Chapter Text
Meg stopped dead in the doorway of the lounge.
Zag caught sight of her and waved enthusiastically, beckoning her over. She pursed her lips, checked her whip was coiled neatly against her hip, and pushed her way through the shades. The lounge smelled of grilled surface fish—more of Zag’s souvenirs from his escapes, she supposed. Her nose wrinkled, but that was the least of her problems. She stopped several steps away from the table, hand resting on her whip.
“I thought Lord Hades had banned you from the house, sister.”
Tisiphone, seated across from Zagreus, tilted her head and said, with great and deliberate effort “Zzz— Za-gre-us.”
Zag nodded enthusiastically. “I was saying to her, if she really wanted to keep working on her words sometime, we ought to meet up at the house rather than trying to do it in thirty second increments before we fight. And it took a few times for the offer to make sense, I think, but then she turned up here!”
Meg crossed her arms. “And your father was okay with that?” The way Zag’s gaze skittered off her was all the answer she needed. “He doesn’t know?”
“Hypnos is distracting him with paperwork,” Zag admitted. “But come on, Meg, she isn’t doing anything wrong! She’s been on her best behavior the whole time. And we’ve made progress!” He turned to Tisiphone. “Do you want to share the new word you learned?”
Tisiphone’s face screwed up. Her eyes flashed with green fire, and for a moment Meg’s hand went tight on her whip. Then, with great effort, Tisiphone said: “Bbbb— Bbbbbb— Buuuuuurrr-ache-fast.” She stopped, and the furrowed concentration on her face melted into something that Meg was tempted to call a smile. Zag looked delighted.
“That’s right! Breakfast! You got it!”
Meg looked over Tisiphone. She looked—relaxed, Meg realized in shock. Like she truly was just enjoying the lounge, and Zagreus’s company, and talking. Well. Chalk another one up in Zag’s column of impossible accomplishments. Few enough things in this world made Tis happy.
“Fine,” Meg said. “I won’t say anything. But if she sets fire to the lounge because a mur— a you-know-what’s shade drifted past her, on your head be it.”
Zag’s smile turned just a little too sly as he replied, “I’ll take full responsibility for any… misbehavior.”
Meg scoffed, but she couldn’t hide the smile tugging at her lips.