WHEN NAOMI'S MOTHER INVITED HER to spend Christmas in the Underworld, this was not what she had hoped for.
It started out pretty okay, all things considered. Naomi popped into the Underworld with her fancy new shadow-travel powers (she was finally getting the hang of it, thankfully—no more surprise visits to foreign countries), landing in her mother's garden.
Skia found her instantly, probably already waiting for her. Naomi braced herself as the hellhound all but tackled her, licking her face and wagging her tail so hard her whole body shook.
"Hey, girl," she said with a grin. "I missed you too! How've you been?"
Skia barked, the sound echoing distinctly in the Underworld. In the distance, Naomi swore she heard Cerberus bark a response. Naomi made a mental note to visit the old three-headed beast while she was down here.
"You seen my mom?" Naomi asked Skia, brushing a hand through her thick fur. The beast just wagged her tail harder in lieu of a response.
Naomi smiled. "Mom?" she called. "Are you out here?"
No answer.
"Mo—"
A chorus of unexpected screaming cut her off.
Naomi whirled around, seeing probably the last three people she was expecting—Percy, Thalia, and Nico, standing in her mother's garden, screaming.
(Okay, so maybe Nico being in the Underworld was understandable. The other two, though...)
"Uh... hi?" Naomi said, more question than greeting.
They stopped screaming.
"Nay!" Percy ran at her, pulling her off her feet in a hug.
Naomi returned the hug with a smile—she hadn't seen him since his birthday, which was months ago. She'd missed him.
When he set her back down on her feet, Thalia hugged her as well. Nico just nodded like the antisocial dork he was determined to be.
"You know where we are, Nay?" Thalia asked. Her weapon was understandably at the ready given the strange circumstances.
Naomi frowned. "My mom's garden," she answered. "I came down here to spend Christmas with her. What're you guys doing here?"
"We fell in," Percy said. "Literally, like the ground split and we fell and—now we're here."
Naomi blinked. "That's... weird."
"Heads up," Thalia warned.
Naomi looked and found her friend aiming an arrow at her mother.
"Thalia!" Naomi squeaked. "Please don't shoot my mother."
Thalia lowered her bow. "Oh. My bad."
Naomi's mother stepped forward. "I am Persephone," she said, her voice thin and papery, the way it often was in the dead of winter. "Welcome, demigods."
Nico squashed a pomegranate under his boot. "Welcome? After last time, you've got the nerve to welcome me?"
Percy shifted uneasily. "Um, Nico—"
"It's all right," Persephone said coldly. "We had a little family spat."
"Family spat?" Nico cried. "You turned me into a dandelion!"
Naomi frowned at her mother. "You turned him into a dandelion?"
Persephone sighed. "It's a long story. As I was saying, demigods, I welcome you to my garden."
YOU ARE READING
This Dark Night ― Percy Jackson & Annabeth Chase¹
Fanfictionin which an orphan learns she isn't really an orphan, and naomi must face the fact that she's descended from gods she never thought existed, and the fates have big plans for her. [percy jackson x female oc x annabeth chase] [book 1 of 2] [the light...
