"Just who do you think you are speaking to,boy?"
Jason narrows his eyes, finally prying them away from Juliette's tears. Hades' face has hardened where he's now stiff upon his throne. This is the first Jason has ever met the King of the Dead, and he's doing so as one of his subjects.
The souls swirling across the fabric of his razor sharp suit release silent screams, their black eyes pleading with Jason for mercy. Nico's black hair is longer on his father, tied at the nape of his neck in a gelled ponytail, a neatly trimmed beard shaped into harsh angles across the god's strong jaw. He's so pale that Jason can see -feelthe nectar thrumming with power in his veins. It makes the emerald flames in the sconces flicker. It makes the heavy purple curtains over the windows flutter with the echoes of lost lives, lost potentials. A chilling dread is soaking into the fabrics of the room, saturating the carpets, seeping into Jason's waterlogged dress shoes and sending him right back into that storm on Caligula's yacht.
Jason's grip tightens protectively on his girlfriend's upper arms as he meets the god's cold stare.
"You're the only other person here, right?" He challenges.
The colors in the room get four shades darker.
Juliette gasps in surprise, her hands flying up to grasp Jason's shoulders. He glances down to find her shifting in front of him defensively. It makes his heart twist. It makes him want to laugh.
Jason is dead, and she's still trying to protect him.
"Wait!" Juliette cries, sitting up so that they're flush together where they're kneeling before Hades' dais. The god glares at her, lip curled, and her voice goes shrill, pleading. "Just, hang on! I'm sorry. Just, please, hold on for a second."
Jason stubbornly stares the King of the Underworld down. Something irritable is slapping at his nerves, testing his patience. He's battle-ready right now, prepared for this situation to go sideways. Hades seems to be in much the same boat when it comes to Jason. He's honestly surprised to still be in one piece when the room slowly returns to its regular brightness and the god leans back once again in his throne.
His eyes are still narrowed onto Jason, but Juliette relaxes.
She's scorching hot against his chest, her knees between his, her hands trembling against his collar. She's never been too far behind him in height, which Jason has always found attractive, but right now she feels so small. Her cheeks are so sunken, the bones in her wrists so jagged that Jason worries she'll snap in two if he holds onto her too tightly. He checks her over for injuries, frowning at the Fury scratches on her torso, and his brow furrows. Concern swirling in his belly, Jason traces a thumb down a glowing gold vein trailing from her eye to her ear.
What in Olympus...?
The nervous breath Juliette lets out feels like the lick of a flame to Jason's dead skin. "What about our tether?" She asks Hades. "We're still tied together, right? I could...feel where he was. It lead me right to DOA Records."
The god rolls his eyes and mumbles something about withholding more Solstice bonuses. "Whataboutit, child?"
Juliette huffs impatiently, waving her hand. "Can itbring him back?" She clarifies.
Hades groans, and Jason quirks an eyebrow at his sudden resemblance to his school's tired old guidance counselor. "How many times must I explain this until it penetrates that empty skull of yours? Hecannotbe brought back. Not so long as the Fates have finished spinning."
"Then how do I make them start spinning again?!"
"You cannot-"
"How?! Where are they?!"
"Interrupt me again, and you will both see oblivion," Hades hisses, flickering the lights in his frustration.
Jason draws Juliette closer. He takes a deep breath in an attempt to keep from tipping the god over the edge. Gritting his teeth, Jason tries to sound as polite as he can. "Please, Lord Hades. There must be something."
Hades stares down at him.
Jason stares back.
He watches the god's eyes flick over his face, expression sour as he likely takes in Jason's resemblance to his brother. Those furious pearls of black drop down to study the spearhead in the center of Jason's chest. It's glowing just like the rest of him is. All of him is a shimmering projection of pale blue light. The only patches of color on Jason are the golden spots where Juliette is touching him and the shock of scarlet down his front.
Then Hades looks at their hands. Their fingers are twisted together at Jason's sternum. Juliette's other is latched, white knuckled, to his collar. Jason's is gripping her waist with the same desperation.
He watches the god's stubbornness falter. He watches a strange light, warm like a candle in a dark room, bloom in the depths of his irises as he connects gazes with Juliette.
He watches Hades admit defeat and give in.
The man rakes a hand down his face. A silver wedding band etched with spring flowers gleams on his fourth finger. He curses.
And then he sighs.
"There is something."
Jason freezes in place. He's afraid that if he moves even an inch, Hades might change his mind. He feels Juliette go just as still in his arms, and he fights to keep from tugging her even closer. If he pulls her any further into him, she might actually start phasing through this echo of a body that he has.
Hades lifts from his throne and stalks to the nearest window on the left side of the room. He draws back the purple velvet curtains and stares out into the Underworld.
Jason certainly sees where Nico got his showmanship. The action sends strange chills down the back of his neck.
"When my brother sent Kronos down to Tartarus the first time millennia ago and rose to take the throne of Olympus, there was a gathering," Hades recounts. His voice is flat and irritated. "It was presented as a feast, a celebration, but Poseidon and I knew better. He hosted the meeting in his sky palace, not the throne room. Away from Olympus. When we arrived, Zeus was lounged on our father's throne. He'd had it moved to his own domain. Hera stood beside him with a list of names. Those she read out were required to present themselves for an audience before festivities would begin."
Hades' expression is grim. He stares out into the void beyond Asphodel, jade shadows sketching ominous shapes into his white skin. "A king accepting fealty," He murmurs. "One by one, every god took a knee before him and pledged their loyalty. Their made as if he were theGod of Gods."
He shakes his head, scoffing. Jason presses his lips together.
He's only spoken to Jupiter once in his entire life. It had been an experience he'd never seen coming. From all that his friends talked about the hands-off-ness of their own godly parents, Jason never expected Jupiter to give him the time of day. When they'd fought together in the Acropolis, he'd been filled to the brim with pride. When his father had clapped a hand onto his shoulder afterwards and smiled in approval, he'd felt like he was four years old again and walking through the streets of New Rome for the first time.
That awe had soured into disappointment within minutes. Now, the Jupiter whom Hades is describing - a pompous conqueror eager to humiliate his siblings...Yeah. That isn't very difficult for Jason to imagine.
"I hardly even remember what it was I offered him. Whatever it was, it is likely buried at the bottom of a coat closet somewhere. But the Fates," Hades says. "When it was their turn, they had not one gift to give, but three."
He turns to them where they're still sat on the throne room floor. If Jason's heart could beat, it would be racing. He can feel Juliette's pulse fluttering in her wrist.
"One for Zeus. One for Poseidon. And one for me," explains Hades. "This certainly did not please our new king, but questioning the Fates is not an action any god would take lightly, not even my fool brother. They presented us with three pieces of a weaving shuttle. They had split it amongst us, they said, so that the three kingdoms of Olympus might have a reason to stay as one. Our cooperation, they foretold, would one day be all that might keep Olympus from crumbling into war once again."
A weaving shuttle?
Jason's mind is racing. He's trying to connect the frayed ends of Hades' story. He's trying to figure out the connection here. His brain doesn't want to catch up.
"What does it do?" Juliette breathes out.
Perfectly in sync, she asks the very question that's banging on drums inside of Jason's skull.
Hades looks down at her and snorts a reluctant laugh.
"Exactly what you want it to."
Juliette chokes. Jason squeezes her tighter. If she starts phasing into him, he doesn't even notice.
"One mortal's life," He continues. "Could be resumed in exchange for all three pieces of the shuttle they presented. They vowed that, should all three of the eldest gods one day agree it to be necessary, one mortal's tapestry might be continued."
"Why..." Juliette mutters. "Why didn't you mention it before?"
Jason has a feeling that he might know why.
Hades shakes his head and sighs. "Well, firstly, resurrecting one of my brothers' brats is not something I am typically enthused about." He cuts his eyes at Jason. "Better this one than Jackson, though, I suppose. Secondly," He says. "It is still impossible."
Jason squints at the god, chest tight. "What do you mean?"
"Why would it be impossible?" asks Juliette. "I mean...you didn't...Did youloseit?"
Hades scowls. "No, I did notloseit, you imbecile."
"Then why-"
"In order to achieve what you wish for, all three pieces of the shuttle are required," Hades reminds them. "Do you really expect Poseidon to willingly part with his for the sake of a son of Jupiter?"
Jason's stomach sinks. He slumps forward dejectedly.
As far as he knows, Poseidon doesn't have any specific problem withhim, but Hades has a point. Jason fought enough of Neptune's cyclops growing up to know better than to expect any kind of assistance from the Sea God. If it's Poseidon's help that they're counting on, this solution really might be as far out of reach as Hades is claiming.
His sync withRosabreaks at this point. Juliette has the opposite reaction. She bristles.
"He will if I have anything to say about it."
Jason's eyes move back to her.
The words are childish. Naïve. But they're spoken with darkness.
He stares at the trails of gold spidering beneath his girlfriend's bloodshot eyes. The danger in her tone sends a thrill down his back. Jason stares at Juliette and wonders just what his girl has been through in the last month to make him truly believe her when she speaks of bending the King of the Oceans to her will.
Hades does not seem to quite believe her, but his gaze is considering for a moment before he moves on with his dismissal.
"He will not be parted with it," He denies. "Certainly not for a child of our brother's. And, besides, in the state that you are in, Aster, you would drown in the first rip current that took hold of you. I doubt that Poseidon allows such a relic to be kept away from his seat of power, and Atlantis is far beyond your reach. He has guards much more attentive than Charon." He grumbles the last bit.
Jason closes his eyes.
For the first time since Judgement, he feels a flicker of doubt.
"Juliette," He says softly. "Maybe...Maybe this isn't-"
"You don't think I can do it?"
His eyes snap back open. Juliette's are slitted, green, and swimming with a simmering threat. Jason wants to cry. He shakes his head in denial. "That isn't it."
"Then what?" She challenges, pulling out of his arms slightly so that she can place them face to face.
Jason takes a deep breath, squeezing her shoulders anxiously. He tries to plead with his eyes for her to understand. "You've been through so much lately. This is-Rosa, this is...big. I don't want you todie."
She rolls her eyes. "Okay, hypocrite."
"Could you take this seriously for a moment?" Jason snaps, frustrated.
"Oh, I'm serious! How exactly does thedead guyget off telling me what I get to do withmylife?" Juliette yells at him.
"Exactly! It'syourlife! I don't want you throwing it all away because you're trying to save me!" Jason shouts back. "Do you think that's what I want?! For you to go out and get yourself killed for me?"
"DO YOU THINK THAT'S WHATIWANTED, JASON?"
He falters as Juliette tears herself out of his arms. The room feels freezing cold without her against him. Nothing feels colder than the center of his chest, though, as he watches her expression contort in agony, tears beginning to lacerate the pale dots across her nose.
"WHAT DO YOU THINK THAT WAS LIKE FOR ME?" She screams at him. "I WATCHED HIM KILL YOU. I WATCHED YOUDIE. I HELD YOU ON THAT BEACH, AND THERE WASNOTHINGIN YOUR EYES."
Jason's mouth drops open. He begins to shake. He's crying now. When did that happen?
Juliette throws her hands out, slamming them into his chest, one on either side of the spearhead still piercing his sternum. Jason falls back onto his elbows.
Away from her.
"You don'tgetan opinion on the rest of my life!" She shrieks, face red and purple and black and gold, tears steaming on her cheeks, bloody, peeling scales burning like Greek fire across the skin of her shoulders. Jason sobs, putting a hand over his mouth. He feels the scar there like it's a mortal wound as he watches Juliette fall to pieces. "You weren't going to BE THERE! You LEFT ME! DO YOU KNOW WHAT THEY DID TO ME?"
He doesn't. Gods, he doesn't. Please, tell him-
"YOU WERE GOING TOLEAVE METO DO THIS ALL ON MY OWN!" She cries. "I CAN'T, JASON! I CAN'T DO THIS ANYMORE. WHY DOES EVERYONE WANT ME TO BE ALONE? I JUST WANT SOMEONE TOSTAY!"
A power flares out of her. There's a sudden burst of golden light, and a shockwave emits around her body like she's at the center of an atomic bomb. Jason ducks, regardless of if he has no actual form. The windows shatter all the way down the throne room. Beside them, Jason hears Hades sigh in exasperation.
The light fades. It flickers and dims like a dying lightbulb until Juliette is no longer blinding to look at. Jason watches the energy seep back into the veins beneath her eyes. Her skin is audibly sizzling, but he doesn't see any new burns. When she falls forward into his arms, eyes rolled back in exhaustion, she's so hot to the touch that she might have just been standing in a lit funeral pyre.
Jason is shaking. Shivering. There are dry sobs ripping apart the base of his throat. He brings her in against his neck and holds on for dear life.
"I'm sorry," He whispers. "I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry,Rosa."
She sobs into his shoulder. Jason wishes that he could feel pain still. He wants her to hurt him as badly as she's hurting right now.
"I'm so sorry."
Juliette shakes her head. He feels her arms wrap around his middle and buries his face into her tangled, sweaty hair. When her voice comes out again, she sounds strangled. Small.
Like this is a question that she's really asking him. Like she needs him to tell her the truth.
"Would you not do this for me?"
"I would."
He doesn't hesitate. He winces afterwards, of course. Heshouldhave hesitated. He should have pretended to have an internal struggle. He should have acted like he was weighing his options, maybe even lied. He should have said what he needed to to keep her from going through even more hardship on his behalf.
It's just instinct, though - loving her. It's a part of Jason that he can't quite control. His body is even more aware than his mind that there isnothinghe wouldn't do for this girl, and his mouth moves just a little bit quicker than his brain sometimes.
She relaxes into him, and that's enough for his lack of argument to have been worth it. He hears her sniffle against his neck, and, even if he can't feel the wetness of her tears or the softness of her skin, Jason is just glad he's able to dosomethingfor her right now. He's dead and gone, but even the Underworld won't stop him from making sure Juliette Aster knows that she's loved.
"Then let me give you more time," She whispers. "Let me keep you."
Jason closes his eyes and presses his lips into her shoulder. He never has been able to deny her anything when she asks like that.
He looks back up at Hades, expecting the man to be scowling and checking his pocket watch, annoyed by the pathetic emotions of a few silly demigods wasting his time. Surprisingly, though, the man is back to gazing out the window, giving them the privacy that they need. His long fingers are spinning his wedding ring like Nico does when he's lost in thought. When Jason follows Hades' gaze, he finds that it connects with the pomegranate tree in the gardens just outside.
Jason clears his throat. Not rudely. Quietly. Just loudly enough to draw the god's attention back over to them. When Hades raises his eyebrows expectantly, holding Jason's gaze, he breathes in and purses his lips.
"Are you willing to part with your piece?"
Hades shrugs.
"I have been meaning to declutter lately, anyway," He dismisses. Jason laughs a bit, smiling at him gratefully. Hades sniffs and ignores the expression. "But it will need to be retrieved. And that is not going to be easy."
It took Juliette an entire year to let Percy reteach her how to swim.
He'd been patient with her, even when she'd spidermonkey onto him in terror at the first dip of her toe into the waves in Montauk or the shallows of the lake at camp. She was eleven years old and didn't even trust arm-floaties to keep her safe in water.
But she did trust Percy. So, gradually, the spidermonkey on her brother's back would let the water come up over her toes. Then her ankles. Getting to the point that she could put her head under without ending up crying and latched onto Percy's neck (thank the gods that he can breathe underwater) was challenging, embarrassing, and a constant source of frustration for the both of them.
Her, because having such a glaring weakness was humiliating. Especially considering she lived with a practical merman.
Him, because every time he'd ask her about her fear of deep water, Juliette would simply clam up. At the time, she thought she was being strong. Now, she wonders just what horrible things Percy's mind filled in the blanks of her stories with whenever they got a whiff of chlorine and Juliette flattened herself back against a wall.
She did eventually end up explaining. When they got home from Greece and Percy decided to join AHS's swim team, Juliette figured that it was time. He'd asked her if she wanted to come to one of his swim meets. She'd said no. She hadn't had the heart to come up with a lie when he'd looked so disappointed for half a second before burying down his emotions and nodding. So, Julie had sat him down and explained in as little detail as possible.
Julie's always brushed people off when they described Percy as scary. It's hard to find someone intimidating when you've watched them laugh too hard and squirt milk out of their nose. But, in that moment...Yeah, okay. She could suddenly understand the threat to Olympus that Zeus was so afraid of letting run wild.
It's thanks to Percy never giving up on her that Juliette is still alive. Since he gave her those swim lessons years ago, she's had several encounters with deep waters where freezing in place would have gotten her and people that she loves killed. And, right now, as she stands over the roaring black waters of the River Styx, she knows that all of that preparation is going to be what saves her. It's going to be what saves Jason.
Because this spidermonkey is going cliff-diving.
"Are you sure you want to do this?" Jason asks, ice cold, translucent hand laced with hers.
Julie rolls her eyes. "If you ask me that one more time, I'm going to tell Hades to make you wait in the Fields of Punishment until I get back."
Jason shakes his head, lips quirked at the side. "Liar."
"Hush." Juliette takes a deep breath. Is it strange to say that this river smells likesadness? "Who hides their stuff at the bottom of a death river?" She grumbles.
Jason snorts. "A deathgod?"
"Hush."
"I mean, it's hardly surprising to me," He laughs nervously. "It's the kind of thing that Nico would do."
Julie can't help but grin at that. Yeah. It's definitely dramatic enough. The goth apple didn't fall far from the uncomfortably pale tree.
"I really hope this doesn't kill me," She mutters, heart racing.
Jason squeezes her hand. "Last time, did it-?"
"It won't," Interrupts a voice from behind them.
Julie startles. Then she laughs at herself for being surprised. She was here with Percy the last time someone decided to be crazy enough to take a dip in Styx's black river. The guardian of the waters had been there then too to try and talk Percy out of it. Achilles had been woefully unsuccessful, as he is about to be right now as well, but he'd given it a good effort.
Now, with Julie about to attempt the same thing without even her mother's blessing, of course the long dead infamous hero would come knocking.
Julie turns, hand still linked with Jason's. She raises an eyebrow, ready for the sales pitch.
Then fire ants bite down on every millimeter of her skin.
Her vision blurs.
Her breath gets caught in her throat, clawing at the soft, fleshy tissue, clamped down like a bear trap.
Jason glances at her in concern, stepping uselessly in front of her in sudden protectiveness from her reaction to the man before them. He looks confused, but ready to defend her, even if there's nothing he can really do.
"Who are you?" Jason snaps.
He sounds wolfish. His hackles are raised. His teeth are bared.
Of course they are. This man is a stranger to him. Even if Juliette knows the newcomer uncomfortably well.
Until now, Jason has never met Luke Castellan.