NAOMI AND HER MOTHER APPEARED IN A BEDROOM that looked nothing like her old one. It was a very large, very Underworld-y bedroom, with obsidian furniture and marble floors. Laying on a dog-bed that took up a quarter of the huge room was Skia, who popped up as soon as she spotted Naomi, running to greet her.
Naomi scratched Skia's ears, but she maintained a glare at her mother. "Where are we?" she demanded.
"Your new bedroom," Persephone said. "Your grandmother and I just finished up the renovations. Do you like it?"
Naomi could clearly see her mom and grandmother's touches throughout the black room—every windowsill had a plant-box with flowers already growing out of them, and the bedding was a deep, pomegranate pink with black designs of flowers and vines.
But it could've been the world's best bedroom, and Naomi still would have been pissed.
"What's Hades going to do to Percy?"
Persephone sighed softly. "He'll be locked away for a few decades, but he'll live," she said. "It's better this way, Kore. I know of the choice you are meant to make, and I know you are struggling with it. So long as Percy stays down here, there will be no need to make it."
"That's not how prophecies work and you know that," Naomi said sharply.
Persephone looked down. "I know more of prophecies than you do, dear," she said, but she didn't sound angry—more mournful than anything.
"Then you know locking Percy up will only delay the inevitable," Naomi said. "The longer we're down here, the more time Kronos has to gather his forces and attack Olympus. Are you really okay with watching them all fall?"
Persephone said nothing.
"Please, Mom," Naomi said, her voice growing softer.
Her mother studied her face, not unlike how Hestia had looked at her hours before. Naomi wondered what Persephone saw—the helpless little girl she was when they first reunited? Or someone different—someone stronger?
"Hades has made himself clear," Persephone murmured. "Percy Jackson is to remain in the dungeons. Nico will be the child of the Great Prophecy."
"There won't be a world to save by the time he turns seventeen," Naomi insisted. "You know that."
"I know many things," Persephone said. "I know that there are few who would dare to defy Hades' orders. And even fewer who would do it successfully."
Her tone sounded strange, but before Naomi could examine it any further, her mother placed a warm hand on her cheek. She bent down, pressing her lips to Naomi's forehead. "We will have breakfast in an hour," she told her. "Until then, I'll leave you to rest."
She dropped her hand from Naomi's cheek, scratched gently at Skia's ears, then left the bedroom with a flourish of her floral dress, closing the door behind her.
Naomi listened to her mother's footsteps retreat down the presumably marble hallway, her heels clicking against the floor until Naomi couldn't hear it anymore.
She counted ten seconds, then tried the doorknob.
It wasn't locked.
Naomi looked back at Skia, who stared back at her with her wide brown eyes. Despite the dismal circumstances, a smile spread across Naomi's lips.
"Meet me at the River Styx," she whispered to her hellhound. "I'll be there as soon as I can."
She poked her head out of her doorway as Skia bounded into the nearest shadow, checked for any security ghouls or skeletons walking around, then stepped into the hallway.
Finding Nico's bedroom was even easier than Naomi had expected—it was just down the hall on the opposite side, with his name engraved into the obsidian door. From the emptiness of the hallway and general lack of noise anywhere, Naomi assumed they had the wing to themselves.
So, just to make sure Nico understood how mad she was, she pounded her fist on his door, shouting, "Nico di Angelo, open this door right now!"
Nico made the smart choice and opened the door a second later.
"What?" he asked.
"You"—Naomi jabbed him in the chest just to make sure he knew she was mad—"are going to help me fix this right now, or you'll be staying in the Underworld as a permanent resident."
He almost certainly knew Naomi was bluffing—she was only violent when she had to be, and she wasn't in the habit of hurting family—but he had the decency to look ashamed.
"Look, I didn't know that's how it was going to go down," he said defensively, but he sounded too miserable for it to be a real defense. "If I had, I never would have brought Percy down here! I just—I had to know about my mom, about my past."
Naomi knew all too well the ache of wondering about your past and your mortal family. She'd asked her mother at least a dozen times about her father, and every refusal to answer made her more desperate for answers. She understood the temptation Nico must have felt when his father had dangled information about his past in front of him, promising to tell him about his mother in exchange for Percy.
Still, loyalty meant the world to Percy, and Nico had used that against him. It made Naomi's blood boil to think how easily Nico had gained and then betrayed Percy's trust, and how shattered it must have been as Percy sat alone in Hades' dungeon, blaming himself for being trusting when it was one of his best qualities.
"We're going to fix this," Naomi told Nico. "Now."
To Naomi's surprise, Nico didn't even argue. "Okay," he said. "Let's do it."
❊
When they shadow-traveled down to Percy's jail cell, Naomi let Nico take the bullet and wake Percy up (how he'd managed to doze off in Hades' dungeon, Naomi would probably never understand).
She realized she'd made the right choice to let Nico wake him up when Percy lunged at Nico, sword in hand, as soon as he opened his eyes.
"Want—to—rescue," Nico choked out.
"Oh, yeah? And why should I trust you?" Percy demanded.
"You probably shouldn't," Naomi said, stepping out of the shadow. "But you can still trust me, Percy."
Percy let Nico go, but he kept his sword in his hand. Naomi studied his face in the dim light of his blade, her chest loosening up at the lack of fresh bruises or blood on him. She hadn't thought Hades would hurt Percy physically, but she couldn't have been certain.
"Are you okay?" she asked as Nico recovered from his near-strangulation.
"Could be better," Percy mumbled.
Nico got back to his feet, eyeing Percy's sword warily. "We have to get out of here."
"Why?" Percy said. "Does your dad want to talk to me again?"
Nico winced. "Percy, I swear on the River Styx, I didn't know what he was planning."
"You know what your dad is like!"
"He tricked me. He promised—"
"Look, that doesn't matter," Naomi interrupted. "We need to leave. Now." She figured just because breakfast wasn't happening for another fifty or so minutes didn't guarantee they wouldn't be found out sooner.
Nico nodded. "I put the guards to sleep, but it won't last."
Percy looked like he wanted to argue, or maybe try strangling Nico again, but at Naomi's pleading look, he relented with a nod.
Nico pointed at the wall. A whole section vanished, revealing a corridor. "Come on," he said.
Nico led the way.
As they walked, Nico put every skeleton guard they encountered to sleep. Naomi had discovered during her last friendly visit to the Underworld that her Underworld-y abilities didn't extend as much to the dead, so she wasn't much help in dealing with the guards. Unfortunately, that only left Nico, and the more he did it, the more tired he seemed.
By the time they reached a kitchen staffed by skeletal cooks and servants, Percy was practically carrying Nico. Naomi led them out of the servants' entrance and into the Fields of Asphodel.
In the distance, bronze gongs sounded high in the castle.
Naomi cursed under her breath. "Alarms."
"What do we do?" Percy asked.
Nico yawned, then frowned like he was trying to remember what to do next. "How about... run?"
"I've got a better idea," Naomi said. She whistled sharply.
Skia and Mrs. O'Leary bounded out of nowhere and ran circles around the trio, ready to play from the looks of it.
Naomi grinned at the sight of them. "Good girls!" she said. "Can you give us a ride to the Styx?"
The word Styx got them excited. It took a minute to calm the hellhounds down enough for Percy to push Nico onto Mrs. O'Leary's back and climb on behind him. Naomi climbed onto Skia's back, and the beasts took off toward the gates. They leaped straight over the EZ-DEATH line, sending guards sprawling and causing more alarms to blare. Cerberus barked, but he sounded more excited than angry, like: Can I play, too?
Fortunately, he didn't follow them, and Skia and Mrs. O'Leary kept running. They didn't stop until they were far upriver and the fires of Erebos had disappeared in the murk.
Nico slid off Mrs. O'Leary's back with all the grace of a newborn deer and crumbled in a heap on the black sand.
Percy took out a square of ambrosia and handed it to Nico.
"Um," Nico mumbled. "Better."
"Your powers drain you too much," Percy noted with a hint of surprise. He looked at Naomi, no doubt wondering why her own powers had less of an effect on her.
You and me both.
Nico nodded sleepily. "With great power... comes great need to take a nap. Wake me up later."
"Whoa, zombie dude." Percy caught him before he could pass out again. "We're at the river. You need to tell me what to do."
Percy fed Nico the last of the ambrosia, which seemed to do the trick. Nico shook his head a few times and struggled to his feet.
"My father will be coming soon," he said. "We should hurry."
The River Styx's current swirled with strange objects—broken toys, ripped-up college diplomas, wilted homecoming corsages—all the dreams people had thrown away as they'd passed from life into death.
"So... I just jump in?" Percy asked.
"You have to prepare yourself first," Nico said, "or the river will destroy you. It will burn away your body and soul."
"Sounds fun," Percy muttered.
Naomi glared at the river. "No offense to you two, but this is exactly why Annabeth makes the plans."
"This is no joke," Nico said. "There is only one way to stay anchored to your mortal life. You have to..."
He glanced behind Percy and Naomi and his eyes widened. Naomi and Percy turned around and found themselves faces to face with a Greek warrior.
For a second, Naomi thought it was Apollo. The man before them was as tall and muscular as the sun god, with golden hair that fell just past his shoulders. Though his eyes were green compared to Apollo's blue, and his face was sadder, more worn. Scars decorated most of his skin—evidence of dozens of battles, of a lifetime of war. He was beautiful in a cruel way, blinding like the sun.
He wore bronze armor over a white tunic, a plumed war helm under his arm. A bloody arrow stuck out of his left calf, just above the ankle.
"Achilles," Percy said.
The ghost nodded. "I warned the other one not to follow my path. Now I will warn you."
"Luke?" Percy asked. "You spoke with Luke?"
"Do not do this," Achilles said. "It will make you powerful. But it will also make you weak. Your prowess in combat will be beyond any mortal, but your weaknesses, your failings will increase as well."
"You mean I'll have a bad heel?" Percy said. "Couldn't I just, like, wear something besides sandals? No offense."
Naomi glared at the side of his face. "'No offense'?" she questioned. "Seriously?"
Achilles stared down at his bloody foot. "The heel is only my physical weakness, demigod. My mother, Thetis, held me there when she dipped me in the Styx. What really killed me was my own arrogance. Beware! Turn back!"
He meant it. Naomi could hear the regret and bitterness in his voice.
"I have to," Percy said. "Otherwise I don't stand a chance."
Achilles lowered his head. "Let the gods witness I tried. Hero, if you must do this, concentrate on your mortal point. Imagine one spot of your body that will remain vulnerable. This is the point where your soul will anchor your body to the world. It will be your greatest weakness, but also your only hope. No man may be completely invulnerable. Lose sight of what keeps you mortal, and the River Styx will burn you to ashes. You will cease to exist."
"I don't suppose you could tell us Luke's mortal point?" Percy tried.
Achilles scowled. "Prepare yourself, foolish boy. Whether you survive this or not, you have sealed your doom!"
On that happy note, the warrior vanished.
"Percy," Naomi said, glancing uneasily at the river. "I don't know if this is a good idea."
"Maybe Achilles is right," Nico said.
"This was your idea," Percy said, narrowing his eyes at Nico.
"I know, but now that we're here—"
"Percy." Naomi reached for his hand, as if she could hold him back from making this choice. "Are you... are you sure about this?"
The fire in Percy's eyes softened. "It's the only way, Naomi."
"But if you don't survive—" Naomi couldn't find the words. There were none.
She and Percy had had each other since before they even knew they were demigods, since before they were shaped into soldiers for the gods at such a tender age. He was her best friend. If she lost him...
She thought she might regret it. It could ruin everything, and leave them fractured in the aftermath. But in that moment, she couldn't care what might happen.
All she could do was kiss him.
To his credit, it only took a second for Percy to recover from his shock. One of his hands came up to cup her face, the other finding her waist. Naomi's settled on his neck and the small of his back, the contact warm and perfect. It was everything she had dreamed of and so much more.
For a moment, they were in the middle of nowhere, safe and happy and unburdened by the cruel weight of destiny, the heavy hand of fate.
They were just two teenagers sharing their first—and maybe last—kiss.
When they pulled away, the world shifted back into focus—back into the reality they were forced to face. They were still in the middle of a war, still on the edge of potential death and ruin.
A few feet away, Nico cleared his throat. "Are you guys finished, or...?"
Naomi's face burned with embarrassment. "Shut up," she muttered at her stepbrother.
Percy blinked, coming back to his senses. He cleared his throat. "Uh—just, um, just—just wait for me on the shore," he managed to get out. "If—If anything happens to me..."
He didn't finish his sentence. Naomi wasn't sure there was anything he could have said that would have lessened the tension in her chest.
Then, with one final glance at Naomi, Percy stepped into the Styx.
❊
nico watching his sister kiss his crush: don't cry don't cry don't cry don't cry don't cryyyyy