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.
Everything went downwards when Hazel appeared, though, called over by an adult camper. Nico tried to retreat behind the rest of the demigods as if she might just miss him.
She spotted him just fine.
Hazel was known for her kind and supportive demeanor, so when the demigods saw her deadly aura, they moved back, creating a path for her to move through. She marched over, Frank in tow in all his massive, Canadian glory; he had somehow grown taller since the last time Nico had seen him.
Frank shook his head, signaling to Nico that, if he wanted to survive with his head still attached to his neck, he better make a run for it. Everyone else, including Percy and Annabeth looked befuddled, but continued to make conversation, catching up on the events of the last couple months.
When Hazel reached Nico, he frowned in a pained manner, Frank still standing behind her like an oversized bodyguard.
"Hazel...I," Nico stuttered.
THWAK
Her slap was crisp and hit him straight in the jaw.
Nico didn't shy away. Everyone else looked shocked to the bone, standing silent as if waiting for someone to break the silence. Even Percy, who could make a conversation out of thin air, was dumbfounded.
"I deserve that," Nico stated as Frank stepped in front of Hazel to prevent her from swinging a second time, which seemed highly probable.
"You're such an asshole," Hazel seethed.
I don't deserve forgiveness for everything I'm going to put you through.
"I'm not sure what I'm watching," Percy whispered to Annabeth.
"Trust me," Reyna replied for Annabeth. "No one does."
Their group sat at a table further from the rest of the inhabitants, Hazel ignoring him completely on the walk over.
"Why are you really here?" Annabeth asked when they all sat down. When Will went to give his excuse again, Annabeth raised a hand to silence him. "You're not here on vacation. No one goes on vacation after a murder."
Damn it, Chiron.
They had Nico cornered. If he said anything, though, they would be in danger of Nyx allowing his abilities to go completely rampant. Here, none of them had weapons except for Reyna and Nico.
When Nico refused to say anything, Hazel hit her fist on the table, causing Will to jump.
"Nico. We all know what happened! What the hell is happening with all these monsters and why did you come all of a sudden?! Another war can't have broken out so fast. Why can't you just tell me?" Hazel practically begged. She looked to be at her wit's end.
Both Percy and Annabeth looked worried, probably afraid that they might be roped into yet another battle. From their confused expressions, though, they probably hadn't heard what had happened in Tartarus other than what Nico had told them before his quest. The demigods at the table exchanged glances, as if wondering why there was so much tension between the siblings.
Nico felt like he'd been backed into a corner, and fear rolled off of him, the table's shadow frisking about.
"Hazel, I don't know what's happening," Nico lied.
Aurum and Argentium who were laying down lazily at Reyna's feet perked up, however, twitching and a low growl leaving their throats. Both prowled towards Nico, baring their teeth.
"Aurum! Argentium! Back off!" Reyna ordered, but the damage had already been done. Her eyes were apologetic when they met Nico's.
This time, Percy spoke up, trying to maintain the peace. "Nico. If you know anything, it might be useful to tell Hazel, so that we can find a way to stop the monsters from killing anyone else."
"I can't help you," Nico insisted, feeling like a helpless child. His eyes frantically looked for an escape, everything building up in his chest.
The dogs did not react to that sentence, returning to their restful state. When the demigods noticed how on edge Nico was, they didn't continue to question him, Annabeth finally apologizing for taking things too far.
Nico felt a hand on his own, warm and comforting. Will still seemed rather ill, but smiled weakly at him.
"I think we're going to retire for the day," Will said after the table grew rather awkward.
"Sounds good. I was so famished that I ate like three plates full. Now, I think I'm going to throw up in a bathroom," Percy replied, indeed looking a bit green. Annabeth rolled her eyes, but she looked back at Nico as if she was searching him for something.
Hazel got up from the table, her irritated gaze still on Nico. "Frank? Could you show Nico and Will to a room for the night. Reyna, I trust you know this place better than all of us." The hunter grinned despite the somber mood.
"How are you enjoying being a praetor?" Reyna joked.
"Honestly? It's hell" Hazel muttered.
"Now imagine doing that with Octavian. It was a daily nightmare," Reyna groaned, shivering at the thought.
~
"I always thought you'd make a powerful ally. I see the ruthlessness in you, and I appreciate that."
Octavian's words had stuck with Nico since they'd met. In a way, the more insatiable Octavian grew, the more Nico felt like he understood him-- the more he saw the former praetor in himself. Despite not outwardly killing Octavian, he'd always felt a sense of moral responsibility for his death, considering he'd known that Octavian would end up shooting himself and allowed it to happen.
That day, it seemed like a premonition sent from a gods.
A promise, in a way, like the Three Fates were cutting a thread in front of his very eyes, ensuring that Nico would meet the same fate.
~
Frank stood up, cutting off Nico's train of thought. Will followed him with Nico alongside.
"Sorry, Nico. I couldn't stop her before she hit you. I swear, if I had known she actually do it, I would have stopped her," he promised apologetically.
"You were there when I messaged her. I deserved it." Frank didn't rebuke. "Has she been well, otherwise? You'll protect her, right?" Nico asked, his voice a bit threatening. He didn't understand how a man as large as Frank was still mildly terrified of him, but it was all for the better that way.
"Of course, of course. She's been fine, but the situation and, well... your safety has been stretching her thin these last weeks. Nonetheless, I will do whatever I can to protect her, so don't worry too much," he answered, a bit flushed.
"I'll make it up to her," Nico replied.
"I know you will." Frank smiled and opened the door to a small cabin on the outskirts of New Rome.
When Frank closed the door for him, Nico walked over to Will cautiously.
"Are you feeling okay? I brought ambrosia in case something happened."
"Thanks, that would be nice," Will answered, holding his head in his hand, looking ill. While Nico reached into the bag, his hair, which had been left out, fell in front of his eyes, but was placed behind his ear by Will.
Nico turned bright red, hoping that the dim room would make it so that Will couldn't see his face.
"I'm supposed to be helping you right now. I loathe you, Solace," Nico grumbled, finally pulling out a square of ambrosia, Will chuckling.
"You don't hate me. You know, Sunny told me what you said back at the Apollo cabin," Will mentioned nonchalantly, but obviously trying to elicit conversation. "You've become such a liar," he chuckled.
The dim room had not been illuminated by any lights, their sillhouettes barely visible.
"I was always a liar, but you'll never find someone more sincere towards you," Nico mumbled, peeling off the plastic wrap for Will even though he could very well do it himself.
Nyx was right--humans really were truer in the dark.
Will paused. "Do you want to talk about what happened with Hazel?"
Yes.
"Not really," Nico replied, placing a piece of the godly food into Will's mouth to shut him up. He kept his fingers from touching Will's lips, the dream from his unconscious state still fresh in his memory. "You were right. We always end up like this. I just can't hate you no matter how much I try," he mumbled.
You're killing him.
Why bring him so much pain?
Will came closer to Nico, and he was afraid that he'd go in for a kiss. If that happened, Nico knew that everything would fall apart.
He would fall apart.
Instead, Will held Nico's head softly, as if to give him the choice to back away. When he didn't, Will pulled Nico's head onto his lap.
"Your hair grew so long," Will commented.
Nico groaned.
"You don't like it? I think it suits you," Will whispered, combing his fingers through it.
Their positions were nearly identical to Nico's dream, but the conversation felt so mundane that he could almost pretend this wasn't his last evening.
"Do you think you could forgive me?" Nico asked, thinking of the events to come and how traumatized Will would be.
"I already have," Will answered.