Encased in his warmth and scent, she could only nod.
"Then I may escort you?"
"Absolutely," she said.
He smiled and pulled her arm through his. Hades led her slowly into the night-shrouded grounds. They didn't speak; they just accustomed themselves to the feel of one another. Hades chose a wide path that bisected the gardens. Lina gazed around her in awe. The unusual gentleness of the Underworld's night cast a magical glow over the sleeping flowers and hedges, so that even though many of the blossoms had closed, the flowers stil dotted the landscape with splashes of snowy color.
"I can't decide whether I think they're more beautiful during the day while they're in ful bloom, or like this, looking like sleepy children," Lina said, reaching out to trail one finger gently over the closed blossom of a milk-colored day lily. At her touch, the folded flower burst into ful bloom. Lina bit back a startled cry. She had to remember that she was Goddess of Spring. Obviously, she shouldn't be surprised when she made a flower bloom.
"Now you can have both beauties together," Hades said.
Lina's brow furrowed. "No, I don't want to wear them out." She thought for a moment before waving her fingers at the flower. "Go back to sleep," she told it. With a sound that was very much like a sigh, the lily closed.
She turned back to Hades to find him watching her with an expression she couldn't read. Before she could ask him what was wrong, he took her hand, the one that had touched the flower, and turned it so that it rested, palm up, in his own, then he raised the tips of her fingers to his mouth. The touch of his lips made her stomach shiver. She wanted him to kiss much more than her hands. Too soon, he released her hand and said, "You are a very kind goddess." She wasn't real y Persephone, but Hades made her feel like she truly was a goddess. Instead of wrapping her arm through his again, Lina slid her fingers down his arm so that she could hold his hand. His lips quivered, then turned up in a pleased smile. He squeezed her hand, and they resumed their walk.
"I would like to show you something," Hades said suddenly. "Something that is very important to me."
Lina glanced up at him and their eyes met briefly. Then he looked away, and Lina could see the tense line of his jaw.
"If it's important to you I would love to see it."
His jaw unclenched and he squeezed her hand again. "It is this way." The first tier ended and Hades led her down the stairs to the second level. Earlier that day when she had been col ecting nectar she real y hadn't been able to pay attention to anything except cal ing forth the sticky liquid, and Lina would have liked to have stopped to take a closer look at the fountains and statuary, but the God's pace quickened. Obviously, he was anxious to get to whatever he wanted to show her. Curiosity piqued, she lengthened her stride to match his. On the third level Hades chose a path that branched to their right. It wound in little S curves down the side of that tier. Gradual y, the wel -tended gardens gave way to large pine trees. Their sharp scent reminded Lina of holidays and home.
"I love the way pine trees smel ," Lina said.
Instead of answering, Hades pressed his finger against her lips. "Ssssh," he whispered. "We do not want them to know we are here."
Before Lina could ask who he meant, Hades pointed to a cluster of large stones.
"We must wait behind those."
Intrigued, but completely confused, Lina let him pull her down next to him as they crouched behind the jagged rocks.
"What's going on?" Lina whispered.
Hades changed position so that he could see over the top of the nearest boulder. He gestured for her to do the same. She peeked over the rock.
On the other side of the cluster of rocks the land angled sharply down until it met the bank of a river. Lina blinked several times to make sure her eyes weren't fooling her, but the water remained the same, sparkling like liquid diamonds in the magical light of the Underworld night. Everything was very quiet around them, and Lina could hear the sound of the river. Its voice laughed and sang the words of a strange language. She didn't understand the words, but the sound was compel ing, and she felt a sudden desire to rush down the bank and wade into the water so that she could be immersed in its bright laughter.
Hades' firm hand enveloped her shoulder. His lips almost touched her ear as he spoke quietly to her. "Do not listen to the river's cal ."
Lina focused on his voice and almost instantly she felt the river's al ure slide away.
"I should have warned you. The cal of Lethe can be very strong." Hades' breath was warm and Lina leaned into him. He shifted his position, put his arm around her shoulders and drew her in front of him so that she was half resting intimately across his lap. She leaned back against his chest and tilted her head toward him so that he could catch the whisper of her words.
"This is Lethe, the River of Forgetfulness?"
Lina felt him nod and she stared at it, unbelieving. So this was the famous river that caused souls to forget their lives and readied them to be born anew.
"Is that what is so important to you?"
"In a way," he whispered, "but there is more."
"Why do we have to be so quiet?"
"We do not want the souls to know that we are here. Our presence would be a distraction. For this the dead do not need us."
Lina felt a rush of excitement and she searched the banks of the river. "I don't see any dead."
"Watch and wait" was al he would say.
Lina settled back against him. Hades wrapped his arms tightly around her. It felt incredibly good to be so close to him. The bite of pine lingered in the air, mixing with the heady male scent of Hades. Once she tuned out its compel ing cal , the river's voice was lilting and melodic. Lina felt immersed in an experience of the senses. Her entire body felt aroused and ultra-sensitive. The God's hand rested on her forearm and his thumb was tracing lazy circles over her skin. She shivered under his touch.
"Is my cloak not warm enough?" he murmured, his breath licking against her ear. "Are you cold?" She shook her head no, and turned in his arms so that she could see his face. He surrounded her. His body was hard and strong and he radiated heat through the leather of his breastplate. His bare arms encircled her. She opened her mouth to tel him that it was his touch that made her tremble and that...
"There." His whisper was urgent. He leaned forward, moving her with him. Hades pointed and Lina's eyes fol owed his finger.
Two figures were approaching the river from the opposite side. As they drew closer Lina could see that they were holding hands. The bright water reflected off their bodies, showing them to be an ancient-looking man and woman. They moved slowly, al owing their shoulders and hips to brush against one another. Every step or two the man would raise the woman's wrinkled hand to his lips and hold it there while she gazed tenderly at him.
Lina felt a little uncomfortable spying on them, but she was also mesmerized by the obvious adoration the two felt for one another. Final y, the couple reached the river's edge. They turned to face each other. The man rested his hands on the woman's shoulders.
"Are you quite certain?" His voice was cracked with age and emotion, but it carried clearly across the river.
"Yes, my love. I am certain. It is time, and we wil find each other again," she answered him.
"I have always trusted you. I cannot doubt you now," he said. As the old man drew the woman gently into his arms and kissed her, Lina felt her eyes fil with tears. She blinked quickly to keep her vision clear. The couple ended their embrace, and then with their hands stil joined, they knelt beside the river, bent down and drank the crystal water, Instantly, their bodies began to shine. Their hair and clothes whipped wildly around them as if they had been caught in a fierce wind. Then they began to change. Lina gasped as she watched years fal away from the couple. Their images shifted from old age, to middle age, then young adulthood, and final y they glowed with the vibrancy of teenagers, there the metamorphosis paused. Stunned, the two gazed at each other. Then the man threw back his head and shouted with joy. Again, he pulled the woman into his arms and she wrapped herself around him, laughing and crying at the same time.
Tears spil ed from Lina's eyes - that must have been how they had looked when they had first fal en in love. While they were embracing their bodies became brighter and brighter, until Lina had to use her hand to shield her eyes against the light. Then they exploded, as if two stars had just just, raining a shower of sparks into the water. From the center of each of the explosions twin dots of fist-sized lights were formed. They hovered over the water, acclimating themselves to their new senses. Then they began to float downstream, carried by their own special breeze. Lina stared after them. The two globes of light remained close together, so close that, as they moved farther away, there appeared to be no visible distinction between them. The river curved to the left and the lights fol owed it, disappearing from sight.
Lina wiped at her eyes and sniffled. "What wil happen to them?" she asked in a broken voice.
"What you saw them become is how the soul appears after al memories and al links to the body are removed, Their souls wil fol ow Lethe to its beginning. There they wil be reborn as infants to live new lives," Hades said.
Lina swiveled in his lap so that she was facing him. "But wil they be together again? If they're reborn as new people with no memory of their previous lives, how can they find each other?"
"Soul mates wil always find each other. Do not weep on their behalf. The woman spoke the truth, they wil be together again."
"Do you promise?" Lina's voice trembled with emotion.
"I promise, sweet one. I promise."
Slowly, warring against eons of solitude, he cupped her face in his hands. Hades made his decision. He had to try. He would be lost if he didn't. Hades gazed at her while his pulse beat erratical y. Taking a deep breath, he let his thumbs wipe away her remaining tears.