Page 106

‘It is beautiful,’ she said. ‘What does it mean?’

‘Us,’ Will said. ‘Together. Two sides of one coin. I gave it to Nico so if we ever got separated he would know I was thinking of him, no matter where he was.’

Nico smiled at the memory. ‘Will came to me just before dinner on the night we heard the prophecy about Bob. I could tell he had something important to say because he always gets all bashful beforehand.’

Will stuck out his tongue. ‘I’d never given anyone a gift so personal before.’

‘And you did great,’ Nico assured him. ‘It wassosweet. In exchange, I gave him my ring.’

Nico pointed to the silver skull ring that Will was running back and forth across its chain. ‘I’d had that ring for a long time, but it needed to be with Will. So he’d always know how I feel about him.’

Will tucked the ring back inside his shirt, then tapped where it lay against his chest. It was such a small gesture, but it felt enormous to Nico. After everything they’d been through since they’d left Camp Half-Blood, it was a reminder that he was loved.Reallyloved. Sure, he and Will had things they needed to discuss. Sure, they often disagreed. But an invisible string connected them nonetheless.

Nico gazed down the Acheron, to the point where it dropped out of sight. He would have to steel himself against the coming onslaught – not just of the River of Pain but of Tartarus itself. He remembered the despair; he remembered the doubt. It would be magnified for Will, and he would need Nico to be there for him.

Nico curled his fingers around the coin. He dreaded the upcoming journey, but he also felt the residual warmth of the stories they had shared. They clung to him, wrapping around him like a protective layer.

From Gorgyra’s dress, the voices reached out to Nico one last time, but now he heard something besides devastation and fear …

Hope.

You might just make it, one said.

You keep that one close.

Someone like that is a rare find.

You are not alone.

The whispers dissipated and returned to Gorgyra’s gown, turning the fabric a luminous pink, like imperial topaz.

‘Thank you, Gorgyra,’ Nico said quietly. ‘The stories were to give us strength for the journey, weren’t they?’

‘They were,’ she said, her voice raw with emotion. ‘But it is I who should be thanking you. You came and visited an old nymph. You offered me kindness, and you showed me that love and companionship still exist in the mortal world.’ A sad smile grew on her lips. ‘It is easy to forget that when you collect the souls of the lonely.’

Will reached over and squeezed Nico’s hand. The colour had returned to his face.

‘And the boat?’ Will asked their host. ‘What should we do with it when we reach Tartarus?’

‘If you are successful in your quest, the boat will return to me.’

Will peered downstream at the raging waterfall. ‘How? That looks like a pretty one-way trip.’

‘You misunderstand the nature of the Acheron. Its course is not one-directional. This is the River of Pain. Like life, it flows in a circle.’

Will scrunched up his face. ‘This sounds like a complicated geometry problem.’

‘Pain is a part of all lives, mortal and immortal,’ said the nymph. ‘It is inescapable. Weallmust navigate this river to get where we want to be.’

‘Shouldn’t we aim to avoid pain?’ Will asked. ‘Or at least mitigate it?’

Nico shook his head. ‘You know it’s not that simple.’

‘Pain helps us learn,’ said Gorgyra. ‘It is unfortunate, but we rarely forget the lessons taught to us in moments of pain.’

‘Pain is inescapable …’ Will sounded like he was talking mostly to himself. ‘I guess that’s hard for me to wrap my mind around because I’m a healer. I’m always trying toreducepain.’

His tone reminded Nico of their trip to Persephone’s garden … how dazed Will had acted when they emerged from the gates, as if he’d been shaken to pieces, then put back together in a slightly different pattern. What had happened to him in there?