The Sun Without Stars Solangelo

The Liar

Nico's POV

~

"Nico, you must kill my father," Will pleaded. He was dying once again in Nico's arms like a wilting flower.

"I'll save you, Will," Nico cried out, but the radiating glow from Will's body had long faded, his dull eyes staring blankly through Nico. Nico choked, sobbing as his world fell around him, clutching Will's chest like his sorrow could bring him back to life.

"I'm so sorry that I fell in love with you," Nico whispered, wanting to kiss Will's forehead, but not wanting to taint his beautiful visage.

When Will turned cold in his grip, Nico cupped Will's cheeks in his hands, caressing his freckle-covered face softly while his tears dripped onto Will's cheeks.

Will's eyes shot open, and he grasped Nico's wrist.

"Nico. Wake up. You need to get us out of here."

~

Nico shook, waking up to a woman flailing while on fire and both Reyna and Will shaking him awake.

"We need to get out of here, Nico," Reyna urged, and Nico nodded, pulling the shadows towards him while trying to avoid consuming Will and Reyna's soul in the process. Hunger racked his body, but he ignored it as well as he could bear.

They all leapt into the void, Will pulling Nico by his wrist when he hesitated.

They tumbled from the disorderly path made by Nico's shadow traveling, Nico hitting his back on something hard. He coughed, the air knocked out of him.

"Ow, fuck," Reyna muttered from somewhere beneath him.

The black ink that filled Nico's vision began to clear, and he found himself at the foot of a table that he must have run into. The air was fresh, but there was no snow to be seen.

"Will? You okay?" Nico asked, looking at Will who was still grasping his wrist.

"I'm feeling a bit sick, but I should feel better in a little while," Will reassured. All around them, campers had jumped from their seats where they'd been eating dinner.

The three rose from their stupor, Nico wiping the dirt from his clothes. He raised his hand in apology to the ones whose dinner they had crashed into. There was chaos, campers asking Reyna what had happened, her dogs now at her side, probably summoned back when Nico was unconscious at the bakery.

"Nico! Reyna and Will, too?!" Percy yelled from across the pavilion, just now seeing their faces.

Dang it.

Percy and Annabeth had both encountered Nyx, and while they probably wouldn't be able to sense her presence, he still worried.

"What brings you here?" Annabeth asked on a more serious note, helping Reyna gather the items that had fallen from her bag.

Nico didn't want to give her the same excuse he'd given Chiron, knowing that she'd call over Hazel if he said he'd come to speak to her. When he hesitated, Will spoke.

"Vacation," he said. "We got into a little trouble with Demeter back in Colorado, so we had to rush here, but Nico wasn't completely prepared to shadow travel us." Both Annabeth and Percy laughed, happy to see their group in one piece.

Thank you, Will.

Nico squeezed Will's hand that was still holding his arm to thank him for the excuse.