The Heart of Hades

4

"Good afternoon," she called, without looking away from her computer when she heard the suite door open several minutes after she'd settled down at her desk from lunch.

"Lilia?" She heard the shocked whisper from the visitor. Her head snapped up and standing in front of her was her cousin James. He was a tall, lanky man with brunette hair and the same amaretto eyes as Lilia. He took pride in his appearance. Today he had on a black three-piece suit with his signature blue silk tie and handkerchief poking out of his breast pocket.

"Mr. Carter," she greeted him coldly and turned away to call Don to let him know James had arrived for their meeting. James shivered as the temperature in the office plummeted.

"Mr. Waters, Mr. Carter is here for your one o'clock appointment. Yes, I'll tell him." She hung up and looked at James, her eyes snapping with unchecked rage.

"Mr. Waters will be a few minutes, please sit over there and wait until he is ready." She pointed to the waiting area across from her desk.

"I didn't know you worked directly with Mr. Waters," James remarked, not moving away from her desk. He fidgeted, feeling his heart rate speed up and a cold sweat break down his back.

"They promoted me. Please have a seat away from my desk," she replied, refusing to look at him. Without either of them noticing, Hades walked into the office and stopped short upon seeing their exchange and feeling the temperature in the room.

"lil, you need to talk to me," James begged, placing his hands on her desk and leaning over to speak in a whisper.

"No, I don't. I think you said plenty the last time and don't call me lil. Only people who are my friends or genuine family may use my nickname, as you are now neither please stop using it," she snapped, finally looking up at her cousin. James flinched at the anger blazing in her eyes.

"Mr. Carter, I am ready for you now. Ms. Heart, can you please check to see if our heater is on the fritz? This office feels like an icebox," Poseidon asked, noticing his windows had frosted.

"Yes sir," she replied, and James walked into Don's office. As soon as the door shut Lilia relaxed and the temperature immediately went back to normal. Hades watched in fascination as she got her emotions under control, so did her aura. While watching their exchange he could see dark pink hearts and another undefined shape swirling around her. The combination gave her control over the temperature in the room and made those in the room feel the way she was feeling.

Before Hades could get his aura up to protect himself, he had felt panicked and angry. Once his aura formed a protective bubble around himself, he went back to normal. Settling in one chair by the door, he watched Lilia go about her daily business as if nothing had happened.

...

"What did you need me for, Poseidon?" James asked, once the door firmly closed. He noticed a considerable change in the air temperature once he was away from Lilia.

"Originally I wanted an update on the new tax code laws, now I want to talk about your cousin Lilia. She seems to have awoken some potent powers recently. I am curious how she kept them hidden and under control for twenty-three years. I also want to know if a major emotional event may have shaken her control of said powers," Poseidon explained, settling in a chair across from James, staring him down with sea-green eyes. James fidgeted, clasping his fingers so hard his knuckles went white.

"Lilia doesn't know she is descended from a god. Her father wanted her to have a normal childhood because she didn't know who her mother was. I know we are descended from Zeus, he and my mother. I assume he knew Lilia would have some innate abilities that needed minor maintenance, such as meditation. They taught her to meditate with the rest of us, plus they put her in dance classes until she showed an aptitude for ballet. I think Uncle Matthew wanted her to go into dancing as a profession. I am sure you know he is a famous nature photographer. The dance classes taught her discipline. My mother would argue with him that Lilia had a right to know about who she was descended from, but he was very stubborn about keeping the secret. Because of Uncle Matthew's job as soon as Lilia became old enough he sent her off to one of the best ballet boarding schools in the world. I think she was around six. No one knows who her mother is, he kept tight-lipped about her identity. We always assumed it was a woman he met while traveling," James explained, trying to steady his panicking heart. He knew he would not want to answer the next set of questions.

"That doesn't explain why her power is making its appearance now. If she has all the discipline of dance, especially ballet, her power wouldn't be surging. Do you know why her power is slipping now?" Poseidon put to James, watching him blanch at answering.

"Uh, ah, I think you need to ask Lilia, I'm not sure she wants our family problems aired to her boss," James warned, not wanting to discuss what he'd done to his best friend and cousin.

"Do you know why my office keeps going below zero every time we mention your name?" Poseidon posed the question, hoping to get a little something out of James. Usually, he could be counted on as a fount of knowledge, but today he was being suspiciously evasive.

"Again, I really think you need Lilia in here for this. It is a rather delicate situation," James suggested, looking at the office door as a knock sounded.

"Mr. Waters your brother Harry is here, would you like me to send him in?" Lilia's voice called through the door.

"Yes, and can you come in here, Lilia?" Poseidon asked.

"Yes sir," she replied and a moment later the door opened revealing a towering Hades standing behind Lilia, her face set carefully blank to hide all emotion.

"Please have a seat." Poseidon motioned to a chair next to James, Lilia ignored his offer and took the seat furthest away. All three gentlemen noted the temperature drop again.

"Lilia, I am going to ask you something personal and I need you to be honest and open with me," Don started, giving her a nervous look, he didn't quite know how to ask.

"Sir?" She looked up at him with confusion shining in her bright eyes.

"I need to know what happened between you and your cousin."

"Why?" she asked, again looking over at James for clarification. He nodded at her and had reached for her, but stopped himself when she shot him a harsh glare.

"I'd like to understand what happened to help you two get back on speaking terms. I work rather closely with James and it would be best for all of us if you two could get along without shooting daggers at him every time he came into my office," Poseidon explained, leaning over to take her hands in his. Her attention whipped back to him at the contact of his hands on hers.

"Our family issues will not affect my work and I promise to be polite to James," Lilia argued, not wanting to reveal her biggest embarrassment.

"lil, just tell him," James whispered. Her head turned to look at him when he said his nickname for her, and she glared again at him.

"I asked you not to call me that anymore, and are you sure it does not paint you in a very flattering light?" she said, crossing her arms over her chest.

"Yes," James whispered, staring at the floor.

"Fine. Six months ago I had been engaged to a man named Phillip Hudson and two nights a week I have late classes. They had cancelled one night, my second class of the night. I came home to the apartment Phillip and I shared. I hadn't texted Phillip because I wanted to surprise him. I'd noticed Phillip seemed distant with me lately, and I thought this could be a good chance for us to go out on a date and reconnect. I figured it was my fault for being so busy. When I got home, I saw two wine glasses half full with red wine on the coffee table. That was when I heard noises from the bedroom. Fearing the worst, I opened the door and low and behold James was having s*x with Phillip. I just remember screaming and throwing my engagement ring at Phillip's head. I fled to my brother's home, told him what happened, and he hired movers to move me out the very next day. Until today I haven't spoken to either of them, they are both blocked on my phones and Ian's bodyguard kept them away from me when everything first happened," Lilia explained. A fresh set of tears streaming down her face, as they forced her to relive that awful day again.

"Here," came a gruff voice, Hades pushed a handkerchief into her hands. Lilia smiled at the little grim reaper embroidered on the corner and nodded her thanks. She wiped away at her tears, taking off her eyeliner.

"Whoa, that was not what I was expecting when you said it was a minor family issue, Ms. Heart," Poseidon replied in bewilderment. He stood up and hugged her gently, patting her back.

"James, I want to let you know I will not drop my account because as Ms. Heart has stated, we should keep business and personal separate. That said, we will conduct all meetings from now on at your office. I do not want to inflict more pain on my secretary when it can easily be avoided."

"I understand," James replied, not looking Poseidon in the eyes. He hadn't realized how awful things had been for Lilia.

"Ms. Heart, would you excuse us, I have a few more things to discuss with James."

"Yes, sir." Lilia stood up and turned to look at Hades.

"Mr. Undervold, I will wash your handkerchief and get it back to you as soon as I can."

"Please keep it, I have plenty," he assured her with a soft smile and a pat on the arm. Lilia blushed and nodded. She turned to James, gave him one last frosty look before leaving the office, closing the door behind her. Both men rounded on James and Hades demanded,

"Do you have any way to defend your actions?"

"No, Phillip and I fell in love over a year ago. He won't come out as gay to his family. He thought dating and marrying Lilia would be the way to cover it up. I feel bad about the way she found out, but I won't apologise for my feelings," James defended himself, clenching his hands.

"This explains why her powers have become out of control. That is a traumatic event to go through. I'm surprised she even spoke to you. The things her father put in place have helped her subconsciously control her powers, but now her emotions are all over the place, she can't control them anymore." Poseidon revealed pacing back and forth across the office.

"Just how strong are her powers? I can't do anything with mine, I just know I have characteristics like Zeus," James asked, becoming concerned for his cousin.

"That is a good question," Hades agreed, looking up at Poseidon for the answer.

"If her mother is who we think she is, powerful."

"Is Lilia in danger? I know she hates me and will probably never speak to me again, but she is special to me almost like a little sister," James asked, panic showing in his eyes.

"We will protect her and teach her how to use her powers to protect herself. Does she do anything that could expose her to danger?" Hades asked.

"She runs in the morning, every day she goes for a five or six-mile run. Ian and Uncle Matthew made her take self-defense classes once she graduated high school to keep her safe. She used to have Phillip run with her, but well... you know. I know she used to be part of a ballet troupe, but after her father continued to pressure her to become a professional dancer she quit," James explained, racking his brain for anything else he could think of to help them protect his cousin.

"Thank you for sharing about Ms. Heart. I know it couldn't have been easy to hear what happened from her perspective and being aired in front of a client no less," Poseidon said, shaking his hand and opening his office door.

Meanwhile.

"Don Waters office, Lilia Heart speaking, how may I help you?"

"Lilia, its Phillip. Did James speak with you?" Phillip demanded, practically yelling at her through the phone. Lilia held the receiver away from her ear, wincing.

"How did you get this number?" she ground out.

"I called at your normal desk and Penny transferred me here. Did James talk to you?" he asked again.

"About what?" She wondered how her day had turned into talking to the two people she hated the most.

"Your ring. I want it back," Phillip growled. Lilia could see the look of frustration passing through his blue eyes as he spoke with her. He would run a hand through his blond hair, mussing it up.

"My what?" she hissed, trying not to disturb anyone around her.

"Your engagement ring. I spent a fortune on it and I want it back. You know, a two karat diamond with small sapphires all around it in a platinum setting," Phillip explained, annoyance dripping through his tone.

"I know what it looked like, I threw it at your head while you were hip deep in James," she whispered curtly.

"Didn't your movers pack it up when they came through the apartment?" Phillip asked, calming down.

"It didn't surface when I unpacked and if I had it, I would have sold it months ago!" she ground out, gripping the receiver hard enough that her knuckles were turning white with energy sparking along her arms.

"Then you owe me five thousand dollars for that ring!" Phillip yelled, losing all composure.

"Like hell I do!" she finally yelled, losing her control, slamming the receiver back down, then screaming when her phone exploded, sending plastic shrapnel flying all over the office. Throwing her arms up instinctively to block the pieces of her phone, several caught her face, cutting her cheek. She hissed from the pain and stared in shock at the remains of her office phone.