“You’re amazing,” he whispers, stroking my back, looking down at me with love in his eyes. “You never give up. You always find a way for a happily ever after.”
“You’re pretty amazing yourself,” I remind him, rejoicing in the feel of his hands on me. Happy I’ll never have to leave his arms again. “I mean, what you did for your family… For all you knew, you could have been stuck in that jail cell for eternity. And yet you had no reservations.”
“I would have been, if it wasn’t for you,” he says, leaning down to kiss my cheek. “Oh, Rayne, I’ve been such a jerk. Such an idiot. I pushed you away when all you wanted to do was help me. And yet, you didn’t give up on me. Not even after I told you I never wanted to see you again.”
“Yeah, well, I can be just as stubborn as you,” I reply stoutly. “And you’re my blood mate. You’re stuck with me—no matter how far you try to run.”
“I promise I will never run again,” he assures me, gazing into my eyes with affection. “How can I ever repay you?” he asks. “For what you’ve done for me and my family?”
“Well, you can start by forgiving yourself,” I tell him. “No more Mr. Emo.”
He chuckles. “Can you believe that?” he asks softly. “All this time I’ve held onto such guilt for destroying my sister’s life. Little did I know she’s a lot more grown up than I gave her credit for.” He rubs his chin thoughtfully. “Seeing her down here, with my family, so glowing and happy, I realize I’ve wasted too many years wishing I could change things, when things are actually pretty great, just as they are.”
“Absolutely,” I agree. “And now we’ve just got to save my sister and live happily ever after.”
“I like the sound of that,” he agrees, pressing his lips against mine. “And I promise, no matter what happens, I’ll always be there for you. I’ll never push you away again.”
“Ditto,” I murmur, dissolving into his kiss, our mouths finding and loving one another with a passion I never thought possible.
29
For some reason, I thought Hades’s palace would look like something out of a Clash of the Titans movie. You know, all Acropolis looking, with marble floors and lots of white pillars and the like. Maybe even some royalty types lying on couches, being hand-fed grapes by their slaves. And, of course, lots of togas. But, as I should know by now, real life is nothing like the movies. And here is no exception. Instead, the palace is done up in a completely postmodern style, with crimson leather couches, glass tables, and art-deco chandeliers. Pretty sweet, I have to admit.
“You have a lovely home,” I say politely to Percy as we pass through yet another opulent living space on our way to meet her husband the next day.
“Please. You should have seen the disaster it was when I first moved in,” she replies, fanning her face with a well-manicured hand. “The place was totally Gothed out to the max. For some reason, my dear old husband had the idea that the Lord of the Dead should be a Hot Topic frequent shopper. He painted all the walls, floors, and ceilings black and even had a specially commissioned coffin couch. A used coffin couch.” She shudders. “I had my poor decorator murdered the moment I arrived so I could begin a total top-to-bottom makeover. It’s been years and it’s just starting to shape up now…”
Wow. I totally take all my compliments back. Coffin couches? Black walls? How cool is that? Hades sounds like my kind of bad guy.
We come to a small waiting room with two antique couches alongside each wall. On the far wall is a set of extremely ornate double doors with depictions of demons and other nightmarish creatures carved into the wood.
“See?” Percy points to the door. “There are obviously some things that still need to be replaced.” She pushes open the two doors and we follow her into a small, dark study. On the far side of the room, covering nearly the entire wall, sits the biggest TV screen I’ve ever seen. Beneath the TV, sits a nondescript, little old man, sporting two miniature horns on top of his balding head. My eyes widen as they take in his wrinkly, liver-spotted hands and grandpa trousers. Is this the big bad everyone’s so scared of?
And is he… I do a double-take… actually playing Vampires vs. Zombies?
“Um, hi, sweetie,” Percy addresses her husband in a saccharine-sweet voice. Now I can see why she’s hooking up with Hercules. “This is—”
“Damn it to hell!” Hades screams as a zombie proceeds to grab his vampire character and chomp its head off. He throws the controller across the room, where it smashes into about a hundred pieces. He whirls around in his cushy, black leather chair, giving his wife a death look. “How many times have I told you never to interrupt me when I’m playing my video games?”
Percy rolls her eyes. “About as many hours as you spend playing them,” she growls back, obviously not afraid of him. I cringe a little, waiting for his response.
Instead, the god just laughs and pats her on the arm. “Touché, wifey,” he replies before swiveling back around and taking a brand-new controller from the white-togaed slave who presents it to him. I wonder how many of these things he goes through in a week.
“I’m sorry, maybe you didn’t hear me,” Percy says louder. “I’ve brought some friends to talk to you.”
“They’ll have to come back,” Hades replies absently. “I’ve decided not to speak to anyone until I pass level twelve.” He hits “continue” on his game and the monitor springs back to life. His vampire reappears in the mall, hacking at the oncoming zombies with a machete. I remember this level from back home. It’s a real bitch.