"I am King!" the voice screamed in court. But it wasn't Hades. Hades didn't need to yell. His calm was more frightening. She could imagine him now, sitting with his face on his knuckles, smiling, further infuriating the dead.

She couldn't care less if her father was on trial. Normally, Kore loved the humans, but tonight was hers. There would be nothing in the world tonight except him and her.

Before coming here, Kore had gone first to the fields to get into the dress she had asked for. Now, she was standing in the court, not far in enough for anyone to notice. She weaved her fingers in the air, as if each was pulling an imaginary thread up from the ground.

In the courtyard, vines began crawling towards the throne. Hades was deaf to the complaining man, interested in watching the plants creeping up from behind his seat like fingers reaching towards the center. Thanatos noticed too, and decided the court was adjourned. He clamped his hand on the deadman's mouth and bowed to his king as he backed himself through his appointed door.

"You've returned," Hades said, now sitting up confidently.

"Is this some way to welcome back your wife?" Kore stepped out of the shadow, conscious of exactly how she moved her feet. Her legs, her hips. Her walk was sultry; cat like. Her thigh slowly, deliberately twisted forward, peeking past the thin purple veil of her black skirt. Hades gripped the sides of his seat and she smirked.

"I didn't know I was married. No one invited me."

She closed in on the throne and pinned him back, her knee in his chest as the top of her foot pressed between his legs.

"Weddings are overrated anyway," she replied, snaking over his mouth.

Hades gripped her other thigh that encased his leg. "Ss! Wouldn't wanna let your mentor hear that. She'd be disappointed."

"I wouldn't worry so much," Kore slid her face to his ear, letting him take in her scent. "She's taught me quite a few tricks I can make her proud with." She flexed her foot, his shivers telling her he got the message.

"Like?" Hades tested her.

Kore shifted her foot so that her toes had more purpose and clawed at her target. Hades grunted and turned away with his eyes closed.

She didn't like that.

Kore slid her hand up his shoulder and to his head, pulling his hair so he was forced to look at her.

"Princess..." Hades breathed and she yanked his head back.

She leaned in, about to kiss him, but went at his neck at the last moment. "That's... not. My. Name," she demanded, as her knee slid down his front, resting outside his leg so he was straddled, leaving his chest open for kisses.

Hades groaned and his fingers reached out to grab her legs, but the restraints on his wrists didn't let him get far enough. "Kore," he yearned, and she punished him by grinding against him.

"Release me," he demanded, and felt more vines begin to hold him back.

Kore scraped her teeth against his neck, warning his throat if it didn't say the right words.

"Crown me."

Hades reached out to kiss her but she pulled away. The grumble that voiced his disdain raised fire across her skin.

"Release me now, Kore," his voice was deeper than before, more powerful.

Kore smiled with a wet laugh, pressing against him. "Or what?" She asked, kissing his jaw.

"Or you'll regret the monster you've made," he warned.

Kore finally faced him as her hands pushed his already revealing shirt away from his stomach. "You don't think it's the monster I want?"

The chains of Tartarus wouldn't have been strong enough.

The vines snapped as Hades ripped forward, violently capturing her mouth. His hands made sure her legs were wrapped around him as he stood up from his throne in the court and thrust her against the wall of his bedroom. Kore squealed in excitement, literally winded, and grabbed his head to show him just how far she'd come from their first kiss.

His kiss was powerful, his tongue bent on drawing out her last breath. Hades ground against her as his fingers grew frustrated by the unnecessarily excessive amount of cloth between them. He breathed out his struggle, shifting his attention to her neck as he clawed at the metal designs on her bodice. He growled and ripped them off, tearing the dress as he yearned for her skin.

"Hades!" She gasped his name and he pulled back.

Kore's heart was pounding in her chest as Hades pressed her against the cold stone wall of their bedroom. She could feel his warm breath on her neck as he kissed her deeply, his hands roaming her body with a hunger that made her dizzy with desire. And yet, as he pulled away and looked into her eyes, she sensed something else in him.

Hades' eyes, which had been a deep, dark shade of lust, were now returning to their normal color. Kore felt a pang of sadness and confusion. Did he not want her? Why would he not want her? She couldn't help but ask, her voice barely a whisper, "why do you stop?"

Hades smiled at her, his lips brushing hers once again in a soft, tender kiss. "I'm not going to, sapphire," he said. "It's your first time. Our first time. I don't want to lose myself tonight. I want to be sane," he peeled back and hovered his eyes all over her before he kissed her again.

"I want to remember every moment of tonight," he kissed her temple, his lips caressing her skin in a way that made her feel cherished and adored.

"I want to memorize every touch of you," she shivered at the kiss under her ear.

"The way you feel, the way you taste," his lips pressed against the black material under her dress.

"The way you look when you're mine," he looked up at her through his lashes as his hands finally yanked the shredded skirt apart, letting the purple dress fall to the ground. He raised a brow as he examined the item she wore underneath.

Kore blushed innocently. "Too much?"

Hades smirked. "Just right," he winked, letting his lower lip slip slowly to the lace trim of the top. He closed his lips on her thigh, sucking on the supple skin as he kissed upwards. A drop of wetness touched his nose and he looked up through his dark lashes. He'd meant to take a look at her face but his position revealed everything- or rather, lack of, underneath. Hades smirked proudly, lips collected in a dimple on his cheek as he took the invitation to go further. He grabbed her knees to ground himself and pulled her lower, tracing the nectar back up with his tongue. His nose reached first and they both gasped as he inhaled her scent and she felt him tracing her lips.

"Hades!" Kore moaned, grabbing his head as she rested her knees on his shoulders. Hades's hands slipped further up, appreciating her velvet thighs as he supported her weight. "Easy, darling," he whispered, dragging the top of his tongue just through as he rolled his 'r '.

Kore shivered and sighed blissfully. Hades stroked his flat tongue up and down her curve while his nose rested on her most sensitive pearl. He timed his exhales, his breath teasing her, and when his tongue flicked up, she gasped sharply each time as her sensitivity heightened. She rose each time his tongue flicked, her walls clenching in shock. Hades growled low in his throat as he felt resistance when his tongue finally pushed in. Kore squealed at his first intrusion of her.

Tight already, his voiced teased in her mind.

Kore laughed breathily, her lips barely parted. Is that all you have? she challenged.

Hades took the bait and plunged his tongue in flat, powering through. Kore squealed and giggled and he grabbed her hips, holding her down. He curled his tongue back and she let out a shivering moan to match. Her hips rose as she chased his tongue, grinding on his face. Hades laughed smiling wide as he stroked his tongue to her clit before darting his tongue in pointedly. The tongue leaned right, pressing against her wall on its way down, then traced up the other side.

Kore's world was scrunched, her mouth an O as his tongue repeatedly grazed a special spot inside her. She grabbed his hair, pulling him closer as she ground against him, her walls tightening.

Hades couldn't believe he was in this position, bringing the girl he loved to her first orgasm. She would need to be plenty wet, and wide, if she was going to have him. His tongue pleased her however she wished, eliciting her lubricants. His eyes clenched and he moaned in his throat when he felt her tightening on him. He could hardly wait to feel her tightness on his dick, but he was willing to be patient with her. He didn't want to be a monster; not now.

He raised his right hand up her back and she reached back to clasp her hand on his. He worked his tongue in and out of her, winding her coil, and she breathed out in tandem.

"Hades," Kore breathed his name as she grand ground on his face.

"Ha- Hades!" He sped up, knowing she was close.

"Haah! Ha," Her walls were so tight, he was seeing stars. She gripped his hand and he clenched it right back, assuring her.

"HAaaah!" Her voice pitched higher and higher, and he finally pushed the tip of his tongue at just the right fit that her walls collapsed, releasing the dam of her nectar straight into his mouth.

Kore let her head hang back in exhaustion as her body went limp. She smiled in bliss, laughing airily as he slowly guided her down, wiping his tongue against the cloth of her underdress.

Hades smiled as he kissed her. "You know, I don't think I've ever appreciated this name as much before."

"You are on my every breath," Kore whispered. She was sitting straddling his legs, very aware of what was between her legs. She swung her hips forward, acutely rolling over him.

Hades's hands went up the back of her bodice, grimacing as he forced his face away from her. His fingers worked to unstring the lace from the buttons holding her together, one by one, slowly.

Kore's hand slipped from around his neck and rested against his chest as she leaned into his ear, "Let me be on your heart."

Hades snapped forward, capturing her lips in his as he laid her across the floor. "There's less of me in me since I've known you, sapphire. You have become my soul, one I cannot exist without."

At his endearing words, Kore pulled him down, kissing him as if he was air. She parted her legs and he naturally fell between them, caressing her thigh as he pinned her leg beside him. His other hand stroked her bare side now that the bodice had come undone. Kore's hands traced down his chest until her fingertips wrapped around the waist of his pants. Hades reached down and covered her hand with his, pulling it up beside her head.

He snuck a quick kiss before craning back to look at her. "Kore."

"Please," Kore almost begged, chasing after him, but he pulled further back.

"Please what?" He smiled, but meant it.

"Love me," she asked.

Hades smiled at her request and did as told. Instead of undoing his own pants, he put his hand to better use. He stroked her entrance, in a come hither motion as if he was tickling her. Slowly, the strokes became stronger as he slipped his fingers inside, one by one, petting her walls. Hades split his fingers, stretching her insides, and Kore undulated beneath him.

She opened her leg wider, hooking her knee on his hip, inviting him further. Hades took the bait and managed to slip in almost all his fingers while his thumb stroked her bud. Kore bit her lip at the pressure inside her but Hades thumbed her mouth open.

"No, let me hear you," he begged, tunneling his fingers together and pushed them further up. Her body followed. "Still want me?"

Kore keened as he thrusted in and out of her with four fingers, and it was music to his ears. He licked her chin and dragged his mouth to her ear.

"Then give me one more," Hades groaned.

"Mhmm," Kore nodded.

Hades framed her jaw with his thumb and forefinger and kissed her mouth. "Open your eyes for me, pet."

Kore slowly opened her eyes and had to blink twice. His face so close made her echo his smile. She wrapped one hand around his neck, and slipped the other down, supporting his other hand in her. Hades let her push and control his pace, slower at first, then faster as he felt her walls tighten around his fingers until she came for him again.

Kore passed out on the floor, exhausted from coming twice already. Hades gave her mercy and picked her up, carrying her to bed. The first time she had been here was so different from now. He was hesitant to have her there; to give her the kiss of life, that he would never wish for her to leave. Now, he was sure that she would be the death of him, and she would never leave his bed even if she could.

Kore recognized the bed the moment he placed her on it. Since laying on it that one night, she had found any other place deplorable. And now this would be her bed forever, with him. The thought renewed her fire and she immediately grabbed her husband's head and pulled him in, kissing him.

Hades's patience had run out. He returned her kiss with equal fervor and hastened to join her. He had discarded his pants on his way over, and was freely pressed against her.

"No more waiting," Kore gasped, and Hades grinned. He had made quite sure she was ready for him. Thus, his first slip inside her was not as painful as she would have imagined. Kore rather enjoyed it, relishing the moment of finally having him to her. She cupped his neck and pulled him closer as she kissed him, curling her tongue into his mouth.

Hades was enamores by her emboldened behavior and left his worries behind. He picked up the pace and thrust more of himself inside her. He was certainly bigger than just four of his fingers. Kore pulled her face away to breathe and he put her nose into her neck, breathing her scent as if it gave him life.

"Hades," she breathed his name, and every time he became bolder. Finally, he stroked down her arms and intertwined his fingers with hers, drawing her hands to the headboard.

"Hold on for me, sapphire," he ordered, kissing her head as his hands traced down her back. One stopped in the middle of her back, the other all the way down to her arse. Hades pushed her chest up, mouthing at breasts, tonguing one then the other as he set every part of her body on fire.

Kore slipped a hand down, fisted his head closer, encouraging him. Hades sucked on her nipple and held her hand, but instead of returning her hand back, he gripped the headboard himself. His stomach was in knots and his sped pace, racing to the climax. The headboard snapped beneath his force.

"Ha-hades!" His name caught on her breath again and he kissed her.

"Scream for me, Kore," Hades panted. "Let the world know, you're mine!"

And she did just that when Hades, king of the dead, claimed her, the princess of life.

"Are you alright?" Hades asked her once they had repositioned so that she lay tucked in his arm.

"I've never been more alright than before. It is as I'm finally alive," Kore revealed, and hugged him tight.

Hades smiled as he stroked and kissed her head, recalling her 16th wish. "Your scent is divine."

Kore held her hand out and pink petals fell on them. Hades looked up to see branches blooming above his bed.

"Flowers? In my realm?" The lord of the underworld was amused.

Kore smiled. "That is our magic, mine and yours. It gives life to the impossible."

Hades saw that one of the flowers had closed up, and reached out and picked it off, revealing a red fruit. "What's this?"

"I call it: pomegranate," Kore told him, taking the fruit and splitting it open. He watched as she plucked red stones out of the insides.

Kore collected a handful of the seeds and funneled her fingers to pour them into his mouth. Hades held her hand as he made sure to catch all of them, and so noticed the designs on her hands.

"A proper send off you had," Hades commented as he examined her hand, covered in dark red designs.

Kore offered up her other one as well. "Try to find it," she giggled.

"Find what?"

"Your name, silly."

"Oh, I see," Hades entertained her and searched for his name.

"They say the more red it is, the stronger our love," Kore told him.

"They who?" He asked.

"The Elysian, of course," Kore chuckled.

"Ah, so you've been," Hades smiled as he reclined against the broken bed. "Was the poor dress their gift as well?"

"Oh, I had it made precisely for me," she revealed as she leaned with her elbows on his chest. "And that reminds me, I've got a gift for you!"

A vine crawled up beside her and Kore picked a flower off it. It opened to reveal his blue ring.

"My ring!" Hades exclaimed and reached for it, but Kore got it first.

"Oh, but it is mine, now. You gave it to me," she reminded him, slipping the ring back on her left fourth finger.

Hades sighed. He needed that ring, but he loved her more.

"So, I got you another one," Kore picked another ring off the flower.

This one was bigger than the black one, made of silver. In the middle was a shield like frame, with a border of sapphires and a red stone in the middle.

"I hear sapphires have quite the properties," Kore talked aloud as she grabbed his hand. "Keep you safe from a terrible mind. The garnet is for protection too, with an extra touch of passion, in case you forget how you feel about me."

Hades swept his hands in her hair, holding her behind the ears as he kissed her. "I would sooner forget my existence than my love for you."

Seeing tears in the eyes of the lord of death made hers well up too. "Do not love me so, my heart. For surely I would forget how to live without you."

Hades tucked her head to his chest and cradled her as sleep snuck up on them.

"Dark would sooner part with light, than I from you."