The Underworld was exactly as you had imagined. Cold, dark, and endless. Yet, despite the chill, a strange warmth spread through your chest. Maybe it was just your heart pounding as the stone elevator brought you three toward your father’s castle. Or maybe it was an unfamiliar sense of belonging for the first time in your life.

You barely had time to process the weight of it before footsteps echoed through the chamber, breaking the stillness.

“Hey, fellas. Welcome! Sorry about all the… Oh. Hi sweetie.” Hades regarded you with an acknowledging glance, offering a brief, almost casual smile before turning to the group at large. “Anyways, it’s great to meet you. I know who you are, and you know who I am, so we can just skip right past that part. Can I get you anything? Fresh pomegranate juice, a snack?”

The mighty Hades. Lord of the Underworld.

He was… something. Not terrifying nor monstrous, as the myths painted him. As he debated with Percy about who stole what and dismissed the Olympian drama with an exasperation bordering on boredom, he seemed, if anything, calm. Even sassy as he traded remarks with a determined teenager demanding his mother’s return.

Not what you expected. Not at all.

Big talk of the future. War, Kronos, power. Percy and Grover left the Underworld with their own pearls. You lingered, turning your own pearl over in your hands, hesitant.

“You know… about what I said earlier, asking me for sanctuary.” He cleared his throat, glancing away for a moment before meeting your gaze again. “You already have it. You always have.” A pause. Then, with uncharacteristic hesitation, he added, “And you don’t have to give me anything in return. Because you’re my… uh, child.”

His expression was unreadable, but there was something in his voice, something that almost sounded like effort.

“We definitely have to catch up,” he said, as if he wasn’t quite sure how.