Hadie's Arc

Chapter 2 of 4

Hadie made it back to headquarters before the others finished their patrol sweep. He went straight to the corner where they kept their gear, shrugging off his jacket without thinking. The photo slipped out and hit the floor face-up. Ace reached it first. She picked it up and stared at the cracked image, her eyes going wide. Pegi stepped closer, looking over her shoulder. "Wait," Ace said slowly. "That's not just any gods. That's—" She looked up at Hadie. "This is Hades and Persephone. With kids." Hadie's mind ran through every response he'd rehearsed, but his mouth stayed shut. Harold walked in behind them and stopped when he saw their faces. Pegi turned the photo toward Harold without a word. The crack split right through the middle, dividing the family in two. Harold studied it for a long moment, then looked at Hadie. "You said your parents were taken. You didn't say they were gods." His voice was flat, careful. Not angry yet. Hadie watched Harold's expression shift as he worked through the implications. This was the moment Hadie had feared most—Harold learning the truth and deciding what it meant for everyone else. Hadie forced himself to meet Harold's eyes. "They're stone now. Same curse that's spreading through half of Greece." He pointed at the tapestry on the wall behind them, the one showing Rangers and gods sealing the Titans away together. "That's what we're supposed to be. Mortals and gods fighting side by side. But my parents tried to face the Titans alone, and look what happened." Harold handed the photo back without breaking eye contact. "So you need us," he said. Not a question. Hadie nodded. "Yeah. I do." Harold glanced at Ace and Pegi, then back at Hadie. "Then we're in. But no more secrets." Hadie felt something shift in his chest—not relief exactly, but the weight of isolation cracking open. He'd been calculating scenarios for weeks, and somehow the simplest path had been the right one all along.