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"I don’t knohich version of the Persephone story is the correct one," I say "Whether she was stolen into the Underrealo with him to be his queen, but I do know that he was devoted to her, and we Underlords are the proof Persephone’s mother, the Terra Lady, or Demeter, as your book calls her, wasn’t too happy about Persephone and Hades’s union As goddess of the Overrealifted the harvest to the fields and fertility to the wohter, so Hades and Persephone would never be able to have children Hades couldn’t stand the sadness that overtook his wife, and so he decided to create children for her His first atte You’ve seen the results of that"

Herthat attacked Joe? That was supposed to be a child?"

I nod "It’s called a Keres They’re an experi little baby Persephone had wanted"

"I’m sure that came as quite the surprise"

"Have you ever heard the story of Pandora’s Box?"

"Yeah A woiven a box and told not to open it But her curiosity got the better of her, and she opened the box only to accidentally release horrible evils on the world"

"Close," I say "But in the real version, the box is actually a prison, and the things inside are the Keres We call it the Pits Short for Pithos"

"So Hades imprisoned his first creations?"

"He had no choice They were monsters There are different kinds of Keres Some of them are reapers--like the one we destroyed--and he used to use them to help collect the souls of the dead on the battlefield But even those proved to be too bloodthirsty--instead of going after only the dead, they started to attack the wounded also There’s one thing everyone as attacked in Olyuess you could say Even if it was only a paper cut Eventually, the reapers were locked up, too You can probably i botched it the first tiain?"

"He was more careful this tie, out of mud from the river Styx, fire from the heart of the Underrealm, and shadows from the shades of the dead Persephone herself breathed life into the first tin sons naifted with the Helm of Hades--the ability to be nearly invisible in the dark--and the fire that burns in their eyes The tere the light of their lives"

Daphne shakes her shoulders like so has made her feel cold "It’s that nearly invisible in the dark thing that really creeps e at my audition like that You freaked "

"What are you talking about?" I ask her "What auditions? I never followed you backstage anywhere"

"After we rove, didn’t you follow me to the school? There was soe Wasn’t that you?"