The House of Hades - Nervous

Something about this place seemed even creepier than the palace basement in Split. Jason had never thought much about Cupid. He’d certainly never thought of Cupid as scary. Even for Roman demigods, the name conjured up an image of a silly winged baby with a toy bow and arrow, flying around in his diapers on Valentine’s Day.

“Oh, he’s not like that,” said Favonius.

Jason flinched. “You can read my mind?”

“I don’t need to.” Favonius tossed his bronze hoop in the air. “Everyone has the wrong impression of Cupid…until they meet him.”

Nico braced himself against a column, his legs trembling visibly.

“Hey, man…” Jason stepped toward him, but Nico waved him off.

At Nico’s feet, the grass turned brown and wilted. The dead patch spread outward, as if poison were seeping from the soles of his shoes.

“Ah…” Favonius nodded sympathetically. “I don’t blame you for being nervous, Nico di Angelo. Do you know how I ended up serving Cupid?”

“I don’t serve anyone,” Nico muttered. “Especially not Cupid.”

Favonius continued as if he hadn’t heard. “I fell in love with a mortal named Hyacinthus. He was quite extraordinary.”


- The House of Hades, Chapter 36