“You haven’t even asked me!”

Hades’ lips quirked in a lopsided smile. She swept the skirts of her chiton behind her and lowered herself gracefully to her knees, uncaring of the mud ruining her fine attire.

“Persephone, daughter of Demeter, would you do me the great honor of marrying me?”

If this were a comedy, not even the chorus would be laughing. “No!”

Hades moved before Persephone could scramble away and grabbed her hair, pulling it tight at the base of her neck. Persephone immediately reached up to free herself, and Hades captured her wrists with her other hand.

“It does not matter what you say, daughter of Demeter. We will be wed, and you will rule beside me, as you were born to do.” Hades leaned forward and kissed the pulse in Persephone’s neck.

Persephone screamed.

“A voice to rival the harpies, I see,” Hades said, flipping her over until Persephone’s cheek pressed into the grass. Hades tore her sodden chiton free of its remaining fibula and then ripped it along its side seams, using the wet material to bind Persephone’s wrists behind her back. She grabbed Persephone’s ankles and used the other side of the chiton to bind those, too.

Persephone struggled the whole time, her mind warring between hyper vigilance and longing to sink down into the deep, dark forgetting, where bulbs went after spring. She tried not to cry, knowing her tears would not move Hades, but it seemed a losing battle.

Hades tugged at the knot of Persephone’s strophion, her breastband, until the material loosened. She pulled, and the strip of fabric came free, slithering over Persephone’s skin and baring her breasts. It left Persephone nude save for her perizoma, the scrap of fabric covering her sex, secured to her body by ties at both hips.

“We are not wed,” Persephone repeated as Hades rolled her over until she was looking up into Hades’ eyes. A slight breeze ran over her naked skin, and she shivered, her nipples hardening.

“No,” Hades said. “Do not despair. I only wish to look at you.”

Persephone shifted uneasily in her bonds, testing their strength. The wet fabric would tighten as it dried, though Hades would have to release her before that happened. Wouldn’t she?

Hades’ ravenous gaze traveled over her body, as if devouring her. She ran a finger across Persephone’s neck, and Persephone flinched.

“You took something of mine, did you not?” Hades asked. “You stole from me. Where is it?”

Persephone tried to shift a little to the side, to avoid the pressure of Hades’ touch. “It fell... It will be somewhere in the marsh.”

“Well, my little jewel thief, I will have to take something of equal value.” A dagger appeared in Hades’ hand, and she spun it between her fingertips while looking down at the taut arc of Persephone’s body.