Consciousness returned slowly to Persephone. The bed beneath her was firm but not uncomfortable. Shaking her head to clear the fuzz, she moved to sit and found her wrists shackled above her head. She felt a strain under her arms, in her ribs.

How long have I been like this? She opened her mouth to speak, but her lips felt so dry she could barely part them.

She managed a low moan as a strange, yet familiar face bent over her. It was a dark figure, his cheeks gaunt and pale, his mouth red and smiling. She had dreamed about him. His eyes reflected like large, violet pools, and she found herself transfixed in them. Her breath slowed, her heart’s murmur tamed to an easy, steady beat. He lifted a bottle full of tiny luminous crystals, like glowing sand, and began to open it.

“No, Hypnos.” Aidon’s voice came out of the darkness. “No more. Leave us.”

The figure frowned but stepped back into the shadows and was gone. Persephone strained to see Aidon, noticing her wrists bound but her ankles free. She recalled everything—her abduction, her trip into the Underworld, her desperate run toward the Pool of Lethe to purge herself of her memory. Yet she still remembered…

“Please.” Her voice was a thick croak. “Release me.”

He came out of the darkness to stand beside the huge bed. “How is your head?” His fingers rubbed through her hair and she winced when he caressed a knot there that throbbed dully with her pulse under his touch.

“What happened?”

He frowned. “You fell before you reached the Pool of Lethe. Your memory is intact, although you’ve got quite a bump there. I had Hypnos give you his pain-sleep until you were healed.”

“How long have I been here?”

His fingers trailed down her cheek. “A day…no more.”

“Please, I’m begging you. Take me home to my mother.” She implored him with her eyes, but he didn’t see her pleading orbs as his gaze swept over her body, uncovered against the black velvet bedclothes.

“Do you know what you look like, lying here?” His finger traced the velvet around her body, not touching her skin. She shook her head, feeling her hair brush her cheeks with the motion.

“The brightest jewel in my kingdom.” His smile was determined, almost cruel. She shivered as he continued, “Did you know I own all of the riches below the earth? All the gold, the silver, the diamonds...they all belong to the ruler of the Underworld.”

She shook her head again, not trusting her voice. He knelt beside her and she saw he was naked. Swallowing hard, she looked up to his face. “You shine brighter than any diamond. I had to have you, Sephie.”

Persephone closed her eyes, shaking her head and feeling tears slip down her temples. Shocked by the weight of him next to her on the bed, she stiffened. His palm stroked the skin of her belly, neutral ground between two sensitive poles. The warmth of his hand was like a brand, setting her skin afire.

Persephone sought to distract him and perhaps delay the inevitable. “Water. Please, Aidon.” He reached out and retrieved a chalice, lifting it to her lips. She drank greedily, the liquid spilling down her chin.

“Easy, now…” His eyes lingered over the droplets on her throat.

She tilted her head, indicating she’d had enough. “Thank you.”

“Now, try this.” He reached for a second chalice, this one containing an amber liquid, and held it to her lips. She took a hesitant sip, then closed her mouth and turned away. The liquid burned her throat. She made a face, coughing.

“It’s an acquired taste.” He chuckled.

Her thirst abated, she felt warm, though her head felt a little fuzzy again. “Can you untie me?”

“I don’t think so.” He shook his head, his admiring gaze running up the slope of her arms raised above her head. “Only a falconer knows when it’s time to untether the falcon.”

She looked at him, tears brimming. “Where can I go? I’m in Hell.”

Aidon frowned and then sighed. He reached above her head and untied her arms. She groaned, rubbing her flesh to let a little feeling back. They tingled and throbbed as they came back to life.

“Thank you.”

Aidon lifted her hand, kissing the marks on her wrists from the binding. Persephone watched him, his tongue flicking the inside of her wrist, making her shiver. Her skin was as soft and delicate as papyrus and she bruised very easily. Their eyes locked and his glowed a deep, warm amber in the darkness, something she hadn’t noticed before.

“It hurts…” She rubbed at her wrist. His hands swallowed her forearm as he massaged her. He bent to kiss the inside of her arm up to her elbow. Persephone’s breath came faster as she observed him. He pressed himself against her, tracing her mouth with his finger, his eyes following the line of her lips.

He kissed her lightly, licking the corner of her mouth. “You taste like liquid sunshine.”

She giggled and blushed. He kissed her again, his tongue pressing between her lips, tasting her more deeply. Persephone pushed against his chest with her hands, fighting his passion, but it was a useless gesture. He slid his leg over hers, the weight of him crushing her.

“No!” She turned her head and gasped for breath, twisting beneath him. Her refusal made him rougher and he took her wrists in his hand, lifting them above her head as he sucked at the tender flesh of her throat. She felt the hard heat of his manhood against the soft flesh of her thigh and she shuddered, struggling for her freedom.

She willed herself to hold still while he tongued his way to her breasts. His mouth covered her delicate pink nipple, sucking hard. She arched her back, moaning, and she felt him smile. He let her wrists go so he could fill his hands with her breasts, kneading them, pressing them together.

Persephone held her breath, her eyes scanning the perimeter of the darkened room, looking for the hint of a door. She glimpsed a large bowl brimming with fruit on a table next to the bed.

His tongue traced circles down her belly and she opened her legs for him. He looked up at her in wonder, and she smiled. Grabbing her hips, he breathed in the scent of her before leaning in to taste the sweet nectar flowing between her legs. Persephone whimpered, ignoring the thought that she didn’t want this. With his tongue moving there, she forgot everything. When his finger found the entrance to her heaven, she remembered, and found her strength.

Persephone’s legs had all her leverage and she used them, planting her heels against his shoulders and pushing hard. She didn’t succeed in moving him, but her body launched upwards on the bed. Rolling to the side, she bolted in the direction where Hypnos had disappeared. She heard him behind her as the handle slid in her hand. Locked! She turned, breathless, frantically searching for another exit. Then Aidon was upon her, his eyes blazing the color of fire.

He caught her arm, twisting it behind her and pressing her hard against the door. “Don’t move!”