Prologue
πρόλογος/prólogos/prologue
Hades watched as his cloaked friend stepped inside the dining hall, curiosity starting to ebb in his psyche when he noticed her delighted disposition. Hecate’s muddy boots tracked her footsteps all the way to her spot at the low-lying table. In front of her, Hades sat silently on the floor. He gave the dirt trail an unimpressed look before glancing at Hecate again, a sigh escaping him when she grinned wickedly in his direction.
“How was the surface?” he asked, pulling at the bread before him.
“Wonderful. I come bearing glorious word of something magnificent.”
He raised a brow, not interested in the slightest. Today had been rather dreary for the king of the underworld, for it had not stopped raining all day, and the mortals who attended his hearing had been a bit boring.
“And what of this word is so glorious and magnificent?”
“Demeter is with child,” she answered with excitement.
His brows furrowed as he swallowed the piece of bread in his mouth. “So, she is with child– where is the glory you speak of?”
“The glory, dear Hades, lies in my plan! Everything is coming together so nicely.” Hades hummed at that, turning his attention back to his dinner. That is, until Hecate continued with her spiel. “In 18 years, you will begin to romance Demeter's offspring!”
The bread he’d been holding fell into the small dish of olive oil. “I beg your pardon?”
Her eyes widened again, an even brighter smile taking over her mouth. “You will take a wife!”
“I will not!” he exclaimed with disgust.
“You will! I created her just for you! Crafted in the underworld and placed in Demeter’s womb.” Hecate leaned over the table to grab the bread soaked in olive oil before bringing it to her mouth. All the while, Hades regarded her with anger, shock, and perhaps a little bit of incredulity. “I cannot be by your side forever, Hades, and that barbaric fiend inside of you still festers. My plan will take me to the surface eventually, and in my stead, I’ve prepared a way for your monster to remain passive. You’re welcome.”
“I did not ask for this, Hecate-”
“Correct, just as I did not ask to shelter the world from your havoc, but I did so because we are companions, cut from the same cloth. In return for the centuries I’ve stayed by your side, I ask that you comply with my plan, for it will benefit the entire pantheon.”
“I do not need a wife.”
The goddess sighed and pushed herself to her feet. “Fine. Let us see how long you resist the connection once you finally lay eyes on her.”
Hades groaned as she stepped toward the exit of the dining hall. “You are a meddlesome woman.”
“No, I am a clever woman.”
“Yes, I am aware, but it’s your cleverness that makes you so meddlesome.”
