Page 15 of A Goddess Unraveled (Olympus Rising)

It was after one o’clock when Lexi finally snuck into the estate and discovered a text from Mara waiting on her cell phone:

Are you enjoying the graduation merriment?

Lexi needed a hot shower before tackling that conversation, and after she’d washed away the salt from the sea and her angry tears, she sat on her bed in an oversized T-shirt and typed out a response.

Crazy weekend so far. You won’t believe it when I tell you. Unfortunately, I can’t tell you the craziest part

Because no one would believe it.

She figured Mara would be in bed, even on a Saturday night, so she didn’t expect a reply until morning. The girl rarely gave into urges past the ones involving overly sweet desserts. Lexi wasn’t in the mood for talking anyway. The only person she couldn’t stop thinking about was Luke, also known as Hades. So, not a person. A god.

It was going to take a while for that revelation to sink in. But a bunch of things made more sense now, like her parents’ ridiculously large collection of books about the Greek gods making bad choices. She was tempted to go downstairs and grab everything she could find on Hades, although how much of it would be the truth?

She really didn’t want to hate him. He hadn’t been involved in the years-long betrayal that led up to the big reveal in her dad’s study, and that meant something. Had they kept her in the dark about the ambassador families because they didn’t want her to figure things out? Were they expecting her to marry one of these sons of ambassadors? Wouldn’t those boys need to stay and serve the gods from their own estate? Maybe those families had kids to spare, like James.

Ugh .

And how could she deny the show put on by the misfits? It was one thing to claim to be a god, but it was quite another to command nature or shape-shift into something else. It seemed the books had gotten that part right. Was it some kind of pagan magic? She’d seen incredible feats of magic performed before, but it was all done onstage where the illusions could be hidden. When she wasn’t so pissed off, she would have to ask.

Despite her exhaustion Lexi couldn’t shut off her brain, and after tossing and turning for a while, she decided that some light reading wasn’t a bad idea. She might as well learn something, even if the myths had been watered down by humans.

The soft glow of ambient light led her to the bottom of the stairs, although she didn’t need it. She just needed her ears to hear if the staff was still awake. They had tells: a creaking door, the running of a faucet, hushed whispers. Lucky for her, the whole mansion seemed to have powered down.

She stood in front of the bookshelf, but her body was pulling her to the other side of the estate, where the guests slept. Was Hades tucked in? Asleep and dreaming of things only gods dreamed of? Was he dreaming of Persephone?

What had he said when she asked about his relationship status? I’m not currently engaged in a romantic relationship . If certain parts of that myth were true, Persephone would be in Olympus now.

The sly dog.

Abandoning the bookshelf, she crept across the house, stopping to listen at the kitchen door. Chef Lorraine would often wake up after dreaming of a recipe and have to check if the ingredients were available. However, not even the obsessive chef seemed to be stirring.

The hallway led her into the guest wing, and she slowed to a stop in front of the room where the god of the underworld slept. No sound came from there either. Did gods snore? Did they even sleep? Surely their bodies operated similarly to humans, since they were just humans with godly powers.

What would Hades think if he knew she was creeping around like a stalker? Would he swing the door wide and invite her in? Would she say yes? The idea of being intimate with him now left a different taste on her tongue than before she’d learned the truth. She had kissed Hades. Desired him. Wanted to sleep with him.

Damn .

Lexi left him to do whatever a god did at night and returned to the bookshelf. She had read most of the stories about Hades and Persephone, but now that she knew the gods really existed . . . She startled at a noise behind her. It wasn’t a loud noise, like a crash. It was the soft brush of feet against floor tiles. When she turned, Hades was standing at the glass doors to the patio, taking in the view.

A smile came to her despite the rawness of her wounds. It was probably just because he’d decided not to put on a shirt before he left his room. Whether or not that was by design, she wouldn’t let his bare skin seduce her. Their relationship had been damaged, and no amount of sex appeal could change that. She told herself this as he spoke to the glass.

“I didn’t think I would see you again until breakfast. And maybe not even then.”

“Really? You didn’t think I would plan some extravagant way to exact my revenge on everyone?”

A smile tweaked his lips, and he brought his face around to share it with her as she walked over. “Would you think less of me if I had?”

“I suppose I couldn’t. From what I’ve read, the gods spend a lot of time planning their revenge. Unless the humans got that wrong too.”

“No. That part’s right.”

Lexi swayed slightly, which could have been exhaustion, or it could have been the moon’s reflection shining through the glass and highlighting the contours of his face. He certainly had the bone structure of a god, and she held her attention there instead of letting her eyes drift to the structure of his bare chest.

“I understand why you couldn’t tell me the truth about your real identity. So I’m not going to hold that part against you.”

“I’m relieved to hear that.”

“I probably wouldn’t have believed you anyway.”

“No doubt.”

“It would have been nice to have had a heads-up about the whole servant-to-the-gods bit. But I don’t see how preparing for that would have benefited either of us. So—” She met his eyes, letting herself be taken in so she could look for something that might reveal an illusion. Something about the set of his lips, slightly parted as if anticipating the next words she would speak, and the softness in his gaze, reassured her. “Can we maybe try to start fresh?”

“I’m willing to do whatever it takes for you to feel better about us. Would you like to start now or wait until morning?”

Lexi gestured to the couch and shuffled over to it. As Hades followed, whether he knew it or not, their proximity kept her warm. Was that part of his godly nature? A soothing balm for the souls he welcomed into his domain? Hopefully he covered his bare chest when he greeted them. It had her heart racing, even as she tried to avoid looking at it.

“I need you to fill me in on a few things,” she said as they tucked into the cushions. “You told me that you help people make end-of-life decisions. How true is that?”

“I believe it to be true. It’s my job to help mortals transition from the life they’ve always known to the afterlife. Many are confused, and some don’t even realize they’re dead. Each one requires a different approach to help them move on.”

“What happens when you’re not there to help them? Like now?”

“There are other gods who assist. Hecate usually takes up the post. There’s also Melinoe and Thanatos, although neither of them are gifted in compassion nor subtlety. You’re familiar with these gods, I’m sure.” He pointed to the crowded bookshelf. “Despite a few grievous exaggerations due to mortal ignorance and the passage of time, the gods and their duties are well represented. We used to roam the human realm freely.”

“Did we get your powers right?”

“For the most part, yes. It’s a combination of nature and will, although our power is less potent here.”

“That seems logical.” Lexi appreciated when things made sense, and she scooted closer to him as his answers reignited her interest, and perhaps her trust. “Do you like your job? I might have asked this before, but the context has changed.”

He smiled. “It took time for me to find my stride. To be honest, I was a brute back then. Resentful more than helpful. None of my peers were interested in spending time in the underworld, so I had very little support in the early years. But, eventually, I realized the benefits of being a god outweighed the sacrifices I made to fulfill my duties. That’s the long answer. The short answer is, I’ve made peace with it.”

“It sounds like the stories about you being a troublemaker came from those early years. Did you hate being in the underworld because it was so unpleasant?”

“Actually, that’s where mortals have it wrong. They paint a grim picture of the underworld because they have a grim picture of death. It’s not the dark and fearful place they’ve imagined. There are flowering fields, pristine rivers, and wildlife unlike anything you have here. The only thing it doesn’t have is an ocean, not anymore.”

“Wow. So you come here to skinny-dip in the ocean then?” She delivered the full-fat version of a smirk, and he laughed.

“That’s not the only reason I visit.”

“Then why do you visit? Wait, let me guess. You enjoy talking to humans who are still living?”

“That’s a large part of why I do it. Mortals have a completely different outlook on life because they know it’s finite.”

“Well, I’m glad you chose to visit this ocean. My dad used to call me his little minnow because I was always swimming. Which reminds me, is this your true form? That trick Diana—I mean Artemis—pulled in the study was the tipping point for me. But I’ve read that she’s not the only one who can shape-shift.”

Lexi blocked out any images that weren’t helpful and swore she wouldn’t judge him harshly regardless of his answer. Or the size of his hooves.

“Yes, this is my true form. I’ll always maintain the health and vitality of a thirty-year-old human in mortal years. But I can also take the form of a dog, which comes in handy during my visits to Tartarus.”

“Tartarus is real too? I think I’ll skip the pits-of-hell conversation. Oh wait, was that insensitive?”

He leaned in and swept a strand of hair off her face. Tonight he smelled like frankincense and myrrh. “I’m not offended. Everyone calls it hell. Sometimes even I do. Any more burning questions?”

The wall clock was suddenly the loudest thing in the room as Lexi fell into his eyes, not caring how far down the bottom was. “I have a million, but I’m not sure I want to know the answers to all of them.”

“We have time.”

He reached his arm across her back and tucked her into his shoulder, being careful of her bruises. His breath warmed the crown of her head, and just like that, her worries floated away on a cloud. Unfortunately, not every worry, but she let the moment stretch while she wrestled with the question that she knew needed to come next.

“Okay, I have to ask the obvious one. What about Persephone? I assume you two are still a couple.”

His chest lifted, as if preparing for a sigh, and he released his breath as he spoke. “Yes. Although she is only at the palace three months of the year. Hers is a special case, as you know.”

“So, when you’re not together in a romantic relationship, you see other people? Or other gods?”

“Many of us do, yes.”

“I guess immortality makes it difficult to stay committed to just one.”

“Commitment can mean many things. And I’m not saying that to justify anything. The immortals simply live by rules that are slightly askew from mortals’.”

Lexi knew she was sliding down a slippery slope, but she needed a clear conscience before taking her infatuation any further.

“Are you using your powers to seduce me?”

He pressed his cheek to her head, as if he wanted to feel her one last time before dashing her hopes. “All gods possess enhanced qualities over their human counterparts. Our heightened senses. Our command of an audience. Our natural ability to excel at every challenge we accept. But we don’t possess an inhuman power to manipulate free will. Whatever feelings you have toward me are purely your own.”

“All right, then. Good to know. I probably should have led with that question.”

Hades stifled his laughter against her hair. “These are all great questions. I’ve noticed you look at life based on how you imagine it serving you. That’s a healthy outlook. And I don’t say that to just anyone.”

“I don’t know if that’s a compliment, coming from someone who talks to dead people all the time.”

His body shook with more contained laughter, and Lexi leaned into his warmth, resting her cheek on his bare chest where his pulse thumped in a comforting rhythm. If this was free will, she didn’t seem to be in control of it. In fact, she realized that his recently upgraded status to immortal had made him more desirable.

“Your heartbeat makes you seem more human,” she said. “And I don’t mean that in a bad way.”

“You bring out the human in me, which is a precarious position for a god. But, with you, I don’t mind.”

Lexi took advantage of the intimate moment, despite the possibility that they could be discovered. She didn’t want to think too hard about the gravity of her situation, being infatuated with the god of the underworld. She also didn’t really care if they were discovered.

Hades’s fingers drifted up and down her arm, grazing the contour of her breast with each pass, and she wondered if he felt her arousal under the fabric of her shirt. Would he consider their current location “secret”? Probably not.

Surely he knew that if anyone had seen them—anyone of consequence—the alarm would have sounded already. How much time did they have before he left for Asia? Did he believe he was no longer obligated to stay for support? As far as she was concerned, the scene in the study had just been a skirmish. Her battle was far from over.

“I wish we could stay like this until morning,” she said.

“I would enjoy that.”

Lexi let her eyes close, pretending they were anywhere else but the estate. It wasn’t home. It wasn’t designed as one. It was a showplace. A house of mirrors, reflecting the glamour of the people inside. Had the gods been in control of that too? It was probably a good thing Hades didn’t spend much time around his peers. He wouldn’t have developed his humility.

A whisper brought Lexi out of her thoughts, and she blinked to find herself alone on the couch with Hades crouched beside her.

“Lexi, you need to go to bed.” He spoke softly, like he hated to wake her, and she lifted her head off a cushion that wasn’t there before.

“Did I fall asleep?”

“You did. And I was enjoying it so much I didn’t realize we had been discovered until it was too late.” He glanced past Lexi’s shoulder, and she turned to find Cherry standing behind the couch.

“Don’t worry, Miss Maxwell,” said the woman as she tucked her messy blond hair under her sleeping cap. “I won’t breathe a word.”