Hades

Chapter Twenty-Five

Chapter Twenty-Five

"Wakey wakey, Evie!" A low, melodic voice flutters around my head, dancing around in the air like a butterfly. I groan, burying my head further under my duvet. The butterfly grows bolder, even going so far as shaking my shoulder. "Stop hiding from me! You must wake up; it's a very exciting day!"

"For you." I yawn, snuggling even further under the covers. "I do the sleep still."

"No, you don't. I'm under strict orders to disallow that." The butterfly chirps. Several blissful moments of silent pass, before the covers are maliciously yanked off me. I whimper and curl up into a tight ball. "Oh, stop being such a baby! Get up!"

I peel open an eye and glare sleepily at her. "Go to hell, Calla."

"Already have. And it involves having to deal with royal pains in the ass. Guess which one is torturing me right now." Calla raises an eyebrow and pulls the covers down even further. "Get up."

"No, I don't want to." I whine, dragging out every syllable. "Getting up means work, and I'm too tired to do work."

"Oh you poor thing, having to do the job you agreed to do." She simpers. She ignores the stink-eye I throw in her direction, sighing in exasperation at my silence. "Evie, stop being obtuse. If you don't get up now, someone you care about a lot is going to be very disappointed, and I don't want to be the person who bears the brunt of that disappointment."

"Hades?" I sit up abruptly. "Are you talking about Hades?"

"It's a secret." Calla shrugs, though her nonchalance is betrayed by the twinkle in her eyes. "Now, would you please get up so I can dress you for your surprise?"

'Surprise? But I'm supposed to be in the judgement room today." My brows furrow. "Hades said that I need to be spending every moment training because—"

"Well, Hades gave me different instructions this morning, which is why you're supposed to be coming with me, not going to the judgement room. So come on!" Calla retorts, grabbing my arm and tugging me forward. She groans loudly when I obtusely lean back, purposefully making it harder for her to pull me to my feet. "God, why are you so stubbornly tired all of a sudden? You're usually awake by now; deities aren't supposed to be this exhausted!"

I yawn loudly and stretch my arms above my head until I feel my back pop!. "Hades says it's because I'm using my powers all the time. Apparently we only ever need to sleep when we over-exert ourselves."

"Well maybe you need to stop over-exerting yourself." Calla replies, heading over to my wardrobe. "And also get up."

I sigh and begrudgingly swing my legs over the edge of the bed. "No, I can't. I have to. I need to."

"Why?" Calla's befuddled tones echo from the depths of my wardrobe.

"Because I need to be ready to help Hades." I reply shortly. "I need to be ready so I can stand at his side and support him with whatever it is he's preparing to fight."

The jarring sounds of the coat-hangers being rifled through stop suddenly as Calla stills. "What makes you think that there is something to fight?"

"Don't play coy with me Call. I'm not stupid." I frown, rubbing my bare arms with my hands. "I know there's something going on, and I know the situation is getting worse every day, but Hades still won't tell me what's going on, even though he always disappears at the same time every day and I don't see him again until the next morning. I know he's not judging souls, because he looks as exhausted as I feel, and I know he's not hanging out with other people in the palace, because, well, he's Hades. He's doing something that's draining his powers, and he's worrying, a lot, and that combination doesn't exactly spell happy days. Something is going on, and everyone seems to know what that something is except for me. So yes, I think there's something to fight, and I'm going to keep thinking that, and training for that, until I know more."