Read My Lord Hades for Free Online

empty. He felt freed from the past. And for the first time, he felt as if he had a future before him.
    Rising from the rock, Hades drew the dagger from its sheath and grabbed the long strands of his beard, hacking at it, removing centuries’ worth of hair, until the beard was cropped short.
    Done with that, he turned to the task of his head. The hair was coal black and longer than a woman’s so he flipped the length over his shoulder and began to saw at it. It wouldn’t be the cleanest cut, but at least it was a start.
    Magically creating clothes, he dressed in a simple blue tunic, a light cloak of black, and sandals. He left his battle gear sitting on the beach as he ventured into the forest.
    Who are you trying to fool? His inner voice taunted him. Who cares what you look like? It’s not as if you want to impress the Olympian gods, or even the goddesses. No. You want to impress a woman you should leave alone.
    Not so. He argued. I just want to go for a walk. Clear my head…
    Who was he kidding? He could try to delude himself of the truth, but he knew wanted to see the woman again. And he found her beneath a tall weeping willow at the base of the hill.
    He crept closer, until he could hear her singing about forbidden lovers escaping into the night to marry. She stepped over the tree root and stepped out of the shadows and into the light. And what he saw took his breath away.
    She was stunning—not the classical beauty he’d seen in the courts of the gods, but a natural beauty of youthful innocence and joyous spirit. Her almond-shaped eyes, full lips, and the glow of youth softened the strong features of her square jaw. But her beauty went deeper. It was in her soul.
    He sat beneath an apple tree, safely out of her sight, and leaned against the rough bark, content to just watch this child of nature skip through the meadow of flowers, laugh at the wind lifting her hair, kissing her slender neck and delicate earlobes. She smiled at the buzzing bees, the erratic flight of the butterfly, and the whirling flutter of the hummingbirds. She wove through the trees, dancing through the forest, revealing a freedom of spirit he envied.
    He closed his eyes, reveling in the foreign emotions flickering through him. Wonder.
    Happiness. Amusement. And peace.
    He started as the first faint traces of her power licking at his aura. Her very presence
    emphasized his loneliness. He could sense the hint of sadness and isolation vibrating through her energy.
    He knew it was wrong. He should leave her alone. But he just wanted speak to her.
    He breathed in the earthy scents of the forest around him and opened his eyes, his decision made. "Come to me," he sent to her, although the words never passed his lips.
    A vision of perfection stepped into the clearing, and he would swear, even from this distance, she was looking at him. His heart raced with a heady mixture of fear and excitement.
    Her bare feet whispered across the loam as she glided past him, mere feet from his hiding place. “Hello. Is someone here?”
    His breath caught. He loved the soft, gentle lilt of her voice. “I know someone is here.” She paused, head tilted, listening. “You don’t have to be afraid.”
    He reached out to her and stopped, his hand hovering above her shoulder. Menthe. Leuce.
    Every woman in his life, he destroyed. He was a fool for thinking it could be otherwise. He let his hand fall away.
    She glided forward. Her soft, silky hair flowed in gentle waves, swaying at her hips. “Please, show yourself. I won’t hurt you.”
    He smiled at the thought. She couldn’t hurt him, but it was definitely in his daemon nature to hurt her. He shifted his weight, determined to leave, but a branch under his foot snapped. She pivoted, staring straight at him, though in the shadows she couldn’t have seen him clearly.
    He urged himself to do the right thing and leave, only to step out of the darkness and into the light. “I didn’t mean to disturb you.”
    She glided