The House of Hades

Layers of Mist enfold Hazel and Leo into Pasiphaë’s new stone Labyrinth. Hazel knows it’s an illusion but doesn’t know how to break through. Hazel and Leo are forced to run and avoid the traps while Pasiphaë laughs. Hazel knows the only way to beat Pasiphaë is to make her see what she wants to see, which is a more dangerous maze. Hazel manipulates the Mist with her mind to turn the Labyrinth back to Pasiphaë. At a pit of snakes, Hazel and Leo jump. Hazel imagines a chute they fall through and land on top of Pasiphaë. The Labyrinth disappears. Hazel opens a trapdoor with the Mist under Pasiphaë.

The elevator door dings, and Leo throws a screwdriver at the button, so the Doors open. Percy and Annabeth fall onto the floor. Clytius motions Hazel and Leo to stop. Since Percy and Annabeth are unconscious, they will be easy to tie up for the sacrifice. Leo shoots flames at Clytius, but he absorbs them and chokes Leo. Hazel runs to help, but Gale warns her to stop. Behind Hazel, Hecate appears with torches in her hands saying Hazel has proven herself worthy.

Clytius taunts Hecate through Leo’s mouth and makes him contort in pain. Hazel manipulates the Mist, so Percy, Annabeth, and Leo appear at her feet. The Mist envelopes her friends and counteracts Clytius’s darkness. Leo wakes up, and Hazel tells him to stay in the Mist. Hazel screams at a taunting Clytius. Dozens of gems assault him, and he howls in pain but regroups quickly. Clytius tells Hazel Hecate will discard her while Hecate counters it is Hazel’s crossroads. Annabeth wakes and reminds Hazel of the chains on the Doors of Death she needs to cut. Hazel charges and slides under Clytius to stab him. She cuts one chain on the Doors, but before she can cut the other Clytius sends her flying. Leo screams Hazel’s name, and she staggers to her sword. Hazel looks at her helpless friends and throws her sword at the Doors. The other chain severs, and the Doors disappear. Jason, Nico, Piper, and Frank appear from a door in the Mist.

Jason, Leo, Frank, Piper, and Jason attack Clytius from every direction while Percy and Annabeth get to their feet. The demigods force Clytius to his knees and encircle him. Hecate steps forward and kills him. Hecate tells Hazel to lead the group to Athens to stop the giants and Gaea from waking. The House of Hades is unstable, and she disappears. The crew hugs Percy and Annabeth while Frank tends to Hazel. Piper explains that Frank summoned the spirits of dead warriors to lead them to help, but Frank can’t manage to call ghosts to help them now, so Hazel helps Nico shadow-travel them out of the temple. They appear on the hillside outside and exchange stories. Hazel is thrilled Frank was promoted to praetor. Percy and Annabeth aren’t ready to tell their story yet. Coach Hedge flies the Argo II over with Reyna at the railing.

Leo lowers the Athena Parthenos onto the hillside. Reyna is upset because she had to kill her gravely injured Pegasus. Annabeth invites Reyna to join them for their picnic lunch. Reyna accepts Frank as praetor but wonders if the legion will accept him since they both broke the laws of the legion in coming to the ancient lands. They try to figure out what to do with the Parthenos because a Roman leader must return it to the Greeks as a symbol of peace, but the crew needs to go to Athens and stop the giants. Nico offers to take Reyna and the statue via shadow-travel, and Reyna agrees if someone else comes. Frank volunteers Coach Hedge, who agrees to go. Percy thinks about the prophecy and wonders if they made the right decision, and Annabeth says they can’t control the prophecies and can only do what they think is best.

Percy finds Nico tying ropes to the Athena Parthenos and thanks him for leading the group to the House of Hades and for visiting Bob, who saved his and Annabeth’s life. Nico brushes him off, and Percy is hurt. Annabeth joins Percy and wishes Nico luck. Reyna and Coach Hedge come, and Nico shadow travels them out. The Argo II starts sailing for Athens. Percy stands on deck with Annabeth and tries not to think about Tartarus. They promise to defeat Gaea. The sky darkens, and Percy looks up at the stars and tells them Bob says hello.