“Do what?”
“Smile.” His smile is beautiful, clouds parting during a thunderstorm to reveal a sliver of sunshine.
He smiles wider. “I’ll try to.”
I look away bashfully as heat rises in my cheeks. I’m at a loss for words. Truthfully I just want to stare at him. I want to feel the tiny smolder I get in the pit of my stomach every time I look into his eyes. Instead I play it off casually and nod toward Charon. “How come he knows where we’re going?”
“He’s the captain of the boat. We wouldn’t be able to go anywhere if he didn’t know where we were going.”
“Oh.” I look down, feeling silly. Embarrassed I play with my fingers and apparently Hades thinks my attempt at being coy is funny because he starts laughing.
I don’t think it’s funny. In fact his laughter makes me angry. I stand, wagging my finger, prepared to give him a piece of my mind when the boat rocks and I topple over, tumbling to the opposite side. Just when I think I’m about to go overboard and land in the murky waters, Hades catches me, clutching onto my waist tightly. I turn my head, awkwardly and my lips are centimeters away from his. Any slight movement and they’ll be touching. His eyes dart across my face, searching, studying my features. He’s trying to figure me out.
Bewildered, I steady myself sitting up, and try to make a joke, “Nice catch.”
As I turn to walk back to my bench he whispers something. The soft words are barely audible, but I’m pretty sure I made out what he said. I could have sworn he said, “Come back.”
I pirouette and gawk at him. “What did you say?”
“Nothing.” I know he’s lying.
“No, I heard you. You said something.” He said, “Come back.” I am sure of it.
“I think you are hearing things. I didn’t say anything.”
I narrow my eyes trying to keep a straight face. I’m actually flattered that he wanted me to stay in his arms. Right now that’s the only place I want to be. “You said something. I have excellent hearing, you know.”
He glances out into the waters of the Styx. “Perhaps you heard a soul whispering into your ear.”
I know all too well about the souls down here and their activities. “Maybe.”
A smile curls on my lips as I sit back down. Maybe he’s trying to seem aloof on purpose. That way if I do decide to go back to earth, he’ll be able to mask the amount of pain he’ll feel when I leave. If he feels anything for me at all. He said he did, but he could be lying about that too. Hades is the ultimate illusionist; I know he’s a pro at masking his emotions.
He moves over, sitting down next to me. I jump, startled by his sudden arrival. “Sorry,” he says. “I didn’t mean to scare you.”
“It’s fine. I just didn’t expect you to come over here.”
“Do you want me to move?”
“No,” I answer, lacing my arm through his. “Stay.” His skin is freezing, but I don’t move my arm. We’re a linked chain welded and melted together. Not even a pair of needle nose pliers can tear us apart.
From the way he’s looking at me, I can tell he’s holding something back. He studies my face again, reaching out to graze his fingertips over my cheek, but at the same time the boat stops and that’s when I feel it. It travels down my neck and shoots through my skin like a piercing wail blasting through a person’s eardrums. I turn slowly, using my arm to shield my face as the brightness burns in my eyes. “Is that what I think it is?”
Hades nods. “Yes.”
It’s sunlight. I close my eyes and bask in the warmth. I think of the beach and spring and the smell of wildflowers and suddenly this place isn’t so dark and gloomy after all. “Why did you bring me here?”
“Because I knew how much you’d enjoy it.”
“Is that sunlight?” I squeal in delight.
“Yes, that’s sunlight. This is the only place in the realm of the dead where it shines,” he answers.
I don’t even bother to open my eyes. “What’s this place called?” My voice is full of curiosity and excitement.
Hades rests his chin on my shoulder. “This is the place where the truly good mortals and hero’s go after they leave earth. This place is called The Elysian Fields.”
I open my eyes, staring out into potentially one of the most beautiful places I’ve ever seen in all of my five thousand years living. I shoot up out of my seat, running toward the exit. I’ve spent enough time down here, drowning in darkness. It’s about time that I step out of the shadows and into the light.