"You look radiant tonight, Lexi. That dress compliments your complexion perfectly." 

Persephone greeted Lexi with a smile and a gracious gesture toward the chair opposite her. Lexi obliged, trying not to suspect Persephone's overt kindness as a ruse. Did Persephone believe Hades had induced Lexi's radiant complexion? Was her friendly smile merely a veil to hide her true feelings of bitter jealousy? If so, she was damn good at hiding it.

"Thank you. You look radiant, as well, my queen."

"That's because she is significantly pregnant," Hecate said as she reached across the table for a dinner roll. Hecate's hair was done up in its usual braided bun, but tonight she had fastened the twists with sprigs of rosemary from the enormous plants growing in her front yard. Hecate would never admit to it, but Lexi suspected she didn't appreciate having her lovely garden covered in snow.

"How is our young patient?" Lexi asked Hecate as the matronly goddess dipped her roll in honey.

"His wound is healing well, but his spirits are understandably low. I gave him a sedative and left him in the care of a nymph from the neighboring forest. She is familiar with the minotaur herd in that area. I believe she will help facilitate a conversation so we may reintroduce him."

"Oh, that's a relief. Do you suppose he will be raised by another female?"

"Most likely. He is sure to have a relative among the herd. In fact, if you had left him where he was, they would have returned for him."

Lexi bit her lip as she glanced down at her plate, which had already been filled with basil and goat cheese ravioli and smelled delicious. "Do you think Sella and I should have left him?"

"I believe you saved him from bleeding to death. Do not doubt your instincts, Lexi. They are your best compass and will lead you down the right path, even if the result is less than optimal. When we have stepped in enough manure, we eventually learn how to avoid it."

"More words of wisdom from the goddess who prescribes tinctures made from centaur piss," Kade said around a mouthful of food. "Don't tell her you have a rash on your ass."

"Watch your tongue, Kade, or you might find yourself molting the next time you try to use those wings you're so proud of," Hecate shot back.

Kade shrugged his indifference but said nothing more, and Persephone took over the conversation. "So, Lexi, I understand you are planning to visit Olympus to petition a cessation of the winter minotaur hunt."

Lexi lowered her fork just as she was about to take a bite of ravioli, glancing briefly at Hades. He made no effort to look up from the glass of wine in his hand. "Yes, I suppose I am."

"You suppose? You do not sound too sure of yourself," she said. "I suggest you prepare a good argument before you stand in front of Zeus. I am sure you're aware, he can be a tough god to reason with, as are many of them."

"I actually just made the decision a couple of hours ago, so I haven't given it much thought yet."

"Hmm, and did you make the decision in the throes of anger? In my experience, making important decisions when one is under the influence of strong emotions tends to lead us, as Hecate put it so eloquently, down a path littered with manure. Why don't you sleep on it and see if you feel the same in the morning?"

Persephone offered a respectful smile then turned her attention to her ravioli. Conversation appeared to be unnecessary after Persephone made her point, and Lexi had great difficulty enjoying her dinner under the crushing silence. By the end of the meal, Lexi felt like she had eaten one of the moss-covered stones from the bridge. Hades walked Persephone to her room, giving Lexi no clue as to whether she would see him again that evening, so she disappeared into an abandoned hallway to mull over her hasty decision. Had she acted irrationally out of anger, or was she simply reacting to something she felt passionate about? Was Persephone's speech an attempt to talk her out of going to Olympus? Why would she do that? Maybe she was exhibiting those powers of persuasion Hecate warned her about. Or maybe Hades had put her up to it.

Lexi's thoughts were going in circles and getting her no closer to a conclusion when she retreated toward her bedroom. Her solemn stroll was punctuated by the mournful cry of the minotaurs, signaling the onset of dark, and she walked to the nearest stairwell to stare out a window. The snow created its own light in the form of a shimmery, white blanket, illuminating the palace grounds and making the gaping maw of the gorge look even more ominous. She knew she wouldn't be able to see the minotaurs, even from her vantage, as most of the inhabitants kept to the woods. Only once had she spotted a small herd of centaurs running across a distant rise. It was another mysterious aspect of the underworld she had yet to discover.

"You are a difficult goddess to track down." Hades' voice drifted over her shoulder like the warmth of a well-tended fire, and she turned to find him standing almost directly behind her.

"And you have the stealth of a rabbit."

He scaled the two remaining steps to stand next to her, gliding his fingers through her hair where it fell against her face. "I can see the worry in your eyes. I hope Persephone's lecture did not discourage you. She means well."

"I know she does, and I'm glad she offered her opinion. I was definitely in the throes of anger when I made the decision. I'm going to take her advice and sleep on it."

Hades smiled and leaned into her neck, lifting her hair and nibbling the lobe of her ear. "Would you like some company while you do that?"

A sniff and a thump startled Lexi, and she glanced up the steps. Cerberus had plopped on his haunches and was waiting patiently for someone to notice him, a tongue hanging unceremoniously out of one of his mouths.

"If you're talking about that adorable, hairy beast behind you, I would love to have him keep me company."

Hades grabbed her by the hip and tickled her. "You cheeky wench. I should take you right here in the stairwell where everyone can hear you scream my name."

"Don't make promises you aren't prepared to keep." Lexi took his head between her hands, guiding his face toward her lips and offering him an open mouthed kiss. She loved the way he tasted after a glass of wine, all tangy and sweet. His hands roved over the contours of her body, stopping briefly to fumble with the zipper on her dress. "If you are planning to defile me here, I should warn you I'm still on my period."

"The nymphs will clean it in the morning. This stairwell is rarely used anyway." His mouth had found her cleavage, and he pulled the bodice of her dress down over her shoulders, quickly taking a nipple into his mouth. He flicked his tongue across it, making her center ache with need, although the ache may have been caused by her monthly cycle. He pressed his hard-on into her belly, groaning against her chest as he moved to her other breast. "I don't know how I ever survived without you, Lexi."

She groaned with him, but her reasons were different from his. She wanted to believe what he said was true, to pretend there wasn't another woman in his life who could give him the same thing she could. Lexi would never be his one and only, and the more she thought about it the more it hurt. It was the plight of every god and goddess, she supposed, and it was something she would have to come to terms with or drive herself mad. Was it the reason some goddesses chose to remain virgins, like Artemis? They had seen what unfaithful bastards the gods were and didn't want to be bothered with the angst.

"You are distracted, my love." Hades voice broke through her internal chatter, and he captured her with his golden eyes. "I thought you were leaving the decision making for tomorrow."

"I'm sorry, Hades. It's rude of me to drift off when you're ravaging me."

Hades continued to hold her gaze despite the fact that her breasts were exposed and aroused. "No, it is rude of me to ravage you when you are clearly troubled about something. Are you thinking about the young minotaur injured in the hunt?"

"No."

"Is it the fact that Kade is an insensitive fathead?"

She chuckled. "I'm definitely not thinking about Kade at a time like this."

"Are you feeling our love is trivial because I am committed to another?"

Lexi didn't answer. She couldn't. Speaking the words might break his heart, or perhaps hers. Her eyes fluttered closed and she inhaled deeply. As she released the air from her lungs, she heard him exhale with her, warming her cheek with his wine-scented breath. He took her in his arms, holding her as close as their bodies could get, his muscles flexing as he continued to breathe heavily into her hair.

This was when her gut told her Hades was not like the other gods. Maybe he was once, when he enjoyed the unlimited pleasures of Olympus, but he had been trapped in the underworld for eons, spending his days counseling lost souls. The only female company he kept were a pair of goddesses, one he considered a friend and the other who gave him nightmares. The only romantic love he received came from Persephone, who was out of his reach most of the year. It was a tragic mess, like so many stories she had read about the gods.

When Hades broke away, he returned her breasts to their hiding place beneath her dress and zipped the back. Then he took her by the hand and gestured up the stairs. "Let me escort you to your room, my lady. I think it is time we had a heart to heart talk."