“I’d like that, too,” he said.
Hades’s dark eyes glinted like onyx. “Sit, my child. Tell me what is troubling you, and I will see what I can do.”
Nico felt like a broken dam. He started talking, and the story spilled out of him, leaving him breathless by the end.
Hades placed a hand on his shoulder. “Let me calm your mind a bit, Nico. Your half sister is very much alive.”
Nico’s relief was so immense tears sprang to his eyes. “Thank you. I don’t think I could deal with another loss.”
Hades examined him. “I am not so sure of that,” he said. “I don’t want you to suffer, but I also think you are possibly the most resilient of my children. You seem able to deal withanything.”
“I—I appreciate that, Father. But sometimes I get tired of having to deal with everything.”
“I’m not human, but I believe you just described what it is to be a mortal.”
Nico groaned. “I don’t suppose you’d consider making me immortal, then.”
Hades chuckled. “The life of a god is not easy either. We face hard decisions all the time, and we face them eternally. My punishment of Pirithous is a good example. One might argue that I set all this in motion.”
“Is he really as bad as he seems?”
Hades frowned. “Let me put it this way: Pirithous’s fatal flaw is self-importance. He believes he is much grander, more powerful, and more deserving than he actually is. He is a fool who expects the world to cater to him, and he complains of injustice when it does not.”
“So…I shouldn’t take him seriously?”
“I didn’t say that.” Hades’s tone turned grave. “Fools can be dangerous, especially if they convince others of their importance. Look at what Pirithous has achieved with this Court of the Dead. Even minor gods have flocked to his cause, convinced that he can order things better than the Olympians—better thanme, to be precise.”
Hades’s eyes momentarily flickered with a terrible darkness, and there was a chill in the temple.
Nico was afraid to ask another question, but he felt like he needed to. “So you knew what Pirithous was up to? But you didn’t want to…”
“Stop it?” Hades laughed without humor. “Ancient laws restrain the Olympians, Nico, and for good reason. If we tried to intervene every time someone blasphemed Olympus, or started a war, or even created an uprising among the minor gods, as Pirithous has done, we would quickly tear the universe apart. That is what Pirithous never understood. Judges of the dead must be fair and evenhanded. They must be able to see the entirety of a person’s life before making a ruling. And they must allow latitude for exceptions. Hazel’s time in Asphodel, for example, was a just sentence, no matter how much I disliked it. But when you freed her, that wasalsojust. Pirithous believes everyone who does not behave in a way he deems proper deserves permanent punishment. The only exception, of course, is himself.”
The god sighed loudly. “I lifted his punishment myself, you know, once I deemed that he had suffered long enough. I freed him from his rock, thinking he would see the power of mercy, maybe even discover humility. He did not. I hope you and your fellow heroes stop him. But I myself”—he spread his hands—“cannot act unless the entire Olympian Council deems that the gods are threatened. And you know that the council rarely agrees on anything.”
Nico wasn’t surprised. He’d dealt with the gods long enough to know their limits and their constant bickering. But he wasn’t angry, either. He appreciated his father even being willing to talk to him.
“Can I ask…” he said, “what did Pirithous do to deserve his punishment?”
Hades stared at his altar. Maybe it was Nico’s imagination, but he seemed focused on the desiccated pomegranate.
“That knowledge will come to you soon enough,” said the god. “I don’t trust myself to speak of it, or I will become angry.”
Nico decided not to push. “I don’t suppose you could tell me where Hazel is?”
Hades smiled. “That knowledge, too, is already coming your way, my son. Just because I cannot involve myself directly in your struggles does not mean I am not working behind the scenes, arranging some…happy coincidences.”
He stood and brushed off the front of his suit. “I should return to the Underworld. I have faith that Hazel can handle herself until you reach her. And then, together, you will bring Pirithous to whatever justiceyoudeem best. You and Hazel have both made me immensely proud.”
Nico felt a comforting warmth encircle him, which shouldn’t have been possible in such a cold, dark crypt. “I’m probably pressing my luck,” he said, “but before you go…one last question?”
“Yes?”
“What should I do about Savannah?”
It wasn’t until he’d asked that he realized how much her struggle had been weighing on him. A small thing, maybe, compared to all their other problems, but Nico saw so much of himself in her.
Hades seemed to disappear into his thoughts. “Interesting you should ask about her, a girl you barely know. It shows you have a good heart.”
