"There are two major entrances to the Underworld," Lila says to Percy. He looks around at the barren circle of rocks sceptically. "Well, that we know of." 

"You know the one in LA," Nico adds. 

"Charon's ferry?"

"Most souls go that way, but there's a smaller path, harder to find. The Door of Orpheus."

"The dude with the harp." 

"Dude with the lyre." Nico rolls his eyes. "But yeah, him. He used his music to charm the earth and open a new path into the Underworld. He sang his way right into Hades's palace and almost got away with his wife's soul. He persuaded Persephone." 

They all know the story- Lila perhaps better than most, considering her nightmares about the poor guy. 

"So this is the Door of Orpheus." Percy looks unimpressed. In all fairness, it does look exactly like any other pile of rocks. "How does it open?"

"We need music," Nico scowls at them both. "How's your singing?"

"Um, no." Percy says eloquently. "Can't you just, like, tell it to open? You're the son of Hades and all. Li? What about you?" She shakes her head. 

"It's not so easy. We need music."

Last summer, after the Battle of the Labyrinth, the Apollo cabin organised a karaoke night to try and raise spirits. It definitely worked, though Lila had been kind of irked that Nico wasn't invited because "that's not the kind of spirits we're trying to raise". Still, Lila remembers drinking too much nectar and screaming her heart out to 'Don't Stop Me Now' with Silena while Clarisse drunk something she shouldn't've been to try and unhear them. She also remembers Percy and Tyson belting out a song, so unrecognisable Lila doesn't even remember which it was. 

"I don't think we're the people for that," Lila winces. 

Percy nods. "I have a better idea." he turns, calling "GROVER!"

Lila has very little faith in this plan, seeing as Grover has been missing for so many months, but she says nothing, choosing to settle beside Mrs O'Leary. They wait for what seems to be a long time, until the sun begins to set and traffic slows down until it is only a steady hum, not the constant racket of New York. 

After a while, Percy joins her, leaning against the hellhound's back. "You good?" He asks. 

Lila hums. "I hate this place."

"You've been before?"

She shrugs. "I dream about it a lot." 

His eyes narrow. His dreams always seem to foretell of some great danger; perhaps he worries that hers do the same. They don't though - her dreams are so erratic and confusing they may as well have been written by the Oracle of Delphi. "What kind of dreams?"

Lila rolls her eyes. "Stop stressing, it's not a big deal." He doesn't say anything. "Just, like, Orpheus and Eurydice. Sometimes I just see the tunnel but I know it's this place. I'm sure there's no reason for it. Maybe it's just that it's one of the only heroes my mother ever met. I dream of other things too. More last year, but they've started coming back again." 

"Last year? Oh, like what?" 

"Well, I had this one where I was Icarus," Lila comments. "That was the worst one. And the first." 

His eyes narrow. "When was this?"

She tilts her head, squeezing his hand. "Why?"

"I had a similar dream. I was Daedalus." 

She frowns. "You think our dreams are connected." 

"Depends. When was this?"

She rubs her forehead. "I guess before we went into the labyrinth, before 'Beth's quest." 

He opens his mouth to say something else, but Nico appears, stepping out of the darkness, shrouded in shadow. "It's no good." 

Percy closes his eyes. His hand tightens around Lila's, but she keeps her mouth shut, allowing him to concentrate with whatever he's doing. Suddenly his eyes fly open, and he topples over onto Lila, who struggles to keep him upright.

"What happened?" Nico asks.

"I got through. He's . . . yeah. He's on his way."

They wait another minute, which passes so slowly Lila's about to check with Percy whether he's certain that the empathy link is working, but then Grover drops out of some branches beside them, right onto his head. 

"Grover!"

Grover makes some kind of incomprehensible noise.

"You okay, man?"

"Oh, I'm fine." He rubs his head. "I was at the other end of the park. The dryads had this great idea of passing me through the trees to get me here. They don't understand height very well."

He gets to his feet - well, hooves. His clothes are covered in dirt and tree sap, which Lila presumes is from his transport through the trees. He's grown, too - he's the same height as Percy, a few inches taller then Lila and many inches taller than Nico. 

"Good to see you, G-man," Percy says (Lila mentally stores that nickname for future bullying). "You remember Nico."

They nod, before Grover hugs Percy, then Lila.

"I missed you! I miss camp. They don't serve very good enchiladas in the wilderness."

"They don't serve enchiladas in the wilderness." Nico mutters, loud enough for only Lila to hear. She kicks his ankle. 

"I was worried," Percy says. "Where've you been the last two months?"

"The last two—" Grover pales. "The last two months? What are you talking about?"

"We haven't heard from you," Percy explains. "Juniper's worried. We sent Iris-messages, but—"

"Hold on." He looks up at the stars like he's trying to calculate his position. "What month is this?"

"August."

"That's impossible. It's June. I just lay down to take a nap and . . ." He grabs Percy's arms. "I remember now! He knocked me out. Percy, we have to stop him!"

"Whoa," Percy instructs. "Slow down. Tell me what happened."

He takes a deep breath. "I was . . . I was walking in the woods up by Harlem Meer. And I felt this tremble in the ground, like something powerful was near."

"You can sense stuff like that?" Nico raises his eyebrows. 

He nods. "Since Pan's death, I can feel when something is wrong in nature. It's like my ears and eyes are sharper when I'm in the Wild. Anyway, I started following the scent. This man in a long black coat was walking through the park, and I noticed he didn't cast a shadow. Middle of a sunny day, and he cast no shadow. He kind of shimmered as he moved."

The description is incredibly eerie, but Lila can't help but feel that she's seen this man before, somewhere. Probably in her dreams.

"Like a mirage?" Nico asks.

"Yes, and whenever he passed humans—"

"The humans would pass out," Nico supplies. "Curl up and go to sleep."

"That's right! Then after he was gone, they'd get up and go about their business like nothing happened."

"You know this guy in black?" Percy stares.

"Afraid so. Grover, what happened?"

"I followed the guy. He kept looking up at the buildings around the park like he was making estimates or something. This lady jogger ran by, and she curled up on the sidewalk and started snoring. The guy in black put his hand on her forehead like he was checking her temperature. Then he kept walking. By this time, I knew he was a monster or something even worse. I followed him into this grove, to the base of a big elm tree. I was about to summon some dryads to help me capture him when he turned and . . . Percy, his face. I couldn't make out his face because it kept shifting. Just looking at him made me sleepy. I said, 'What are you doing?' He said, 'Just having a look around. You should always scout a battlefield before the battle.' I said something really smart like, 'This forest is under my protection. You won't start any battles here!' And he laughed. He said, 'You're lucky I'm saving my energy for the main event, little satyr. I'll just grant you a short nap. Pleasant dreams.' And that's the last thing I remember."

Nico exhales. "Grover, you met Morpheus, the God of Dreams. You're lucky you ever woke up."

"Two months," Grover moans. "He put me to sleep for two months!"

"Morpheus?" Lila hums. "He's one of the gods who defected over to Kronos, right?"

Nico nods grimly. 

"Why didn't the nymphs try to wake you?" Percy asks.

Grover shrugs. "Most nymphs aren't good with time. Two months for a tree—that's nothing. They probably didn't think anything was wrong."

"We've got to figure out what Morpheus was doing in the park," Percy adds. "I don't like this 'main event' thing he mentioned."

"Yeah," Lila adds. "And he called it a "battlefield"." Annabeth once said that more gunpowder was used to clear the land for Central Park to be built than was used in the American Civil War. It's a strange thing to think that this area of tranquillity, an oasis of calm in the centre of one of the busiest cities in the world, was built on utter destruction. Almost as though it's only a front, and in reality it's No Man's Land for a battle yet to be fought. "It's only like, thirty minutes from here to the Empire State Building." 

Percy stares. "You think Kronos is going to march his army through Central Park." 

"I think he's going to march his army through New York," Lila amends. "And you do too, or you wouldn't be here. And Annabeth does too, but she won't admit it, because Rachel also thinks so. Even Nico probably thinks it, and honestly, until quite recently, I wasn't sure Nico could think." 

"Wow." Nico rolls his eyes. "But Lila's right. This just proves there's going to be an invasion. Percy, we have to get on with our plan."

"Wait," Grover says. "What plan?"

They explain. Somehow, he looks even more upset.

"You're not serious," he says. "Not the Underworld again."

"I'm not asking you to come, man," Percy promises. "I know you just woke up. But we need some music to open the door. Can you do it?"

Grover takes out his reed pipes. "I guess I could try. I know a few Nirvana tunes that can split rocks. But, Percy, are you sure you want to do this?"

"Please, man. It would mean a lot. For old times' sake?"

He whimpers. "As I recall, in the old times we almost died a lot."

"Don't worry," Lila assures him. "The new times are the same."

 He manages a shaky laugh. "Okay, here goes nothing." Pressing the pipes to his lips, he plays a shrill tune that is rather headache-inducing, especially at 1am. The boulders must agree, for they tremble, cracking open. Behind is a triangular crack, just large enough for a few demigods to slip in, possible too small for them to slip out. 

"Thanks . . . I think."

"Percy, is Kronos really going to invade?"

"I wish I could tell you better, but yeah. He will."

Lila expects Grover to keel over from the stress, but instead he straightens, brushing dirt off his T-shirt. "I've got to rally the nature spirits, then. Maybe we can help. I'll see if we can find this Morpheus.'"

"Better tell Juniper you're okay, too."

He nearly keels over at that. "Juniper! Oh, she's going to kill me!" That's fair. If Percy ever disappeared for two months - Lila's not sure what she'd do, but it would be more drastic than Juniper, by far. He begins to run off, before jogging back to hug both Percy and Lila. "Be careful down there! Come back alive!"

That's ominous. 

Lila stares into the darkness of the cavern. It seems to go forever, the dark only opening into even more darkness, a pit of nothingness. She's never been to the Underworld before, not while awake. This is her mother's realm, open for her to explore, and she wants nothing more than to retreat back into the welcoming arms of the summer air. 

"Ready?" Nico asks. "It'll be fine. Don't worry." Lila worries more. He doesn't sound convinced. He sounds like he's trying to convince himself. 

Percy looks up at the stars, like he's trying to memorise what they look like in case he never sees them again. Then he steps forward, pulling Lila behind him. Their hands are intwined so tightly - they've gotten so used to it that Lila hardly notices anymore when he reaches for her, only readily letting him pull her wherever they need to go. She'd follow him forever, if she's honest. She's glad he's here, in front of her - if he weren't, she fears she may never have begun the descent, only hiding in the open air above. 

Mrs O'Leary runs ahead, barking cheerfully, in stark contrast to the sombre mood of their trio. Even Nico is lagging behind.

 Percy seems confused by it. "You okay?" 

"Fine." There's a weird expression on his face. "Just keep moving," he says. 

Lila frowns. "Nico - "

"Keep moving," he says, more insistently, a sharpness entering his voice Lila's not used to. He reminds her of a certain animated fish. 

They don't have any choice; it's not a one-way road, but more of a one-way steep footpath into death. After a long time walking, the river begins to audibly roar. Lila hopes it's one of the nicer rivers like Acheron (misery) or Cocytus (lamentation). She'd rather those over the Lethe or the Styx.

Her wish is not granted. They emerge at the bottom of a cliff, where the sand is black and grainy. The Styx roars beside them, while on the other side, Lila can faintly make out the glowing fires of the walls to Hades's kingdom. 

Percy squeezes her hand, while Lila steps backwards. "You think we can go back up?"

She looks toward Nico for reassurance; he's unnaturally pale, and that's by Nico standards. She's worried he's about to turn into a ghost. So not reassuring. 

Mrs. O'Leary seems happy. She bounds along the beach, grabbing a random human leg bone, before dropping it in front of Percy, for him to throw. He stares at it. 

Lila can't help but smile at how cute the giant crimson-eyed hound is, so she wraps her fingers around the bone, trying not to think about where it came from. She tosses it gently, careful not to throw it too far away. 

"So, Nico . . . how do we do this?"

"We have to go inside the gates first," he says.

"But the river's right here."

"I have to get something," he says stubbornly. "It's the only way."

He marches off without waiting.

Percy frowns, looking toward Lila. "What's he talking about?" 

She shrugs. "I don't know. He's acting weird. What do we do?"

"I don't think we have any choice," Percy says grimly. "Stay close." 

Lila grins at the irony of that, like she'd ever willingly be far away from him. As they walk, his arm drapes over her shoulders in a way that seems casual, but she can see the tenseness of his muscles, the way his fingers are itching to grab Riptide. He's pulling her closer - not out of affection, but out of fear. 

There are lines of the dead outside the gates. His hand tightens on her shoulder, as if to shield her from the creepy spirits. He needn't have worried; they take no notice off Percy and Lila - probably because of Nico, but maybe also because she's a Daughter of Persephone. Mrs O'Leary runs over toward Cerberus and begins to do the dog version of flirting, despite the fact he's more than twice her size. 

"Mrs. O'Leary, no!" Percy shouts at her. "Don't sniff . . . Oh, man."

Nico smiles. Then it sours. "Come on."

They trudge over the black fields of Ashphodel, the flowers blooming beneath Lila's feet as she steps, and wilting away the moment she walks away. Nico walks closer and closer toward Hades' palace, which Lila recognises from an uncomfortable dream with her mother around Christmastime. 

"Hey," Percy says, "we're inside the gates already. Where are we—"

Mrs. O'Leary growls. Above them, a shadow appears, somehow colder than the rest of the lifeless place. 

"Mrs. Dodds," Percy scowls.

She bares her fangs. "Welcome back, honey."

Her two sisters—the other Furies—swoop down beside her. 

"You know Alecto?" Nico asks.

"If you mean the hag in the middle, yeah. She was my math teacher."

Lila's heard the story, sadly. "Why are we here? Why are they here? Nico..."

He ignores her, looking up at the Furies ."I've done what my father asked. Take us to the palace."

Percy tenses even more. "Wait a second, Nico. What do you—"

"I'm afraid this is my new lead. My father promised me information about my family, but he wants to see you before we try the river. I'm sorry."

Lila gapes at him. "You lied to us?" Something in her heart breaks. There's a lump in her throat; with horror, she realises it's hurt. After a year of travelling together, a year of becoming as close as siblings can be, Nico lied and betrayed her - them - for his father? A father who's not even nice to him. 

Maybe he looks guilty, but she's too angry to care. "I'm sorry, Li. I didn't have a choice." 

It reminds her of what Luke said when he betrayed the Camp, and her, or what Ethan said when he left her alone in the Hades cabin to join Kronos, or even what Clarisse said, when she refused to help with the war because of a flying chariot. Or any of the countless other times someone has betrayed her. How long until she learns not to trust people? Every day the list grows shorter. There's only Silena, Annabeth, Percy left. Everyone else has either lied, or is dead. 

Percy must be thinking something similar. His feelings don't manifest as hurt, however - instead, he grabs Riptide and lunges toward Nico. He nearly cuts through him, but the Furies are fast - Alecto grabs him, pulling him into the air. 

Lila jumps to her feet, grabbing her spear. "Let go of him!"

Alecto sneers. "Are you sure you want that?" They pull him higher, almost sixty feet into the air. 

Another of the Furies lunges toward Lila - she slashes outwards with her spear, cutting it's arm - it hisses angrily, trying to slash her face with it's claws but she backsteps. She's not sure what the end goal is here; Percy is entirely helpless, no matter what she does. The other Fury flies at her, but she dodges that too. Then she feels a cold edge at her back, the unmistakeable feeling of a sword pressed to her skin. 

She turns; Nico stands, his Iron blade pressed to her skin. "I'm sorry," he says, sincerely. To the Furies, "Don't hurt her." 

Tisiphone and Megaera grin, but not of joy. Megaera grabs Lila's arms, pulling her into the air, while Nico is lifted by Tisiphone, far more gently. Lila wants to cry. How could Nico do this? They're supposed to be a team. 

Another of the Furies grabs Lila - she lashes out with her spear, but there are two of them and one of her, and in a moment she's dangling in the air too, completely helpless to the whims of the stupid winged monster. 

Mrs O'Leary barks, growling, but the Furies barely flinch, clearly used to the fangs of the monster. They're too high, anyway. 

"Tell Mrs. O'Leary to behave," Nico warns, and Lila wishes she could punch him in the face. "I don't want her to get hurt. My father is waiting. He just wants to talk."

"He couldn't have just asked?" Lila mutters. "Instead of kidnapping us, I mean." 

"Mrs. O'Leary, down! It's okay, girl." Percy says, scowling. "All right, traitor," he growls at Nico. "You've got your prize. Take us to the stupid palace."

The Furies fly fast. Within a few seconds, they're dumped in the middle of the palace garden. Percy's thrown roughly to the ground, while Lila is dropped marginally more gently. They place Nico down like a precious little doll. 

She's been before, in her dreams. Many times; both as herself, or as someone else. She's seen her mother from a thousand different viewpoints here, in this very place. It's beautiful in a creepy way, the same way Lila's been told she's pretty but eerie. The trees are skeletal and bony, growing from marble basins. The flowerbeds are overflowing with life and shining plants, but also with shining gemstones. In the centre are a pair of thrones, one bone and one silver, with a view of the Fields of Asphodel. There's a faint noise of souls from the Fields of Punishment, past Asphodel, but Lila does her best to ignore that. Skeletal warriors, the kind Percy once described to her, guard the exit  - the only entrance, unless one is dropped from the sky. 

Percy glares at Nico, gripping Lila's hand tightly. 

The air shimmers, like it does on a really hot day when the air is so humid little rainbows appear in the sunlight, but this time it's because there are gods appearing. Three figures appear, which doesn't make much sense, considering it's summer and Persephone should be with Demeter in Olympus. Yet, Hades and Persephone are on their thrones, while Demeter is standing between them. They seem to be in the middle of an argument. 

"—told you he was a bum!" Demeter says. 

"Mother!" Persephone snaps.

"We have visitors!" Hades barks. "Please!" He smooths his robes, which are shimmering with faces of the damned. "Percy Jackson, at last."

"Hello, Lila," Persephone says. 

Lila sighs. "Hi, mom." 

Persephone is glowing, the only light in the dull darkness of the Underworld, besides the shiny gems. Her hair is black; different to the long blonde hair she had when Lila saw her last, but she's a goddess, so it figures. They can change their appearance at will (Lucky!). Her eyes are different too; warm and brown, not dark blue like Lila's own. But her facial features are almost a mirror of Lila's own; they have the same nose, the same set mouth, the same shin and same crease between their eyebrows as they think. 

Demeter's features similar, almost the same, though there's a more disapproving sense about her, and she seems more serious and highly strung, just from the way she's scowling. She has a long golden dress, and her hair is woven with dried grasses, like the baskets in the Demeter cabin. "Demigods. Just what we need."

Nico kneels. Lila rolls her eyes at him as obviously as she can, hoping he sees. Percy seems to be looking for Riptide, possibly with intent to kill the Son of Hades. "Father, I have done as you asked."

"Took you long enough," Hades grumbles, and Lila almost feels sorry for her brother. "Your sister would've done a better job."

"What do you want, Hades?" Percy glares. 

"To talk, of course." The god seems to be smiling, but it's not a particularly good smile. It's almost unrecognisable. "Didn't Nico tell you?"

"So this whole quest was a lie. Nico brought me down here to get me killed."

"Oh, no," Hades says. "I'm afraid Nico was quite sincere about wanting to help you. The boy is as honest as he is dense. I simply convinced him to take a small detour and bring you here first."

"Father," Nico says, "you promised that Percy would not be harmed. You said if I brought him, you would tell me about my past—about my mother."

Persephone sighs dramatically. Over-dramatically. "Can we please not talk about that woman in my presence?"

"I'm sorry, my dove," Hades says, and Lila stifles a bout of nausea. "I had to promise the boy something. And your daughter is right here. She's lucky I'm not incinerating her. In normal circumstances, I would." 

Percy shuffles slightly in front of Lila, like if Hades tries to incinerate her, he's ensuring they'll both be burnt to a crisp. 

Demeter huffs. "I warned you, daughter. This scoundrel Hades is no good. You could've married the god of doctors or the god of lawyers, but nooo. You had to eat the pomegranate." (Lila's suddenly glad she's not Demeter's daughter.)

"Mother—"

"And get stuck in the Underworld!"

"Mother, please—"

"And here it is August, and do you come home like you're supposed to? Do you ever think about your poor lonely mother?"

"Demeter!" Hades shouts. "That is enough. You are a guest in my house."

"Oh, a house is it? You call this dump a house? Make my daughter live in this dark, damp—"

"I told you," Hades grinds his teeth, "there's a war in the world above. You and Persephone are better off here with me."

"Excuse me," Percy interrupts. "But if you're going to kill me, could you just get on with it?"

Lila sighs. 

"Well, this one has an attitude," Demeter observes.

"Indeed," Hades agrees. "I'd love to kill him."

"Father! You promised!"

"Husband, we talked about this," Persephone reminds him. "You can't go around incinerating every hero. Besides, he's brave. I like that. And Lila likes him... I think. I do want my only daughter to be happy." It's almost sweet. "Lila, this is the one you like, right?" 

"Uh...yeah?" Lila winces. She didn't mean it to sound like such a question. "Percy's my, uh - " wait, what are they? They've never talked about this. "My, um - "

"Friend?" Nico offers. 

"Yes! Wait - " Are they friends?

Hades rolls his eyes - either at Persephone, or Lila. "You liked that Orpheus fellow too. Look how well that turned out. Let me kill him, just a little bit." 

"How do you kill someone 'a little bit'?" Lila whispers to Percy. 

"Don't ask," he mutters back, avoiding her eyes. 

"Father, you promised!" Nico snaps. "You said you only wanted to talk to him. You said if I brought him, you'd explain."

"And so I shall. Your mother—what can I tell you? She was a wonderful woman." He glances at Lila's mom. "Forgive me, my dear. I mean for a mortal, of course. Her name was Maria di Angelo. She was from Venice, but her father was a diplomat in Washington, D.C. That's where I met her. When you and your sister were young, it was a bad time to be children of Hades. I thought it best to put you two out of harm's way."

"That's why you hid us in the Lotus Casino?"

Hades shrugs. "You didn't age. You didn't realize time was passing. I waited for the right time to bring you out."

"But what happened to our mother? Why don't I remember her?"

"Not important."

"What? Of course it's important. And you had other children—why were we the only ones who were sent away? And who was the lawyer who got us out?"

"You would do well to listen more and talk less, boy. As for the lawyer . . ."

Alecto changes until they're a middle-aged man in a suit. "You!" Nico says.

The Fury cackles. "I do lawyers and teachers very well!" 

"But why did you free us from the casino?" Nico's trembling. Lila almost feels sorry for him.

"You know why," Hades snaps. "This idiot son of Poseidon cannot be allowed to be the child of the prophecy."

Percy grabs a ruby from a plant and throws it at the Lord of the Underworld. 

Lila sighs.

— It does nothing, sinking into his robe amongst all the other damned souls. "You should be helping Olympus! All the other gods are fighting Typhon, and you're just sitting here—"

"Waiting things out," Hades completes. "Yes, that's correct. When's the last time Olympus ever helped me, half-blood? When's the last time a child of mine was ever welcomed as a hero? Bah! Why should I rush out and help them? I'll stay here with my forces intact."

"And when Kronos comes after you?" 

"Let him try. He'll be weakened. And my son here, Nico—" Hades eyes him. "Well, he's not much now, I'll grant you. It would've been better if Bianca had lived. But give him four more years of training. We can hold out that long, surely. Nico will turn sixteen, as the prophecy says, and then he will make the decision that will save the world. And I will be king of the gods."

"That makes zero sense," Lila says. "Prophecies don't work like that." 

He waves his hand. "Shush, child. I think I, a millenia old god, know more about prophecies than a teenage demigod."

Evidently not, Lila thinks.

"You're crazy," Percy agrees. "Kronos will crush you, right after he finishes pulverizing Olympus."

"Mom, do you really think this is the best idea? What about your family on Olympus?" Lila says to her mother. "What about all the gardens that are going to be destroyed?"

Persephone says nothing, only humming thoughtfully. 

Hades spreads his hands like a supervillain. "Well, you'll get a chance to find out, half-bloods. Because you'll be waiting out this war in my dungeons."

"No!" Nico says. "Father, that wasn't our agreement. And you haven't told me everything!"

"I've told you all you need to know," Hades rolls his eyes. "As for our agreement, I spoke with Jackson. I did not harm him. You got your information. If you had wanted a better deal, you should've made me swear on the Styx. Now, go to your room!" He waves his hand, and Nico vanishes, dismissed.

"That boy needs to eat more," Demeter grumbles. "He's too skinny. He needs more cereal."

Persephone rolls her eyes. "Mother, enough with the cereal. My lord Hades, are you sure we can't let this little hero go?" she winks at Lila. "He's awfully brave."

"No, my dear. I've spared his life. That's enough."

Lila's certain her mother is going to stand up and defend them. Her kind, beautiful, caring mother who only wants her to be happy is going to stand up to her asshole-ish husband and get them to the River Styx. Percy must think the same, for he's watching the goddess in awe. 

Instead, Persephone shrugs. "Fine. What's for breakfast? I'm starving."

"Cereal," Demeter says.

"Mother!" Persephone sighs. "Come on, Lila." 

"What?" Percy yelps.

"What?" Lila frowns. 

"What's so surprising about me wanting to spend time with my daughter?"

"Yes," Demeter agrees. "We can have breakfast together. These modern demigods are completely uneducated in matters of real importance, like agriculture." 

"I don't want to have breakfast with you!" Lila scowls, stamping her foot slightly. "I want you to stop Hades from locking Percy up!" Okay, she sounds like a brat, but it's totally justified. 

"Shush," Demeter chides. To Persephone, she says, "She's whinier than I expected. Is she always like this?"

Lila opens her mouth to whine some more, but the garden is fading away, and now she is staring at her mother on another throne, this time at the head of an old wooden table.

"Sit, daughter," Persephone commands. "Have some breakfast. Guess what! It's cereal."

a/n

multiple things to say 

i skipped the bit with may castellan / hestia / sally because I was intending on writing it, but Lila really has no part to play, so it was boring as shit to write, and even worse to read, so i just skipped it. however i am planning to include the may castellan bit in the extra scenes at the end, and i want to add the sally & lila bit to that too. someone remind me once this is finished

i am so excited for the next bits - there's like one boring chapter but the rest are bangers. finally things are getting interesting, both in romance and in plot 

very excited for the next chapter especially - i want to show a new side to persephone, and the next chapter i think should really highlight this, though i need to do it right. 

also the bit with percy and lila being "friends" is that classic romance novel shit lmaoo y'all will like it trust

next chapter is vry long, may split into 2 depending on how long it gets. i don't want to write a chapter over 6k words. that is my limit

lyra