Life After Death by Angela Roquet

Author:Angela Roquet
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: female grim reaper series, dark humor, afterlife comedy romance, paranormal urban fantasy, angels and demons action and adventure
Publisher: Violent Siren Press
Published: 2021-12-21T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 10

“Better to reign in Hell, than to serve in Heaven.”

—John Milton, Paradise Lost

TARTARUS HAD BEEN NAMED for a primordial deity overthrown by the Titans long before the First War of Eternity. The territory had originally been located far below Hades’ domain, in a dark chasm—an abyss, much like the one Abaddon tended to in the Christian Hell. In fact, what remained of it had been merged with Abaddon’s province at the border between the two afterlives, where the land dipped steeply into a valley of shadows before disappearing beyond a black precipice.

Hades had chosen to pay homage to Tartarus by renaming his territory in the treaty drawn up by Grim after the war. The palace he shared with Persephone was nestled in the farthest corner of their property, on a ranch surrounded by orchards and fields of asphodel where they raised various livestock. Red mountains bordered the grazing meadows in the distance.

The Egyptian Field of Rushes that marked the border of Aaru stretched on the other side. Which was exactly where I wished I was, rather than seated across from the dreaded goddess of the Greek underworld.

Persephone was three-quarters of the way through a bottle of red wine, but I could still see the erratic throb of her pulse in her delicate neck. Her cheeks flushed any time I looked in her direction as if she expected me to ask her a question she didn’t know how to answer. And I’d thought I was uncomfortable playing hostess whenever Bub invited his demonic pals over to watch a cricket game.

The goddess’s white gown with gold trim was elegant, if a few thousand years out of fashion. It made me feel underdressed in the silky black slip dress that Bub had picked out for me. Hades’ black chiton was ancient, too, but it was less obvious alongside Bub’s black dress shirt and slacks.

The Lord of the Flies hadn’t donned formalwear for quite some time—not since growing out his beard and hair. I expected the tycoon wardrobe and lumberjack grooming to clash, but he was eye-candy as ever. I spent half of dinner mentally picking out clothes for him to model for me once we got home. We needed a date night out to the Hearth soon—a real date night that didn’t involve deities with agendas.

Persephone licked her grape-stained lips and tilted the bottle of wine toward my glass, offering to fill it as she had each time she’d topped off hers. I shook my head and gave her a strained smile.

“I’d better not,” I said, earning a giggle from the goddess.

“I probably shouldn’t either, but it’s been a long week, and I’m just so glad the construction crew is finally gone.”

My stomach knotted as I glanced across the patio to the freshly painted guest house near the swimming pool. It was hard not to be grateful that I hadn’t found Tantalus today. As socially awkward as Persephone was, I didn’t think I had to worry about another dinner invitation for quite some time.

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