Meeting the parents was more nerve-wracking than battling monsters. Will had anticipated and dreaded this moment for months. By numbers, he had it easier—there was only Hades, while Nico had to deal with Apollo, Sabrina, and Sabrina's husband Cyrus. But numbers never told the whole picture.

Will remembered bringing Nico to his mother's house. Nico – a sweet Italian boy 'raised right' – brought lasagna as a gift to the hosts. Never mind that it was the frozen kind, baked with extra herbs and sauces to mask the flavour. Sabrina and Cyrus had been impressed and delighted.

And then Apollo had to ruin it by showing up, too. "I love me a good coming out party!"

The sun god's sudden appearance startled Sabrina and Nico. Cyrus's face contorted with discomfort and displeasure. Will punched his dad's shoulder; he found it disturbing that his dad looked more like a brother. "I'm just introducing Nico to my mom and Cyrus. Also, you aren't invited."

Apollo ignored him and sauntered toward the dining room. As annoying as it was, Will had to give credit to his dad. Apollo and Nico hit it off right away. Apollo seemed to know every musician in Nico's favourite bands and had somehow acquired a competitive deck of Mythomagic cards, which he played against Nico and lost.

Meanwhile, Hades was silent as he led the group to his castle. His cloak had an odd design of screaming faces that shifted with his strides. Theo flew ahead to devour any monsters.

"I can control them," Nico volunteered.

Hades didn't look at him. "Save your strength."

"It's fine, really. We're all strong." Will didn't feel strong, but he appreciated Nico's comment. "This is Lilian Abebe—xe can control plants—and Marcus Hassan. He's been having issues with the Primordial Ooze, which is why we're here."

Hades scowled. "A son of Ares."

Marcus blurted out, "You got beef with my dad?"

"Kid, your dad is the god of war. Everyone's got beef with him."

Nico continued, "And this is Will."

Just Will. Not as eloquent of an introduction as Will had given for him, but very Nico-like.

When Hades didn't respond, Nico prompted, "Dad?"

As they arrived at the castle, Hades ripped off his cloak. Will swore he could hear a thousand screams in the distance. The King of the Underworld wore a pristine suit with a flower-sized skull as a boutonnière. As he snapped his fingers at dead-eyed servants, he muttered, "It had to be one of Apollo's brats."

"Excuse me?"

Lilian murmured, "At least it isn't one of Ares's brats, no?"

A sharp laugh escaped Marcus; Nico smiled. Will and Hades didn't react, though Hades said, "Wash off the monster ashes and then come down for dinner."

Two servants arrived to lead them to the guest rooms. Lilian and Marcus had one room to themselves, and they bickered about who'd get to bathe first. As soon as their servant – Vivian, Nico called her – left Will and Nico alone, Will pulled out the first-aid kit from his backpack. "Take off your shirt."

Nico raised an eyebrow at him. "Is this really necessary?"

"Your dad's stupid griffin attacked you. I need to clean the wound before it gets infected."

"I'm fine, really." Nico took off his shirt anyway. He was skinnier than Will remembered. Faint silver scratches marred his pale back, more reminiscent of scars than fresh wounds.

Will crouched and traced the marks with his fingers, gentle. They felt like scars, too, the skin raised and callused instead of tender. It was as if he'd been scratched weeks or months ago, not mere minutes. Will swallowed. "No blood at all. Is this because of your powers?"

"No." Nico turned and sat down, getting dust on Hades's carpet, which had the same design as the god's cloak. Will thought he heard someone sneeze far away. "We'd just battled Grimm, and I couldn't react fast enough to control Theo. But Dad was there the whole time, so I guess he wouldn't have let his pet kill me."

Will noticed Nico's choice of words. He kept his voice calm. "Did it hurt?"

Nico smiled up at him. "When I fell from heaven?"

"When the creature scratched you, idiot."

Nico hesitated. Will knew he liked to conceal the truth – he wouldn't go so far as to call it lying – to spare people's feelings. Will's gaze was stern. No more secrets, di Angelo. Please. "Yes. It hurt."

Before Will could reply, Nico got up and headed to the bath, closing the door behind him. Will drew the curtain and stared gloomily outside. The scenery was miserable; fields of bundled black flowers had been trampled by monsters, leaving the flowers to be eaten by maggots the size of rodents. A translucent face superimposed itself across the grimy window.

Will stepped back in horror as Vivian materialized before him. "Gods, Vivian, can't you use the door like a normal person?"

"I'm not normal." Her low voice was scratchy. Speaking seemed painful for her. Will wanted to find a cough drop in his backpack for her, but he didn't dare look away from the corpse-like girl. "I'm bound to Hades. As punishment for my crimes, I have to be his slave for a hundred years. It's only been thirty-one years."

"I'm sorry. Does he treat you well?"

"He treats me better than Death." Vivian clutched his arm and gazed up at him. She was taller than Nico, but her cheeks were sunken, her eye sockets hollowed in, making her appear smaller. "Dying is terrifying, William. The torment never ends. The torture lasts longer than eternity. Priestesses say children of Hades have it worse, because they'll stay conscious through it all. But I think I'd have it worse than those dark princes and royals. After all, forever losing consciousness removes your personhood." Vivian's nails dug into Will's skin. She glanced at the open first aid kit on the floor. "Playing doctor, William? Have you heard of futility?"

"Some people think prolonging the life of someone in a vegetative state is pointless. I think it's up to their loved ones to decide that. We exist because we're loved."

"Pah." Vivian pushed him away and tripped on the first aid kit on her way out.

Will leaned against the cold window; Vivian's words chilled him more. He hadn't thought much about death. As a medic in Camp Half-Blood, that'd be unhealthy thinking. But the few times when he'd given death a fleeting thought, he imagined a peaceful departure—an afterlife like Camp Half-Blood, but instead of the Olympians in power, the King was Hades, making Nico a prince.

Will never could have imagined that death would be more torturous for those closest to it. Then Nico's sister... She would be Will's only secret. Already, the concealed truth—the lie—was eating at him, twisting his insides, an awful sickness.