"Okay," I started, panting as I doubled over and rested my hands on my knees. "If I win this one, you have to abandon your duties for an entire day and take me somewhere interesting."

"And what would you like to do if I win?" Hades laughed breathlessly, the sound echoing around the training room that was hidden in the depths of the palace.

There were a lot of things I'd like to do with Hades, or to Hades, but I didn't dare say that. "That's entirely up to you."

Hades thought for a moment and watched me, taking in my sweaty and tired appearance. "You'll have to accompany me with my duties and see how positively boring it is."

"That's more than fair."

I didn't know what I had originally expected of Hades' fighting abilities, but she was nearly as well-trained as Athena. We had been sparring for several hours and I was exhausted, though I had bested or tied with Hades several times.

Lately, I had taken to spending as much time with Hades as was possible, because I was able to dismiss Daeira with little argument. Though I had certainly grown to like Daeira, there was only so much constant supervision I could take. She reminded me of what a mortal mother would be like, how she watched over me and scolded me when I engaged in risky behavior.

She absolutely hated it when I played with fire in the fireplaces or torches, but there was nothing she could do except watch in horror and fear that I would burn the palace down, though I assured her most of it was made of stone and I doubted the fire would do much of anything.

I had gained even more control since the day in Hades' bedroom and I could now make fire depictions of people. One of Daeira's favorites was when I would make a flame Markos that would soundlessly yell until his head grew too large and exploded. My favorite was my Hades, which would slowly dance to unheard music and when I was alone, I'd make a miniature of me dance with her.

Every time I saw Hades, my heart somehow fluttered and ached at the same time. I had grown so attached to her, hung on her every word and movement, and I was acutely aware of how irrational it was. Guilt haunted me every time I woke up in the middle of the night after a dream of her because I thought she deserved better than to be thought of in such a way.

Hades offered me a cup of water that pulled me from the increasingly depressing thoughts while we rested before the final match. While it was tempting to pour it directly onto my chest, I resigned myself to drinking it like a dignified person.

"You fight a lot better than I thought you would, Persephone. Athena must have been rigorous with her training."

I laughed, thinking back to all the early mornings and late nights with Athena guiding my limbs into proper formations and stances, her determination and patience as she had to show me the forms again and again, and how once I was old enough, she finally fought with me. "Yes, you could say that. She did not always make it easy for me."

"It's worth it, though. It brings me joy knowing you can defend yourself should the need ever arise. I hope it doesn't and that you can stay safe here, with me, forever." Hades turned away before she finished, her voice quiet.

"Forever?" I echoed, her words bringing a glimmer of hope for my lost cause. "You know, Daeira once asked me if I would ever leave if given the chance for it to be safe."

"What did you say?"

"What do you think I said? I could never leave this place, not forever. I care for you too much to do such a thing, as well as the rest of your family."

"Our family," Hades corrected quickly.

I didn't bother arguing with her. Regardless of what she thought, I was still just a guest, and my time in the Underworld, nearing two months, only proved my point.

Hades seized my hand and I sucked in a quick breath as I looked at her. Hades only stood and pulled me with her, saying, "Let's finish this last match before I collapse from exhaustion."

I was crestfallen, but the possibility of Hades taking an entire day away from her duties as ruler of the realm to spend time with me lifted my spirits.

Then the same dance we had been doing for hours began again, and I couldn't say I didn't enjoy it: footwork perfectly placed, movements perfectly timed, metal clanging as it stuck shield and sword, damp cloth clinging to skin, and Hades' body colliding with mine as we tried to match blow for blow.

I lunged at Hades when I saw an opening, but she blocked my sword at the last moment and pushed forward, throwing me off balance. All it took was a moment before she tripped me and I fell backwards, my shield clattering away as I landed on the ground.

Hades grinned as she stood above me, her sword at my throat.

I could feel the body heat radiating out of her leg, pinpointing its exact location. Without looking down, I hooked my foot around the back of her knee and pulled.

Her eyes widened, but it was too late. She fell forward and had to abandon her sword and shield to free her hands. She caught her fall roughly, with her hands on either side of me.

I glanced down at the invisible space between our bodies, her chest heaving against my own and chafing the fabrics of our chitons, and how her knee was between my thighs. Achingly, I brought my eyes up to her face and stared at how her lips were slightly parted, but I couldn't bring myself to look at her eyes.

I had to win.

With my free hand, I grabbed her waist and felt her inhale sharply above me, flipping us over. I held her down with my knee between her thighs, pinning the fabric of her chiton to the ground. My free hand moved to hold one of her arms above her head, and my sword went to her throat. Only then did I let myself look into her eyes.

They were wide, and Hades was still breathing heavily. My face was so close to hers that I could feel her breaths puff against my cheeks. "I seem to be in a very compromising position."

"You do," I agreed softly, threw my sword away, and removed my hand from her wrist, but I was watching how her lips moved to form the words. I could have easily leaned forward to close the small space between us, how my heart hammered in my chest not from exertion, but from her and how badly I wanted to kiss her, to show what my words of caring and gratitude meant. "I won."

Hades made no move to get away from me, because she was watching me, too. "What if I let you win?"

Hades' fingertips skimmed up the skin of my thigh lightly and settled on my hip, the pressure of them burning holes into my very being. I moved my hand to touch Hades' hair and then her collarbone to feel her pulse racing under my touch. I thought about feeling her pulse with my mouth instead of my fingers. I wanted so badly to place my lips against her flawless skin and taste her like I had so many times in my dreams. Leaning forward with every intention of finally kissing her, but I tore myself away from her at the last moment.

"I would say thank you, but argue that I would have gladly accompanied you to your duties."

Hades sighed as she stood and stretched. "Well, that was quite fun, wasn't it?"

"Have any ideas where you're going to take me?" I poured water into cups for the both of us and offered one to Hades.

She smiled over the edge of the cup at me. "A few."

"I'm intrigued."

"It's going to be a surprise, and don't think I'll cave and tell you."

I laughed. "I'm sure you won't."

"Were you being serious about wanting to accompany me to..."

"Of course I was. I'm new, and I still find everything interesting."

"I'm sure the experience will be enlightening for you, then." Hades threw back her head and laughed. "Come, let's rinse off the sweat."

"Where?" I asked quickly, a small part of me thinking she might be taking me back to her room.

"There's a bathing chamber in the next room." She nodded in its direction.

"Do you have everything in this palace of yours?" I chuckled and shook my head slowly.

"Probably, and twice over, too," Hades laughed again. "What can I say? It gets boring here and Hestia gives good advice for construction, though I like to think after all my practice I've become an adept architect."

"At creating mazes, maybe," I teased, but followed her into a bathhouse.

It was dim, with only a few torches lining the room, but it was warm. The bath itself was a long rectangular pool, but in the dim light it looked black, so the depth was indeterminable. The water was bubbling and steam wafted to the ceiling, making the room look hazy. There was a pile of towels and fresh clothes neatly stacked on a table that had more food and drink.

"I see you came prepared."

"I had Markos and Daeira arrange everything this morning. Do you like it?"

"It's wonderful!"

While I had been looking around the room, Hades had taken off her chiton. I gasped silently and turned my face away immediately. Hades hadn't seen me because her pale back and everything below it was turned to me.

"Persephone?" Her question forced me to look back at her and I had to concentrate very hard at just looking at her face. "This doesn't bother you, does it? I thought it was common in Olympus."

I felt like I could barely breathe so I croaked, "No, it doesn't bother me."

In fact, it did practically everything except bother me.

My throat and my chest were being crushed by invisible forces. A longing so sharp and visceral rose inside me and forced the air from my lungs as I watched Hades step into the bath. A part of me wanted to scream.

"Aren't you going to get in?" Hades sat on some invisible bench under the surface of the pool. It made the water come up to her throat, but the water wasn't as opaque as I thought it had been.

"Yes, just give me a moment." I snapped into stiff action as I busied myself with drinking more water and eating a couple pieces of fruit.

The damp fabric of my chiton clung to my skin as I peeled it off, internally cursing myself at my situation. The last thing I wanted was for Hades to see my naked body and how it responded to her without my consent, but I couldn't avoid it. I just slipped into the bath as quickly as possible.

I wanted to avoid looking at Hades, but that was an impossible task when every fiber of my being sung in her presence. She lathered herself in soap and I watched as beads of water raced down her skin, how her bones shifted their angles as she moved, and how her hair was darker than a raven as it plastered itself to her shoulders and chest.

"You're being awfully quiet, Persephone. Is something wrong?" Hades asked when she was finished rinsing off.

"I'm just tired, and sore." I chuckled nervously as I busied myself with washing my hair.

"Come here then." Hades skimmed her hand across the top of the water next to her.

"Why?"

"You're so resistant today, Persephone!" Hades laughed. "Just come here!"

I swam over to her, previously having made sure there was quite a distance between us, apprehensively. I was quiet as I took my place next to her.

Hades hummed a light chuckle and turned me away from her by my shoulders. I sat as still as a statue as I waited to realize what she was going to do. She fit her left leg between mine and the side of the pool and dangled her right off the edge of the smooth bench as she pulled me by my waist closer to her. I was painfully aware of the sensation of the inside of her thighs pressing into my hips. She swept my hair away from my back and began kneading the muscles in my shoulders.

I bit back a moan.

This was somehow simultaneously every single fantasy and nightmare I had ever contemplated. I was between Hades' thighs, naked, and she was touching me, but she had no idea how I felt about her.

She rested her chin on my shoulder briefly, her chest pressed against my back. "Is this okay?"

I wished my voice hadn't sounded so strained when I answered her, but it did. "It's... fine. Thank you."

Her deft hands moved down my spine, achingly slow, and as she spread her fingers across my upper back, her fingertips brushed against the side of my breast by accident.

I inhaled sharply as my skin broke out into goosebumps, despite the heat of the bath, and the heat Hades and I were creating. This was exactly what I didn't want to have happen and I was sure she noticed, though she said nothing.

I desperately tried to think of anything that could distract me from thinking of what I wanted to do to Hades, of how I wanted to turn around and press my lips to her mouth, to breathe her in and taste her tongue. My fingers itched to touch her skin instead of being balled into tight fists on my lap, which pulsed and ached like the rest of me. I envisioned myself doing all those things, along with pushing her up against the side of the bath and kissing and tasting every inch of her until my soul no longer hurt.

"Persephone, what are you thinking about?"

"Nothing," I replied, too quickly, but raised my hands in the air and pulled the fire from the nearest torch and suspended it above our heads as I broke it into several individual flames. Further concentration shaped them into candlesticks, complete with tiny flickering flames topping them.

Hades rested her chin on my shoulder and sighed softly into my ear, unknowingly pressing her breasts to my back again. "You're getting quite good at that, you know."

"I've been practicing."

"It takes quite a bit of concentration to be able to manipulate several separate flames."

"I'm aware of that," I murmured breathlessly.

Hades wrapped her arms around my waist securely, but her chin never moved from my shoulder. "This is nice, isn't it?"

I tried to relax into her, to let myself savor the feel of her body wrapped around mine. I loved this so much more than Hades probably knew. "Very nice," I agreed, trying to maintain the candles. They were starting to waver.

When I felt Hades remove her chin and press her lips into my shoulder, the shreds of concentration I had been clinging to were ripped away from me.

The flames dropped into the water, except for the one in front of me that I reached out to catch.

Hades cried, "Persephone, it will burn you!"

I had already caught it, and it was circling in my palm harmlessly. I turned back to show her. "This fire doesn't burn me."

She pursed her lips and narrowed her eyes unhappily. "I don't even want to know how you discovered that."

"Trial and error?" I laughed sheepishly.

Before Hades could reply, there was a knock on the stone. "Lord Hades, my lady, Markos sent me down here to retrieve you."

Hades sighed. "Is it that time already? I was dreading this."

I flung the flame out of my hand and back onto the torch before helping Hades out of the bath and handing her a towel. "What do you have to do?"

She spoke as she dried off her hair. "I have to visit the Hekatonkheires. It's been awhile since I've met with them."

"Who are they?"

"They are known as the Hundred-Handed Ones and are the guardians of Tartarus, giants more powerful than the Titans. Uranus had imprisoned them in Tartarus before our time and Cronus decided to keep them there when he came into power, but Zeus freed them. They fought with us during the Titanomachy and gladly accepted the position we offered them in Tartarus. I cannot blame them."

"One hundred hands?"

"And fifty heads."

"How do they even fit?"

Hades laughed at my comment and finished toweling off her skin, slipping into a clean black peplos. "I've never quite seen them all, actually. It's quite dark down there, as well as many other unpleasant adjectives. I dread visiting the place."

"Do you want me to..."

"Absolutely not," Hades cut me off immediately. "You know I don't mean to keep anything from you, Persephone, but Tartarus is a terrible place and even I can hardly bear it. I don't want you to see it, not yet."

I didn't argue with her, but grabbed her hand before she left. "Please stay safe."

She squeezed my hand to assure me. "I always am, but I will make an effort to be even more careful, since you wish it."

"Thank you."

She slipped her hand from mine. "I had a lovely day with you, Persephone. I hope we can find the time to do it again." She smiled, but instead of it being sweet, I thought there might have been something more as I heard her footsteps fading away into the distance.

Daeira patiently waited for me to collect my thoughts and my belongings before following me out. My skin was still burning from everywhere Hades had touched and my soul was singing because of it.

* * *

I couldn't sleep.

Every time I closed my eyes, I felt Hades' lips pressing against my shoulder, or her thighs warm against mine, and saw her full breasts grazing the top of the rippling water as she moved and beckoned me closer.

I threw back the covers suddenly and with a quick close of my fist, the fire in my hearth was put out. I even felt like I was on fire myself.

Sleep was useless, not when my mind was too busy fantasizing about Hades one moment and worrying about her in the next. It had been several hours since she left and she still hadn't returned.

I decided to go for a walk, much like I used to do when I couldn't sleep in Olympus. I slipped past Daeira's room silently on my way to the kitchen, having made up my mind where I wanted to go.

There was only one servant in the kitchens and they were startled to alertness when they saw me. "My lady!"

"Hello, do you know if Hades took her horses?"

"She didn't take them, no. Would you like some apples for them?"

"Yes, thank you very much." I waited patiently for them as I recounted the way to navigate Hades' palace to lead me to the stables.

They handed me a full bag, which I thanked them for, and went on my way. The walk was certainly lonelier than it was when I was with Hades, but seeing the horses gave me great joy, especially when it seemed like they were happy to see me.

I only took one of their apples to eat as I gave them the rest and stroked their sides. When they had finished eating, I took them out and one of them let me ride on their back as they galloped across the barren hills of the Underworld. I wasn't worried about where we were going because they knew the way back, and after a few hours, we returned. I slipped off its back, but during my ride, I began thinking about a problem.

I hated how I had to be accompanied by one of the gods if I wanted to visit anywhere that wasn't within walking distance of Hades' palace, which, other than the stables, was everywhere. Usually it was either Hecate or Hypnos, and they never complained and actually thanked me for giving them an excuse to take a break from whatever duties they had, but I hated relying on people in such a way. I wanted to be able to travel where I wanted and when I wanted.

If this place was to be my home, I'd rather it not be a prison.

So I attempted to travel like the chthonic deities did. I closed my eyes, tried to concentrate on a certain place and will myself there, but nothing happened. I repeated this multiple times until I was ready to cry from frustration.