We got the call from Nathan over lunch. We’re sitting with Chris, Esteban, and our grandpup, Lily, and our triplets over homemade pizza. Lily is nearly a year old, so she’s not having pizza, but she is gumming on some of the crust. “Papa, don’t you dare give her any cheese! The last time you did, she exploded out of her diaper like five times. Her little body just isn’t ready for cheese yet. Dr. Addams says she needs another few months,” Chris yells at Zak who is tempting Lily with a bite of his pizza. “But she loved it. Didn’t you, little bud? You like cheese so much! Just like your Papa Zak,” he coos to the baby who is trying valiantly to grab the pizza from his hand. “Zak, she had an upset tummy for the rest of the day,” Kayla says. “Just like Nat! Don’t do that to Lily.” “Fine,” Zak says. He puts his pizza down and blows a raspberry on Lily’s belly before putting her back in her high chair next to her aunts and uncle. I guess it would be a little weird to have

The time we were in Hermes’ palace was spent resting, bathing, eating, and planning. The Oreiades, or mountain-nymphs, that follow Hermes around attended to us. Their voices were gravelly and low, like rocks scraping over each other. Hermes came back, but was quiet for the most part. He just kind of took care of us. Well, most of us. I don’t think that the messenger of the god likes me all that much. Or he likes me too much? I don’t know. He’s either glaring at me or checking me out. I’m not quiet sure how to feel about this dude. He’s sexy, though I imagine most gods are. All golden skin and muscles on muscles. But there’s something about his eyes. This arresting blue that I can’t seem to look away from when I make eye contact with him. Look, don’t get me wrong, Jacob is still the sexiest man that I’ve ever seen. But there is nothing wrong with looking. We both do it. The Goddess put us all here to be appreciated, right? But there is absolutely no desire for u

We all jog the rest of the way down the tunnel, making it to the entrance to Tisphone’s stairs in less time than we planned. We’re all amped and ready to get this shit down. I’m afraid that all of us won’t make it out of here. I mean Dad, Auntie Charlie, Odysseus, Isaac, and Lacy will be fine. They’re all dead already. But the rest of us? Ma? Pop? Alexander, Summer, Jared? Any one that’s here with us? I don’t know. I don’t know if any of us will make it through. I can’t think about that right now though. I’ve got to get my head in the game. “Leave your packs and shit here,” Dad tells us. “We’re going to need to move as easily as possible. Only thing we should worry about is Alexander’s blade.” “We all ready?” Ma asks. A chorus of yeses answer her. “Hit the dot,” Pop tells us. And we all do, watching our hands to watch until the dot turns a solid green. It’s really weird to see our hands glow like they’ve got some kind of electronic button inside of them. Mag

We ended up leaving the pups back at the pack. Between Brandon’s parents and Clara, Zak’s mom, we had plenty of people to watch not just the triplets, but also little Lily. Valhalla isn’t a place for pups. Which is why we’re going there to get Nyx out. “Kayla, baby,” Zak says, pulling my hand from my mouth. “If you don’t stop biting your nails, you’re going to have stumps to your knuckles.” He holds my hand, rubbing my cheek as I watch him. “I know. I’m just so freaked out,” I tell him. “We know, Beautiful,” Brandon says to me, running his fingers through my hair. “But you chewing your nails bloody isn’t going to help anything.” I lean back into Brandon’s chest, allowing him to wrap his arms around me. Zak picks up my fet and props them on his lap. Immediately, his hand sneaks under my pants leg and starts rubbing the skin there. Feeling their hands on my skin, the soothing fated sparks, calms me immediately. “We can’t go into this half-cocked, Princess,” Zak says,

We all limp back to Hermes’s palace: the injured, the gods and goddesses, our ragtag band. And we carry the dead back with us. None of the gods or goddesses have their powers this deep down into Tartarus. They will have to wait until they have crossed the borders into the Underworld to be able to help. Rowen, Ma, and Dad were only able to heal those of us that were injured enough so that we didn’t bleed out with the number of us that were hurt. We’re going to have to wait until they’ve rested and eaten before they can do more. The fight with the monsters in Tartarus had taken its toll on so many of us. Michael and Citra had been caught in the crossfire of a fire breathing Chimera. Michael had jumped onto Citra, trying to save her. It killed him and severely injured her. Jaiden, who had been with them, was killed by the venomous bite of the Chimera’s serpent tail. Rowen said that by the time he had gotten to Citra, her skin had pealed back like burnt paper and she was