Leila's POV
Leila couldn't sleep.
Sure, she had a pretty awesome room, with a high ceiling, a huge bed, and a wardrobe stocked with clothes she refused to wear, but the burning feeling at the back of her eyes definitely wasn't helping. Nor were the butterflies in her stomach. Or the fact that there was no ambrosia in this place, so she had to use mortal supplies to bandage her wounds.
Leila stood up and flexed her sore calf, wincing at the sharp pain which ran up her leg. She briefly considered opening the adjoining door to Nico's room and trying to get a plan together, but she needed some alone time.
Anyway, it wasn't like he was trying to talk to her.
She limped to the freezer and grabbed a handful of ice, stuffing it into a bag. She was just about to press it to her wound until her bedroom door swung open abruptly, slamming against the wall.
Leila jumped for her sword and took a defensive stance, wincing at the burn.
"Who's there?" she demanded. She trudged towards the door, stuck her head out of the opening and gazed around the hall, but it was empty.
Her ears pricked up. She could have sworn she heard faint footsteps...no. It was nothing. Just her sleep-deprived mind playing tricks on her.
She stared at the flickering hallway lights for a few more seconds.
"Stupid Egyptians." she muttered before slamming the door shut and securing it again. "Can't even afford decent locks."
Leila tried to lie down, but the pillow was way too weird to sleep on. She set it on the floor, bunched up a bunch of blankets, and put it underneath her head. Frustration boiled in her. What the hell was she doing here? She should be at camp, enjoying her final days of mortality with her friends, or training, or doing something other than pretending to be an Egyptian.
But you're a hero, aren't you? a voice said at the back of her head. That's what you're supposed to do.
She slammed her fist against the headboard and rolled out of bed. She paced around the room, ignoring the sharp stabs of pain in her knuckles. She didn't want to be here anymore. No, she didn't want to be a hero anymore. Period.
That thought made her stop in her tracks. Where did that come from? Not wanting to be a hero anymore? She never thought like that. It was too selfish. Too cowardly.
You are a coward. Aliel's voice hissed in her ear. Too afraid to accept responsibility, too weak to handle power.
Leila's teeth grit together. Her tattoos glowed - a telltale sign that Aliel was angry. And Leila was in for it. "Long time, no see." she muttered. "Who's the coward now?"
Fool. You have no idea what I've been planning. You were an idiot to come on Egyptian territory. Oh, the punishments for you will be great...
Leila laughed dryly. "That's why you can't take a solid form right now. Because you're so scared."
Who's scared? I'm merely a reflection of your inner thoughts. Your mind has been invaded with Egyptian secrets, knowledge...perhaps knowledge that your Master may use.
Leila's hand paused on the chest of drawers for a moment. "I haven't learned anything here." she said, trying to keep the panic out of her voice. "There aren't any secrets for Kronos to use."
Carter and Sadie do not trust you. They are suspicious, especially of the son of Hades. Your plan will fail. You two will be executed. You don't know how the extent of Kronos' anger at you for coming here.
"Wow, big surprise." Leila said. "Kronos is mad at me? Never saw that coming."
Submit to him now. Leave this place. Aliel insisted. You are destined to die on the day Olympus falls anyway. Your immortality is guaranteed if you join him.
A heavy weight dropped into Leila's stomach. "What? What did you just say?"
I have your attention now, don't I? Yes, silly girl, the Fates have decreed that a hunter of Artemis, different from the rest, is to die the day Olympus is in peril.
"Y-you're lying You...that could mean anyone! Thalia's the daughter of Zeus! She's different! Bianca di Angelo was the daughter of Hades -"
You're more dense than I thought. Aliel sneered. Thalia Grace has already assimilated into that silly group. The daughter of Hades is dead. There is no one more different than you.
Leila's fingers curled around a vase. "I haven't even joined them yet. I don't have to join them. I'll go to the Underworld. I'll do something!"
You can't do anything. Aliel sang. If you escape, Artemis will find you. If you try to hide, I will make sure you will be found.
Leila hurled the vase against the wall. It cracked and shattered into a thousand pieces.
"I'll stay here, then!" she yelled. "Artemis is forbidden on Egyptian territory!"
Your death will come more quickly if you do so. You can't run from fate, Leila. If you remember, I told you that you would begin to enjoy your new powers. You have started to already.
Leila hurled another vase against the wall. The power to kill, the control she had over people...a warm feeling stirred in her stomach. She remembered Clarisse, hunched over, looking at her in fear, fear she relished, fear she - "NO! I hate them! I hate -"
Then explain to me why you used the power of Time against Amos Kane. It was unnecessary, yet you still chose to do it.
"I -"
This is simply preparation, Leila. You will be at the height of your power when Percy Jackson turns 16. Embrace your powers. Destroy him. Destroy Olympus!
"STOP IT!" Leila caught her reflection in the mirror, and Aliel was standing in her place, her bloody fist raised, her golden eyes glittering with excitement. But deep inside Leila knew that that wasn't Aliel, oh no - that was Leila herself...
Leila wrenched the mirror from the wall and lobbed it against the floor. Shards of glass flew up and cut her face.
Yes. Aliel murmured. Yes.
The adjoining door flew open, and Nico di Angelo blinked at the mess. "I heard some noise. What -"
"Go away!" Leila screamed. "I hate you!"
In a heartbeat, the fingers on her left hand were wrapped around his throat, and her sword was pointed at his heart. She glared at the too-skinny face of the son of Hades, and hated everything about him, from the ratty jacket he wore to the tufts of black hair curling on the sides of his head to the dark, bruise-like impressions under his eyes. Someone screamed - but Leila was sure it wasn't either of them -
Nico's eyes dilated in suprise and fear. Leila could feel the vein in his neck pulsing rapidly against her fingers. He had come unarmed, of course he had - even in his wildest dreams, Leila guessed that Nico wouldn't have ever harbored the thought that she would attack him like this. But, he kept his gaze on her and said in a steady voice, "Leila, let me go."
Hot, unfamiliar anger bubbled inside her, and she wanted to squeeze her fingers tighter, she wanted to strangle him, to kill him…
"Aliel's doing this. This isn't you." Nico said quietly. "You're not going to kill me."
Yes, you do.
"I want to." Leila growled. "I want to kill you." No, no, this wasn't her, this wasn't -
Kill him.
"Then do it!" Nico's eyes flashed angrily. "Kill me!"
Where's your courage, half-blood? Strike!
Leila had to do something, something to snap her out of it, but god, she just wanted to kill him, she just wanted -
"Punch me."
"I - " His eyebrows furrowed together. " - what did you say?"
Her hands were beginning to glow with a golden light. She was running out of time.
"Punch me, you idiot, just do it!"
Leila forced her fingers to loosen just long enough for Nico to reel back, curl his hand into a fist, and throw it in her face.
BAM! Leila staggered backwards and clutched her face. She heard a loud ringing in her ears, and her cheekbone throbbed - tender to the touch. She steadied herself on the wall and blinked the stars from her eyes.
It worked.
She couldn't hear Aliel's voice in her head anymore, and as she looked at the blurry image of Nico nursing his bruised fist, she no longer felt that irrational urge to kill him.
Leila tried to take a step forward, but someone barreled into her and shoved her to the ground.
"Nico, get off of me!" she yelled. "I'm not going to kill you!"
"I'm not on you! There's no one there!"
Leila struggled to stand, but the grip on her only tightened. She felt around with her fingers and traced two eyes, a nose, and a mouth.
"Invisible." she muttered.
"Don't move." the low voice said. "I won't hurt you if you surrender now."
The invisibility spell faded, and a figure of a boy materialized in front of Leila's eyes.
"Carter." Leila said, her throat tightening.
"Sadie!" Nico yelled from the other side of the room. Sadie had her staff pointed at Nico. She looked around, panicking. "Carter, the spell!"
Leila's jaw tightened and she tried to keep her anger under control. She glared at the guilty, angry, powerful, and frightened Kane siblings and scowled.
"You two," she said coldly, "were spying on us. You're so dead."
***A/N: I haven't updated in such a long time, god. I'm so, so, so sorry. Believe me, I've thought about this story everyday, but I had the worst writer's block I've ever had, and I didn't have any time to write. More updates are coming, but again, there's no set date for any of them.
HOH SPOILERS:
Yes, I know. Nico's gay. This is part of the reason why it took me so long to update. However, it was never stated explicitly what Nico's sexuality was exactly - as they avoid specific terms in HOH - so I'm going to assume that he's bisexual. Yes, he will have a crush on Percy as well as Leila, because I think it would be horrible to make him - or anybody - straight in order just for the sake of making this story flow better.
Please, review and submit some suggestions for the next chapter. What do you want Sadie and Carter to do? And which POV do you want next?
