THIRTY-TWO

There was already food in her chamber and the bath had been prepared. She lay on the bed, staring at the ceiling for a good long minute. What happened last night was the first time they ever did it. Before, it was just teasings and pleasuring themselves but last night...they finally did it. She finally submitted to him in this service thing that's going on.

She could stop it. In fact, there is no need for her to continue this but then she wanted it again. She wanted the pleasure that Hades could give and she realized that she had been the one with the darkest desires. Lusting over the god of the underworld is a whole different kind of thing. Even now as she was laying in bed, she couldn't stop thinking about him--about the feeling of his hardness against her softness. She couldn't stop thinking about how his lips touched her skin and how his mouth sucked her nipples. Her hands started traveling from her lips to her neck and to her breast when she felt her nipples erect.

Her other hand traveled downwards until it reached her aching part--where Hades released all of his desire and filled her in. When her fingers found it, she found she moistening once again, and heat crept through her cheeks when she realized she was thinking about him the moment she woke up. And they are not very wholesome thoughts. A

But this is the underworld. This is a place where there are no rules. She could feel whatever and she will not be judged by it. In fact, she was encouraged to embrace it because it is what she is--a lusty woman when it comes to Hades.

She started moving her fingers over her undergarment and the friction created enough pleasure. A moan escaped her mouth and her hand went to cover it. She closed her eyes and imagined Hades looking at her as she pleasured herself. She imagined the desire she saw in his eyes last night as she was pleasuring him and another moan escaped her mouth.

Her hands started moving faster and she was already biting the side of her finger. In her imagination, Hades was sitting at the foot of the bed, watching her, while he was pleasuring himself. He was still wearing his clothes and only his hardness was out. The thought of him doing that would never fail to send her to the edge.

"Do you need help with that?"

She let out a yelp and was quick as lightning to grab a blanket to cover herself up. She looked at the door where she saw Cerberus standing--leaning on the wall with crossed arms. His brows were raised as if silently interrogating her about what the hell was she doing.

Her cheeks burned and she wanted to disappear right then and there.

"Could you make it a hobby to knock before you come in?" she said and he shrugged.

"I knocked. Nobody answered. Apparently, you were too immersed in your...activity."

Another blush crept up her cheeks. "What do you want?" She wanted to be swallowed whole in the ground or wipe off that smug smirk on Cerberus' face. She can't believe he just caught her pleasuring herself!

"Just to tell you that Hades is away. He told me to escort you wherever you want to go today." His eyes roamed from her face to her blanket-covered body before he went on, "Or if you want me to help with other matters, he said to do that too."

It didn't help lessen the blush on her face. She glared at him and he just let out a low chuckle before he turned to leave. But before he could even go away, she called her name. She instantly regretted it when he saw the look on his face.

"I just wanted to know something," she said and his brow rose. Before he could come up with another idea, she went on, "How do we call Zeus down here?"

Cerberus blinked so slowly as though he was processing what she had just said. She had the urge to take it back or to make him shrug it off but he was already facing her fully now, giving her his full attention.

"And why, dear Guinevere, do you want that asshole down here?" he asked. His voice was lethally gentle and it felt like walking on thin ice. One wrong answer from her and he would snap her neck. No questions asked.

She swallowed hard before she said, "I...I told Hades I would get information from Zeus about the curse. About...everything."

"And making him come down here would solve that? You think you can summon him down here and make him give you the information you need? Did Hades really approve of this?"

"He didn't really approve of it. We just talked about it—"

"While fucking, I bet."

Her mouth dropped open but she cleared her throat immediately. She can't deal with another embarrassment so she looked away.

"Forget I asked. I will call you if I ever need any assistance," she said. In her periphery, she could still see him lingering by the door. She was guessing he was having a hard time stopping himself from crossing the distance between them and strangling her to death.

A few seconds passed and he was gone, thankfully. She let out a relieved breath and looked at the now closed door.

"He could have just answered the question. Why does he have to be stingy about it?" she mumbled before she went to the bath.

With Hades gone and Cerberus mostly absent, she had all the time for herself. Which means she spent it thinking about the brewing plan. But the more she thinks about it, the more impossible and insane it is.

She wanted to ask Henrietta for something but Henrietta did not come to her chamber that day. Going out of her chamber and going to the midlands sounds like an interesting idea but then she doesn't know her way there. She would have to ask for Cerberus' assistance. Having Cerberus next to her doesn't seem like an interesting idea. He just caught her this morning pleasuring herself. As much as possible, she doesn't want to see him.

Staring at the ceiling was all she could do. It made her think of things she never had time to think about. Like what she saw on her last visit to the mortal world. Reid and Maddie. Together. Did they always have a thing for each other? Maybe. Maybe not. Perhaps her reputation had changed whatever was between them. As she thought about it, it was still painful but not as painful as the first time she saw it.

She also thought about her parents' or her aunt's whereabouts. If they were in the underworld, she couldn't see them. Which was probably good. She remembered when she was a kid. Her aunt used to snap at her whenever she was crying. Her mother and father had been dead for a long time but there were just moments when she misses them a little extra. So her aunt told her to talk to them before she go to sleep and they would appear in her dreams. Her aunt meant to scare her but she tried it anyway. She talked to her parents before she went to bed and that night she actually dreamed of her parents.

It was then that an idea popped into her head. Maybe if she does the same...

Her heart was thundering in her chest as the possibility of speaking to the dead might not be too far back. Maybe she can actually talk to them now. Especially since she's in the underworld.

She got up from the bed and started taking deep breaths. As far as she knows, there aren't any rules as to how should she speak to the dead. Henrietta's warning was for her not to mind the business of dead people. She's not minding it. She's just going to ask questions.

Clearing her throat, she started speaking.

"I know you can hear me," she said. "My name is Guinevere and I was taken here by Hades. This might not sound really good but I am what he considers his last hope in breaking this curse that Zeus had placed on him."

She looked around, as though the ghost of Lizbeth would randomly pop out.

"I want to help Hades without the cost of my life. I don't want the underworld to perish and I am fairly sure you don't want Hades to disappear too. I mean...you used to love him. So I came up with this plan. I want to get information from Zeus as to how to get to their mother so I could break the curse myself. And…if you know something about how to get to him, it would be really helpful. That’s all I ask.”

She looked around once again as if checking if Lizbeth was there, watching her. It was an absurd thought and thinking about dreaming Lizbeth doesn’t seem like a pleasant one. But if Lizbeth has something, then she should be able to use that on Zeus.

The moment she drifted to sleep, her body felt like being lulled. She is aware of her surroundings. Opening her eyes, she looked around again. She’s in her dream. She was already dreaming. Her heartbeat thundered against her chest.

“Bold of you to come calling the dead,” said a voice behind her and she jumped off her bed when she turned to see a woman she doesn’t know.

But looking at her, the woman looked elegant. Her all-black dress was so delicate and it left nothing for the imagination. She looked like a goddess—the embodiment of darkness.

It was then that she realized who it was.

“Lizbeth?” she called and the woman’s lips twitched.

“How do you know how to call me?” she asked, her voice cold.

“I…I didn’t—I just gave it a shot. I didn’t know it would work—“

“What are you planning to do?” she cut her.

She was at a loss for words, still not quite processing the fact that Lizbeth is in front of her, the woman who caused a feud between Zeus and Hades. The beginning of the curse.

Clearing her throat, she gathered the courage to meet the woman’s gaze. She found her already looking at her from head to toe.

“I plan on breaking the curse,” she said and Lizbeth’s brows rose.

“A mortal like you? Breaking the curse?”

She swallowed hard again. This might be the worst idea she ever came up with. Did she make the right choice by calling Lizbeth to help her? How does she get out of this situation?

“Hades thinks I could break it.”

At the mention of Hades’ name, Lizbeth’s face darkened. She understood why. Lizbeth loved Hades and as she is already dead, she couldn’t be with Hades anymore.

“Does he, now? Tell me, little girl,” she said and walked towards her. “Does he pleasure you like he does to me? Does he kneel in front of you? If you can’t manage to make him crazy then you certainly can’t get Zeus.”

Her face was flustered. “How do I get Zeus vulnerable?”

Lizbeth tipped her head back and laughed at her. “You want Zeus to be vulnerable with you?”

She hates the fact that this woman is underestimating her. Sure, it would be a long shot for her to break the curse or even get to Zeus but she is doing her best. Hades had been under the curse for several centuries.

“You’re lucky you’re dead,” she blurted out before she could even stop herself. Lizbeth’s face turned into a grimace but she went on. She already started it. Might as well finish.

“You’re the reason why there was a curse in the first place. You loved both brothers and when you made your choice, it angered the other. You died because of it. But Hades had to suffer for several centuries under it. The least you could do is tell me at least how to break it. If Hades thinks I might stand a chance then I will take that chance. If it means getting my old life back.”

Lizbeth stared at her for a second before she tilted her head and said, “Is that what you really want, Guinevere? Your old life back?”

She pursed her lips and thought about her life back in the normal world. It wasn’t very pleasant but Hades did promise to return her to her old life. He will clean his reputation. It would be like nothing happened at all.

Is that what she really wants?

“Well?” Lizbeth asked and she looked at her before she said.

“That is all I want. More than anything in the world.”

The moment she blurted those words out, Lizbeth was grinning from ear to ear.

“Well, then. You ought to take notes.”