"Husband, we talked about this," Persephone chided. "You can't go around

incinerating every hero.

 

Besides, he's brave. I like that."

 

Hades rolled his eyes. "You liked that Oipheus fellow too. Look how well that

turned out. Let me kill him, just a little bit."

 

"Father, you promised!" Nico said. "You said you only wanted to talk to him. You

said if I brought him, you'd explain."

 

Hades glowered, smoothing the folds of his robes. "And so I shall. Your mother —

what can I tell you?

 

She was a wonderful woman." He glanced uncomfortably at Persephone. "Forgive me,

my dear. I mean for a mortal, of course. Her name was Maria di Angelo. She was

from Venice, but her father was a diplomat in Washington, D.C. That's where I

met her. When you and your sister were young, it was a bad time to be children

of Hades. World War II was brewing. A few of my, ah, other children were leading

the losing side. I thought it best to put you two out of harm's way."

 

"That's why you hid us in the Lotus Casino?"

 

Hades shrugged. "Y ou didn't age. Y ou didn't realize time was passing. I waited

for the right time to bring you out."