Don't own characters from PJO or HoO.
Ella's POV ~
Twelve huge golden thrones were set in a U shape around a fire, where a small girl sat. Eleven of the thrones were occupied, and Hermes sat casually in the twelfth. On my right, Cas was biting the inside of her lip with her hands in her pockets, which meant she was nervous. I couldn't blame her. On my other side, Biron was staring at the gods in awe. Percy, Annabeth, and Nico all bowed, so I quickly did the same, dragging Cas and Biron down with me.
"Rise, demigods." A booming voice filled the throne room. We all stood. Zeus frowned at us, like something he couldn't wait to have off of his to-do list. "What is your business here?"
"My lord Zeus." Annabeth said politely. "We come with a simple question, nothing more." I could tell that Annabeth really needed to do the talking for us. I would have said something silly like, "hello, don't squash me, are you missing something important?".
"A question?" Zeus raised one eyebrow.
"A question is reasonable." Apollo chipped in. He was lounging casually in his throne.
"Very well." Zeus motioned for Annabeth to speak.
"Um, Lord Zeus, we were wondering if um, any of the gods…" Annabeth trailed off with an anxious glance at Percy. He stepped forward and took her hand. Neither of them wanted to say it. The gods would probably be insulted, and maybe zap us, so I cleared my throat and said it for them.
"We were wondering if any of the gods were missing their symbols of power." I said quickly, preparing to dive behind Nico, the living shield. The gods shifted angrily, and a few muttered under their breath, but nobody looked like they were guilty.
"None of us-" Hera started angrily. Suddenly, a man appeared in the center of the room, just in front of the fire. He was tall, with dark hair, a pale complexion, and cold eyes. He wore a dark suit with screaming faces on it, what every fashionable girl is wearing this fall. He looked a lot like Nico di Angelo. I had seen him last summer. Hades.
"Hades!" Zeus stood. "How dare you interrupt our-"
"I must speak to these demigods." He boomed, cutting off the voices of all the others.
"You mean-" Percy started. Hades lowered his head.
"The helm of darkness has been….Stolen."