The Boy Who Makes Me Want to Sing
I woke up in cell on Mount Olympus. It was too reminiscent of almost exactly a year ago, when I'd woken up in a cell on Mount Olympus to await my sentencing for the Second Titan War. Only, this time, I was waiting for my sentencing for Gaea and the giants.
I hoped the fact that Olympus was still here and seemed okay meant that Gaea had been defeated. I suppose if she hadn't, I would've woken up in some place much less…nice, for the lack of a better word. I wouldn't necessarily consider a cell to be comfortable.
Sitting up, and sighing as my prickles flared. When I sufficiently pushed them aside, I looked around and froze when I saw a cell connected to mine. In it was Apollo, his usual 17-year-old self. He was facing away from me, and if he heard me stand and walk slowly over to where our cells connected, he didn't indicate it.
"Apollo?" I asked, unsure if I was actually still asleep or not.
"You know," he started, spinning around, "I think it's awfully unfair of you to only call me 'Dad' when you're trying to appeal to me."
"Well it worked didn't it?" I asked. Apollo blinked like he wasn't expecting me to admit it so easily. "Honestly, I wasn't thinking in the moment." I continued when he didn't say anything. "My brother was dying, I was emotionally and physical spent, and I didn't know what to do. Can you blame me? Is Dan okay?"
Apollo nodded. "I was allowed to finish healing his leg. He was sent back to Camp Half-Blood." He paused. "And I suppose I can't blame you for needing my help. Many people do."
I spun around and started back to my cot, biting down on a comeback that would've only made us both angry (well, made me angrier). I didn't feel like being really angry right before my big trial because I still felt emotionally exhausted. Everything felt slightly numbed, like my emotions had been injected with Novocain, but not a strong enough dose.
My body felt heavy and tired, despite having just slept for however long, and with no nightmares, either. My throat was still sore, but didn't feel as sore as before. I guess, this time, Apollo hadn't been allowed to restore my health. Or he couldn't.
"Tori, I didn't mean that," Apollo called. "Please, come back. I…wanted to give you something."
I stopped just a few feet from my cot. Letting out a huff, I took a deep breath and tramped down all the words I wanted to say and turned to face him.
"What?" I asked.
"Well, you have to come over here so I can give it to you."
I glared at him for a long moment before giving in and going back over to where our cells met. I started to reach out, hold my hand out between the bars, but Apollo shook his head.
"Careful," he said as I pulled my hand back. "These bars"—he tapped one of them and it lit up, letting out a zapping noise. I jumped, not prepared—"they're made from Zeus's thunder bolts. So is the rest of my cell."
"You touched them," I deadpanned.
"I'm a god. These would incinerate you on the spot. Besides, I'm used to it." I jolted at that last sentence as Apollo moved his hand down. My gaze instinctively flickered to the movement, his hand was trembling. My eyes went back up to Apollo as I thought back to Pompeii and the Acropolis.
"Dad—" I started.
"Anyway," Apollo continued. Was it my eyes or did he flinch? "I found this before I was sent back here." He held out his hand, between the bars, something contained in his closed fist. I wanted to press on the previous topic, but it was clear he didn't want to talk anymore about it. So I held out my open palm and he dropped my bow-ring into it. It was crudely put back together, I could see the weld lines. Apollo kept speaking, "Before you get too excited, I can't imbue its magic qualities again. Not only does this cell prevent me from doing anything magical, but it was kind of a special, one-time thing. I'll understand if you don't want it back."
I closed my hand around the ring and pulled my hand back. "No. Uh…I mean, no that's okay." I said slipping the ring back onto my left middle finger. "It's a nice ring, regardless. Um…thanks for fixing it."
Before Apollo could say anything more, I heard the metal door to my cage go. I turned to look and saw two godlings. Time for my trial. I really needed to stop putting myself into these situations.
When I glanced back at Apollo, he'd turned his back to me. Frowning, I turned back around and headed out. The godlings flanked me as we walked to the throne room. I hadn't even considered what kind of memories the throne room held until one of the large, ornate doors swung open and I was faced with an all too familiar scene: First it was of Kronos, his arms spread, standing among empty thrones and laughing at his almost-victory. Then it was myself, Percy, Annabeth, and Grover hunched over Luke's dead body.
My knees buckled as I was thrown into one of the most severe panic attacks I'd ever had. All I could remember was the overwhelming heartache, followed by my chronic pain, followed by how fast my heart was beating in my chest. I think I may have passed out.
I came to screaming Luke's name, tears streaming down my face. Someone was pulling me up into a sitting position. At first, I thought it was Dan because this person ran warmer than me. When my vision cleared, for a horrifying moment, through my tear-filled eyes I thought it was Luke. But when I blinked, and those tears slid down my cheeks, it was Apollo I saw.
I was gripping his arm and he was holding me up. One of his hands moved to the side of my face and I felt my roaring emotions subside, like they had when I'd woken after Orion attacked me. The flashbacks and visions faded. My heart calmed and my prickles followed.
Apollo pulled away and looked back, toward Zeus, who was sitting in his throne. So were the rest of the gods. They were waiting. I blinked and Apollo had vanished. The two godlings who'd led me helped me to my feet. Not that I really needed that. Now that my emotions had calmed and I'd come to my senses, I felt extremely embarrassed for having an episode in front of the rest of the gods.
I wiped my face before walking further into the throne room and bowing. "My apologies, my lord, I—"
"At ease," Zeus's voice boomed.
I straightened up, sniffling once more, and wiping at my face again.
"Victoria Anna Williams," Zeus began and I felt my heart jolt in my chest. "You are here with charges of joining Gaea's side and helping the giants. Do you have anything to say for yourself?" He leaned forward in his throne. "And I recommend you say something this time."
I was surprised for a completely different reason than last time. Taking a deep breath I tried to gather my thoughts as fast as I could, and then spoke: "I knew in order to stand a chance of fighting Gaea, should she rise, I needed a power that she had hinted at giving me. I had to make sure that it didn't look like I had suddenly decided to join her side. I needed her to think that I was…that she was slowly turning me to her side. I couldn't let her think I had suddenly changed my mind or it would seem ingenuine, and she most likely would not have given me the power she spoke of.
"Things didn't…quite go according to plan. When I figured out that Gaea would break her swear, her plans changed for me. She took my brother hostage to make sure I would carry out what she wanted me to do. I needed a way out, a way to protect the Seven and my brother. If I could. So I thought of a plan and told the Seven of my situation. That didn't quite go as I had expected, either. But I knew where I stood, and soon broke my swear to Gaea in order to help the Seven."
"The Long Con." Athena and Hermes's voice echoed through the throne room. Athena glared at Hermes, who grinned back.
I blinked, feeling some of the tension ease out of me. "Uh, y-yes. At least a poor attempt at it, anyway." I turned toward Athena and bowed, "My lady." Then Hermes, also bowing, "My lord." I faced Zeus again. I couldn't read his expression.
"Please leave us to discuss," he said. I dropped my gaze and turned. The godlings flanked me again and led me out of the throne room. We sat out in the courtyard, on one of the benches. Well, I sat, they stood at my sides, ever vigilant. I watched their backs wondering whose children they were.
I found myself surprisingly calm as I waited. My mind wasn't buzzing with what punishment they might give me. My heart wasn't racing in my chest. Even my prickles seemed okay…as okay as they ever were. Either I had accepted my Fate, or I had gone numb. I really couldn't tell the difference anymore. They seemed to blend together, blurring the line that could tell me which was which.
My heart did get going a little when I was called back into the throne room and stood before Zeus once again. I had to fight harder to push away my pin-pricks and pay attention.
"It has been decided that you should be punished for allowing Gaea to rise, when it could have been prevented," Zeus began. Then he shifted in his throne like he was uncomfortable. "However, it has also been pointed out to me that your actions were ultimately in favor of the gods. And if we were to only punish you, it would look bad. Therefore, a few things will happen:
"First, the rune Hecate gave you, along with all its powers, will be taken away." Zeus nodded and suddenly Hecate was standing before me. She took my right wrist with one hand, cupping her other hand over my rune. It burned like when she'd given it to me the first time. I clenched my teeth and swallowed my screams. My prickles didn't like it either.
Finally, she pulled her hands away and vanished, leaving that small part of my wrist bleeding.
Could I at least get a band-aid or something? I thought silently, jumping when a roll of gauze smacked me in the face. I just barely managed to catch it.
Uh…thanks, I thought as I began carefully wrapping my wrist.
"Second," Zeus continued. "You will be monitored with a chip. Its radius contains the five boroughs of New York City. You stray outside of that and you will be recalled to Olympus immediately, and a punishment decided. Finally, you will not be allowed to bring Luke Castellan back from the Underworld."
I blinked, my world spinning a little over that last one. The last line of the prophecy: Again, unable to save Eurydice. Of course it would have a double meaning, and of course, both those meanings would apply.
My heart sank. I guess I would have to wait longer, and hope I would see him again.
As I looked up at Zeus, I swear I could see Styx, at human size, sitting like an angel on Zeus's shoulder. (If that was even a thing, considering angels belonged in the realm of monotheism, generally.) It almost made me angry that she seemed to be whispering in his ear, but I also knew what she'd told me at the Acropolis was right. I had broken my swear, and now I had to face the consequences.
"Now, onto the more…pleasant part," Zeus said, breaking me from my spiraling thoughts, surprising me yet again. "Seeing as…" He shifted in his throne and cleared his throat, "your singing is very powerful, it is seen as a risk." My blood froze. I thought he'd said pleasant? This was the farthest from pleasant in my mind. Did he mean pleasant for them? The prospect of punishing me further? Would they throw me into Tartarus again?
My vision blurred and blood began to roar in my ears at that idea, but Zeus's voice sliced through my panic.
"However, I was convinced that you showed where your loyalties lie, and so, we will allow you to continue to sing. Once again, that will be monitored." He didn't seem too happy about the whole situation, but I was ecstatic, glad that I could keep at least that. It was one of the very few things that reminded me of my mom. Zeus continued, looking even more disgruntled, "Additionally, you are no longer Mr. D's personal assistant." The more he spoke, the more grumpy he looked. "Finally, I am allowing you to make one small request that I, or another god, will fulfill if it is within our powers, and regarding the limits that have been set upon you."
I blanched. "A request?"
"Yes, a reward, we give them to demigods who have served us well," Zeus said impatiently. "So, what will yours be?"
"I…I don't know, I thought I'd be dead before I got to this part," I told him truthfully, too stunned to censor myself. If I heard snickering, I ignored it, figuring it to be part of my stunned state.
"Very well, we will leave it at that." Zeus straightened up and looked around at all the gods. "Meeting adjourned."
I guess I would be finding my own way back to camp.
Slowly, I turned and headed out of the throne room in a daze. I was alive? They had kept me alive? They had…even rewarded me…somewhat. Maybe the punishments, the restrictions balanced them out, but everything had not been at all what I expected.
Half-way through the courtyard, I froze. They'd kept me alive. And sure, I was no longer under Mr. D's thumb, forced to do whatever he asked of me, but…I was alive. Luke was still dead. And Zeus's ruling made it clear that he would remain that way, despite the fact that I could have brought him back. Like Orpheus.
It didn't seem fair, that I should fail without even having tried.
The Fates, Styx—they were cruel.
I felt tears prick my eyes and I balled my hands into fists, not wanting to cry right outside the throne room.
The world was saved. Dan was alive. I was alive. Now, I just wanted to be home.
A harpy was waiting in one of the CHB vans outside of the Empire State Building. I got into the passenger's side, not even thinking about it. The harpy didn't seem to mind. In fact, when she pulled out and we immediately got stuck in traffic, she asked me to sing. I was glad they still didn't seem to hate me. I don't know why I was afraid they would, but maybe I just thought after being away so long, they'd remember why they hated me in the first place.
I sang soft pop and soft alternative songs, not feeling in the mood for anything upbeat. Regardless, I think the harpy really appreciated it. She didn't seem as reckless driving through the New York streets as the harpies usually did.
Singing helped pass the time, which was nice. I got lost in the music, and for a while, I forgot about all my troubles.
When Thalia's pine tree came into view, the gold fleece hanging in its lowest bough, Peleus wrapped around it, my voice died out. Several feet away stood the Athena Parthenos, glowing under the van's headlights.
Peleus was snoozing away, puffing smoke. I'd missed him more than I realized, and couldn't wait to visit him. I hoped Audrey II was okay, too. I couldn't wait to see her again. I'm sure she hated having to leave me.
The van pulled into the drive and I thanked the harpy. We both exited the van, and the harpy flew off. Probably to go terrify some newbies. I went to the Big House. I wanted to check on Dan, and figured he'd be recovering in the infirmary.
The camp was eerily quiet. Too quiet for how late I thought I was. I looked at my wrist out of habit, remembered that I didn't have a watch anymore, and shrugged. Maybe it was later than I thought. Or maybe they'd all turned in early, seeing as Gaea had been defeated today. I'm sure the battle wasn't easy.
I entered the Big House, keeping my eyes fixed on the door to the infirmary. There was something posted on the door, but I was too far away to read it. It was dark inside, so all I could see was a fuzzy white rectangle. Somehow, it was even quieter in here than it was outside. For some reason, it seemed off. Something seemed really off about the Big House tonight.
When I got to the door, I struggled to read the sign in the dark, and with my dyslexia. Faint light from outside helped a little: PLEASE USE THE APOLLO CABIN'S INFIRMARY FOR THE TME BEING. Below that: THANK YOU.
I felt my heart beat painfully in my chest before dropping into my stomach. My pin-pricks responded with a painful burst. That bad feeling was starting to grow in my gut. Against my better judgement, I opened the door and stepped inside, flicking the switch.
The lights were overwhelmingly bright. I blinked as my eyes adjusted and when my vision cleared, I felt all the air leave me so fast my head spun. I fell back against the door as my pin-pricks surged. It took me at least a minute to push them away.
Bodies.
There were several rows of bodies in cots, covered with their respective shrouds.
My heart racing, my eyes searched for shrouds that I might be for someone I cared for, for shrouds that had bodies that looked too small. Thankfully, I didn't see the latter. But I spotted two of the former, side by side, near the middle-end of the row up against the wall of the infirmary.
Blood roared in my ears. My prickles burst again and grew. I made my way over to the two cots in autopilot and stood between them, staring. Some part of me wanted to know who. Another part didn't need more deaths on my conscience.
Tears pricking my eyes, I moved to my right, pulling away a small triangle of the brilliant golden shroud to see Reed underneath. His eyes were closed, face serene.
My hand froze, the fabric slipping from my fingers. A harsh sob escaped my lips and I felt my knees go weak. I blindly reached out to steady myself, on the edge of the cot that my half-brother lied. My other hand went up to cover my mouth as more sobs built in my throat and tears streamed down my cheeks.
Without permission, my head turned to cot next to Reed's.
This shroud was black, but shimmered underneath the lights. If my eyes weren't deceiving me, there were runes woven into the fabric. Like a hologram, they glowed when I changed my perspective slightly. Two glowing white crossed torches emblazoned the middle of the shroud.
I knew I would regret my decision, but I needed to know…was it a specific someone I knew.
Keeping one hand clamped on my mouth, I forced my other hand to lift a triangle of fabric away, just enough to see their face.
Another sob escaped my lips and my knees buckled, both hands covering my mouth, my knees painfully hitting the wood floors. I squeezed my eyes shut, willing this to be some terrible, horrible nightmare. Hoping beyond hope that what I was seeing, wasn't true.
It was Nick. His face was like Reeds—eyes closed, peaceful face. His glasses were missing.
I sunk to the floor, shoving my face into my elbow, trying to cover my screams. It wasn't like I really needed to. I expected most, if not all, of the campers were in their cabins, asleep. I was engulfed in prickles.
My screams eventually turned into sobs. Which eventually died out as the numbness took over.
I had laid down on my side, on the floor at that point, having been unable to hold myself up. I'm not sure how long I had laid there, but eventually, when the numbness had fully taken over—I wish it also worked on my chronic pain—I pushed myself up into a sitting position. I sat there, staring at the row of bodies in front of me.
Bracing myself, I closed my eyes and stood up. I looked at Reed first.
"I'm sorry," I whispered, more tears filling my eyes, despite my numbness. I carefully recovered him. I turned toward Nick, thinking about his love for his father, and his love for magic. I thought about his awkwardness, his blushing and stuttering.
More tears flooded my eyes and I clenched my teeth, willing the numbness to stay. I furled my hands into fists, and something pulled at my wrist. Blinking and wiping away my tears from my cheeks, I looked at my wrist. I was still wearing Nick's lucky coin.
I let out a harsh breath, looking back at Nick.
"I know you probably want me to keep it," I said, slipping the bracelet off my wrist. "But I think it would be in better hands with your father." I slipped the coin off the bracelet and slipped the bracelet onto Nick's wrist. "I want you to have this: from me to you. I'll make sure your father gets the quarter back." I gripped the coin before putting it into my pocket. I took a deep breath. "I'm sorry."
I covered him again and looked at Reed's shroud for a long moment. Then I went to turn out the lights of the infirmary. I started to exit, but looked back at the two cots. Closing the door, I went back to them, sitting between them, with my back against the wall.
I sat there and stared into the darkness for hours. I let the numbness and my pin-pricks engulf me for a while. Styx's words echoed through my head: You may have saved his life today, but you will not be able to save the others'. Others, like Reed, and Nick.
And Luke.
It wasn't until I felt dawn approaching did I finally stand. My body was stiff and my prickles didn't like my sudden movement.
Thankfully, the numbness stayed.
I left the Big House and made my way to the Apollo cabin. I carefully snuck through the front door, and to my chest. I pulled out a change of clothes, a bottle of pain meds, and tip-toed over to the bathroom. Carefully, I closed and locked the door. After taking some pain meds, I got into the shower and let the scalding hot water run over me. I took my time cleaning up, washing my hair, and letting the meds and hot water chase away my chronic pain.
After drying up, I blow-dried my hair, changed into pajamas and slipped out of the bathroom. The cabin was dark and quiet, everyone still asleep. They must've been exhausted. I was sure the noise I made in the bathroom would've woken at least one of them up. They always seemed to be such light sleepers.
Throwing my dirty clothes to the side of my chest, I opened it up again and put the bottle back before pulling out the heart candy pillow Luke had gotten me for Valentine's Day so long ago. It was mint green, with pink lettering: U LEAVE ME BREATHLESS.
I hugged it to me, closing my chest, and slid under the covers of my bed. I sighed at the comfort I hadn't had in what felt like months. The cots in the sickbay left much to be desired.
Even though I was most likely going to have nightmares, I was too numb to care, and too tired to keep my eyes open any longer. As soon as I rolled over and closed my eyes, sleep took me.
I jolted awake a few hours later from one of the worst nightmares I'd ever had. So many of the dead had come back to haunt me in Tartarus—acid-burned faces, bruised and bloody bodies, white eyes, and blank stares surrounded me, pushed me toward the waters of the River Acheron. The damned souls spat insults and shrieked about how I belonged with them.
My foot slipped off the side and I fell into the cavern. The souls cheered. The waters burned my skin, my lungs, as I struggled to keep my head above water. Hands grabbed at my arms, my legs, arms wrapped around my torso, pulling me under. The voices continued to scream, morphing into those of the dead I knew.
My struggling did no good and soon I was pulled completely under. My cries were muted. My nose and lungs began to fill up with burning water, but I wasn't drowning. The river seemed to be turning me into one of the spirits—my body began melting away, trapping me there for eternity.
I jackknifed up with a gasp. When I managed to push my prickles away, which felt unnervingly like the burning waters of the Acheron, I took in deep breaths of air until the burning in my lungs, throat, and nose faded. Once I had calmed down, I was bowled over by my siblings, Viola at the lead.
They all managed to cram themselves onto my bed and crushed me in a group hug. Their happiness and excitement was only dampened, on my part, when I thought about Dan and what he had said to me when Gaea had brought him forward. I couldn't help but wonder if my siblings felt the same.
Dan wasn't in the dogpile. He was resting up in our infirmary. I was sure he was anxious to see if I'd made it off of Olympus alive.
They were all crying, but the numbness that had washed over me last night remained. I forced a smile for them, hugging Viola tightly to me, for she hadn't let go of me, even when the rest of my siblings pulled away. Some stayed on my bed, some slid off, but stood at the side of it.
The mood dropped after a long moment of silence.
"…I know about Reed." I finally said, hugging Viola tighter. "I'm so sorry."
"You have nothing to be sorry for," Will said fiercely, shaking his head. His eyes were filled with tears. "We were at war. It happens."
I nodded and looked away.
"We should…" Cressida began. "A lot of demigods are going to need our help today. There's…so much to do."
My siblings nodded and began to prepare for the day. The ones who were still on my bed slid off.
"Wait," I said, picking at my duvet. I needed to know. I couldn't wait longer or I might lose my nerve. They all paused and turned to look at me. I looked at Viola and smiled softly.
"Grown-up talk?" she asked.
I nodded. "You can use the bathroom first, how about that?"
"Okay." Viola gathered her stuff and headed into the bathroom. I waited until she had closed the bathroom door before pulling the covers off me and throwing my legs over the side of my bed. I would need to take more pain meds soon.
"I want you to be honest with me, okay?" I started, meeting their eyes in turn. "What are your opinions of Luke?"
I knew some of their feelings almost immediately. Some of their hands clenched into fists. Others looked away, their jaws locking.
"He betrayed camp," Austin started quietly. "His family."
"I hate him," Cressida said simply. Lyra nodded in agreement.
"I should've known someone that good-looking was too good to be true," Kayla said, shrugging, but I could hear the undercurrent of anger in her voice.
I looked at Will. He was staring at me. "Will?"
"Why would you ask that?" he asked, his voice a whisper. I was shocked at his response.
"Because I deserve to know," I answered, feeling angry and indignant. The numbness seemed to be fading, which I wasn't that happy about, if I'm being honest.
"Is it some kind of self-punishment? You think something you did killed Reed and Nick?"
"No!" I stood. "I just wanted to know, all right? I needed to know. I have a right to know what you thought of Luke, okay?"
Will's eyes blazed with an anger I'd never seen him hold. "I hated him. He took you away from us. He got Lee and Michael killed. And Alex, and Melody. He turned his back on his family. And I will never be able to forgive him for that."
I swallowed hard, carefully keeping my emotions in check. My chest ached, and my prickles were getting worse, but I forced my tears away and the sobs back down my throat. I didn't want any of them to feel bad for telling me the truth, telling me what I had asked them to. I also didn't want to break down in front of them again. I was tired of it.
The numbness didn't return, but I found the strength to keep everything under control.
"Thank you," I managed, "for telling me the truth. We should get ready for the day."
It wasn't as busy as I was hoping, but busy enough I didn't have much time to go check up on the people I most wanted to talk to (namely, Nico). It only got worse when I was informed that Leo had most likely died, but no one had found his body. By some miracle, I held it together enough to get through the rest of the day.
We treated any serious injuries, checked up on others. I got to see Dan, who was now on crutches, still helping injured anyway. He didn't seem to mind having lost most of his leg (from just above the knee, down), but I really couldn't tell what he was feeling. He smiled when he saw me, but the whole camp was in grieving over the ones we'd lost. I didn't have much time to really talk with him because then we were moving the dead to the amphitheater for their last rites and the burning ceremony.
When we'd finished moving the last body, I turned to head back to the Apollo cabin to get ready for the ceremony. Only, just as I'd finished turning, someone crashed into me. Their arms came around me like a vice, and it took me a moment to realize it was Nico.
"I hadn't seen you all day. Hazel told me what happened at the Acropolis. I thought the gods might have—" Nico broke off, his arms tightening around me. I wound my arms around his small frame, rubbing his back comfortingly.
"I'm okay," I assured. "I'm glad to see you're okay. You did it. You made it to camp in time."
Nico laughed, it was hysterical and watery. "Just barely." I felt his mood drop, the air around us turned colder.
I rubbed his back again. "It'll be all right. We can talk later, okay?"
Nico hummed in agreement, burying his face in my shoulder for a long moment. Then he pulled away. There were still things to do and people to see, after all.
I could tell my siblings were confused and surprised at the closeness that Nico and I shared, but they didn't ask, so I didn't comment. I just wanted to freshen up quickly back in the Apollo cabin, and take some pain meds, before the ceremony began.
The Romans had stayed in their camp nearby, but were welcomed into our camp like nothing had ever happened. Roman demigods were also among the dead.
It was a somber day. It sickened me to see so many dead.
I cried through the entire burning ceremony, watching Reed and Nick's shrouds go up in smoke. I thought of Leo, who didn't even get a shroud.
As we were exiting the amphitheater, Lou Ellen pulled me to the side. Her eyes were puffy and red, her voice hoarse, probably from crying.
"Nick…wanted you to have these," she said, holding out a box of blue playing cards.
With shaking hands I took it, more tears filling my eyes. I opened the box and pulled out the cards, smiling and letting out a sob at what I saw. The first card was facing up, the numbers facing me—the Queen of hearts. The others were facing down, but there was a small stick figure in one corner, with a large top hat on, drawn in sharpie. I knew if I flipped the rest of the cards like a flip-book, it would show the stick figure taking off its top hat, reaching into it, and pulling out a card. My card—a large rectangle with the letter Q and a heart underneath it.
I had really enjoyed that trick, and had, admittedly, gushed about it to him afterward.
More tears filled my eyes and I quickly wiped them away as I put the cards back into the box and looked up at Lou.
"Thank you," I choked out. She nodded, tears in her own eyes. Feeling sentimental, I pulled her into a quick, tight hug.
I didn't get a chance to talk to Nico that night. We were both exhausted from a long, emotional day. So our conversation would have to wait.
The day after was, to my relief, much busier. Greek and Roman demigods worked side-by-side to clean up the camp from the war, and the Apollo kids from both camps helped tend to the wounded. Porkpie came to visit me, and that's when I found out, not only did he help bring the Parthenos to camp, but Guido had taken a liking to Reyna.
I mostly ran back and forth from one infirmary to the other, grabbing supplies and ferrying them over. I also carried supplies and followed one of my siblings when we had to go to a demigod who couldn't be moved. It was one of those days my prickles didn't want to respond to the pain meds (fun).
When everything was cleaned up, the Romans and a large group of the Greeks went over to the strawberry fields to help them set up camp. The other group worked on repairs to our camp. I was glad I was part of the healing group. There was no way I would've been able to go near the strawberry fields, and I wasn't very good with my hands (though, I suppose I could've helped with bare minimum repairs).
At some point, while walking across the green with Lyra to make a house-call, a giant roar shook the ground before a column of fire shot several feet above me. I froze and dropped all the supplies I was holding just in time to be tackled by a 50-foot dragon.
Peleus encircled me, rumbling and snorting smoke.
I laughed, though my heart was racing and my prickles rising, and patting Peleus's neck. "It's good to see you too, buddy."
Then I heard a familiar, smaller roar and looked just in time to see Audrey II come speeding toward me. She flew straight into my arms and knocked me flat, licking my face with her rough tongue.
I hugged her to my chest. "I'm so glad you're all right," I managed through her slobbery kisses.
Peleus nudge me with his head before looking back at Thalia's tree.
I nodded. "I'll come visit you soon."
Peleus snorted smoke at me before straightening out and taking flight, back over to guard the tree and the Golden Fleece.
Once I got Audrey II to stop licking my face, it was back to work. She sat on my shoulders, curled around my neck, rumbling nonstop. I was glad to have her familiar weight and warmth with me. It chased away some of my chronic pain, and it improved my mood exponentially.
By dinner, the mood of the camp had also improved. The Greeks and Romans were getting along like old friends, and were invited to the pavilion. I was weary, still irritated that they had chosen war against us, over uniting to defeat Gaea until the last possible second. Still, I wasn't going to rain on anyone's parade. I was glad it had worked—that the camps had been united, and they'd fought together.
The pavilion was more cramped than it ever had been. I watched everyone enjoying themselves, smiling softly to myself. My siblings mingled happily with the Roman Apollo kids. I stayed back, trying to become a wallflower. I was content just to watch. Though, Viola was determined to pull me into conversation, even if it was just with her. Young kids were so resilient. She must've been absolutely terrified during the stand-off. I was glad that she'd made it out alive.
It wasn't just that I didn't feel like talking with anyone, however. Most of these kids were younger than me, so I felt a little out of place. But there was something bigger weighing on my mind. Everywhere I looked, I couldn't help but wonder what these demigods, at least the Greek ones, thought of Luke.
Like I said before, I had figured most of them hated him because of his betrayal. But I had never come to facing the harsh truth until Dan, and then my siblings. I could accept some vague feeling that no one liked him. Seeing just how angry and upset it made my siblings made it too real, too concrete.
I felt like I was surrounded by foreign enemies. Like I didn't belong, or had overstayed my welcome.
My home was slowly morphing into something I couldn't recognize.
And that scared me.
The chatter died down when Chiron stepped forward, a goblet in hand.
"Out of every tragedy," he began, "comes new strength. Today, we thank the gods for this victory. To the gods!"
The others raised their cups and repeated the toast, but it didn't sound sincere. I stared down into my own cup, picking at the stem.
"And to new friends!" Chiron added.
"TO NEW FRIENDS!"
I could raise my cup to that, at least, but didn't echo the sentiment.
I walked at a leisurely pace to the amphitheater while others darted passed, whooping and cheering. Groups made their way down, arm in arm, arms around shoulders, laughing and stumbling over each other's feet. The rest of the my siblings were probably already there, setting up. Audrey II darted in and out of groups, getting pats and kisses. She was such an attention hog.
I would sit off to the side, like my usual. I had considered going back to my cabin, but without the prospect of Leo coming and inviting me to Bunker 9, sitting alone in my cabin didn't seem so inviting. Even if I had Audrey II with me. (I did make a quick stop to take some pain meds, though.)
I wasn't expecting to be called up to the stage with all these demigods here, despite it becoming something of a routine for the past few months before…the other shit happened.
While Will made the announcement, for the Romans, Viola ran down the steps with my mom's guitar in hand. I wondered where the guitar Leo had given me was, but was a little grateful that I could play my mom's guitar again. Not just because it had been a long time, and it was nice to see it had survived my time away. But also because playing Leo's guitar would be too much for me right now. I was just barely holding it together for my own sake.
Audrey II stayed on the step we'd been sitting, crawling into my warm spot as soon as I stood.
I took my guitar from Viola and let her lead me back toward the stage and up the steps.
As I pulled the guitar strap over my head and turned toward the crowd, it felt like the first time I'd gotten up in front of everyone. It was daunting seeing so many people. Camp had never been this crowded before in my entire time at camp.
I hadn't really thought about a song, since I hadn't thought I'd be called up. But a song I'd heard while on Argo II came to mind, and I really connected with the lyrics. So I sat down on the edge of the stage, tuned my guitar, and began to sing. I'd had to look it up later, since getting titles and artists on the radio was sometimes difficult. It was called, "In My Blood" by a young artist named Shawn Mendes.
It was a softer version, not just because I only had a guitar and my voice, but also because of the quiet power I felt in that moment. My will to fight came from something less raw, from an acceptance about my life and myself, but just as emotional.
A thunderous applause shook the amphitheater a few seconds after the last note faded into nothing. People had tears in their eyes, so I knew I'd had an impact. I stood, pushed my guitar to my back and bowed once, then took my leave. When the cheering finally died down, Reyna and Frank were called up to the stage. They hadn't said anything once there, but the crowd cheered and applauded just as loud as they had for me.
"Tomorrow," Reyna announced, "we Romans must return home. We appreciate your hospitality, especially since we almost killed you—"
"You almost got killed," Annabeth corrected from the stands. I rolled my eyes, feeling less enthusiastic than I was before. I could let them be childish. But I couldn't let them treat the war that had almost broken out between our camps like a joke. Not after I'd seen the effect it'd had on everyone in camp. And some part of me would always resent them for that.
The crowd Oooooohhhhh!ed and then began laughing, shoving each other playfully. I almost took my leave, but Frank spoke up to pull everyone back on track. I liked him better than most other Romans, so I stayed.
"Anyway," Frank said. "Reyna and I agree this marks a new era of friendship between the camps."
Reyna clapped Frank's shoulder. "That's right. For hundreds of years, the gods tried to separate us to keep us from fighting. But there's a better kind of peace—cooperation." Okay, that I could agree with.
Piper stood among the crowd. "Are you sure your mom is the war goddess?" she jeered.
"Yes, McLean," Reyna responded. "I still intend to fight a lot of battles. But from now on we fight together!"
The crowd cheered again.
Frank raised his hand for silence. "You'll all be welcome at Camp Jupiter. We've come to an agreement with Chiron: a free exchange between camps—weekend visits, training programs and, of course, emergency aid in times of need—"
"And parties?" someone called, who had some kind of red juice stained around his lips.
"Hear, hear!" Connor stood, and threw his fist into the air.
Reyna spread her arms. "That goes with saying. We Romans invented parties."
The crowd Oooohhhhhhhh!ed again.
"So thank you," Reyna said, bowing slightly. "All of you. We could've chosen hatred and war." Yeah, and they were perfectly fine to do so until the Athena Parthenos had been delivered. "Instead we found acceptance and friendship."
Reyna looked to the side of the stage at someone out of my line of view. I blinked in shock when Reyna pulled Nico up onto the stage. She was smiling gently at him. I was glad that he'd found another friend.
"We had one home," she said to him. "Now we have two."
She pulled him into a big hug and the crowd cheered again. For as much as I didn't like Reyna, I knew that she would be a good friend to Nico, and that comforted me.
Especially because everything that'd happened these past three days had solidified my decision to leave camp.
That night, an hour after lights out, I snuck over to Nico's cabin. It was a bit of a gamble, seeing as I was pretty sure Hazel was staying with him, but I wanted to talk to him. He'd clearly been upset about something the last time I saw him, and I didn't want him to let it stew too long in his head.
I tapped softly on the door, hoping he was still awake. And even though I had hoped, it still surprised me to see he was.
"Why do you look so surprised, you came over here," he whispered, stepping out and carefully closing the door.
"You should be asleep," I told him. I was concerned for him about whatever was bothering him, but I was also concerned about how much sleep he was getting. Currently, the latter was winning out.
Nico turned to me with a dry expression. "I could say the exact same thing."
"Yeah, but I'm older than you."
We headed down the steps and began to walk toward Half-Blood Hill, where the Athena Parthenos glowed, brighter than even the Golden Fleece. Peleus was curled around Thalia's pine tree blowing smoke through his nostrils.
"Old people don't sleep?" Nico asked in his deadpan voice.
"I said I'm older, not old," I replied indignantly. Nico snickered.
We walked in silence the rest of the way. Peleus regarded us with a small lift of his head and a snort, before going back to dozing. We sat off to the side of the tree, opposite of the Parthenos, facing the camp.
"Do you want to talk about it?" I asked after a long silence.
"Not really," he muttered, picking at a hole in his jeans.
"A little birdie told me that you and Will went on a real espionage mission disabling onagers," I told him.
The air around us turned cold, but Nico rolled his eyes. "Will's such a dork. Did he call it that? Did he also tell you he painted his face?" Nico shook his head and snorted.
I chuckled. "No, Viola actually told me about it at dinner tonight."
Nico tensed, hunching his shoulders. "I'm just glad he doesn't seem mad at me anymore for what I said to him…" Nico's expression darkened. He scoffed. "Seems like the only thing I can do—make him mad." I waited.
Nico looked over at me. He'd brought his knees up, rested his arms on them, and was currently resting his chin on his arms.
"Did Viola also tell you about…what happened with Octavian?" he asked quietly, his voice as fragile as glass.
I shook my head. "Will left that part out."
Nico faced front again, his eyes glazing over. At first, I thought he wasn't going to tell me. And I was okay with that. But he started relaying what'd happened during those final crucial minutes that ended the war with Gaea: How Octavian had made it to the last onager before Nico and Will could get to it. When Octavian's robes got caught in the machine. And when Octavian fired, launching the ammo and himself toward Gaea, and Leo.
"This is going to sound callous, but I don't particularly care that Octavian died," Nico said, his voice blank. "But…but my decision—" Nico buried his face in his arms. I could hear the tears in his voice. "I convinced Will to let Octavian launch himself at Leo! And Leo died because of it!"
I slowly reached over, setting a hand on his shoulder, testing his reaction. When he didn't say anything, I scooted a little closer and began to rub soothing circles across his back.
I also didn't particularly mind that Octavian was no longer with us. Besides, I'd heard he'd be hailed as a hero who helped defeat Gaea, even though he had recruited monsters to help in the war against Camp Half-Blood. Good riddance, I thought.
"I wish I could offer you comfort," I said honestly. "But I'm still getting over all the deaths I inexplicably caused from the Second Titan War." A hysterical laugh bubbled up to the surface. When I blinked, tears streamed down my face.
"I guess I was kinda harsh on you about that, wasn't I?" Nico asked, his voice muted from his arms. I heard him sniffle.
"No, not at all," I promised. "You were right." Nico laughed. "I really do wish I could offer more."
Nico lifted his head, sniffling and wiping at his cheeks before looking over at me. "You don't have to. I appreciate you just being here, and letting me talk."
I smiled, gently squeezing his shoulder. "Of course. Always."
We turned back to face the camp. The only noise was Peleus rumbling.
"Do you think Will…" Nico started, trailing off. He'd pulled his knees right up to his chest and kept his eyes fixed on a point in the distance.
"Will's an old soul in some ways," I said, letting my gaze rest on the Apollo cabin. "I'm sure he understood your decision to let Octavian do what he wanted. From what you told me, he sounded too far gone. Even if you did let Will keep arguing with him, tell him that his robes were caught, he wouldn't have listened." I paused. "You can't save those who don't want to be saved. Will knows this."
Nico was silent, so I let him think on what I'd said.
We sat there and watched the camp for another hour before heading back to our respective cabins. I could tell Nico later about my decision to leave. I didn't want to break the news to him, add to his distress over Leo's death. It just didn't seem fair.
When I fell asleep that night, after crawling into my bunk having come from talking with Nico, I was expecting to be dragged straight back into Tartarus. Instead, I got a grassy, gently-sloping hill, dotted with thousands of wildflowers in every shade of flower you could think of. These hills stretched on as far as the eye could see.
I was sitting on a swing like you'd see on a playground or in a backyard. A simple metal stand to hold the swings, with two identical swings hanging down from the top bar, evenly spaced. It was oddly positioned on the side of the hill, rather than at the top.
The sun shone down brightly, warming my skin. And even though I could still feel my chronic pain in my dreams because I was so used to it, it was the lowest I think I'd ever felt it before. Almost like it was residual pain, rather than the real thing.
The breeze was strong, but occasionally, ruffled my hair. I felt like a kid again, even though this was never a place I'd been before.
In the swing next to mine was Nico. He looked so out of place in his dark clothes, but for some reason, I wasn't even surprised he was there.
I smiled at him, the environment putting me in a good mood. This was far, far better than Tartarus.
"I used to love swinging when I was little," I told Nico, pushing off the ground so I could get a small swing going.
He smiled and began swinging a little, too. "Yeah?"
I nodding, looking out at the infinite field of wildflowers. "Yeah. When I got as high as the swing would allow, I daydreamed. The motion was meditative. And I could just get lost in my daydreams."
"Sounds nice," Nico murmured.
"It was." I looked over at him again. "So, what are you doing here? Did you bring me here?"
Nico was looking down at his lap, seeming nervous, maybe? "I heard about your audience with the gods," he finally said, looking up.
I blinked. "How—?"
"Sources," we said together.
"I should've known." I shrugged. At this point, it shouldn't have been a surprise.
"You couldn't think of a request, so the meeting was adjourned," Nico continued. "But after I heard about it, I…called in a favor of my own."
I felt my heartbeat quicken. "Really?"
"I'm sorry that you were forbidden to save Luke."
Had I missed something? Or did he really just jump topics like that? Regardless, I tried to shrug it off. "I did break my swear." I swallowed hard, forcing my next words out, "Nothing could hurt me more than knowing that I won't see Luke again…at least for a long time."
"And that's why I called in a favor." Nico grinned.
I felt anticipation rocket through me, but tried to keep it under control, not wanting to be wrong about what I was starting to expect. My heart dropped into my stomach as Nico turned to look at something behind us. I craned my neck and saw a figure appear in the distance. Even from this far away, I knew who it was. My heart leaped from my chest, pulling me in his direction.
I was on my feet and had turned to face the figure, ready to sprint forward. I paused to look back at Nico, remembering he was with me at the last minute.
I wasn't sure that "thank you" would be enough, so nothing came out. Because nothing is totally better than "thank you," right?
Nico simply smiled and nodded. I grinned back, squeezing his shoulder before turning back to the figure who was now only yards away.
He smiled at me and without giving my body command, I was running toward him. It only took me a moment to get to him, slamming into him so hard, we almost fell over. I wrapped my arms around his neck and held him to me, as close as I could, breathing in his familiar scent, savoring his warmth, the familiarity of his body pressed against mine. His arms wrapped around me tightly, pulling me so close, our hearts and souls could've merged.
"Hey, stranger."
Yeah, so…I wanted to end it here because, of course, cliff-hanger. But also, I felt this was just a good stopping point anyway. Not that it's much of a surprise, y'all should know who it is by now.
And again, you need not agonize too much, since I'll be posting the next chapter next week. Stay tuned!
Not much else by way of notes!
Title comes from "Come Home with Me" from a musical called Hadestown (with a slight edit). It's not on the official Broadway recording, but it's a song in the musical. (I'm sure you can find it if you look hard enough.) If you can't find it anywhere, the lyrics are on Genius Lyrics. Both that and part II are just…the sweetest things, I'm cry. Also, a great musical—you should go check it out. Like right now!
As always, hope you enjoyed! Comments are much appreciated! ^_^
Thank you for reading,
TheBrightestNight
