My Life From Hell (The Blooming Goddess #3)

Out Of The Frying Pan, Into The Fire (Part 3)

The sky streaked with black as the sun set. I yawned and figured it was time to go find my room. I didn't relish the idea of making small talk with Hades, so crashing early seemed like a good plan. I didn't even have an appetite. Which proved more than anything what a number this day had done on me.

I entered the palace through a passage which, although on the opposite end from the iron front doors, still led into the massive throne room. The walls in here were hewn from the same large blocks of green marble as the outside. The last time I'd been here, the room had been empty. Now tons of godly beings roamed around chatting, seeing, and being seen.

How high school.

The room was unbearably stuffy and my nose wrinkled at the smell of so many bodies pressed into the space. Not sweat so much as competing perfumes and colognes. Very cloying.

I avoided everyone, weaving my way past the large throne, raised up from the jet-black obsidian floor on a base. The throne was obsidian too, cut from a single block and standing thirty feet tall.

Hades sat upon it, his attention on a selection of wines in crystal goblets that some monkey-like satyr held out on a silver tray.

Much to my relief, he didn't see me, and I managed to cross to the corridor beyond without any "Greetings and Salutations." Given some of the sneers directed my way, I wasn't Miss Popularity. Which suited me just fine.

I followed the wide, winding staircase in the hallway up to Persephone's room on the third floor. I breathed deep, enjoying the fresh air outside of the throne room. No over-sprayed bodies here, just a slight undercurrent of something woodsy, slightly spicy, and a tad sour.

Cypress. Any tree scent was reassuring to me. Especially these trees which grew so abundantly around Hope Park. They reminded me of home. Both happily and wistfully.

I stepped onto the third floor landing and glanced around. I was alone. I counted off three doors on the left, grasped the heavy brass latch on the fourth solid wooden door, and pushed.

It was exactly as I'd seen it in Persephone's memories. A rush of nostalgia overwhelmed me. This had been my room for years and years. And the memories weren't all bad. I squirmed, not wanting to go there right now.

The furnishings were simple. And colorful. The most color I'd seen in the Underworld. A moss green blanket—the exact shade of my light—covered a massive bed. Cranberry and deep blue throw pillows were piled high on top, and warmly lit by a bedside lamp. The walls were a creamy white, while the furniture was a rich cherry red. I sighed, the colors giving me nourishment and energy.

And the smell. As nice as the cypress wafting through the hallways was, this room smelled like spring. There was no other way to describe it. It was rich earth, fragile blooms, and sunshine. I wondered if that's how I smelled to other people. How Persephone smelled. If so, it was definitely my favorite thing about her.

Just as I was idly wondering how I could bottle that scent and bring it back home, Kai's arms came around me from behind and he nuzzled in the hollow on the left side of my neck. My happy spot. Okay, Persephone's happy spot too. Yet another reason to keep this all platonic. Something I had to repeat silently several times, as I wriggled with tingly sensations along every nerve ending.

Kai shuffled us into the room and kicked the door shut behind him.

Gulp.

He turned me to face him. "What's wrong, kardia mou?" he asked gently. "Worried about the plan?"

Enough with the "my heart" stuff. I kept waiting for him to crack up and not be able to say it with a straight face. But no. This was how these widdle sweetums talked to each other.