Chapter 2: Will's POV

For the next three days, I kept a careful, constant eye on the still-unconscious son of Hades, running on zero sleep and a lot of very caffeinated black coffee that the Stoll brothers had brought into camp—against Chiron's no-caffeine rule. By that point, though, the caffeine running through my system was the only thing keeping my awake and semi-functional, so I didn't particularly care if it pissed Chiron off.

Just after I had finished changing his bandages again, Nico groaned sleepily and cracked his eyes open. I was instantly awake; it was the first sound he had made in days. The boy of the Underworld blinked the sleep out of his eyes, looking around blearily. Finally, his gaze locked on me.

"Solace?" his voice came out rough and gravelly, since he hadn't used it in days.

I put what I hoped was a warm smile on my face as I helped him sit up, my heart twinging every time he winced in pain. "You almost gave me a heart attack, di Angelo. You almost died."

The notion didn't seem to scare or surprise him. Then again, I guess death wouldn't scare the child of Hades. "Sorry, Sunshine, but even I have to rest a bit every now and again."

I rolled my eyes and grabbed a bottle of water from the cooler by the door, handing it to him and sitting back down. "A bit? Do you have any idea how long you've been unconscious for, Death Boy?"

He shook his head, draining half the bottle in one swallow. He winced again as he moved his arm.

"Three, almost four days,"

That news did surprise him. His eyes widened as he stared at me incredulously. "Three days?"

I nodded and he burst into motion, swinging his legs over the side of the bed. When he tried to stand up, however, his legs gave way beneath him and he crumpled to the floor with a cry of pain that he had obviously tried to conceal. I caught him just before he hit the ground, wrapping my arms around him.

"You idiot! What the hell was that for? Are you trying to reopen your wounds?" I kept my voice soft, despite its admonishing tone, as I gently lifted him back onto the bed.

He struggled weakly inn my arms, glaring at me in annoyance. "I have to talk to Chiron. It's important."

I pursed my lips skeptically, keeping my hand on his shoulder in case he tried to get up again. "Not more important than your health, di Angelo. I'm not letting you leave this bed until I deem you healthy enough, got it? Doctor's orders."

Was it my imagination, or was Nico slightly flushed? I knew he didn't have a fever; I couldn't feel one from the bare skin of his shoulder. Did that mean that he—? No. I shook the thought from my mind before it led me down a path of thought that I really didn't want to go down.

I don't have a choice, do I?"

I broke into a grin, despite myself. "Nope. Like I said, doctor's orders. Now, go back to sleep, Death Boy. You need it."

He snorted softly, regarding me balefully. "Says the one who had bags under his eyes so dark that he looks like a zombie. How long has it been since you slept?"

I felt myself flush in embarrassment as I smiled sheepishly. "Well, it you wouldn't insist on trying to die, maybe I'd be able to sleep!"

My blush darkened as I realized that I had practically just admitted how worried I had been about him. However, instead of the snarky reply I had been expecting, Nico's expression softened fractionally.

"Get some sleep, Solace. I won't run off or die while you do, promise on the Styx and everything. Actually," he smirked and closed his eyes, yawning, "I think I might get some more sleep, too."

He rolled over onto his side, facing away from me. I stared at him in blatant amazement before realizing that what he had said was true—I was exhausted. Before I knew it, my eyelids were heavy and it was nearly impossible to keep them open. I got up and stumbled to the bed next to Nico's, barely hitting the mattress before my mind spiraled into welcome sleep.

I hated demigod dreams. Seriously, they had to be the most annoying things ever. It's like, you're sleeping peacefully, actually resting for once, then you get shoved into a vision or some other thing that ruins it completely. And that's exactly what happened to me.

In the dream, I found myself in a dark, damp stone cave. All around me was swirling, grey-green fog. Not fog, I realized—it was the shadowy, spirit-like coils of a giant serpent… that was staring right at me with glowing, fiery eyes.

William Solace, spawn of Apollo. A raspy voice echoed in my head, and I knew instinctively that it belonged to the snake before me.

I wanted to scream: How do you know my name? Who are you? But my voice wouldn't work. I could only stare back at those two red eyes that seemed to set my nerves on fire.

I have waited longer than your puny mortal mind can process for this day to come. This is the day I have been anticipating. This is the day Gaea raised me from Tartarus for. This is the day when I return to haunt and destroy your father as he haunted and destroyed me so many years ago. And, as he destroyed me with his children, I will destroy him with his.

The snake opened its jaws just as I fell back into a deep, thankfully dreamless sleep where the disturbing words of the snake couldn't reach me.