A/N: Thank you all so much for your reviews, please keep reviewing! I do not own PJATO, just any OCS and the plot for this story. Enjoy the chapter! –Maiden of the Heavens (MOTH)

Chapter 9

Three months had passed and there still was not any sign of Jason. Now the whole Camp was up in chaos, as a second praetor had to be chosen and soon. The Daughter of Apollo felt awful for Reyna, she practically had other campers at her heels begging to be chosen to lead. But that wasn't how it worked. Cassandra found herself leaning into Nico's chest, another vision had just ricocheted through her head so badly; it felt like a field mine had exploded inside. Tears still leaked from her eyes, and no matter how much she didn't want the Son of Pluto to see her like this, she didn't have another choice.

While another vision rocked her already agonized body, Nico had put on her Run as Fast as You Can list on from her IPod to soothe her. Not that it was helping, war and death, her friends dying, her family dying, played in front of her eyes like an R-rated movie. A cry of pain broke past her lips as she buried her face into the front of Nico's shirt. Wait for Me by Rise Against pounded in her ears, gods how much longer could she deny it? She had feelings for the Son of Pluto. So very deep feelings, that she could no longer deny that she was in love with him, but could not figure out a way to tell him without it being completely embarrassing.

She pulled her ear buds from her ears when the pain had subsided to a tolerable level and the song had ended. Cassandra hastily kissed Nico on the cheek before her own face matched the tomato-red of his own.

He grazed his ice-cold fingers along the place where her lips had touched his cheek, and quirked an eyebrow at her. "What was that for?"

Cassandra shrugged. "For being there for me…even though you don't really have too…"

"I really don't mind…" Nico replied, just as nervous.

The Daughter of Apollo and the Son of Hades got to their feet from where they were sitting on the front steps of the third cohort barracks. Cassandra had tried to ignore the whispers and snickers behind her back about her and Nico dating, but out of all honesty, they didn't really any bother her anymore. She grabbed her sun-shaped shield from where it leaned against the outer wall of the barracks, and kissing Nico quickly one the cheek once again, she put her IPod buds in and decided to head toward the archery range.

Octavian found his little sister a couple of hours later yanking her arrows free from the archery target that was now losing its stuffing. He couldn't help but smirk, their father would be proud of her, but it was because of the weapon that she was getting better or was it because of her own determination? He gently laid a hand on her shoulder, as she turned around to face him. He could tell by her pale face and tear-stained cheeks that she had recently suffered another vision.

"What was it this time?" He asked as they plopped down underneath one of the trees.

"A Demigod with terrible power, he could control the water around him. Claimed to be a Son of Neptune." Cassandra replied shakily, and took her chocolate chip cookie dough flavored milk out of her messenger bag, and cracked open the bottle.

Octavian sighed and stretched out in the shade that the tree offered. "This Son of Neptune that you foresaw has already arrived."

His little sister sipped at her milk before she was calm enough to reply. "Do you trust him?"

The Augur shook his fair haired head. "No. What kind of Roman would I be, if I trusted a Greek?"

Cassandra nearly choked on her drink. "He's Greek! Oh Gods, save us."

The siblings stood and headed back toward the Mess Hall. "Which Cohort volunteered to take him in?" She prayed it was not her own, then again the other centurion of her cohort was not very trusting of new arrivals, and neither was she.

"The fifth." Octavian replied simply.

The two parted ways after nearing the Mess Hall, Cassandra swiftly embraced her brother, and he squeezed her back. He had to check on the first cohort, while she was dying for a nap. A little snooze before the War Games started wouldn't be such a bad idea, she was hoping the third cohort was going to win this year, but nothing was for certain.

The Daughter of Apollo let out a sigh when she realized that Hank wasn't in any of the barracks, she would have to track down the Son of Mercury. She chugged down the rest of her milk, and got rid of the mustache by using the back of her hand.

"Oh, very sexy." A male voice chuckled behind her.

She opened her dark brown eyes to see Nico standing there. "I thought you heading back to the Underworld to speak with your father?"

Nico shrugged. How was he supposed to tell that Thanatos was missing? But that since Death was no longer in the picture that he also had more time to figure out how to lift the Curse from her visions. He still had more time to save her, but since he had figured that rescuing her from death was his quest, he hadn't told her. Was he really that afraid of what she would think of him?

"Nico, you okay?" Cassandra asked as her fingers slowly entwined his icy ones.

The Son of Pluto took her hand and placed it against his chest. "Yeah, but has Letus been in your…visions lately?" He knows by now to call them visions, she no longer dreams. She has been plagued with nothing but dark and twisted visions ever since Jason Grace vanished from Camp Jupiter. And the visions are literally killing her.

"No." The Daughter of Apollo replied and yanked her pale blue and white striped beanie back securely on her head. Her fingers raked into her choppy dark chocolate hair. She had only chopped off the tresses that had grown down to her shoulders last week, with Octavian's ceremonial dagger, when he wouldn't miss it of course.

Reyna had sent out search parties, and she been in one of them with her cousins, and Dakota. They had searched for days with no sign of their second praetor. And in those days that they had searched they had fought monsters that they killed, but were only brought back after a couple of hours.

"Why won't the monsters die?" She whispered aloud, only for Nico to look at her with concern.

Nico could only shrug, even though he knew, he did not wish to frighten her more. Instead he held her close to him and pressed a kiss to the top of her head, after he had pulled off her beanie. He then shadow-traveled away, just as Hank came into the barracks to find a very red faced Daughter of Apollo.

Nico had whispered three little words into her ear before he had vanished, and those three little words had left her heart still for a couple of seconds.