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‘Me too.’ Nico lay beside him, and Will was grateful for his boyfriend’s head on his shoulder. If only they could stay like this, and not think about what came next …

‘We should reach Tartarus today,’ Nico said, shattering that hope. ‘Screech-Bling was just telling me they found a shortcut.’

Will glanced over. ‘A shortcut?’

‘One that won’t require us to enter the way I did last time. Which I’m thankful for. I’d rather not fall in darkness for an indeterminate amount of time again.’

‘That’s good,’ said Will. ‘I’ll take anything to help us at this point.’

Nico shifted next to him. ‘Are you still sure you want to do this? We’re at a point where youcouldturn back.’

‘Absolutely not,’ said Will. At this point, it was more of a stubborn, involuntary reflex than a conscious thought.

Nico studied him. ‘I can’t tell how you’re really feeling. I knowyou want to help, but you’ve seemed a little … different since we got here.’

‘I’m scared,’ admitted Will. ‘I don’t know what’s coming, and …’ He faltered, remembering Maron’s nightmarish voice:He will leave you. ‘And I don’t like that I can no longer feel the sun. I’m cut off from it for the first time in my life.’

Nico reached over to Will’s knapsack. He pulled out the sun globe, flicked it on and tossed it over.

Will couldn’t help but smile. It was a cute gesture, and he always considered it a little victory when Nico did something adorable. He was also surprised at how quickly the globe worked. By the time they’d packed up to leave, Will’s spirits were definitely improved. The light wasn’t a substitute for the sun, but he was glad he’d brought it with him.

He clicked it off and stowed it when Screech-Bling and Hiss-Majesty arrived.

‘Demigods!’ Screech-Bling said. ‘Shall we begin?’

Will glanced past the CEO and was surprised to see Hiss-Majesty wearing a foam cheese hat identical to his own. A warm feeling spread through Will, almost as good as the sun globe.

‘You found a hat!’ he noted. ‘I like it.’

Hiss-Majesty was perhaps the most bashful troglodyte Will had ever seen. They blinked a few times, then ducked behind Screech-Bling.

‘It is a good hat,’ Hiss-Majesty mumbled. ‘A hero’s hat.’

Screech-Bling grinned. ‘You have made an impression, son of Apollo. And do not worry about Hiss-Majesty. They are brave when they need to be.’

‘Well, so am I,’ said Will. ‘You can’t judge a book by its cover.’

He caught Nico scowling at him.

What?he mouthed.

Nico merely shook his head.

Will sighed. Sometimes it was hard to tell what Nico was feeling, too.

Screech-Bling adjusted his hot-pink rucksack across his shoulder, which clashed magnificently with his George Washington outfit. ‘Today we venture through the southern tunnels. We will bring you to the shortcut swiftly, so you may rescue Bob the Titan from the clutches of Nyx, goddess of night!’

Will wasn’t sure his life could get any weirder, but then Screech-Bling paraded them through troglodyte headquarters, much to the delight of the shareholders. The appreciative onlookers clicked and clacked, which sounded like applause if all the clapping hands were made of dominoes.

Like an Underworld-style graduation, many of the troglodytes tossed their hats into the air, then immediately started fighting over the ones they liked best. Even when the expedition had left HQ for the wider caverns of the Underworld, Will could still hear the joyful chaos of the crowd echoing behind them.

‘The troglodytes are special, aren’t they?’ he said to Nico.

He finally got a smile out of his boyfriend. ‘Very much so,’ Nico said.

As they followed the path along the roaring River Styx, with dark clouds hanging over the walls of Erebos in distance, Will kind of missed the crowd.

Screech-Bling led the way, and Hiss-Majesty brought up the rear. Not long after veering away from the Styx, the troglodyte CEO brought Will and Nico to a sizable hole in the ground, partiallycovered with large rocks. He and Hiss-Majesty moved the rocks out of the way quickly, which was another reminder for Will of how fast and strong the trogs were for their size.