Nico sat down on his bed in the Hades cabin. It looked exactly the same as when he'd left it. The ingredients they had already found lay untouched in his drawer. He'd carefully placed the ones he'd collected now in the drawer, covering them too.

Nico sighed as he flopped back onto the mattress.

It had been two days since he woke up in the Apollo cabin, and Will had been giving him the silent treatment ever since. Anubis had been acting as if nothing had happened in the graveyard, and it made Nico unsure about where they stood.

Percy had been nice to him, so that was something, at least. Nico still felt guilty about keeping things secret from him, but he knew that he'd been honest when he said he didn't want to force him.

Lying in the Apollo cabin had been the worst, with Will checking in on him every now and then, but never saying anything. His expression had told Nico that he was furious at him, even to the point of not talking.

Nico huffed out a breath. He rolled onto his side.

"Hey, Anubis?"

"Hm?"

"You think Will's ever going to talk to me again?"

The god was silent for a bit. He sighed. "Of course he will. It's kinda impossible to stay mad at you for too long."

Nico felt his traitorous heart skip at that, yet again filling him with hope that the god might mean something more than just his words.

He lay silent for a while.

"We should leave in the morning."

"You sure? You've just been cleared from bedrest…"

Nico thought about Will again, guilt filling him. "The sooner we get the ingredients, the sooner I won't have to lie to my friends."

Anubis was silent for a second, before softly replying. "Okay…"

Leaving the camp this time felt like running away.

They stocked up on some supplies for the trip, then set off to find a mermaid.

Mermaids, it turned out, were notoriously difficult to both find and deal with.

Nico had shadow travelled to Venice, because apparently the mermaids residing there were slightly easier to deal with.

Nico felt melancholic as he walked through the streets of Venice. He looked down into the canals. The water was dark and ominous.

The mermaids resided in the deeper water by the bay. He'd brought an offering to get their attention and get on their good side. After that, he'd just have to charm them enough for them to be convinced he was worthy of one of their scales.

"Have you had any run-ins with mermaids before?" he asked in his head.

Anubis let out a grunt. "Yeah. Believe me, once is enough."

Nico snorted at his obvious disdain. "Why are they so hard to deal with?" He nodded politely at an elderly lady smiling at him, greeting her in Italian.

"They are extremely self-centered, and only "help" others if they benefit from it." The way the god said "help" made Nico think that the help might not be the conventional meaning of help.

"Any tips for me?"

"Don't insult them by accident…"

Nico raised an eyebrow, smirking. "Speaking from experience?"

Anubis was silent for a moment. "Yes."

Nico burst out laughing at that.

They talked idly as he made his way to the bay. It actually felt like it had gone back to normal between them (but Nico couldn't forget what he'd realised).

The bay came into view, its glittering waters alluring and beautiful.

Nico walked towards the edge of the water, sitting down on the pier. He looked down into the water, not really seeing anything of interest.

He pulled out his offering, an exquisite, black pearl. He mumbled a request for an audience around it, and let it fall into the water.

He waited for a moment with baited breath.

Suddenly a shimmer appeared beneath the surface. It looked like the glimmer from a school of fish. As it broke the surface, it turned into a mop of green hair. Two eyes followed, peaking just above the water.

"What do you want, godly spawn?"

Nico flinched as he heard the mermaid's voice speak inside his head (gods, he should be used to that by now). She spoke Italian, and Anubis made a confused sound in the back of his head.

The mermaid's eyes widened, her eyebrows drawing together as she raised her head over the surface. "You have another residing within you. A powerful one." She pursed her lips as she studied him. Her incisor glinted as she smiled, she had a snaggletooth. "A god."

Nico wondered how she knew Anubis was a god. "Yes. And we need your help." He replied, also in Italian.

The mermaid blinked owlishly at him. "Why should I help you?"

Nico thought about that for a second. It didn't seem like lying would be a good idea, so he told her the truth.

She was silent as he told her about his journey.

When he finished, she had what could only be described as a shit-eating grin. (Nico already knew what was coming.) "You're enamoured of him.'

Nico groaned inwardly. "Probably…"

"There is no use denying it," the mermaid said. "It is as clear to me as day."

Nico felt warmth creep up his neck. Gods, he hated having his feelings laid bare.

"Very, well. I shall help you," the mermaid said. Her arm reached up from the water, three scales in her hand.

Nico took them gingerly. "Why three?"

"You did say someone is trying to sabotage you, so now you have two spare."

"I don't know what to say… thank you."

The mermaid winked at him before she sank beneath the water, only a glimmer remaining.

Nico looked down at the scales in his hand. They were coloured green and blue.

"How did you manage that? I've never met such a cooperative mermaid before." Anubis sounded both shocked and impressed.

The son of Hades carefully pocketed the scales. "I don't really know. I guess she likes us."

"Us?"

"Yeah, she noticed that you were hitchhiking."

"Oh."

Nico got up from the pier and started walking back through the city.

"I hope we won't be interrupted by anything trying to sabotage us this time…" Anubis mumbled.

"Me too. I'm getting tired of being riddled with injuries." Nico walked through a market, the stalls looking inviting. The city's inhabitants didn't bother him, probably because he didn't look like a tourist.

"What do we need now?" Nico wondered. A vendor tried to beckon him to his stall.

"The claw from a griffon and a four-leaved clover."

"Young man!" the vendor shouted. "I think I have something you might be interested in!"

Nico looked over at him to tell him off, but stopped short as he saw that the man was holding a claw from a griffon. Instantly, his guard was up.

Nico carefully made his way over to the vendor. "What makes you think I need that?"

The man smiled at him, but it didn't reach his eyes. "Please. I know who you are, Nico di Angelo."

Nico felt the hair on the back of his neck stand up, his fingers itching for his sword. "And why should you help me get what I need?"

The man's mouth opened in an impish grin, revealing sharp teeth. "I just like to mess with people!"

Huh? What kind of creature was this?

"Messing with me, or someone else?" Nico asked.

The creature let out a mix between a scoff and a snarl. "You? Don't make me laugh." It sneered. "No, I have a much mightier foe in mind."

Nico frowned. "Who?"

The creature sneered. "I won't tell you, or she'll come after me with even more force. Let's just say that she crossed me, and I'm not fond of that."

So it was a woman.

"Why should I trust you?" Nico asked.

The creature scoffed. "Well, considering I'm a kobalos, I guess you can't be sure if I'm trustworthy."

A kobalos, huh. Nico tried to wring out some information about that from his brain.

"They are tricksters. They love to frighten mortals," Anubis helpfully provided in his head.

"You think we can trust him?" Nico asked.

"I think he actually wants us to succeed, if only to see whoever it is fail in their sabotage."

"Okay. I trust your judgement."

Nico accepted the claw from the kobalos.

The creature's mouth widened in a wicked smile. "If you see her, give her a punch from me."

Nico blinked, and the kobalos was gone.

"That was… interesting…" Anubis muttered.

Nico looked down at the claw in his hand, gripping it tightly. "Yeah."

As he exited the shadows, Nico's legs gave out. He stumbled, and just managed to catch himself with his hands before his face punched the ground.

Anubis let out a curse in his mind. "Please get some rest, Nico. You've been shadow-travelling way too much."

Nico groaned, pushing himself up from the ground. He sat back on his heels, feeling sweat beading near his hairline.

How hard was it to find a fucking rainbow?!

"I just want to get that last ingredient!"

"I know, but you won't be of any help to anybody if you're dead."

Nico knew he was right.

He'd been searching for a rainbow for over three days, and the shadow-travelling was taking its toll on his body. Things had been tense between him and Anubis ever since he left camp, and it put him on edge. He had barely gotten a wink of sleep, and had mercifully not been in the dreamscape. He wasn't sure how to face Anubis after their last encounter (he wanted to see him so badly, but wasn't sure what to make of their interaction).

Grabbing his tent from his bag, he set it up and lay down inside. Once his head hit the sleeping bag, he was out like a light.

When he opened his eyes again, he was in the dreamscape.

He was lying on a bench, Anubis tending to a grave a couple of meters away.

Once he spotted the god, he felt a surge of anger at his predicament. He sat up, raking a hand through his hair. "How hard is it to find a fucking rainbow?!"

Anubis turned to him, a worried frown on his face. "You should just take your time with the search."

Nico felt his blood start to boil at that. "Take my time? Take my time?!" He got up, getting up in the god's space. "What do you think I've been doing, huh? Twiddling thumbs?"

Anubis looked surprised at his outburst, raising his hands in an effort to avoid confrontation.

Nico didn't let him talk. "I'm pulling my weight here, getting my ass handed to me time and time again. What're you doing, huh? You're just stuck inside me."
He saw Anubis opening his mouth to say something, but interrupted him. "I didn't ask you to save my life! I don't even know why you did it!" He poked the god in the chest. "Why did you do it, huh? How did you even know that I was dying?"

Anubis looked very uncomfortable at the situation.

Nico hit his chest again. "Why?!"

The god mumbled something under his breath.

Nico leaned closer. "What?"

Anubis sighed. "Hades."

"Huh?"

Anubis licked his lips. "Hades asked me to do it."

Nico felt like someone had slapped him in the face. "Hades asked you to save my life?" He could hear how his voice was wavering.

Anubis looked at him, his eyes flickering between his own. "He asked me to save you, because he wasn't allowed to meddle in your affairs. I owed him, so I agreed."

Nico sat back down on the bench with a thud. Hades had asked him. He felt a mix of anger and fondness at his father's actions.

Anubis sat down next to him. "I'm sorry that I didn't tell you. I- uh, I was scared that you'd want nothing to do with me. And, I-" He cursed. "I desperately don't want that. I- I got… attached." His hand was gripping the bench.

Nico looked at him. At that moment, the last piece of the puzzle fell into place. He understood now why Anubis had acted the way he had when he first asked him about it, and why he did his best to keep him safe. He probably didn't want Nico to get hurt because Hades had asked him to keep him alive. Nico figured the god hadn't planned on getting attached, but neither had he.

He leaned over and grabbed Anubis' collar, using his grip to pull the god closer. He closed his eyes as he pressed their lips together.