Page 71 of Hades

“And Nile.” The silent, brooding one.

“Hmm, all demi-gods,” I point out.

“Yes, ma’am,” Stone speaks up.

“Let me guess, Nile is Posiden’s. Did you see your dad here? Stone, is Hephaestus’s, the hammer gave it away. Phoenix, are you Ares’s? If so, that may complicate things.”

“Yes, you are correct,” Phoenix speaks up.

“I’ll let Harper fill you in, but I would like to introduce you to my men. They are the four horsemen. This is Warrick—aka War, Pyro—aka Pestilence, Drevi—aka Death, and Frank—aka Famine.”

Stone starts laughing as I finish my sentence.

“What’s so funny?” I demand.

“A horseman named Frank. That’s the funniest thing I’ve heard all day.”

“At least I wasn’t named after a rock,” Frank cracks.

It is surreal to be standing in the presence of Hades. How is it that this beautiful woman before me is related to my idiot father? I think the only reason that she isn’t the ruler of Olympus is the fact that she’s a woman. A shame, really, she radiates power and confidence.

“So, what’s the deal, Harper?” Nile asks.

“It’s Phoenix’s dad. He wants to take the throne over the Underworld and Hades is asking for my help.”

“Why does she want your help?” Stone questions.

“Hermes,” is all I say and I can tell their moods are changing. “He seems to have sided with Ares and she wants me to help in the fight.”

“Why should we help her?” Phoenix asks this time.

“She wants to protect the innocent souls from the battle as well as her home.”

“What do you get out of it?”

“Hermès,” Hades interrupts. “He is all yours, that weasel sides with Ares, so I have no use for him.”

“And how does Zeus feel about allthis?” I ask Hades.

“He is sick of Ares’s shit, so I say that anyone that sides with him is fair game,” she shrugs.

“Phoenix, was it? I know that Ares is your father, you have the scent of the war god. I have no ill will towards you but understand if you and Harper choose not to fight.”

“Pff, that asshole probably has it coming,” Phoenix tells her.

“My men are going to shut this party down and we’ll head to the Underworld,” Hades states and heads off back to my father.

“Phoenix, are you sure about this? Ares is your dad.”

“Harper, he hasn’t done a damn thing but train me until I break and then start over again. Plus, it will be great to see him get his ass handed to him by Hades,” he replies.

“Did you know that Hades was a woman?” Stone asks.

The three of us shake our heads no, it was a huge surprise when she introduced herself.

“Not at all. The few times with Zeus, he only talked about himself, not our family. I can’t remember meeting her before now,” I tell them in all honesty.

“That’s because your father loves secrets,” Posiden pops in. “Hermès only knew of you because he was the messenger of the gods. If Zeus knew he was the one behind the cult there would’ve been hell to pay.”

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