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blood. It
    was where Persephone sat whenever she was home with her husband.
    Hades stared at her throne with a look of such longing that Arik could almost feel his grief. And it wasn't
    until Hades moved that Arik realized the god held a small, delicate fan in his hand. One made of lace and
    ivory.
    Closing his eyes, Hades held it to his nose and gently inhaled the scent.
    Then he cursed and tossed the fan back to the throne by his side.
    A heartbeat later, he got up to retrieve it and place it more carefully in a small holder on the right arm.
    Obviously that was where Persephone kept it.
    Hades froze and cocked his head as if he was listening for something. "Who dares to enter my hall
    without summons?"
    Arik lowered himself to the floor and materialized. "I do."
    The god turned about slowly and narrowed his amber eyes on Arik. "What brings you here, son of
    Morpheus?"
    There was no need to hide what he wanted. "I would like to bargain with you."
    "For what?"
    "I wish to be human."
    Hades' evil laughter rang out in the hollow hall, echoing around them. "You know how to be human,
    Skotos. Stop eating ambrosia and drinking nectar."
    "That would only make me mortal and I don't want to die. I want to feel, and for that I need to be a
    human and not a god."
    Hades approached him slowly until he stood just before Arik. "Feel? Why would anyone in their right
    mind wish for that? Feelings are for fools."
    Arik glanced to the fan. "Even you?"
    Hades bellowed in rage as he flung out his hand and pinned Arik against the wall with his powers. The
    jagged bones bit into Arik's back, tearing the fabric of his clothes.
    Arik fought the hold, but there was nothing he could do at the moment except bleed.
    "For a god who doesn't wish to die, you speak of things you'd best not address."
    The force holding him receded so fast that he barely had time to recover himself before he fell. He
    hovered over the floor for a heartbeat until he placed his feet on the ground.
     
    Hades raised his brows in surprise. "You're faster than most."
    "And in my realm, I'm capable of even more feats."
    "What are you saying?"
    Arik shrugged. "Only that a god of such power should be careful. Even the great Hades has to sleep
    sometime."
    "Are you threatening me?"
    "I'm only stating a fact." Arik looked pointedly at Persephone's throne. "And reminding you, my lord,
    that there's nothing worse than allowing a Skotos to know of a weakness."
    Hades narrowed his eyes before he again broke out into laughter. "It's been a long time since anyone
    dared such boldness in my presence. Look around you, Skotos. Do you not see the remains of the
    people who have pissed me off?"
    "My name is Arik and I see everything, including the beauty and comfort of the palace you hide behind
    this façade of death. But in turn, I would ask you what good does it do to threaten someone who can't
    feel fear?"
    Hades inclined his head. "Point well taken. So tell me… Arik, what bargain do you wish to propose?"
    "I want to live in the realm of the humans as one of them."
    Hades tsked at his request. "That's not so easy to attain, dear boy. No Olympus-born god can live on
    earth for very long."
    "But we can live there for a time. I would go there now, but there would be no point, since I could only
    witness what's around me and not experience it. It's the experience I want."
    "What good is this experience when you'll only forget it once you return?"
    What the god didn't know was that Arik wouldn't forget. He'd remember and he wanted that memory.
    Unlike M'Ordant and many of the others, Arik had no knowledge of true emotions or sensations—they'd
    been beaten out of him so long ago that he'd completely forgotten what it was like to feel. He wanted to
    know how much more intense feelings could be when not blocked by the curse.
    "Does the why really matter?"
    Hades considered that for a moment. Folding his arms over his chest, he frowned at Arik. "For what you
    want, there would have to be a steep