She was put in Asphodel? But she died a hero! My mind raged at the gods as I saw how their promises were twisted. If that promise had been twisted and not every person who died in the war against Kronos was given Elysium, what else hadn't been kept?
Hades took Silena's silence as a cue to keep speaking. "If you agree to stay with Perseus and his… friends, we will grant you immortality."
She could only nod in agreement before dragging herself towards me and hugging me, much to Annabeth's dismay, and sat down at my feet, her head hanging downward as she pressed her fingers to her temples.
"Very well," Hades said. "I pledge Silena Beauregard, daughter of Aphrodite to serve in Percy Jackson's harem."
Hades forgot to mention that small detail to Silena moments prior. She shot her eyes back up and jumped from the floor when she heard when she heard those words. Her jaw hung low, her blue eyes teared up in fury.
A familiar guilt settled upon me as I looked at her. I pulled out of Piper and Annabeth's grips and hugged Silena from behind and whispered into her ear.
"I'm sorry… I didn't ask for or want any of this…"
She sniffled, leaned back against me, and slid back down to sit on the floor. She didn't look as upset as before, but rather she looked… indifferent. Like Rachel, she looked like she accepted the fact that she was mine for the taking.
"I am sorry, my dear," Hades mumbled. "It was the only way."
With him done, Ares was the next to go. "Unlike most, I don't think my children would handle being put into this too well. Prowess in combat is about all they've had in common at this point. Everything past that is nothing but a rocky relationship at best."
He glowered at me with begrudging respect. "Since I can't just go giving up one of mine, I don't think my sister will mind if I use one of hers. Sorry about this, but… Reyna Avila Ramirez-Arellano, since you're no longer a praetor, I'll go ahead and pledge you into the developing harem."
Reyna dropped to her knees. She was so close; so close to escaping the life that controlled her. She was so close to having her life go the way she wanted, just to have some war god pull rank to take control of her life all over again. Wasn't it bad enough that I had Annabeth and Rachel under the same roof? Now I had to throw in a third girl who openly had feelings towards me and had rather borderline hostile feelings towards the others?!
I wanted to hug her. I wanted to scream at Ares that it wasn't fair! I wanted to slap him around and pummel him into the sand like I did several years ago. But as I moved to do so, Annabeth moved in front of me and shook her head. I realized what she was doing. If I lost myself and went toe to toe with Ares, there was no telling what the gods would do to me. I was on his turf.
He seemed to take notice. "Heh, not too happy, huh, punk? Well get used to it." He leaned back in his throne looking rather pleased with himself.
Only when my head cleared of the rage did I realize that Hermes was speaking.
"I would offer a child or follower, but I believe that this council can agree that Percy Jackson has only ever come close to one of my own, and that was not for the better."
The gods, and even some of my fellow camp mates, nodded at that.
"As such, I cannot condemn an unknowing child or follower of mine-" he coughed, taking a moment to glance at Ares, "-to serve as a concubine for young Perseus."
Given the reasonable answer, I couldn't blame him. The best relationships I had with anyone who belonged to him would have been with Luke or the Stolls, and that says a lot.
Why couldn't every god and goddess just say something like he did? If you want to lock me away who knows where, just let me get occasional visits from my Wise Girl and I'll be happy.
Huh… Locked somewhere with occasional visits…
For the first time in what seems like hours, I spoke up. "Were Calypso and the other peaceful Titans released from their prisons?"
Nervous glances passed between the gods. My very simple request from the last round of rewards was neglected.
"Forget this whole harem thing then! My wish is to reinstate my previous wish. Free the peaceful titans!" I locked eyes with each and every one of them.
"Perseus…" I looked in the direction of the voice to find myself staring up at Athena. "While I concede that we did make a mistake in not letting them go, you cannot request the exact same reward twice. Also, try as you may, you cannot reject the gift of the harem. As my father said, this is law that predates even us." She regarded me with a hint of respect. "I say we make a compromise. We free those titans that are peaceful. As I have heard, Iapetus has also turned over a new leaf."
"Um," I spoke up. "He prefers to be called Bob. Also, he went down fighting Tartarus to help Annabeth and myself escape from him."
"Bob the Piercer? Tartarus?" She looked beyond bewildered. "Well in any regard, he should resurrect in due time and I will oversee that the Titans, the peaceful ones at least, are freed from their captivity. However, in order to make up for Hermes not having anyone to offer, why don't we give you the one Titan who changed your mind about them to begin with. I pledge to you Calypso, daughter of Atlas, to hold a spot in your harem. It seems fitting that I should do so. I requested her first love, Odysseus, be taken from her. Now it seems fair that I should return her to her last love."