The Blood of Olympus (The Heroes of Olympus #5)(120)

‘No need for threats,’ Nico said. ‘Frank’s a good guy. Or bear. Or bulldog. Or –’

‘Oh, stop.’ Hazel laughed. Then she kissed Frank. ‘See you in the morning.’

‘Yeah,’ Frank said. ‘Nico … you sure you won’t come with us? You’ll always have a place in New Rome.’

‘Thanks, Praetor. Reyna said the same thing. But … no.’

‘I hope I’ll see you again?’

‘Oh, you will,’ Nico promised. ‘I’m going to be the flower boy at your wedding, right?’

‘Um …’ Frank got flustered, cleared his throat and shuffled off, running into the doorjamb on the way out.

Hazel crossed her arms. ‘You just had to tease him about that.’

She sat on Nico’s bunk. For a while they just stayed there in comfortable silence … siblings, children from the past, children of the Underworld.

‘I’m going to miss you,’ Nico said.

Hazel leaned over and rested her head on his shoulder. ‘You too, big brother. You will visit.’

He tapped the new officer’s badge that gleamed on her shirt. ‘Centurion of the Fifth Cohort now. Congratulations. Are there rules against centurions dating praetors?’

‘Shhh,’ Hazel said. ‘It’ll be a lot of work getting the legion back in shape, repairing the damage Octavian did. Dating regulations will be the least of my worries.’

‘You’ve come so far. You’re not the same girl I brought to Camp Jupiter. Your power with the Mist, your confidence –’

‘It’s all thanks to you.’

‘No,’ Nico said. ‘Getting a second life is one thing. Making it a better life, that’s the trick.’

As soon as he said it, Nico realized he could’ve been talking about himself. He decided not to bring that up.

Hazel sighed. ‘A second life. I just wish …’

She didn’t need to finish her thought. For the past two days, Leo’s disappearance had hovered like a cloud over the whole camp. Hazel and Nico had been reluctant to join the speculation about what had happened to him.

‘You felt his death, didn’t you?’ Hazel’s eyes were watery. Her voice was small.

‘Yeah,’ Nico admitted. ‘But I don’t know, Hazel. Something about it was … different.’

‘He couldn’t have taken the physician’s cure. Nothing could have survived that explosion. I thought … I thought I was helping Leo. I messed up.’

‘No. It is not your fault.’ But Nico wasn’t quite so ready to forgive himself. He’d spent the last forty-eight hours replaying the scene with Octavian at the catapult, wondering if he’d done wrong thing. Perhaps the explosive power of that projectile had helped destroy Gaia. Or perhaps it had unnecessarily cost Leo Valdez his life.

‘I just wish he hadn’t died alone,’ Hazel murmured. ‘There was no one with him, no one to give him that cure. There’s not even a body to bury …’

Her voice broke. Nico put his arm around her.

He held her as she wept. Eventually she fell asleep from exhaustion. Nico tucked her into his own bed and kissed her forehead. Then he went to the shrine of Hades in the corner – a little table decorated with bones and jewels.

‘I suppose,’ he said, ‘there’s a first time for everything.’

He knelt and prayed silently for his father’s guidance.

LVI

Nico

AT DAWN, HE WAS STILL AWAKE when someone rapped at the door.

He turned, registering a face with blond hair, and for a split second he thought it was Will Solace. When Nico realized it was Jason, he was disappointed. Then he felt angry with himself for feeling that way.

He hadn’t talked to Will since the battle. The Apollo kids had been too busy with the injured. Besides, Will probably blamed Nico for what happened to Octavian. Why wouldn’t he? Nico had basically permitted … whatever that was. Murder by consensus. A gruesome suicide. By now, Will Solace realized just how creepy and revolting Nico di Angelo was. Of course, Nico didn’t care what he thought. But still …

‘You okay?’ Jason asked. ‘You look –’

‘Fine,’ Nico snapped. Then he softened his tone. ‘If you’re looking for Hazel, she’s still asleep.’

Jason mouthed, Oh, and gestured for Nico to come outside.

Nico stepped into the sunlight, blinking and disoriented. Ugh … Perhaps the cabin’s designers had been right about the children of Hades being like vampires. He was not a morning person.

Jason didn’t look as though he’d slept any better. His hair had a cowlick on one side and his new glasses sat crookedly on his nose. Nico resisted the urge to reach out and straighten them.

Jason pointed to the strawberry fields, where the Romans were breaking camp. ‘It was strange to see them here. Now it’ll be strange not seeing them.’

‘Do you regret not going with them?’ Nico asked.

Jason’s smile was lopsided. ‘A little. But I’ll be going back and forth between the camps a lot. I have some shrines to build.’

‘I heard. The Senate plans to elect you Pontifex Maximus.’

Jason shrugged. ‘I don’t care about the title so much. I do care about making sure the gods are remembered. I don’t want them fighting out of jealousy any more, or taking out their frustrations on demigods.’