Page 82 of Hades

“Well, this is awkward,” Nile comments.

“It’s bound to get worse before it gets better. I’m not sure how we come back from this,” I say honestly.

Nile looks like he is about to speak, but War walks back in.

“Do I need to come back?” he asks, raising an eyebrow.

“Nah, lead us to the gates,” Nile replies, “We will have time to talk then. If I’m lucky, Ares will just shoot me with an arrow and put me out of my misery.”

“Don’t wish that too loudly, we are in the land of the dead. War will come soon enough,” I tell him.

As the words leave my mouth, a smirk crosses both of their lips.

“What?” I ask.

Nile breaks out into a fit of laughs.

“What?” I demand this time.

“You..said..War..will come..” he says in between laughs.

“Oh, grow up,” I say with an eye roll.

Once War gets himself under control, he asks if we are ready.

I nod yes, without giving Nile another glance.

Do men ever grow out of being immature? Seriously, how old is War? He is too old to laugh after something so stupid.

“War?”

“Yes, Harper?”

“How old are you?”

“Older than the days of the Bible,” he says.

“So, how is it that you never met my Aunt before now?” I ask.

“There is no good answer. We haven’t had much crossover with any Greek gods, sometimes Demi-gods.”

“After all this time, you have just found her. That’s so crazy,” I say.

“It is indeed,” War concludes.

“Do you really think any of your family will come to your aid?” Pyro asks.

I sigh, it was a long shot, but I wouldn’t know if I didn’t ask. We are heading up the stairs that will take us to my brother Zeus’s domain. If Pyro is struggling to keep up, there are no signs of it. His breathing is easy and his heart rate isn’t elevated.

“Hard to say, as I am the outcast, but I believe that Ares is more hated than I am shunned. I can guarantee that he has called on his twin sister to aid him. If she answered, she will have some wicked Demis in tow,'' I reply.

“‘Demis?’”

“Demi-gods, like Harper’s men.”

“And what kind are they?” he asks.

“Not ones we really want to tangle with,” I say flatly.

---