Chapter Eight

A/N: I do not own anything other than my OCs when they come out to play. Everything else is owned by either Disney or the Greek Myths.

Holy cats you guys, can you believe how close we are to 150 reviews? Thank you all so much!

Oh, got a question for you—I will be doing a react to Choosing Love and Choosing Home as well. Would you rather them be all in this story or would you rather them have their own separate stories?

Tracie Adams: I sure do! I'm so glad you're enjoying the story! :D

Marcus Emrys: Oh right! I remember you'd mentioned it before…and yeah it might be time for the other Gods to break that net out again!

AmethystDragon14: Oh yay! Thank you so much! :D Yep, Herc's in my good books too!

Katie2001: Oh thank you so much, I'm so glad you're enjoying the chapter!

twilightgirl587: Oh yay! It will have a sequel, I promise.

Isabelly Silva Sousa: So that was my mistake, another reviewer let nee know about the slight continuity issue. Demeter's there, just very silent.

danifan3000: It is confusing I agree!

midnight rose112358: Thank you—and thank you for catching that continuity error!

Urmimala Hazra: Well I mean Zeus is the King of the Gods, he might be a bit more powerful than Persephone.

billyandkimfan1994: My money's on plot reasons—Disney wanted Hercules feeling like an outcast.

Anonymous Reader: Some people are stubborn—Zeus is one of them!

medical ranger: He most certainly did deserve that tongue lashing!

Guest: Guess Phil and Meg taught him a thing or two! :D

Harrypotter84: Oh I'm so glad! Ask and you'll receive! :D

shortanamx: Oh thank you! Yeah I'm taking care of myself—I get my shot next week (actually a week from today).

Dance love 2007: Thank you so much!

Guest: I can certainly agree with that! Glad you liked the chapter!

Q: You know that raises the question, why didn't Zeus just make Meg a Goddess instead of taking away Hercules' Godhood. I mean, she did shove Hercules out of the way of the pillar—I'd say that's a heroic act.

Mixer2002: My favorite Gods are Persephone and Hades, Athena, Hera if I ignore all the stuff she did to Hercules and others and Artemis. Oh and Hercules and Meg—she should be a Goddess!

lilyflower101: It'll come up soon! :D

DOAWOTA: I can certainly make that happen!

Lord of the A.U. FanFiction: Oh thank you but don't put yourself down, I've been reading your stories and they're really good! Can't wait to read the next update of Reading Choosing Family.

Hope you all like the chapter! Let me know what you think! :D

Hadie unfurled the scroll and sighed softly at the first paragraph. It didn't look like this was going to be a happy scroll.

Hades sighed as he walked past the empty nursery; the crib still lying on its side. It had been two weeks since Maleficent had stolen Mal back and Hades hadn't had the heart to clean the room.

Zeus frowned as his nephew read that. It was becoming more and more apparent that Hades had truly changed. But…could he really be trusted?

His son and daughter-in-law seemed to think so.

It was if it had been frozen in time, the only difference being the lack of feather on Mal's pillow. Hades had put that away for safe keeping in case he ever needed to bring up an accusation against Maleficent.

"But…you're a God," Aziz asked. "Wouldn't people believe you regardless?"

"One: it's the Isle," Jay told him. "Accusations without proof are really easy to blow off."

"Two: it's the Isle," Mal added. "A resident stealing from another resident? Jay calls that a Tuesday."

"Normally he's on the other end of it though," Harry said with a smirk.

"And finally, would you go up against Maleficent without proof?" Uma asked.

Aziz shook his head.

"Didn't think so."

Persephone had been avoiding Mal's former room as if it had been the plague but Hades couldn't fault his wife for that. Every time he came across one of the toys Persephone had brought for Mal from Auradon scattered on the floor of the den, his heart broke.

Belle gave Hades a what she hoped was a comforting smile. She knew how she felt whenever she had come across one of the baby clothes they had gotten for Abigail a few weeks after…

Was there something more I could be doing? He thought as he closed the door to the nursery. He didn't know how it had opened; he had given orders to Pain and Panic that the room was not to be disturbed.

Rapunzel sighed. She had talked to her mother about the night she'd been kidnapped a few weeks before Rachel was born. What her mother had said was almost similar to what Lord Hades had been like—or at least the Lord Hades in the scroll.

Mom used to say that the only thing that really helped was staying busy, she thought. Though…I kinda hope Lord Hades doesn't have to be busy in the Underworld.

His minions had been making themselves scarce ever since Mal had been taken; what normally took one angry bellow of their name now took at the very least three before they would rear their heads. Persephone had suggested that maybe they thought Hades blamed them for Mal getting kidnapped—after all, they were in the room.

"They're moronic but I wouldn't have blamed them for that," Hades shook his head.

Pain and Panic versus Maleficent's goblins, Hades thought as he made his way to the kitchen. Unless they had their shape shifting abilities, Pain and Panic would be toast. I heard the stories about how exuberant those goblins were in tying up Phillip. As much as I hate to compliment a hero, Phillip seems like he's fairly competent from the reports Persephone brings back from Auradon.

"…Thank you Lord Hades," Phillip Sr. said after a few minutes.

"Hey, you didn't get yourself hypnotized, transformed, and you were ready to give up your throne for who you thought was a peasant girl," Hades shrugged. "I can recognize competency when it rears its head."

He grabbed a chipped mug from the cupboard and sighed as he put the water on for tea. The tea helped; it gave him something to do that didn't involve hunting down his ex-wife and eviscerating her to the point that her soul wouldn't even wind up in the Underworld. Well, or at least that's what happens in Hades' dreams. But then he has to wake up and remember that anything he did would potentially put Mal at risk.

"We really should have consulted Athena," Persephone sighed.

"Or Apollo, isn't he also the God of Logic?" Poseidon said.

"The fact that one of Zeus' kids is the God of Logic scares me," Hades muttered.

For not the first time since Mal had been taken, Hades cursed the fact that he was on this gods forsaken Isle. If he had been in Boreadon, he could have petitioned Zeus.

Hera, Demeter, Poseidon, Zeus, Hercules, Meg and Persephone all looked at Hades in amazement and astonishment.

"It was for Mal," the Lord of the Underworld said and Persephone smiled. Her husband would put up with a brother he despised to get his daughter back safely.

That was the God she loved.

Actually, it wouldn't have even gotten to that point since Hades would have had full access to his chariot and his powers. Cerberus would have liked using Maleficent as a chew toy, Hades thought with a grim smile as the water boiled.

Estelle yipped softly and wagged his tail.

"Sounds like someone else wants to turn Maleficent into a chew toy," Neal chuckled.

"Good boy," Chip grinned.

"Your water's ready," Persephone's soft voice broke Hades from his thoughts. He turned around to see his wife standing in the doorway. It was a rare sight for Persephone to be out of their room; the inability to do anything seemed to be affecting her more than Hades thought possible.

Mal frowned. She didn't like the idea that she'd put her mom and dad through that much pain. Sure it wasn't her fault, she hadn't been asked to be kidnapped by Maleficent but still.

"Can I make you a cup?" Hades asked, reaching up on the shelf to get her one of the few non-chipped mugs that she had brought from Auradon a couple of years ago.

"You should have used the non-chipped mug," Meg told him. "It's not exactly safe to use a chipped mug to drink out of."

"I'm a God," Hades said simply.

"No thank you," Persephone said and sighed. "I'll be up at all hours otherwise. That's the last thing I need right now."

"They make non caffeinated tea Aunt Persephone," Macaria said.

"We have no clue what brand that tea is that Hades uses," Persephone told her gently.

Hades nodded as he poured the water over his tea. He would have preferred loose tea but the tea bags were easier to fish out of the barge deliveries.

"Why…why would you need to fish out the tea bags?" Emir asked.

Jay snorted. "Maybe because we practically eat your garbage," he told him.

"What?!" Ben exclaimed. "No, that…that can't be! Emir, Akiho, and I run the food drives every month. We've been in charge of them since I was thirteen! We've been participating in them since I was eight! That food's the freshest it could possibly be!"

"Well then there's a disconnect between when you all collect the food and when we get the food," Mal said, crossing her arms. The look of genuine shock and horror on Ben's face though did make her soften her glare.

"It's rare to find food not covered in flies or dirt," Dizzy added.

"I'm lucky," Carlos said softly. "I'm under Mal and Uma's crew's protection so I can get food from Ursula's. Plus my…plus Cruella's allied with Maleficent so I can get food when I want."

"I'm a little lucky too," Evie nodded. "My mother's with Maleficent's group after all."

"How could this be going on?!" Kitty asked, looking over at Ben.

"I don't know. But I'm going to find out," Ben said, nodding his head as if to punctuate his point.

Emir bit his lip. As much as he cared about the issues of food poverty, he knew Ben was already running himself ragged to get ready for the coronation.

"Ben…don't you have enough on your plate?" Akiho asked gently, as if picking up on Emir's thought. "Emir and I can handle the research—."

"Making sure Auradon's citizens have access to a basic human right is more important than the coronation Akiho!" Ben said firmly. "If I'm going to be King of Auradon, then I'm going to be King of all of Auradon."

"I wish I knew what brand that was," Persephone said as she leaned over on the counter. "I'd be able to get you a box of fresh bags in Auradon."

"They should be getting fresh bags regardless!" Emma stated.

"I'm used to these," Hades told her. Sure the tea was weaker than it should have been but it was still tea.

"Something tells me I'll be getting a bunch of boxes soon," Hades chuckled as he saw the look on his daughter's face.

Mal pursed her lips. If there was going to be anything good to come out of being forced to go to Boreadon, she could at least get her dad some good tea.

Persephone frowned. "I know, but it'd be nice to be useful for something. I haven't heard anything from the gossip chain regarding Maleficent when I go on my walks. Then again maybe no news is good news."

"That's always the case," Jane said, as Lonnie nodded in agreement.

"She's still holed up in her castle," Hades told her. "I've been keeping an eye on Mal through the ember."

"Wouldn't that just drive you mad though?" Jasmine asked, her voice soft.

"It was better than doing nothing," Hades sighed. He wasn't exactly sure why he was spilling his guts to the Boreadon royals but he was.

"Let me guess, you like her too?" Kristoff asked and Hades chuckled.

"Yes…and you too Reindeer King."

"…much appreciated Lord Hades."

"How does she look?" Persephone asked, leaning on the counter as if trying to hang on Hades' every word. Hades didn't blame her; his favorite time of day was quickly becoming the hours he spent staring through his ember keeping an eye on his daughter.

"Like any parent would," Eugene said, holding one of his daughters close to him, Rapunzel doing the same with their son.

"If Maleficent's hurt her, I can't see any proof of it," Hades told her, knowing who Persephone was referring to. "Overall Mal looks fine."

"Maleficent might have known you were watching," Poseidon said. "She wouldn't have left a mark anywhere visible."

"Knowing Maleficent? She would have left a visible mark just to drive me up the wall," Hades shook his head.

"Could Maleficent have turned over a new leaf?" Persephone asked, her voice so soft that Hades almost thought his wife was talking to herself. "I've heard stories in Auradon of new mothers not connecting with their children after birth. Maybe…"

"Honestly," Leah scoffed. "There's no reason to be delusional over the brat—"

"Don't you dare say another word Leah," Demeter said with a glare. "And I'd think twice before insulting my daughter or my granddaughter!"

"Mother?" Persephone asked, looking over at her.

"She called you 'mom'. You clearly have some kind of a relationship," Demeter told her.

"Yet you didn't react during the last scroll when Maleficent kidnapped her."

"Seething with rage dear. Seething with rage."

Persephone smiled. "Keep this up mother, and you might get to have a conversation with Mal."

"Steph," Hades said gently, taking his wife's hand and holding it gently in his. "I know where your thoughts are going but you're forgetting something. It's Maleficent we're talking about. She doesn't have a maternal bone in her body."

"Then why did she—?"

"Status," Mal shrugged as she looked over at Elle. "Evil Queen probably was using Blueberry there to try to elevate her own status on the Isle. Either that or Maleficent wanted to quash any rumors that dad stole me from her."

"I know," Persephone told him, looking into his eyes. The pain in her eyes broke Hades' heart; how he wished he could take this pain from her or to be the only one who felt it. If there had to be a silver lining in all this, it was that Persephone was here and Hades could comfort her as needed. If Maleficent had stolen Mal when Persephone was in Auradon, Hades didn't know what he would have done. "But I need to have hope."

"You'd get on well with Ben," Akiho said. "There's no one more hopeful than him."

Ben shrugged. "It was one of my christening gifts. But I hope I'd get along well with Lady Persephone."

Hades frowned and set his mug down. Walking around the counter, he enveloped his wife up into a hug. "Maleficent will let her guard down at some point," he told Persephone. "We'll get Mal back."

"Funnily enough, it wasn't Maleficent letting down her guard that let us get Mal back," Hades chuckled.

"How did you get her back?" Hercules asked.

"Sorry Wonderboy, that would be spoilers," Hades said, the chuckle still on his voice. He didn't notice that he had said 'Wonderboy' instead of the usual derogatory nickname of 'Wonderbreath'.

"But when?" Persephone asked as she looked up at him, tears beginning to well in the corner of her eyes. "And what will Mal be like when we do get her back? Maleficent will twist all the sweetness in Mal and turn it into a perchance for evil."

"She tried," Mal muttered.

"But you were stronger than her," Jay muttered back, resting a hand on Mal's shoulder. Mal couldn't help but give a small smile to the older boy.

Hades sighed. "Then we'll just have to get her back before that happens. It won't be in the next couple weeks though. Maleficent's evil but she's not stupid. She's not going to leave a baby alone with just her goblins to guard her. Those fools spent sixteen years looking for Aurora thinking she was still a baby after all."

"And they only found her because two idiots decided to have a magic fight before sunset," Uma muttered.

"Hey!" Audrey snapped. "Those are my Aunts you're talking about!"

"And they risked Aurora's safety by literally having a magical fight while the window of the curse was still active!" Uma snapped back. "The curse said 'before the sun sets on her sixteenth birthday'. Not on her sixteenth birthday but before the sun sets. Meaning after sunset, Aurora would have been in the clear."

"How do you—?"

"My mother's Ursula and my uncle's Hades. You really think I don't know my way around contract wording by now?"

"You have a point," Persephone sighed. "Still, that doesn't mean I have to like it."

"If you did like it, I'd have to start worrying about you," Hades told her, brushing a bit of her brown hair behind her ear.

"Your hope is my sun," Hades muttered into Persephone's ear. "Or at least, it's part of my sun."

"I'm guessing our children are the other parts?" Persephone muttered back.

"You'd be correct."

"It'd be too much to hope that we get her back before I have to go to Auradon, right?"

"I'm pretty sure all hope died on the Isle by that point," Celia shrugged.

Hades sighed and nodded. "I can do my best but Mal's only four months old. Small enough to easily snatch as Maleficent's imbecilic minions proved two weeks ago."

"Have…have you given any thought to my suggestion?" Persephone asked, her voice soft. "Of petitioning Zeus for help?"

"I'm sure he has," Poseidon nodded. "Though how many of those thoughts are printable with young Hadie and the young girls here in the room, I'm not sure."

"I've heard worse on the Lost Revenge!" Hadie exclaimed.

"You've heard what?!" Uma and Mal exclaimed.

Harry shook his head. "I'll make sure the crew cleans up their language cap'ns," he said. Especially if they're using that sort of language around the runt. She doesn't need to hear their filth, he thought.

"The question is how much help would he be?" Hades asked her. "Yes, he's the king of the Gods. Yes, he's my brother. Yes, Zeus loves a good fight. But for me? Right now? There's a much higher possibility that Zeus would say no. Not to mention the target it would put on Mal's back if Zeus did step in. It would let the Isle know that I was her father."

"Freddy would be out with a vengeance if he knew I was your daughter," Mal nodded.

"Who's Freddy?" Ben asked, frowning slightly at the idea of someone wanting to hurt Mal.

"Freddy Frollo," Mal elaborated. "Scourge of the earth. No wait, that's an insult to the Earth and I'd rather not do that considering who my mother's the daughter of."

"Well it's not like we can insult the ocean," Uma pointed out.

"Plus calling him a sentient pile of dung just insults the dung," Celia chimed in.

"…I think I get the idea," Ben said faintly.

"His sister's okay though," Dizzy said with a small smile. "She'll stop by the shop sometimes."

"Oh yeah Curl Up and Dye is in the neutral zone," Mal nodded.

"But it would also tell the Isle that Mal isn't someone to be messed with," Persephone countered. "The Gods don't get involved with the affairs of mortals for just anyone after all."

"…I'm pretty sure the mortals have a saying that most of our history can be summed up with one sentence. 'And then Zeus did the thing'. We get involved in the affairs of mortals much too frequently," Demeter sighed. It wasn't truly the saying but she wanted to keep it clean around her grandson.

Hades sighed. "If it makes you feel better, go ahead and talk with Zeus when you get back to Auradon," he told her. "But I wouldn't expect any assistance from my brother."

"And what do you know? Dad was right," Mal scoffed as Hercules shot Zeus a disappointed look.

"Hades, I don't care about the sibling drama. I'm just trying to find a way I can help Mal," Persephone told him. "My powers aren't suppressed here the way the other residents are but the urban setting does me no good. You can flame up to a limited degree but that risks hurting Mal if you went for her."

"If Old man Slade had kidnapped me, you'd be better off," Mal said. "He's got a farm after all."

"If he'd have kidnapped you, you'd have access to those chickens," Jay grinned.

"I have access to chicken now anyway," Mal chuckled.

"Not to mention that would be what Maleficent would be expecting," Hades told her before walking back around the counter and taking a sip of his tea. He realized too late that he he had left it out for too long without drinking it—it had basically become cold leaf juice.

"Blech!" Neal exclaimed as he made a face.

"Neal, all tea is just leaf juice," Emma told him.

"I reiterate. Blech!"

"You could just heat it up again," Persephone pointed out as Hades went to go and pour the tea out.

"Have you ever had reheated tea after it's gone cold?" Hades asked her and Persephone shook her head in amusement before letting out a small yawn.

"Was I boring you?" Hades teased, trying to bring some levity to the reading.

"Sorry," she said as the yawn faded. "Guess I didn't sleep very well last night."

Hades frowned. Persephone hadn't been sleeping well for the past fourteen nights. "Go take a nap Steph."

Demeter looked over at Hades in slight shock. It had been no secret that she was not fond of Hades for stealing her daughter from her. But scenes like this and with how he acted with his daughter…it was a different Hades than the one who made Persephone Queen of the Underworld.

"But—"

"When we get Mal back, you won't be any use to her if you're dead on your feet," Hades pointed out, cutting off any argument that was forthcoming from his wife. "Go on. I can manage the Underworld by myself for a couple of hours."

"I mean I do it on my own for six months after all," Hades added.

Persephone sighed but walked around the counter to give Hades a kiss on the cheek. "Don't work too hard," she said softly. "You won't be any use to Mal either if you're dead on your feet as well."

"Better I'm the one dead on my feet than you," Hades murmured, kissing Persephone on the head as he pulled her close.

"Never say that again," Persephone told him. "The last thing I want to do is see you in pain."

She walked out of the kitchen and Hades watched her turn the corner. Once he heard the door to their bedroom close, he made his way to the portal room. Unbeknownst to Persephone, Hades had moved a small chair in there so that he'd be able to sit while watching Mal.

"You did what?" Persephone asked, looking at Hades. "Hades, you promised you'd only spend an hour in there at most!"

"And you really think I'd enjoy spending an hour on my feet?" Hades countered. He'd do it, of course. For Mal.

It made it a lot harder to run out of the room to kill his ex-wife if he constantly had to spring to his feet.

"Do it anyway," Jay said.

"And tell us so we can watch!" Uma nodded.

Sitting down, Hades pulled the ember out of his pocket and stared into it. The limited magic he had allowed him to be able to power the ember and look into it to see his daughter. The sight he saw though was not a pleasant one. The onesie Mal had been wearing looked torn and dirty, as if she hadn't been changed out of it for the past two weeks. Knowing Maleficent, that was probably the case.

Evie couldn't help but wrinkle her nose a bit at being in the same outfit for two weeks.

"What did you expect, Princess?" Mal scoffed, having noticed Evie's look of disgust. "It's not like the Dragon just had onesies lying around to change me."

"Knowing the Dragon, she probably thought she was making you stronger by denying you a change of clothes," Jay muttered.

She didn't look like she'd lost weight but Hades was sure Maleficent wouldn't be feeding her or hunting down the right food for Mal to eat. From the scene in front of Hades, it was clear that Maleficent barely deemed it necessary to hold Mal.

"How horrible," Emma whispered, tears prickling in the corners of her eyes. She treasured the memories of her childhood with her parents.

"Let me guess, you lot thought that 'even villains loved their kids'?" Harry scoffed.

She's a baby, not a bomb Maleficent, Hades thought as Maleficent held Mal at an arm's length away from her, the cries coming from his daughter breaking Hades' heart as Maleficent's nails seemed to pierce Mal's skin. That had to hurt as Maleficent curled her fists in anger, only increasing the pressure of the nails digging into his daughter's skin.

Huh, I was wondering where I got those scars from, Mal thought with a small shrug as many of the mothers and fathers in the room looked on in horror. Snow White had her hands to her mouth while Aurora's eyes went wide with shock. Rapunzel had buried her head into Eugene's shoulder, the brunet rubbing the former blonde's shoulder.

Belle bit her lip, the apology dying to slip from her lips. The apology that Mal deserved for having endured that. But she didn't think it was the right time.

Demeter glared at Zeus. Yes she had been silent for most if not all of the reading but that was only because she couldn't believe she had another grandchild! One who was of Maleficent's blood but still! The girl clearly thought of Persephone as her mother and therefore she was her granddaughter!

"Why didn't we do something?" Demeter hissed in Zeus' ear. She didn't expect a response. Not if Zeus thought he was in the right.

"Stop wailing!" Maleficent ordered but Mal continued to cry. Maleficent glared at Mal but the glare failed to quiet Mal's caterwauling. "Nothing but pathetic cries for the past two weeks! How did I wind up with such a weak daughter?"

"Give her hell Mal!" Emir cheered.

Aziz sighed. "You do realize Mal's crying because Maleficent is more than likely hurting her right?"

"And I can cheer on the fact that Mal's fighting against her," Emir stated. "Babies aren't stupid, they learn quickly to stop doing the thing that hurts them."

"In a strange way, Emir's right," Chip nodded. "By continuing to cry and refusing to be subdued by Maleficent, Mal's proving how strong she is."

Mal raised an eyebrow. "Okay, is this just the strangest day I've ever had or what?"

"Strangest day we've ever had cuz," Uma corrected.

That's my girl, Hades couldn't help but think; the thought entering his mind before he could stop it. While he was happy that Mal was annoying Maleficent by not doing what she wanted, Hades couldn't help but worry about what Maleficent would do in retaliation.

It was a weird reaction but Mal couldn't help but beam with pride, hearing her dad cheering her own even if it was just his thoughts.

The woman cursed an infant because the infant's parents failed to invite her to a party, after all.

"Hey look, someone who acknowledges the fact that it was Leah and Stefan's fault Princess Aurora got cursed in the first place!" Ashaki nodded.

"I like her too," Hades said.

"Seriously?" Persephone sighed.

As Mal's wails refused to diminish, Maleficent seemed to grow more and more agitated. Finally dropping Mal in what looked like a makeshift crib but was really just an extra wide crate that hadn't had the bottom rot through yet, the Mistress of All Evil stormed out; slamming the door behind her.

"That's not a crib!" Ariel exclaimed, her eyes wide in horror.

"Huh, better than what I got," Jay nodded, seemingly ignoring Ariel's comment.

"Yeah Mal lucked out. Thankfully mom saved Harriet's crib from when the Captain thought Harriet was going to be a boy or who knows what I'd have gotten?" Harry nodded as well.

Seeing Mal left alone in a dark room, crying at the top of her lungs and wearing a filthy onesie and possibly a diaper that was close to bursting, only fueled Hades' anger toward his ex-wife.

"Dad…ever thought about possibly using that sword of yours on a dragon one last time?" Phillip Jr. asked, glaring at the scroll.

"…I'm tempted."

"Phillip!" Aurora exclaimed.

"Yes?" Both of her Phillips said, looking at the blonde.

"I'm just as furious as the two of you are but we can not condone murder!"

Mal was his daughter! Was Maleficent just that cruel or was she mistreating Mal as yet another way to get back at Hades for leaving her?

"My money's on 'just that cruel'," Carlos said rather timidly. "I mean it is Maleficent after all."

Hang on Mali, Hades thought. I will get you back. Someday.

"And you did!" Hadie said with a small grin as he looked at his dad.

"That I did," Hades nodded with a small chuckle.

Outside the Underworld, the already overcast sky seemed to grow darker and darker until every bit of sky seemed to be covered. The few Isle dwellers who resided by Hades' lair gave the gate a wary glance. He was one of the most powerful people on the Isle even with his magic mostly dampened by the barrier; if he was angry it probably wouldn't be a good time to be on the lower end of the Isle hierarchy.

I had wondered why the cloud cover over the Isle had increased, Fairy Godmother thought with a small frown. I thought it was because the barrier was weakening.

They could only hope that his anger wouldn't last for too long.

"…wasn't it like seriously overcast for five years?" Harry asked. "At least, that's what Harriet said."

Zeus looked at Hades in shock. "You kept that cloud cover for five years?"

"If I remember correctly, Zeus, Demeter brought a year long winter when Persephone went to the Underworld and you spent a year giving the mortals nothing but thunderstorms when Pain and Panic nabbed Herc," Hades stated. "Never underestimate a parent's anger when their kid gets taken."

"And on that cheerful note, who wants to read next?" Hadie asked.

"I'll read," Uma said with a shrug.