This Cold Year ― Percy Jackson & Annabeth Chase²

―i. the calm before the shitstorm

"CONCENTRATE, NAOMI," Hades reminded her for the dozenth time that afternoon. "If you want to perfect this trick, you have to focus."

"I have ADHD, there's only so much focusing I can do," Naomi grumbled under her breath. But she rolled her shoulders, trying to shake some of the tension out of her limbs, and concentrated her gaze on the ball ten feet away and the shadow-hand reaching toward it.

She flexed her fingers, the shadow-fingers mimicking the movement a second later. Naomi set her jaw, and tried again. This time, they moved in time with her own fingers, without a delay.

"Good," Hades said, though his voice was so gruff Naomi hardly noticed it was praise rather than more instruction. "Now pick up the ball."

Naomi resisted the urge to roll her eyes. She moved her hand, the shadow following the motion, and grasped at the air. The shadow-fingers curled around the ball. Carefully, Naomi moved her hand back up, keeping her fingers curled. She managed to hold the ball for two seconds before the shadow-hand became mist, the ball slipping through and bouncing onto the floor.

Skia barked happily, and before Hades or Naomi could stop her, she dove for the ball like it was meant for her.

"I think Skia's trying to tell us the session's over," Naomi said, letting her arm fall back to her side. "And I'm inclined to agree."

She flopped down onto the velvet black couch behind her, already considering taking a nap.

"I didn't invite you down here to dawdle, Naomi," Hades said sternly.

"We've been doing this for hours," Naomi complained. "Unlike you, I'm human."

"Half-human," he reminded her, but the set of his shoulders told Naomi he wasn't going to fight her on ending the training for the day.

Naomi did roll her eyes this time. She'd long stopped fearing her divine stepfather. "Yeah, yeah."

Persephone strode into the room, as if she knew the session was over—Naomi wouldn't be surprised if she was listening in.

"Your son killed one of my rose bushes," she announced, narrowing her eyes at Hades.

"I said I was sorry!" Nico defended himself as he walked in behind her. "It was an accident!"

"Was it?" Naomi asked, hiding a snicker.

Nico glared at her. "It was," he insisted. "Someone should've warned me there were rose bushes on the terrace. I wouldn't have gone out there if I'd known."

Persephone huffed, but she didn't threaten to turn him into a weed, so Naomi knew she wasn't that mad. She and Nico had made slow but substantial progress in their relationship, much like Naomi and Hades—they'd never be particularly close, but at least Persephone and Hades no longer hated their respective stepchildren.

Persephone walked over to her husband and pecked him on the cheek (another sign she wasn't mad), prompting Nico and Naomi to make faces at the sight. Naomi remembered their half-brother, Zagreus's, complaints about how lovey-dovey their parents were. Ever since she'd started coming to the Underworld more often, she'd learned just how bad it really was.

Of course, Naomi would rather they were disgustingly in love than them hate each other with a passion, but no kid liked seeing their parents engage in PDA.

Nico pushed Naomi's legs off of the couch so he could sit down, and Naomi retaliated by kicking his leg. He smacked her leg in response, but before it could develop into a full-on brawl, Persephone strode over, giving the two a patented behave look.