We had lunch on that same hill, the Athena Parthenos keeping watch in the meantime. I welcomed the warmth of the sun with open arms and drank in the sight of the azure sky. The breeze lightly rustled my hair. The grass was soft and supple under my touch.

Reyna warily eyed Damasen upon seeing him for the first time. However, she dropped her guarded expression when the big guy stooped to look at a patch of wildflowers. He'd been so enamored with their scents and colorations that he'd taken a seat a little ways away, plucking flowers to braid into his fiery locks.

As for me, I didn't contribute to the conversation. My friends' words fell on deaf ears. It was like my head was stuck in a bubble of static, unable to make sense of anything else.

My instincts, however, were as sharp as ever.

Someone's fingertips had barely grazed my arm when I grabbed the offending limb and twisted, drawing one of my hunting knives with my free hand. The blade rested flush against Nico's throat. His eyes went wide as he fully registered what happened.

I withdrew my knife and released a shaky breath.

"Sorry," I said, fiddling with my bracelet.

"Don't apologize," Nico said, rubbing his throat. "Sometimes, my brain thinks I'm still there."

"Did you…did you need something?"

"You know, we don't always need something from you. If you keep giving away pieces of yourself, there will come a time when there's nothing left for you."

"When did you get so wise?"

"I'm told it has something to do with age."

I managed a dry laugh at that.

"So," Nico continued, "your band of misfits continues to grow."

"Yeah. I guess it does." Small Bob had taken to hiding in my lap after the Seven took turns petting him. Poor thing's social battery had been drained.

Damasen, Leo, and Piper were wrapped up in what must've been a thrilling conversation. Leo's arms flailed about as he spoke, nearly catching Piper across the face. A few moments later, Damasen threw his head back and properly laughed.

Music to my ears.

"Do you think your father would kill me if I asked him to house Damasen until this war is over? I don't want to give the Earth Mother the chance to send him back to his father."

Nico shrugged. "You know Dad better than I do. What do you think?"

"That it's better to ask for forgiveness than for permission."

"Glad to see he taught that lesson to someone other than his children."

I inhaled sharply. "Nico, Bianca knows you're alive, right? I didn't have a chance to tell her because of what happened in Rome, and I told her that I would update her, but then…well, you know. Oh gods of Olympus, she's going to-"

"Andy, breathe," Nico said. This time when he took my hands, I didn't threaten to decapitate him. "Deep breath in, then deep breath out. Good. Just like that."

After a few more moments of intentional breathing, I felt better. Okay, so maybe I'd be moving up that visit to Psyche sooner rather than later. I needed her help to fulfill my plan, yes, but there was a reason she was known as the goddess of the mind and soul. Those diplomas she had hidden away in her study weren't just for decoration.

"Bianca knows I'm alright. I try to call her at least once a week." Nico's expression softened a fraction. "The Hunters are doing well, too."

"And Thalia?"

"She's channeling her hurt and anger by taking down monsters. At least, that's what Zoë's said."

"Good. That's good."

"Andy."

"Hmm?"

"Shadow-traveling the Athena Parthenos across the world with two companions is going to drain me more than anything I've ever done before. There's something I need to tell you before I leave, just in case things go badly. I don't want to leave this unsaid."

Nico twirled the skull ring on his finger, his gaze fixated on the ground. If he chewed on his bottom lip any longer, he would surely bite right through it.

"You know you can tell me anything," I said.

He dropped his hands to his sides and curled them into fists. He twisted his head away.

"I think…I think that I might…" Nico swore in Italian. "Why is this so hard?"

"You don't have to tell me right now if it's causing you distress," I said, though I had an inkling as to what this was about.

"No! No, I need to say this now or I'm scared I won't have the courage to tell you later." Nico's bottom lip quivered. "I need you to promise me that you won't look or treat me differently. I'm still me. Nothing else has changed. Please, Andy, promise me."

"I swear on the River Styx."

Nico gasped. Then he chuckled. "You've always had a penchant for the dramatics. I can see your resemblance to your siblings."

I pressed my hand against my chest in mock offense. "I resent the accusation!"

He fell silent once more.

Then: "I like boys. Romantically."

"Same."

Nico gave me an incredulous look.

"Kiddo, I'm going to tell you something that I hope brings you some comfort. Being one hundred percent heterosexual is something of an anomaly among the ancient Greeks and Romans. The gods are no exception, either. Why should that rule apply to their children?"

I gently set Small Bob aside and opened my arms wide. Nico clung to me like a koala, burying his head in my neck. He slightly trembled and his breathing was uneven. Times like these reminded me that he was still a fourteen-year-old boy who'd had too much responsibility thrust on his shoulders. Emotions made everything harder, but sometimes, having someone to share the load made all the difference.

"You don't hate me?" he asked, his voice barely a whisper.

"Nothing you could do would make me hate you. I love you, bambino."

"Thanks, Andy. I love you, too."

After our heart-to-heart, I topped off Nico's supplies with extra unicorn draught and a slew of potions – vitality, reenergizing, regeneration, healing, and dreamless sleep to name a few. I fussed over him for a few more minutes, reminding him to use his charms and bracelet as needed.

In the same vein, I gave Reyna her bracelet and gave her a rundown of the basics.

"This seems like far too much power for any one person to wield," she said.

"And that's why the Olympians whisked me away for five years," I deadpanned. "But I trust all of you to use your best judgment, so it's a non-issue."

"Your eccentricities worry me sometimes."

"That's why you love me." I gave the daughter of Bellona a tight hug. "Good luck. And if you get to Octavian first, dropkick him into the Atlantic, would you?"

"Absolutely."

The final victim of my mother henning came in the form of a soon-to-be father wielding a baseball bat.

He returned my embrace just as fiercely.

"You did good, cupcake. You did good."

"Thank you for keeping them safe."

"Bah! What kind of protector would I be if they didn't all make it in one piece?"

I softly smiled. "I'm told that a congratulation is in order. You're going to be a great dad, Coach."

"Did Zhang open his mouth? I swear to Pan-!"

I laughed. "Now, now, Coach. You know I have my methods."

"Darn Fates," Coach grumbled. "Beat the snot out of your grandmother. I want my kid to grow up in a world that isn't about to end. Don't forget what you learned in our training sessions."

"But we never-"

"Oh, and there are roughly a hundred dishes with your name on them. Scrub them 'til they shine, cupcake!"

Coach Hedge gave me a final pat on the back before heading over to the Athena Parthenos. Nico finished adjusting the ropes and tightened the harness a final time.

"All right," said Nico. "Grab the ropes, please. Here we go."

Reyna and Coach Hedge took hold. The air darkened. The Athena Parthenos collapsed into its own shadow and disappeared, along with its three escorts.

The others began packing the remains of our afternoon picnic. We made plans to set sail with the sunset, and that time rapidly approached.

However, there was one last order of business.

Damasen, who had been content to exist on the periphery, had a decision to make. His eyes glimmered with newfound hope as the sky began its subtle shift from blue to pink, orange, yellow, and purple. The sun burned a brilliant red on the horizon, bathing the world in a golden glow.

"Where do you want to go?" I asked. "I can take you anywhere. Just name it."

Damasen bitterly laughed. "So long as my mother threatens to wake, nowhere on Earth is safe for me. She will probably return me to the pit the moment you leave with your friends."

"What if I could take you someplace safe? Somewhere your mother will struggle to reach you. Plus, I have it on good authority that the company isn't half bad."

I explained my plan.

Damasen raised his eyebrows.

"I am not fond of the thought of returning underground. However, if you think this is the best course of action…"

"I think it's the best chance we've got. But this won't be goodbye forever. I promise."

He cracked the barest of smiles.

"Now, what have I told you about promises?"

I took advantage of the moment and gave Damasen another hug. He responded in kind.

I told Annabeth that I'd be gone for a few hours and that the Argo II could set sail without me. I'd catch up to them later.

Damasen, Small Bob, and I stayed on that hill even as the Argo II departed, beginning the journey to Athens. We lay in the grass and watched as stars dotted the sky. I pointed out various constellations and explained their stories. And if I also seized the opportunity to introduce Damasen to classical music, well, no one could blame me for trying to show him all the good that humanity had to offer.

We listened to Beethoven's "Moonlight Sonata" and Debussy's "Claire de Lune" among other pieces – I was nothing if not the master of mood music – until the moon rose high in the sky.

Damasen drank in the sight of the moon and stars for a moment more. He accepted my hand, and we melted into the shadows, on our way to visit my brother and a friend.

Bob took to Small Bob like a fish in water. My existence was secondary after he locked eyes with the kitten, dropping to his knees as he made grabby motions with his hands.

Small Bob, attention lover that he is, sprang from his place around my neck and bounded over. He circled Bob's legs, nuzzling against his ankles, and promptly exposed his belly. Bob babbled and cooed as he delicately ran his hands through Small Bob's fur, absolutely enamored with his newfound companion.

Eventually, I managed to pull Bob's attention back to the matter at hand. He didn't bat an eye at Damasen's presence, going so far as to say, "Master asked me to prepare a room for you. We've been expecting your company."

Damasen blinked, stupefied. "Lord Hades was expecting me?"

Bob nodded. "He knows when powerful beings escape from that place. You left with the nice girl. She tends to bring over new friends."

"Is that so?"

My face felt like it was on fire. "Expose all my secrets, why don't you," I said, rubbing the back of my neck. "Mind getting him settled, Bob?"

"You've got it, nice girl!"

Bob gestured for Damasen to follow him down the hall toward the South Wing. The rooms there tended to be larger, anyway. I'm sure that Bob had found something to accommodate Damasen's height.

The sight of the silver Titan, red giant, and peach kitten walking among the halls of my brother's palace warmed my heart.

They were safe.

Tartarus would be hard-pressed to get to any of them here.

A skeleton guard met me on my way to the throne room.

One day my brother would learn patience.

Needless to say, he wasn't overly thrilled by my presence as the doors shut behind me with a resounding THUD.

The Greek fire torches did Hades's appearance no favors. His skin was sallow and sunken in. Dark circles framed his eyes. Strands of gray mixed with his perpetually black hair, something I had never seen before. His shoulders remained hunched, the weight of this realm's responsibility seemingly crushing him.

"There's our mightiest hero," Hades said, sarcasm dripping from his voice. "You've seen better days, Andy."

"I could say the same to you. When's the last time you got more than twenty minutes of sleep?"

"That's irrelevant." Hades exhaled softly. "In any case, I am glad that you've returned to us. I suppose I also owe you my gratitude for rescuing Nico."

"No thanks are necessary. He would've done the same for me."

"Now, onto the next matter." At this, Hades pinched the bridge of his nose and screwed his eyes shut. "When did I become your shelter for strays? First a Titan, now a giant?"

"Don't forget the saber tooth tiger kitten!"

He leveled a glare at me. Once it would've scared the daylights out of me, but now, I took it in stride. Hades wouldn't hurt me.

"The point still stands. Bringing him here was a foolish and dangerous risk. I would feel better if he swore a vow on the Styx to side with us."

"He's already sworn his loyalty to me," I said.

"You would be willing to accept punishment should he step out of line and betray us?"

"Yes. But believe me, Hades, he hates his mother and father as much, if not more, than we do. He won't turn his back on us."

"So be it."

And Nico had the audacity to call me theatrical. This entire conversation felt like something out of a period piece set in eighteenth-century London.

"With that taken care of," Hades said, rising from his throne. He shrunk from his twelve-foot height to his regular six-three and beckoned me forward.

We walked to the kitchens. Unlike last time, they were vacated. The fluorescent lights bathed the chrome appliances in bright white light. My eyes burned at the sudden brightness, still struggling to readjust to the ambient light that existed outside of Tartarus.

Blinking the spots from my vision, I noticed the ingredients Hades had laid out – flour, white sugar, brown sugar, eggs, butter, vanilla extract, baking soda, baking powder, chocolate chips, and most importantly, blue food coloring.

Hades must've sensed my confusion because he pressed a hand to the small of my back and guided me over to the prep station. He snapped his fingers and aprons appeared over our clothes. His was black and covered in cartoon skeletons. Mine was purple and dotted with silver stars.

He reached for his hair and pulled it into a tight knot.

I'll admit it, I gawked. I've known this man for ten years, and I have never, ever seen him put his hair up. Not even once.

God help us if any of his fangirls saw his man bun.

"Go on, then," he said, gesturing to the ingredients laid before us. "I'm told you make something edible from these things."

"Are you…are you offering to make blue chocolate chip cookies with me?"

"That was my intention, yes." He waved a hand in front of my face. "Are you suffering some type of brain damage? Should I have a healer look at you? What am I saying? I should definitely have a healer give you a checkup." He reached for my wrist and started to head for the door. "Gods knows how many broken bones you're walking around with. Not to mention the internal injuries!"

"Hades, stop."

He retracted his hand and fell silent.

"I, uh, I apologize if I made you uncomfortable, dear."

"Far from it. I'm just overwhelmed, that's all." My eyes burned with unshed tears. I stared at the ceiling lights to will them away. "I'd love to make cookies with my older brother. Thank you."

He clapped his hands together. "Right, then. Where do we begin?"

If I learned anything from this experience, it's that I needed to start a YouTube channel, effective immediately. Hell's Kitchen competitors had nothing on Hades learning how to bake for the first time.

Somehow, we got eggs on the ceiling and butter in our hair. Our hands looked like we'd murdered a village of Smurfs. I had a flour facial while Hades had chocolate handprints on one side of his face.

Yes, four dozen cookies eventually made their way into the ovens, but at what cost?

I didn't think that any Olympian could be worse than Apollo when it came to the kitchen – and he regularly set his on fire.

Hades was on thin ice.

While the cookies baked, we cleaned the kitchen and then ourselves. I hummed to myself as I scrubbed the egg whites from the ceiling tiles, momentarily pausing when I heard a deep baritone joining in.

Hades glanced up at the ceiling. "Why'd you stop? I like that song."

I progressed from humming to singing: "And you can't fight the tears that ain't coming. Or the moment of truth in your lies." I shuffled over a few inches and continued scrubbing. "When everything feels like the movies. Yeah, you bleed just to know you're alive."

My voice caught in my throat as the chorus swelled. Hades covered for me.

"And I don't want the world to see me," he sang, magicking away the rest of the mess. He offered me a hand as I hopped down from the countertops. "'Cause I don't think that they'd understand. When everything's made to be broken. I just want you to know who I am."

We danced through the next choruses, gently swaying from side to side.

"I just want you to know who I am," I finished.

Hades pressed a kiss to the center of my forehead.

"Have I ever told you how proud I am of you, little sister?"

"No," I said, my voice breaking. "You usually show your gratitude by pawning off your deskwork to me."

He chuckled. "I won't stand for such slander. Your path hasn't been easy, and gods know I contributed to that burden, but I want you to know that I am so very proud of the young woman you've become."

The dam finally burst.

For the first time in eighteen days, I finally felt safe. I just about collapsed in Hades's arms, tears streaming down my face at an alarming rate. My chest tightened as I struggled to breathe. Hades thought nothing of it as he rubbed circles against my back and cradled my head to his chest like I was an infant.

We stayed like that until the oven timers went off.

He handed me his handkerchief and gently maneuvered himself out of my embrace, reaching for the oven mitts. I quickly blew my nose and swatted the oven mitts out of his hands.

"I think I can handle getting the cookies out of the oven, Andy."

"I somehow doubt that."

A beat of silence. "Fair enough."

I washed my hands within an inch of their lives. I shoved on the oven mitts, grabbed the cookie trays, and slid them onto cooling racks. I had to smack Hades's hands yet again when he tried to snag the still-too-hot cookies.

He pouted.

A few minutes and two glasses of milk later, I allowed Hades to taste the fruit of our labor. For legal reasons, I am not allowed to disclose what he said or any noises he made thereafter. I debated removing my sense of hearing altogether.

Needless to say, Sally Jackson's recipe is Hades approved.

Hades's eyes gleamed with a crazed glow as he devoured his fourth cookie. Milk coated his upper milk as a pseudo-mustache. His lips took on a vibrantly bluish tinge.

I have created a monster.

But I got an incredible candid out of this moment, so being asked to make chocolate chip cookies for the foreseeable future was a small price to pay.

I managed to save the last dozen cookies from Hades's rampage to bring to my friends on the Argo II. The enchanted dinner plates could create yummy tasting substitutes, but they were no match for the real thing. I also managed to whisk away two cookies, sending them to wherever Bob and Damasen might be.

It came as no surprise when Hades ran around the kitchen to grab the ingredients for a second round of baking. He sat on the countertop, kicking his legs like a child while I prepared a larger batch.

My hands went from Smurf murderer to hand model for the Blue Man Group blue.

But the smell of freshly baked cookies and the smile plastered on Hades's face was worth it. I couldn't remember the last time I saw him display such an open expression of childlike wonder.

"Don't scarf all these down in one sitting, Cookie Monster," I teased, sliding the newest batch of cookies onto the cooling racks. "The next two weeks are going to be a nightmare, and I doubt I'll have time for a late night baking sesh."

"I make no promises."

I rolled my eyes and laughed.

"I have to head back. My friends are waiting for me."

"And I, unfortunately, have a realm to keep from collapsing." Hades hopped down from the countertop. He swept me into his arms once more. I soaked in his warmth and the smell of chocolate lingering on his clothes. "Take care of yourself, Andy. I'll be waiting to try new culinary exploits with you once this all blows over."

"Just don't set the kitchen on fire while I'm gone."

"I assure you, I know where all the fire extinguishers are located."

"Fair enough." I pulled away. "I'll see you when I see you."

I dissolved into my shadow, the scent of vanilla and chocolate accompanying me as I returned to the Argo II.