He nodded. “We have no idea what Laverna or these ‘judges’ might do now that we’ve thwarted their latest attack. One of us needs to be here to reassure the legion and keep our guests safe. You know word about what happened in the principia is going to spread faster than that cold did last month.”
“We will help you!” Johan promised.
Right on cue, he and Orcus both sneezed. It was probably just from the dust in the archives, but Nico made a mental note to take some vitamin C. The last thing he needed was some Roman respiratory virus.
Hazel frowned at Frank. “Fine,” she relented. “But I’m joining Nico in theI don’t like any part of thisclub.”
Nico smiled. “You can be the vice president.”
Will stifled a yawn. “Well, I’m the president of thePlease can we get some sleepclub, and membership is mandatory, Nico.”
“I’ll stay up a bit longer,” said Frank grumpily. “To make sure there’s no other activity. Besides, I alreadyhadmy sleep.”
Hazel gave her boyfriend a kiss. “That wasnotyour fault.” Then she faced Will and Nico. “Meet you two in the mess hall by nine?”
Nico did the math on how much sleep that would get him.A ridiculously small amountplusnot enoughequaledit was going to be a long day.
“Okay.” He stood and stretched. Exhaustion crept into the edges of his awareness. Even Jealousy yawned at his feet. “Come on, Puffs.”
Nico headed out of headquarters, his Puffs trailing after him. From behind them, Will laughed.
“What?” Nico demanded.
“You’re like the Pied Piper of Darkness.”
Nico rolled his eyes, though deep down, he kind of loved that idea.
Nico was not surprised by his dream. He found himself in the dark room again, unable to move in his chair, facing a backlit door with someone incessantly knocking to get in. This time, though, Asterion, Quinoa, and Arielle stood in front of him, frowning like an interrogation squad.
“Why couldn’t you protect me?” Arielle complained.
“All I wanted was a better life,” Quinoa said.
“I even knitted you a cap,” Asterion said. “So much for demigod promises.”
Nico woke with a start.
Daylight streamed through the barracks windows. In the next bunk over, Will slept peacefully, his chest rising and falling ever so slowly. The Cocoa Puffs snoozed in a pile at Nico’s feet—except for Guilt, who had snuggled into the crook of Nico’s arm.
That probably explained the dream. Even if it was only his own guilt finding a voice, it made sense that Nico would imagine the mythics blaming him for their capture, reminding him of how badly he had failed.
That didn’t unsettle him too much. Yes, he felt guilty, which was only natural. His friends had been kidnapped. More of them could be taken in the future. Anyone would be worried about that.
Instead, he was curious why his demigod brain kept spitting out this same nightmare about the dark room and the unknown presence knocking at the door.
Was his subconscious trying to tell him something? Was an actual god or daimon trying to get his attention?
A sense of dread kept building inside him, no matter how much he tried to sweep it away. A voice in his head whispered,You’ve already failed—you just don’t know it yet.
He was a demigod. The son of Hades! Had he ever faced a quest he couldn’t complete?
And yet now that this mythics dilemma was starting to feel like an actual quest—go to the courthouse, find and rescue his friends, beat whatever baddies had abducted them—Nico was starting to wonder if this would be the first quest he’d fail.
He was tempted to wake Will and tell him what he was feeling.
But no. He couldn’t disrupt Will’s chance to get a few more winks.
Instead, he tried to calm his emotions.Breathe, Nico, he told himself.Don’t let your thoughts run wild.
