Hades by Larissa Ione

had always joked that nothing could make her come running like the ring of the dinner bell, and it was so true. She loved food. Loved to cook. She secretly enjoyed when Azagoth or Lilliana asked her to whip them up something in the kitchen, even though they had several full-time chefs. Sometimes she even helped out in the kitchen that served the dozens of Unfallen who lived and trained in Azagoth’s realm.
    She wondered how long it would be before she could do that again.
    “Where are we?” Her throat, raw from screaming, left her voice shredded.
    Holy eight-legged hell, she hated spiders. And, as she’d discovered in that horrible room, demon spiders made every species of arachnid in the human realm seem like cuddly puppies.
    “We’re with friends. They’re letting us take their house for as long as we need.” Hades’s hand stroked her hair gently. “I’m going to put you down on the bed. Is that okay?”
    She nodded, and he set her down carefully on a mattress she suspected had been filled with straw. Before she was even out of his arms, he covered her with a blanket and tossed her clothes onto a small table next to the bed.
    They appeared to be in some sort of Tudor-era hut that, while being primitive in comparison to modern-day standards, was pristine, as if brand new. The furniture and decor was simple but elegant and had clearly been fashioned by talented hands. A small, doorless bathroom had been built into one wall, but like Hades’s place, the toilet was crude, a mere hole in a stone and wood box she was guessing emptied through some sort of pipe and away from the home.
    He sank down beside her on the mattress. “I’m sorry about what happened. I’ll be having a little chat with Malonius later.”
    “Don’t,” she said, surprising herself. Earlier, she’d cursed that male from here to Mars until she had to stop cursing in order to scream. “He caught me going through your things. I can see why he thought I was an intruder.” She shuddered. “The spider room was overkill, though.”
    “You’re a lot more forgiving than most people would be...wait, going through my things?” His voice was teasing and light, so unexpected, and so welcome. How did he know exactly what she needed?
    “I was bored. And I wanted to get to know you better.” She rolled her bottom lip between her teeth, wondering at what point curiosity became intrusion. “I saw the picture on your desk. The lake in the mountains. Is it someplace special?”
    He grunted. “Crater Lake. I’ve always thought it was one of the most beautiful places in the world, and I need a reminder now and then. Especially since most of the Inner Sanctum is craptastically ugly.”
    That was so...sweet. And again, unexpected. Who would have thought that the guy who operated a demon holding tank would want something beautiful near him?
    “I’m going to go get something for you to eat.” Hades reached over and squeezed her hand, but when he glanced down at the way their fingers were entwined, he jerked away from her. “Sorry...I’m covered in...I was fighting before I went to the Rot...fuck.” A blush spread over his cheeks as he popped to his feet. “Will you be okay by yourself?”
    “I’m not afraid of a little dirt and blood,” she said tiredly, “and I’m not a child who can’t be left alone.” That said, she still checked out the room for spiders. And she couldn’t get that infernal heartbeat to stop echoing in her head.
    “I know.” There was an odd note in his voice...admiration, maybe? The idea that he, a powerful Biblical legend, admired anything about her, a disgraced Unfallen with few survival skills, gave her a boost of much-needed energy. “I’ll be right back.”
    She waited on the bed, the scratchy wool blanket wrapped tightly around her.  Soft voices drifted back and forth from the other room, and a few minutes later, he returned with a pottery mug and a bowl of steaming meat and bread swimming in gravy. Her stomach