Hades seemed satisfied enough with that, although she continued to lie too close, one arm draped across Persephone’s hips. Persephone tried to ignore it. Even though she wanted to, she never let her hands wander back to the headboard to find the dreaming earth, and eventually, she drifted to sleep of her own accord, though it was not as restful as she’d imagined.

10

NOT DREAMING

In the middle of the night, Persephone woke to find herself feverish and shivering, with the covers fallen off and one of Hades’ legs lying akimbo over her own. Her head pounded and her throat was dry. She carefully slipped out from under Hades and crept out of bed. At some point Hades must have opened the shutters once more, for cool air streamed into the room along with the gray evening light. Persephone looked back and saw Hades sleeping with one arm over her face. She had re-dressed in a man’s tunic, so short it only came to the tops of her thighs. Her legs were lean and powerful, her toes delicately pointed like a dancer’s in sleep.

Persephone shuddered and went to the side table. She poured herself a watered chalice of wine and drank it quickly, washing away the fibrous taste in her mouth.

Her thighs were unpleasantly sticky. She glanced down at herself, seeing dark flecks on her skin. Her head pounded as she stumbled to the washstand at the other end of the room. She longed for a bath, but there was no way of getting to the bathhouse without running into a servant, and she had no desire to speak to anyone this night.

Persephone filled the wash basin from its matching jug, took a cloth and began to wash herself. She wet the cloth and squeezed it over her forehead, relishing the cool trickles running down her face, though she was careful not to open her mouth, as the wash water hadn’t been brought from the surface. She ran the cloth over her arms and then across her body, scrubbing away the sticky residue and the ichor on her thighs until her skin was raw and irritated.

She was wringing out the washcloth and laying it to dry when she became aware she was no longer alone. She froze as Hades came up behind her and wrapped her arms around her waist.

“I thought Hypnos had blessed me, but then I saw I was not dreaming,” Hades said, burying her face in Persephone’s hair.

Persephone remained as still and straight as a column. “I thought you were asleep.”