be blunt." She let out an exasperated sigh. "He's just being a good son who can't decline his father's request."

I nodded thoughtfully. From what I'd heard, the Thunder God had a bad temper and was unpredictable. Just like when Prometheus had raided the workshop of Hephaistos and Athena on Mount Olympus, stolen the fire and given it to humans, Zeus sent an eagle to eat his liver as he was helplessly chained to a rock. Even worse, the liver re-grew every night and the eagle returned each day to perpetually torment Prometheus.

What kind of sick cousin did that?

If it wasn't because of Hercules, who rode past the place during his celebrated labors and killed the eagle with one of his arrows, Prometheus would still be there until now.

Maybe Persephone's half-brother found it easier to simply did what was requested of him.

"You've met him," added Persephone, drawing my attention back to her. "He has been around you since you got back from here, Izzy."

I gave it a thought. "Klas?" I didn't think it was him since he didn't look god-like but he had been around me these last couple days. "Flint?"

My father shook his head. "Spyridon."

I immediately recalled what Queen Rhea had said a few days ago in the palace.

"You've been so loyal, Spyridon, too loyal. But now, I need you to have the same loyalty in serving her. Don't let anything happen to Lady Stavros no matter what. We need her. She's our people's only hope."

"But why did Zeus send him to protect Queen Rhea? Was it because she's a Christoulakis? How did she gain immortality in the first place?" I had so many questions in my head as I continued to put them into words, "more importantly, why did she order him to protect me? And why did he obey her order considering his job was to protect her by all means? Isn't he afraid of his father's fury?"

No one replied for one full minute until a deep, hoarse voice answered my last question, "clearly he's not."

My eyes darted towards where the voice came from. The hairs on the back of my neck stood up as I watched the tall, well-built man stood by the door. His shoulder length hair brushed the shoulder of his tuxedo as he was walking towards our table with penetrating blue eyes locked on mine, making me quiver and wish the floor would crack and swallow me whole. Perhaps the word 'man' I had used to describe him was considered an insult because he was not just a man. He was the Lord of the Sky.