𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐈 𝐑𝐈𝐒𝐄// 𝐒𝐨𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐥𝐨 𝐑𝐨𝐲𝐚𝐥𝐭𝐲 𝐀𝐔

𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝟑𝟒// 𝐂𝐡𝐢𝐩𝐩𝐞𝐝

Nico felt...cold.

Foreign.

Will clung to his hand and steadied his breathing, reminding himself again and again that this was Nico, that Jalgan was nothing but a corpse stored away in the Tower. But the way Nico reclined in his chair, with the exact same confidence and ease Jalgan had held himself. The way he grinned and laughed with the enemy as though they were old friends. The way he kept a casual hand on Will's thigh, just how Jalgan had always insisted... it wasn't helping. At all.

Will forced himself to listen to the conversation.

"Why did it take you so long to answer us?" a woman asked.

Nico winced in apology. "You'll have to forgive me for that. I was...busy."

A man laughed. "You can say that again." The other smiled.

"You said you had a surprise for us?" someone further down the table questioned. Will couldn't see them from where he sat.

Nico sprung to his feet, making Will flinch. Nico didn't acknowledge it. "Of course, of course! Where are my manners?" He beckoned, and Percy and Leo stumbled forward with one of the coffins. Blyden and a few soldiers eagerly rushed forward. Nico looked back at Will with a silent question. Will swallowed, gave the tiniest nod.

The coffin creaked open, and King Apollo laid inside.

The likeness of the King, Will reminded himself. The glamour should be working overtime to conceal the real person underneath. And by the reactions of the others, it was working just as attended. Nevertheless, seeing his father's blank expression made his skin tingle with nerves.

"Fantastic!" Blyden crowed. "And the other coffin holds the Queen?"

"Of course."

Blyden clapped Nico over the shoulder. "You've outdone yourself. The monarchy, falling to a single person!" He cast an inquisitive look at Will. "And your husband was okay with it?"

The room fell silent, awaiting Will's answer. Nico's eyes darkened ever so slightly, bearing a message. Play your part.

"They never cared for me," Will said nonchalantly. "They can burn in Punishment with the rest we killed."

Surprise rippled through the audience, then delight. Jason breathed a sigh of relief. Leo gave a thumbs up from the corner.

"I never thought the prince would be such an avid supporter," Blyden said.

"It took him a while to heel," Nico joked, throwing an arm around Will's shoulders, "but he came around after the marriage."

Will gave a strained laugh that sounded like choking, digging his nails into Nico's side. Tone it down. Nico squeezed his shoulder in apology. The others didn't seem to notice, and laughed along.

"How long have you two been married again?" the woman asked.

Nico turned to Will with a frown. "A few weeks?" Will nodded, and Nico turned back. "It happened a month after I came with my proposal, I believe."

"It was such a shame we couldn't be there," Blyden said. "I would've loved to see the celebrations." Nico nodded in agreement.

Will spoke up, startling everyone. "We could have another marriage. Our real marriage." He reached up and laced his fingers with Nico's, giving him a look of affection that he prayed looked genuine. "One with your customs and traditions."

Nico's eyes lit up with delight that looked just as genuine. "I like the sound of that." A joking smile. "But you're still walking down the aisle."

Will gave a playful glare. "I hate you."