If looks could kill, Nico would be digging his grave. Granted, Percy would be right there beside him and probably making some kind of stupid joke that would only make their graves deeper. Since piercing glares, even ones from a very upset daughter of Bellona, couldn't kill, Nico was left to sit in his chair and ponder his life.
"I think everything went pretty well," Percy began. He was in the middle of eating large slice of cake that looked like it had been out for days. Nico glanced at the half smashed cake on the table. It seemed like someone had fallen into it, and a look around the room told him that was probably true. "They are senior demigods."
"They are senior citizens," Reyna snapped. She took a deep breath and looked around the room. There was a couple of torn up tables near them. Walkers and a few canes littered the room. Reyna shook her head. "Senior citizens are not the same as senior demigods."
"If you think about it, they are the same," Percy began. Reyna seemed to be only a few seconds from hopping over the table and tackling Percy to the ground. Nico scooted backwards in his chair. The last thing he needed was for Reyna to turn her anger on him.
"I cannot believe you convinced me to go to this death trap. I don't even like senior citizens or old people in general. I don't like the open water. Oh, I also hate cruise ships! Did you not remember how bad it was when we were on Blackbeard's ship? Do you know what happened when I was on a ship before that?" Reyna demanded.
"You saved the world?" Percy asked. Reyna's eyes twitched, and she placed a hand to the table in front of her. Percy looked up at her. "Oh, you mean like even before that? Your first time with the pirates? I actually didn't think about that. I wouldn't have asked you if you weren't so calm and collected when we handled Blackbeard."
Reyna glared and sat back down in a chair. She rested her face in her hands and sighed tiredly. Percy spoke, "Look, this is just a sort of mini vacation for you. We get to have a small trip on the ocean, and nothing bad is going to happen. With a son of Poseidon on board, what could go wrong?"
"We're going to sink," Reyna muttered. She sighed tiredly and closed her eyes. Nico glanced at Reyna and frowned. His best friend was acting really off. She was sweating and almost shaking. Was she sick? "Percy, let's just get off this ship."
"Alright. I won't force you to do something you're uncomfortable with," Percy said. He smiled slightly and stood. Reyna pressed her head into the table and took deep breaths. Nico placed a hand to her back and rubbed it.
"You look ready to have a panic attack," Nico whispered. Reyna nodded slightly. Nico frowned and rubbed her back. She slowly looked up at him and took deep breaths. "I know you were barely holding it together with Blackbeard, but he's dead. This is just a cruise ship."
"I was on one like this before with Blackbeard. He had us raid the cruise ship, and if we didn't participate, he would punish us," Reyna whispered. She cursed and buried her face in her hands. "Can we please just get off this ship?"
"We will," Nico promised. He sighed and looked down. Nico wasn't quite sure how they ended up in this situation. At first, he overheard his friends discussing how to make Reyna feel better after her break up with Arria. Piper suggested inviting Reyna to the movie that Tristan McLean was filming. It was some kind of Roman movie, and Piper even said she could get Reyna a cameo in the movie.
Annabeth suggested they take Reyna out to a Roman museum that had a ton of exhibits. Nico wasn't quite sure what those exhibits were, since he zoned out as soon as Annabeth started talking. He knew it sounded mean, but Annabeth got really, really in depth with her explanation.
Leo suggested that they prank Reyna, and that suggestion got shut down pretty quick. For some reason, Leo had a death wish, but Nico didn't think that Leo wanted a slow and painful demise. Nico didn't bring any suggestions forth, since he knew that Reyna would be in a foul mood until they figured out the situation with Nerva.
Percy told them that his mother had received a letter with six tickets to a free cruise and a meal. It came directly from the owner of the ship, some rich guy who lived in Europe apparently. Percy offered two of the tickets to Nico and Reyna, since there was suppose to be a meeting of senior demigods. Nico didn't think any of them realized it was a meeting for old demigods to talk about how good they had it back in the day. It had dissolved into a brawl between all of the senior demigods, and they were escorted off of the ship.
Nico sighed and felt guilt gnawing at his chest. He thought back to how he betrayed Reyna's trust three days before. Nico still didn't know why he told Arria about what happened with Nerva. Nico opened his mouth to speak, but instead of saying anything, he just sat there with his mouth open.
"Nico, are you okay?" Reyna asked. Nico closed his mouth and finally nodded. Reyna watched him in concern. "Alright. Jackson, are we leaving?"
"Well, there is a slight change of plans," Percy began. Nico turned and looked at Percy. The son of Poseidon was staring out the window of the ship. Percy slowly turned around and grinned nervously. He clasped his hands together. "The boat was suppose to leave in about a hour. We are kind of already at sea."
"Shouldn't you have sensed that?" Nico demanded. Percy nodded and frowned as he looked back out the ocean. Nico looked back at Reyna. His best friend buried her face in her hands and took deep breath. She was extremely pale.
"I'll figure this out guys. I promise," Percy said. He looked back at them and seemed to think about it. "I'll talk to the captain of the ship and see what he says. I'll be right back."
Percy practically ran out of the room. Nico gently rubbed Reyna's back. She still looked pretty terrible. Nico spoke, "How are you holding up? I don't remember you being this shaken after you fought Orion on the ship."
"The world was at stake then," Reyna muttered. "It's easy to shove your fears aside then. It's not so easy when the only thing you have to worry about is hurting Percy's feelings."
Nico nodded in understanding. Reyna slowly sat back up and took deep breaths. The color slowly returned to her face, and she seemed to relax. Her eyes stayed close though, as if she thought opening them would remind her they were on a ship heading off to gods know where.
The sound of footsteps caught Nico's attention, and he looked up. Percy was leading two men towards them. One of the men seemed to be in his fifties, and he wore a suit. There was a smile on his face, and his gaze was focused solely on Reyna. The other man seemed to be in his sixties, and he wore a large trench coat. Wrinkles surrounded his eyes, and those eyes almost looked a little familiar.
"Good news. They said they will turn this ship around for us," Percy said. He smiled at them and looked at Reyna. "This is the owner of the ship. He's the one who sent me the tickets. He's also a demigod!"
"It's always nice to meet the future of the demigod world," the man said. He had a strong European accent. It wasn't British but something close to it. His gaze focused on Reyna. "Praetor."
Nico studied the owner of the ship. Even though he was fifty, there was a certain spring to his step. He looked fit, and there was the hint of a tattoo peeking out from his right arm. It was on his right forearm, but Nico couldn't tell if it was the same type of tattoo that Reyna had. Was this man from Camp Jupiter?"
"I'm sorry. I don't think we've met," Reyna said. Her eyes narrowed slightly. The man looked at her and didn't say a word. He gave off this weird, almost creepy vibe. Percy looked in between Reyna and the man, and a nervous smile came to his face.
"Your name is a recognizable one," the man finally said. Reyna remained silent, and she clearly didn't trust the man. "Apologizes, I am not being a good host. Wilfred, have them turn this ship around."
The man with the trench coat nodded and turned away. As he did, Nico caught the flash of a sword. He glanced at Reyna, and she seemed to notice it as well. The man with the trench coat walked away. The owner of the ship spoke, "I apologize for the misunderstanding. Allow me to offer complimentary tickets to my next cruise. Three for you, praetor? You, your sister, and maybe a significant other?"
"How do you know about my sister?" Reyna asked, and she tensed. Percy glanced at them and started to move his hand towards his pocket. Nico hovered his fingers near his own sword.
"I do business with the Amazons all the time. Apologizes, I thought you knew," the man said. He bowed to Reyna. "My name is Marius Verus Tullius. My bloodline goes back to ancient Rome, and my family used to be quite famous. I forgot that I am not as well known in America."
"I'm sorry for any disrespect, Marius. I'm not a fan of cruise ships," Reyna began. Her eyes were still narrowed in suspicion. The ship came to a sudden stop, and Nico stumbled. Marius looked around in alarm.
Marius turned and hurried away. Nico watched him go. He really didn't like that guy. Out of the corner of his eye, Nico saw that Percy was studying Marius as well.
"So, the guy knows the Amazons, and he knows stuff about Reyna. He probably knows me, which is why he sent cruise tickets to my mom. He also invited a bunch of old demigods onto his ship. Does he seem like a monster?" Percy asked. Nico thought about it and shrugged. "Reyna, what do you think about it? Reyna?"
Nico turned and looked at his best friend. Reyna was staring out the window of the ship. Nico frowned and followed her gaze, but other than rippling water, he didn't see anything. Percy was watching them in confusion, as his back was to the window.
"Percy, do you want to know something?" Reyna asked. Her eyes were still focused out the window. Nico saw something erupt from the water, He stared at the huge, purple tentacle. It had spikes on the end that look to be the size of Nico's arm. "I hate you."
Percy turned around and stared at the tentacle. The ship rocked again, and they all stumbled. The purple head of the beast emerged from the water, and Nico felt his heart drop. Out of all of the monsters he had heard about, a Kraken was one the few that he didn't think actually existed. Percy looked back at them and spoke, "Yeah. That's fair. Sometimes, I hate me too."