Wicked Villain Shorts by Katee Robert

Author:Katee Robert [Robert, Katee]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Trinkets and Tales LLC

This short originally appeared as the September 2020 short for my Patreon. Each month, patrons nominate their favorite couples and characters, vote on one, and I write a brand new short featuring the winner. For more bonus stories, please consider joining my Patreon.

9

Valentine’s Day in the Underworld

Aurora

February 2019 Patreon

Valentine’s Day in the Underworld

Aurora

* * *

Everything is as it should be.

The club won’t open for another ten minutes, but I’m finally starting to understand why Meg and Tink used to make the rounds through the empty rooms before each shift. There’s a strange kind of ownership one feels when they know that they’re responsible.

I wasn’t sure about taking the promotion when Meg offered. I am not Tink. I’ll never be Tink. She’s so fierce and unafraid and willing to step to any line drawn in the sand to ensure those under her are protected. I’m not fierce. I don’t remember what it’s like to be unafraid, though I have long since learned to hide my fear. Once, my survival depended on it. Now, it’s both habit and a comfort. Even my friends only see what I let them see. It’s better that way. Simpler.

How am I supposed to explain the truth?

Hades saved me, though he’ll never admit as much. The one time I pressed him, he claimed it was a deal like any other, but he conveniently forgets to mention that I had nothing to offer. Just myself, broken as I am. It shouldn’t be enough for someone like Hades, not in exchange for all he’s done for me. And yet here we are, years later and untold experience grown.

It should make me less afraid, less likely to wait for the other foot to drop. But the longer this strange fortune lasts, the more sure I am that when it’s time to pay the piper, the cost will be higher than I can comprehend.

But that day is not today. Another twenty-four-hour cycle passed and an incoming bullet I continue to dodge. I’ve learned to appreciate these things, learned to cling to the half full bit of the glass and embrace life with everything I have. It’s not forever, after all.

“Aurora.”

I turn as Meg walks into the public playroom. She’s dressed in what’s become her customary sexy menswear; tonight it’s wide-legged trousers and a vest that displays her breasts to perfection. Her dark hair is pulled back into a sleek ponytail and her red lipstick is flawless. She gives me a warm smile. “You ready for tonight?”

“Of course.” I look around the room again. “Though I’d be more ready if you and Hades weren’t so adverse to Valentine’s Day décor.” Every table in the room has a classy vase containing a bouquet of red roses. It creates a pretty picture, but it’s nowhere near the level Hercules and I wanted to bring to the place.

“It’s tacky.” She slings an arm around my shoulders and gives me a squeeze. “And weirdly triggering for some of the people who come here to forget about the people they’re in love with and can’t be with.

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