Page 124

‘He was. But he became solid when he was angry at me, hence these.’

Will frowned. The boundaries between life and death, solid and incorporeal, seemed so blurry here. Tartarus and the Underworld were not as black-and-white as he’d thought.

He told Nico to hold still, then delicately dabbed at the cuts on his face. Nico jerked a bit at first but mostly cooperated while Will cleaned the gashes. Will gave Nico a sip of nectar, applied ointment to reduce scarring and held gauze against the area, humming while he did so. It was another melody his mother had composed long, long before Will had been born, but it was a comforting one. As he did so, Nico pressed his cheek into Will’s hand and closed his eyes.

They remained like that for a while, the only sounds Small Bob’s rhythmic purring and Will’s haunting healing melody. Will loved how at peace Nico looked, especially since it was so rare that he ever did. He was always scowling or fretting about something wrong in the world around him. But right here, right now, Nico was in the moment, and it gave Will a sense of accomplishment.

He also hoped Nico believed that Will would never actually abandon him.

Guilt still ate at Will, even as he removed the gauze pad and admired his work. The cuts had mostly healed, but Nico could end up with some light scarring on his cheek. Later he would ask Nico if he wanted them erased, but Will suspected Nico was going to be okay with them. They kind of added a bit of mystique to his face. And it was a nice face, too. Nico’s eyes fluttered open, and Will gazed deep into them.

‘I’m sorry,’ he whispered.

Nico shook his head. ‘No, no, we’re not doing that again,’ he said. ‘I know you didn’t mean to leave. And I know you were stilllooking out for me, or else you wouldn’t have left that Kit Kat behind.’

Will leaned against the rock and wiped sweat from his face, a wave of exhaustion pouring over his body. ‘Okay,’ he said. ‘Would you mind if I rested for a moment? Just to recuperate a little before we go on?’

Nico nodded, then looped his arm around Will’s shoulder, pulling him in so that Will’s head came to rest on Nico’s sternum. Small Bob, still curled up in Nico’s lap, remained alert. This was hardly a safe place for them to stop, Will knew, and they had to stay vigilant. But for now he let Nico and Small Bob keep watch as Will drifted off to sleep to the calming rise and fall of Nico’s breathing.

Nico didn’t know what to do or where to go next.

The lava fields churned below him, and the land sloped gently downward. Menoetes had told him to ‘follow the trail to the left until you reach the swamp’, but Nico hadn’t found any such trail yet. Nico assumed, though, that they needed to go deeper into Tartarus. Were they headed to the Doors? Was that where Nyx had Bob imprisoned?

The ground shuddered, and Nico waited to see if Will would wake up, but he continued to snooze soundlessly. Had that shudder been Tartarus taking a breath? He hoped the protogenos would remain in slumber – he had no desire to face him like Percy and Annabeth had, especially not since he already had Nyx to contend with.

He wondered if Nyx had sent Amphithemis his way. He hadn’t told Will this part, but manias were technically born from her. It was possible that the centaur’s arrival had been a coincidence, but Nico couldn’t really believe that.

At the same time … why? Why would she do that if she was waiting to torment Nico herself? That part didn’t make sense. Shouldn’t she want him to reach her as quickly as possible?

It was yet another unknown among so many others. He ran his fingers through Will’s hair, and his boyfriend stirred.

‘Shhh,’ said Nico. ‘Go back to sleep. We’re safe for now.’

Will yawned. ‘Nah,’ he said, rubbing his eyes. ‘I just needed a quick nap.’

He sat up slowly, and Small Bob woke up, too, arching his back and yawning. Nico noticed that Will’s skin looked a little waxy, like it had in the Underworld prior to them finding Gorgyra. ‘Eat some ambrosia,’ said Nico. ‘Please?’

Will smiled at him. ‘Your cheek looks better,’ he said, rummaging in his knapsack. ‘And the scars might be kinda cute.’

Nico rolled his eyes. ‘Don’t start with that.’

‘Well, it’s true!’ He munched on an ambrosia square. ‘It’ll also make you more intimidating.’

‘Nowthatis much more interesting,’ Nico said. ‘I could always go formoreintimidating.’

Will scoffed. ‘Like you need it.’

The two of them sat in silence as they watched the spurting, hissing magma. It was Will who vocalized what Nico had just been thinking.

‘I don’t know what we should do next, Nico,’ he said. ‘This place … It feels like it goes on forever.’

‘I know. It’s hard to wrap your mind around.’

‘Now I get what you meant before. About how Tartarus presses down on your spirit. I don’t know how else to describe it, but it’s … it’sheavy.’

Nico nodded. ‘I know this is hard for you,’ he said. ‘Being down here for all this time. But you’re doing pretty well, all things considered.’

‘You think so?’