Hades's Arc

Chapter 3 of 5

Hades came back to the lake with a book under his arm. He had chosen it himself, an old volume bound in blue and gold, its cover marked with Greek columns and owls. Elizabeth sat under the tree, writing in her notebook. She looked up and smiled, but her pen did not stop. "I brought you something," he said. He set the book in her hands. She ran her fingers over the cover. "Greek myths." She opened it and read a line, then closed it. "You keep coming back. But I don't know you. Not really." She met his eyes. "I want to know where you come from before this goes further." Hades sat beside her. He had hidden his name for weeks. Now she asked for it plainly. He could lie again, or he could risk the truth. "My name is Hades," he said. Elizabeth laughed once, short and dry. "Very funny." She tapped the book. "You saw what I read and picked a name to match. King of the dead. That's a lot to live up to." "I am not joking." "Prove it." He reached into his cloak and drew out a coin. It was old and worn, green and gray, stamped with a small boat. He pressed it into her palm. "The dead pay the ferryman with these. I carry one always." Elizabeth turned it over. She frowned. "A coin proves nothing." Hades pulled out a mirror next. Its frame was black iron, twisted like vines. He held it up. The glass did not show the tree or the sky. It showed a dark river winding through stone, with pale shapes standing in the water. Elizabeth leaned close. Her hand rose to her mouth. "That's moving." She looked at her own reflection missing from the glass, then at the river again. Her breath came faster. She did not run. "The Styx," Hades said. "My home lies past it." She set the mirror down with care. Her hands shook, but her voice stayed flat. "You're real." "I am." He watched her face. "Every mortal I meet runs from me. They feel the cold I carry and they flee. You did not. You are the only one who stayed." He paused. "I have thought of little else since. I care for you, Elizabeth. More than I meant to." Elizabeth was quiet. She looked at him. “Hades… god of the underworld. I have been falling for the god of the underworld.” She chuckles and shakes her head. “Of course.” She looks at him and takes his hand. “I want to see your world.”