A second chance.

26. Chances

Phoebe

I sat down in front of a flowerbed, staring at the rose I held in my hands. In a couple of hours, I would have to make my choice.

Join Nico's rebel army, or continue serving Percy.

After he had threatened to kill me if I were to ever betray him, I was having second thoughts once again about my choice. Joining Nico would be the right thing, because the rebels were trying to help people. Help people that Percy enslaved. 

But then the ex son of Poseidon would 100% kill me if I were to do so. So I was stuck.

I sighed as I pulled out my knife and held the rose up. I cut the stem off of the flower so that I was left with the petals. I was about to pick out another flower when I heard light footsteps approaching me. 

I turned to see Jessica walking towards me, a bow slung over her shoulder. I rarely talked to her, yet I've seen her around the halls in the palace almost everyday. 

Jessica didn't say anything as she sat down beside me, slinging the bow off of her back and putting it in her lap. She gazed at me, her eyes flickering down to look at the rose petals I held in my hands. 

Finally, she said "I know what you're going through right now. Trust me, I've had many second thoughts about taking Percy's side in this war as well. But, I've made my final decision to stay with him." 

I frowned as I placed the rose petals on the ground next to me. "Why? After everything he's done? Torturing people, making their lives absolute hell? You would still support someone like that?" 

The blue haired girl sighed as she looked down at the bow in her lap. "I understand from your point of view, but you have yet to look at mine. I was alone when Percy rescued me. I had nothing, absolutely nothing. I had given up hope until he showed me that I could live a better life with him. He taught me how to fight, showed me how to get better. I owe everything to him."

Jessica glanced up at me, a small smile appearing on her face. "Plus, Percy gave you a second chance as well, didn't he? If he didn't, you would still be in Elysium."

I grimaced, biting my lower lip as I knew Jessica was right. Most of the demigods and demi-titans in Percy's army had been saved by him one way or another. That's why they're all so loyal to him. 

Because he had given them something to live for.

Jessica patted me on the shoulder before standing up, slinging her bow over her back once more. "Think about it. Face death or treason, or stay here, alive and well." Jessica chuckled and turned and walked away.

I watched her leave and exhaled, my shoulder's slumping. I would have to make my decision soon. 

Will

As soon as Nico and I entered his room, I shoved him onto the bed. The son of Hades gave a surprised yelp as he landed on the blankets.

I grinned as I closed the door behind us. I walked over to him and sat down, putting one arm around Nico's shoulders. "Let's enjoy the time we have left before we go and fight Perseus."

Nico closed his eyes, putting his head on my shoulder. "I would very much like that, but I can't relax without knowing we're going up against my cousin. Who, not to mention, has powers that surpass all the Gods."

I moved my hand to place it against Nico's back. "We've been over this already. We just have to have hope. Promise me that you'll at least have that." 

The son of Hades looked doubtful before he slowly nodded. I knew he wanted to say more, but luckily Nico remained silent. 

We sat together on the bed for several more minutes until I lifted my hand off of his back. "We should get some rest." Nico glanced at me and smiled softly. "We should." 

I grinned before pushing the son of Hades down onto the blankets once more. I then fell down next to him, wrapping my arms around his waist. Nico muttered something that I couldn't hear as I cuddled closer to him.

It was quiet in the room for a good ten minutes, and I still couldn't fall asleep. I suddenly heard soft snores coming from Nico, and I chuckled quietly. I pressed my lips against his cheek before unwrapping my arms from around his waist. 

I slowly slid out of the bed and walked over to the door. I opened it, glanced back at Nico's sleeping form, and walked outside to the hallway. I pushed the door closed behind me and headed to the main room.

Most of the demigods and Gods had gone off to sleep, but I saw Hades sitting at the table, his sword lying on top of the wooden surface. I tensed slightly when I saw him, but sat down across from him anyways. 

Hades raised an eyebrow at me, reaching out to wrap one of his hands around the sword hilt. "Can't sleep?" I glanced down at my hands before shaking my head. "No. Too much to worry about." 

The Lord of the Underworld shrugged, sliding his sword off of the table and leaning back in his chair. "Understandable." Hades suddenly smiled, surprising me. "You know you don't have to hide your relationship with Nico from me." 

I nearly choked on air, and I coughed several times as Hades chuckled. "You two aren't very discreet. But I'm the only one who figured it out, aside from Clarisse, of course."

"Sorry. Guess we should've told you. Well, Nico should've told you." I said. "So uh..... you aren't mad?" 

Hades frowned at that, putting his sword back into it's sheath. "And why would I be mad? I'm happy for you two. Nico has lost so many people he's cared about. He saw me fade, and he's been told that Hazel had been murdered by Perseus. Now he has you, and you damn well better not leave him."

I cringed away from the murderous aura Hades was giving off, but I steeled my nerves and touched Hades' arm. I looked at him and said calmly "I can promise you something, Lord Hades. I'll never leave Nico, not until my dying breath."

Hades grimaced at the promise I made. He glanced at my hand touching his arm before he grabbed my wrist, putting a little pressure on it. "You better keep that promise, Solace."

The Lord of the Underworld took a deep breath, putting even more pressure on my wrist. It was enough to make me flinch at the pain.

"Because it would kill him if you broke that promise." 

Word count: 1144

short chapter today sorry

on the bright side, the next chapter will be the final battle between Nico and Percy