Nico’s POV

He looked around nervously, as if checking to see if there were any eavesdroppers, or not. Which was stupid because no one would dare to spy on him in his own domain. Then he blurted out “You have a sister, Nico. And she turns sixteen the same day as Percy does- or did.”

“WHAT!!!” I cried out.

Again I ignored the pang in my chest at the mention of Percy. I focused on the thing that was less likely to make me cry again. And I didn’t want to cry anymore. I had lost to many people already. I would be strong, for Percy.

“I have a sister? How? Was she born before the oath? What is her name? Where does she live? Does she know I am her bro-” My father cut me off before I could continue with interrogating him.

“No, she was born after the oath. Her name is Persia Zastrow, and she lives in Tulsa, Oklahoma. And, yes, she knows you are her brother. She has two half-siblings, who I am not the father of, and they were all adopted by their mother, when she was four.”

I was shocked into silence. First of all her name was Persia? That was a little too close to Percy's name for comfort. Her last name was Zastrow… interesting name. She was born after the oath? My father broke the oath? With who? Ok… moving on. So she knows about me? How come I don't know about her then?

I was a little hurt that Hades hadn’t told me about her before, but then again, he wasn’t exactly known for being the world’s best dad.

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Then I asked, “Can I meet her?”

Hades shifted uncomfortably, and replied, “You can’t meet her now, but you will eventually.”

I frowned, then asked, “Do you have a picture of her?”

He nodded then got up and walked over to the mantle, and took down one of the pictures on it. He walked back over and silently handed it to me. He pointed to the one in it that was my sister.

I sucked in a breath when I looked down at the picture, because she looked so… different than me.

She had really pale skin, that sort of looked like it was glowing, long bronze hair, that was curled slightly, and it had little streaks of blond in it. She had dullish green eyes with a little circle of gold in them and she was wearing a purple sweater, indigo coloured jeans, and black boots that reached up to her knees. On her hand was a silver ring, that sort of looked like a snake. Cool.

There were three other people in the picture, two were children, one a boy and the other a tiny female, and one was a female adult. The male child had long blond hair, greyish blue eyes and a squarish jaw. The little girl had really tan skin, brownish hair and she also had grey-blue eyes like the boy. She had a few freckles sprinkled across her face, and was smiling happily. The older woman had reddish brown hair, freckles all over and was slightly tan. She had brown eyes that were currently glaring at my sister , who looked like she was ignoring everyone else in the picture.

I looked back up at my father, and went to give the picture back to him, but he waved his hand, and said, “You can keep it. I have a few more.”

For a second, I was jealous. How did he get the pictures of her? Did he visit her when he was a child? How else would he get them?

Hades smiled, and as if he was reading my thoughts he said, “I only visited her twice, when she didn’t know I was there, and took a few pictures of her. I did the same with you and Bianca, when you were children.”

I nodded, trying not to look too happy. Then I asked, “Why does she look so unhappy?”

Hades sighed, and said, “I don’t exactly know, but from what I saw, her mother doesn’t like her that much. Or at all really.”

I looked at him with shock. “Why didn’t you place her somewhere else?”

He frowned. “Because she already had a life, and friend, in Oklahoma. I couldn’t take that from her.”

I scowled and said fiercely, “And you couldn’t do that for me and Bianca! We could have had a life too!”

He blinked. “Im sorry Nico, but I was desperate at the time. Your mother had just died, and I thought placing you there would protect you.”

“Oh.” I said softly. Then I looked back up. “When exactly will I meet Persia?”

Hades shrugged. “I don’t exactly know when, right now, but you will soon. I promise.”