To the Sun, to the Stars, to the Sky (A Soldier/Rebellion AU)

Chapter 15: Framed

Nico POV

"I'm sorry, what?" I asked, shocked and afraid.

Thalia searches my face for any signs of guilt. Luke sighed, "Thalia, I think we were right. There's no way it's legitimate. Look at his face."

Thalia bit her lip. "We can't just let him go, Luke."

"I know. But you know he's probably innocent."

Doubt flickered across her face before she removed the knife from my throat and stepped back, frustrated and stressed. "Fine. Okay. So he's innocent. Which means this letter is literally worthless."

Luke removed his hand from my shoulder. "You can break form, Nico."

I let my hand drop. "What's going on?"

Thalia rubbed her eyes. "We decoded the letter, but something was weird about it. We haven't told Reyna anything yet, we're trying to sort it out first. The letter could've been solved by a third grader, it was so easy. Once we figured out which letters were which, that was it. There were no code words, and the topic of the letter was given in basic language anyone would understand. Every other letter we've intercepted has been heavily layered with different codes. I can't understand why this one was so easy."

My head hurt. "I've never even met the king. Why would he send me a letter?"

Luke scratched subconsciously at his arm. "We think someone's trying to frame you with this, but it's using the king's ink. Basically, we think whoever the spy is framed you by telling the king to write this letter. They wanted us to think this whole spy business thing was over."

I swallowed. "But you believe me. I swear on my life I'm not a spy. I'd do anything to prove it to you."

Thalia paced. "You won't be allowed to go anywhere alone. At night, someone will watch you. And the prince, too. Both of you will be watched at all times. Because hypothetically, if you were the spy, he is one, too."

I shook my head. "Thalia, I haven't even been here that long, but I can see that he believes in the cause. He loves everyone at the camp, minus maybe Octavian—"

"If you're the spy, Nico. If. I still don't think you're him, but if you were, you'd need someone that would direct us to your camp before you died of that stab wound. Will had told us to go to Heraizdawurst Bay in the first place. If you're the spy, he's one, too."

I took a deep breath. "Okay, I see your logic, but I'm pretty certain he's not one. Any other ideas about who might be one?"

Thalia kicked at the dirt. "None. We're working through it, though, and we're keeping a close eye on everyone."

I looked up at the dark sky. "I'll keep my eye out for anything suspicious then. Whoever this person is, they're really good."

Thalia laughed bitterly. "No kidding. And they're going to give us away before we make it to the capital." She bit her lip. "You can go to bed, Nico. I'll send watchmen to keep an eye on you and your boyfriend. Goodbye."

I went back to where Will was waiting, staring up at the stars. He looked at me. "What was that about?"

I let myself fall back onto my bag-turned-pillow. "They think I'm a spy, Will. And I can't prove otherwise. The letter—it's to me."

His eyes went huge and he sat up, intrigued. "Are you actually the spy?"

I scowled. "Of course not. But that doesn't change the fact that my name is on the letter."

He laid back down, silent. I reluctantly tried to sleep as well. When I opened my eyes to adjust my makeshift pillow, I could see a figure watching us from the woods. The watchman.

I was emotionally torn. On one hand, the king sent me a letter. The king himself. Any soldier would be honored. On the other hand, the king sent me a fucking letter and as a rebel, I'm terrified. Thalia hadn't told me what it said. That the king was going to kill me? That he was going to come find me? He obviously knows where I am.

Why was it addressed to Nico rather than to my soldier number? I guess the spy hadn't thought of that. Or, they had hoped I'd keep my name hidden from the camp so I'd look even more suspicious when it turned out the mystery letter was to the guy who hadn't told anyone his name.

It took me hours to fall asleep. When I finally did, I was brought back to the military. I was going to be hung. Percy was the general, and he ordered my execution himself. Bianca was there, watching, red dripping down her hand and wrist and then it was on her throat and her clothes. We were all drowning in the juice, the poison, and suddenly Will's voice cut through the sound of crying and screams. This is where the poison catches up to you, Nico.

Nico?

Nico!

"Nico!"

I woke with a start. What I'd thought had just been Dream Will calling my name had really been Real-life Will trying to wake me up.

His hands stopped shaking my shoulders when I opened my eyes. I rubbed them and sat up. He moved back to give me room. "Are you okay?"

My lungs ached, like I'd had the breath knocked out of me. When I touched my face, I realized there were tears sitting on my cheeks. I quickly brushed them off. "I'm sorry. Did I wake you up?"

He frowned. "You didn't answer my question."

I huffed, "Yes, I'm fine. Did I wake you up?"

He tilted his head. "You may have accidentally whacked me in the face a couple of times." [E/n I can see this happening. XD]

I snorted. At least I'd been quiet so the others around us hadn't been bothered. I'd trained myself to be quiet while I slept so I didn't cause trouble in my bunk in the army. "Sorry about that, Will. You okay?"

"Yeah, it didn't hurt or anything. Just startled me."

I nodded. "Thanks for waking me up."

"No problem," he said. "Do you want to talk about what happened in your dream?"

I shook my head. The dread in my stomach lingered.

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Close call, but I remembered to publish.

Also, the picture is not really related, I just felt like scarin' y'all.

- Chris