[ glancing away, nico's expression darkens with mourning. it's been a while since he's last seen the vision he'd watched of his mother dying and he still has trouble remembering her face. ]

She did, for a little while. Then, she died. Killed by another god when he was trying to kill me [ and his now dead sister ]. My father saw to my protection for seventy years until he saw fit to have me released to fulfill a prophecy.