The House of Hades (Heroes of Olympus, #4)

by Rick Riordan

In human years, he was barely fourteen, just a year older than Hazel, but that didn’t tell the whole story. Like Hazel, Nico di Angelo was a demigod from another era. He radiated a kind of old energy—a melancholy that came from knowing he didn’t belong in the modern world.

Nicole deserves sm more 😭

They’d been holding hands ever since they dropped into the chasm. Now Percy pulled her close, hugging her tight as they tumbled through absolute darkness.

🤧

Annabeth pressed her lips to Percy’s ear. “I love you.” She wasn’t sure he could hear her—but if they were going to die she wanted those to be her last words.

She could sink to the bottom and drown, let the river carry her body away. That would be easier. She could just close her eyes.… Percy gripped her hand and jolted her back to reality. She couldn’t see him in the murky water, but suddenly she didn’t want to die. Together they kicked upward and broke the surface.

Next to her, Percy coughed. “This place smells like my ex-stepfather.”

Argh UNCLE RICK WHYYY 😭

If she’d fallen into Tartarus by herself, Annabeth thought, she would have been doomed. After all she’d been through beneath Rome, finding the Athena Parthenos, this was simply too much. She would’ve curled up and cried until she became another ghost, melting into the Cocytus.

Percy kicked the dust on the rocks, his expression grim and dissatisfied. “She died too easily, considering how much torture she put you through. She deserved worse.” Annabeth couldn’t argue with that, but the hard edge in Percy’s voice made her unsettled. She’d never seen someone get so angry or vengeful on her behalf. It almost made her glad Arachne had died quickly. “How did you move so fast?”

😏 dark Percy making his appearance

Just leave one special morsel for me—the one named Percy Jackson.” Annabeth fought down a snarl of her own.

🥰

Leo had a terrifying image of his Aunt Rosa and some old Chinese woman in wrestlers’ outfits, whaling on each other with spiked clubs.

As if Leo was going to turn back. Sure, he hoped di Angelo was okay, but he had headaches of his own.

Ugh he makes me so mad sometimes

Despite being beat-up, sooty, and dressed like a homeless person, she looked great to Percy. So what if they were in Tartarus? So what if they stood a slim chance of surviving? He was so glad that they were together, he had the ridiculous urge to smile.

🥰

Wow. When he started looking back on the war with Kronos as the good old days—that was sad.

About halfway down the precipice, Annabeth said, “Stop, okay? Just a quick break.” Her legs wobbled so badly, Percy cursed himself for not calling a rest earlier.

😭🥺

One grabbed his sword arm. Her friend jumped on his back. Percy tried to ignore them and staggered toward Annabeth, determined to go down defending her if he had to;

Not that Hazel required his protection. Anybody who’d seen her charging on Arion with her sword drawn would know she could take care of herself. Still, Frank liked being next to her, imagining he was her bodyguard. If any of these monsters tried to hurt her, Frank would gladly turn into a rhinoceros and push them into the canal.

<3

Triptolemus tapped his chin. “Well, thank you for the snake, but I’m not sure I like your tone, demigod. Perhaps I’ll turn you into—” Frank was faster. He lunged at Trip and slammed him into the wall, his fingers locked around the god’s throat. “Think about your next words,” Frank warned, deadly calm. “Or instead of beating my sword into a plowshare, I will beat it into your head.”

Okayyy Frank I see you 😏

Annabeth collapsed on a broken slab of marble, too exhausted to take another step. Percy stood over her protectively, scanning their surroundings.

🥰

Whenever she brought up Rachel’s name, Percy got nervous. At one point, Rachel had been interested in dating Percy. That was ancient history. Rachel and Annabeth were good friends now. But Annabeth didn’t mind making Percy a little uneasy. You had to keep your boyfriend on his toes.

“What—what do you want?” Annabeth asked, trying to maintain a tone of confidence. The voice cackled maliciously. To curse you, of course! To destroy you a thousand times in the name of Mother Night! “Only a thousand times?” Percy murmured. “Oh, good…I thought we were in trouble.”

“I appreciate the offer,” he said. “But my mom told me not to accept curses from strangers.”

Don’t give them what they want. We are your friends.” Even as he said it, Percy felt like a liar. He’d left Bob in the Underworld and hadn’t given him a thought since. What made them friends? The fact that Percy needed him now? Percy always hated it when the gods used him for their errands. Now Percy was treating Bob the same way.

Ugh noo he already has so much responsibility. He saved his life 😭

The arai attacked, and this time Bob did not stop them.

“Percy?” she called, panic creeping into her voice. “I’m right here.”

“Percy!” Annabeth’s voice cracked. “Why did you leave me?” “I didn’t!” He turned on the arai, his arms shaking with anger. “What did you do to her?” We did nothing, the demons said. Your beloved has unleashed a special curse—a bitter thought from someone you abandoned. You punished an innocent soul by leaving her in her solitude. Now her most hateful wish has come to pass: Annabeth feels her despair. She, too, will perish alone and abandoned. “Percy?” Annabeth spread her arms, trying to find him. The arai backed up, letting her stumble blindly through their ranks.

😭

Percy clenched his jaw. He didn’t care how many curses he suffered. He had to keep these leathery old hags focused on him and protect Annabeth as long as he could. He yelled in fury and attacked them all.

Seriously, who curses you with their dying breath and says: I hope your eye twitches!

Only Uncle Rick would put a line like this in an intense fighting scene

Now he was in Tartarus, dying from gorgon’s blood plus a dozen other agonizing curses, while he watched his girlfriend stumble around, helpless and blind and believing he’d abandoned her. He clutched his sword. His knuckles started to steam. White smoke curled off his forearms.

AND THE GODS HAVE THE AUDACITY TO SAY THAT HE DIDN'T FULFILL HIS DEBT FOR BEING BORN?!?! URGEHHHEGRGRIDBZ

Not only because it was painful and insultingly lame, but because Annabeth needed him. Once he was dead, the demons would turn their attention to her. He couldn’t leave her alone.

Annabeth stopped fighting. Her eyes cleared. “Where— what—?” She saw Percy, and a series of expressions flashed across her face—relief, joy, shock, horror. “What’s wrong with him?” she cried. “What happened?” She cradled his shoulders and wept into his scalp. Percy wanted to tell her it was okay, but of course it wasn’t. He couldn’t even feel his body anymore. His consciousness was like a small helium balloon, loosely tied to the top of his head. It had no weight, no strength. It just kept expanding, getting lighter and lighter. He knew that soon it would either burst or the string would break, and his life would float away.

Jason wondered if Piper was working some sort of Aphrodite magic on him—like maybe every time he mentioned Reyna’s name, she would befuddle him so much he couldn’t think about anything but Piper.

Well...

“Is this guy Love or Death?” Jason growled. Ask your friends, Cupid said. Frank, Hazel, and Percy met my counterpart, Thanatos. We are not so different. Except Death is sometimes kinder.

Games? Cupid struck, slapping Nico sideways into a granite pedestal. Love is no game! It is no flowery softness! It is hard work—a quest that never ends. It demands everything from you—especially the truth. Only then does it yield rewards.

Her voice caught on the word friend. Percy was a lot more than that. Even boyfriend really didn’t cover it. They’d been through so much together, at this point Percy was part of her—a sometimes annoying part, sure, but definitely a part she could not live without.

“Oh, my needs are simple.” Zethes slicked back his hair and winked at Piper. “I should have kept you at our palace when we first met, my dear Piper. But soon we will go there again, together, and I shall romance you most incredibly.” “Thanks, but no thanks,” Piper said.

Dang I would have folded. That's a pretty convincing argument.