When the doors suddenly started creaking noisily as they slowly swung open on its own, I instinctively grabbed Mary Priscilla's hand and forced her to stand behind me. I had a feeling something big was about to happen...
And I was right.
The gates had finally opened, and for one moment all I could do was stare in shock. "You."
"Me." Yan Wang's tone was calm. "And so now..."
There wasn't even the slightest bit of warning.
Shadows simply came out of nowhere.
Countless hungry mindless shadows.
And they were all coming for me.
I pushed Mary Priscilla to the ground and covered her with my body.
The swarm of shadows swirled closer.
And closer.
And closer.
And...
Nothing?
I slowly opened my eyes...and my heart nearly stopped beating.
The shadows.
All those shadows...
Countless hungry mindless shadows...
They were still around me.
And they were all on their knees as if they, too, recognized me as...
LOTUS.
Chapter Eleven
Only three minutes were left until the hearing was to officially start, and by now the whispers coming from the public benches had reached a crescendo. Unlike the previous meeting between the two opposing parties, today's trial was open to all those who wished to attend—-
And attend everyone certainly did.
For the Lord of the Underworld to come up above ground was a rare enough sight, but to witness Hades and the former Lady of the Underworld reunite was a scene that no one would have even considered possible in the past. It was no secret that Persephone had fought tooth and nail to keep her divorce from being finalized, and no one had any doubts that Persephone, if given the chance, would remarry Hades in a heartbeat.
But for that to happen, the god would have to give up his new Lady of the Underworld, and if rumors were to be believed, well...
Perhaps it was safe to say that immortals were more likely to bet on Zeus giving up his philandering ways than on Hades divorcing his new wife. The Greek god was said to be so enthralled with his ghost-turned-goddess consort that he had been seen doing things completely out of character. Things such as actually smiling and laughing in public, and just days ago, there had even been reports of public sex...in Mt. Olympus no less!
If even a tenth of such stories was true, it was still more than enough to convince the immortals that Lady Saoirse had her husband wrapped around her once-mortal finger. And if her coronation was to push through, and news of Gaea, the goddess of all goddesses, attending the event did come true...
A scent of spring drifted towards the Lord of the Underworld, but the chiseled features of the god remained impassive even though he found the scent familiar...and vastly unwelcome.
Silence descended upon the courtroom of the Goddess of Justice as Persephone came to stand before her former husband.
She was dainty and nearly ethereal in her beauty, and as if wanting to emphasize what she had divine dominion of, the goddess even wore a crown of cherry and plum blossoms over her flaxen head.
"Hello, Hades."
Her ex-husband inclined his head. "Persephone."
"I am sorry it has to come to this."
"Things always happen for a reason."
Rage blazed in his former wife's gaze, but it was gone so fast Hades knew no one else would have likely caught it.
"You obviously haven't changed at all." Moments passed, and the goddess' lips tightened when it became obvious that her ex-husband no longer felt inclined to answer her. If there hadn't been anyone else around them, Persephone would have long flown into a rage and start throwing objects at him...as she had typically done in the centuries they had been married.
But because they were not alone—-
A sad smile touched the spring goddess' lips. "We were lovers once, Hades. Is your wife so short-sighted that she would now forbid you—-"
The heavy thud of the goddess of justice's gavel striking the sounding block cut off all speech. When in her courtroom, no one save the unseen God was above Eunomia's authority, and everyone turned towards the judge's table at the second strike of her gavel.
A courtroom clerk came to stand next to the judge's bench. "Everyone is requested to take their assigned places."
Persephone joined her counsel at the plaintiff's table, and the goddess of vengeance gave Persephone a smug smile before nodding tellingly towards the defendant's table. Only Hades was there, and as for the despicable woman he had been foolish enough to marry...
First to be sworn in was Nemesis as Persephone's counsel, followed by the Lord of the Underworld himself. Stunned gasps erupted in the courtroom when the clerk named Hades as counsel for the defendant, a reaction which Hadrian's ARM privately found ludicrous.
When the clerk asked for Persephone to take the stand, the spring goddess made a show of placing a badly trembling hand on top of the ancient bible that the archangel Gabriel had personally entrusted into the goddess of justice's safekeeping.