Nico's PoV
After the last monster was killed, Skye turned to me. "You're a son of Hades," was all she said before collapsing. Luckily, I was able to catch her before she hit the ground.
I carried her to the forest, so there would be some shade and we wouldn't be in the open. I laid her down on the ground, wondering who she could possibly be.
Her dark red hair was wavy and long. The way it rolled down her back was stunning. When she first held a knife to my throat, I wasn't even paying attention to the weapon. Her eyes were so green and bright that I was captivated, entranced by them. She had a strong build, probably close to five foot six. She wore knee high boots, each with a slot for one of her daggers. Her jeans were tight and black, and she wore a red tang top that fitted her body.
I felt her forehead, and noticed she was burning up. It took me a few seconds to realize that a few moments ago she was actually on fire. I placed my hand on her arm, and realized her entire body was that temperature. My cool hands moved to her face, causing her eyes to flutter.
I dug in my back pocket for my emergency square of ambrosia, and sat her up against my chest.
"Nico…?"
"I'm right here. I need you to eat this, alright? Its ambrosia." I only gave her half a square. With her body that warm, I didn't want her to literally burn up.
"Thank you. I knew I would faint. I just wanted them all dead before I went down."
"Skye, what was that? I know a fire starter, pretty good friend of mine actually. They're extremely rare. I'm talking one every few hundred years kind of rare, but you're not a fire starter. You needed a match."
She sighed. "It's a long story. I think we should concentrate on getting out of this area. Who knows how many others they called when they found us."
"I can handle monsters. I want answers. I was sent here against my will without an explanation. I want to help you, Skye. I meant it when I said I trusted you. I don't know why or how but I feel a connection with you, and I never have connections to people. Sure I have friends, but I've never felt a kinship with anyone like I did a few moments ago. I need to know who you are if you want me to take you to camp. It's a safe haven, but its been ambushed plenty of times in my lifetime. I want to help you, but I need to know who you really are."
She tried to stand up. I offered her my hand, but she waved me away.
"Listen, there are a lot of things about me that would take hours to explain. A lot of it is personal, and I don't exactly want to share that yet. I've had a rough life. You heard the empousa: I'm the forbidden one. All the monsters know, all the gods know. I couldn't fight in any of the wars because they didn't trust me. Both Kronos and Gaea tried to get me on their side, but Apollo spent much power shielding me from both of them."
I was shocked. Sure, in the heroes of the old times there were patrons who took special interests in heroes, like Athena did with Odysseus, but I had never heard of a god in this age protecting someone so singled out.
"Why does he protect you?" I asked.
"Because his sister tried to kill me multiple times, and he strongly disagreed with her reasoning. More importantly, he saw a prophecy when I was born that I would help determine the fate of Olympus."
Which led me to my original question, "Who are you?"
She looked torn. Her green eyes were searching, probably for a sign that she could trust me. She could. I knew I would protect her. I felt that she was special, and I trusted Apollo. He's done me a favor once or twice in my life.
She must have found what she was looking for.
"My name is Skye White, biological daughter of Matthew White and Hestia, goddess of the hearth."
Of all things, this was the last I expected. I guess my face showed it because she actually laughed. The laugh was intoxicating. It was a sound I would want to hear everyday. I didn't even realize I had been smiling until sound came out of my mouth: my own laughter.
"I know it sounds crazy. It is crazy. I've never even met my mother. She fell in love with my dad when they were kids. Well I guess she just posed as a kid, but that's beside the point. They were fifteen. They stayed together until my Dad was nineteen, and he found me on the doorstep. She left a note explaining who I was, and that I would be hunted. She told him to keep me safe, but that I was a mistake. He never saw her again."
"Jesus…" was all that managed to come out of my mouth. I realized how much of a prick I sounded like, and quickly recovered. "That's horrible, Skye. I'm sorry. Most demigods have to deal with really bad home life. It's something you'll be able to come to terms with at camp. It's something we all share."
She smiled at this, but it was a sad smile. "I had an amazing home life. I had a mother, a father, and a sister. Hestia is not my mother. My mother's name was Elizabeth White."
I didn't miss the past tense in her speech. I also didn't miss the fact that she wasn't hostile. Usually kids are angry at their godly parents. Usually new demigods who are lost and confused have a blind hatred. Not her. She seemed like she believed in the optimistic side of life. I had an inkling this girl was going to change my life.
"I think we should get moving. We can take a car once we get to a parking lot, if you're not too opposed to it."
The sad smile was still there, but she managed a little chuckle. "A demigods gotta do what a demigods gotta do. Let's go corpse boy." She playfully hit my arm and started walking away.
I had no choice but to follow her, but on second thought, I was pretty sure I would follow whether I had to or not.
