The House of Hades (Heroes of Olympus Book 4)

Rome, he’d offered to give up his position toPercy Jackson. Did that make him unworthy to lead a legion of Roman ghosts?
    He decided to face that problem when the time came.
    ‘Just leave that to us,’ he said. ‘Nico can summon –’
    The third arrow zipped by Jason’s shoulder. He couldn’t stop it in time. Nico gasped as it sank into his sword arm.
    ‘Nico!’
    The son of Hades stumbled. The arrow dissolved, leaving no blood and no visible wound, but Nico’s face was tight with rage and pain.
    ‘Enough games!’ Nico shouted. ‘Show yourself!’
    It is a costly thing
, Cupid said,
looking on the true face of Love.
    Another column toppled. Jason scrambled out of its way.
    My wife Psyche learned that lesson
, Cupid said.
She was brought here aeons ago, when this was the site of my palace. We met only in the dark. She was warned never to look upon me, and yet she could not stand the mystery. She feared I was a monster. One night, she lit a candle, and beheld my face as I slept.
    ‘Were you
that
ugly?’ Jason thought he had zeroed in on Cupid’s voice – at the edge of the amphitheatre about twenty yards away – but he wanted to make sure.
    The god laughed.
I was too handsome, I’m afraid. A mortal cannot gaze upon the true appearance of a god without suffering consequences. My mother, Aphrodite, cursed Psyche for her distrust. My poor lover was tormented, forced into exile, given horrible tasks to prove her worth. She was even sent to the Underworld on a quest to show her dedication. She earned her way back to my side, but she suffered greatly.
    Now I’ve got you
, Jason thought.
    He thrust his sword in the sky and thunder shook the valley. Lightning blasted a crater where the voice had been speaking.
    Silence. Jason was just thinking,
Dang, it actually worked
, when an invisible force knocked him to the ground. His sword skittered across the road.
    A good try
, Cupid said, his voice already distant.
But Love cannot be pinned down so easily.
    Next to him, a wall collapsed. Jason barely managed to roll aside.
    ‘Stop it!’ Nico yelled. ‘It’s me you want. Leave him alone!’
    Jason’s ears rang. He was dizzy from getting smacked around. His mouth tasted like limestone dust. He didn’t understand why Nico would think of himself as the main target, but Cupid seemed to agree.
    Poor Nico di Angelo.
The god’s voice was tinged with disappointment.
Do you know what
you
want, much less what I want? My beloved Psyche risked everything in the name of Love. It was the only way to atone for her lack of faith. And you – what have you risked in my name?
    ‘I’ve been to Tartarus and back,’ Nico snarled. ‘You don’t scare me.’
    I scare you very, very much. Face me. Be honest.
    Jason pulled himself up.
    All around Nico, the ground shifted. The grass withered, and the stones cracked as if something was moving in the earth beneath, trying to push its way through.
    ‘Give us Diocletian’s sceptre,’ Nico said. ‘We don’t have time for games.’
    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.
    Jason retrieved his sword. If this invisible guy was Love, Jason was beginning to think Love was overrated. He liked Piper’s version better – considerate, kind and beautiful. Aphrodite he could understand. Cupid seemed more like a thug, an enforcer.
    ‘Nico,’ he called, ‘what does this guy
want
from you?’
    Tell him, Nico di Angelo
, Cupid said.
Tell him you are a coward, afraid of yourself and your feelings. Tell him the real reason you ran from Camp Half-Blood, and why you are always alone.
    Nico let loose a guttural scream. The ground at his feet split open and skeletons crawled forth – dead Romans with missing hands and caved-in skulls, cracked ribs and jaws unhinged. Some were dressed in the remnants of togas. Others had glinting pieces of armour hanging off their chests.
    Will you hide among the dead, as you always do?
Cupid taunted.
    Waves of darkness rolled off the son of Hades. When they hit Jason, he almost lost consciousness – overwhelmed by hatred and fear and shame …
    Images flashed through his mind. He saw Nico and his sister on a snowy cliff in Maine, Percy Jackson protecting them from a manticore . Percy’s sword gleamed in the dark. He’d been the first demigod Nico had