obsidian black ● jason grace

your

 "Quiet," Reyna hissed at Nico and the Coach. "Romans don't sleep as lightly as you think."

The last few days had been a whirlwind for Nico. After he unleashed all of that energy, it had taken him days to recuperate. But now he felt stronger, powerful, there was no Roman strong enough for his dream manipulation. "Only a couple," Nico whispered back. "The rest are asleep."

Sometime while he was passed out, Reyna had killed Orion. Then they had finally reached Long Island, a favor from Lord Pegasus. Side note: Nico was never going to shut up to Percy about it. The place was familiar, almost homely if it wasn't, well not homely.

"Yeah?" Coach Hedge asked. "What about those guys?"

Three figures approached them. Since it wasn't dawn yet, they were shadows, and from what Nico could tell, they were definitely carrying weapons. Nico drew his own sword, ready to attack.

"Wait," Reyna ordered. "They're not enemies."

"Reyna," Nico protested. "They're armed."

"So are you," a voice grumbled back. Michael Kahale stepped out of the shadows, a grim look on his face.

"Behold," Reyna announced. "Our welcoming party."

"We've got an hour until sunrise, praetor," Clarisse La Rue addressed Reyna in the Rec Room of the Big House. Nico didn't know what was stranger: Clarisse being nice or Romans and Greeks being in the same room without trying to kill each other. "We need a plan."

"The quest has taken our best strategist," Reyna warned. She had all the attention in the room; she was used to it. "And I think, yours as well. Whatever our plan may be, we must be sure to work together."

Travis Stoll frowned, offended. "We've still got pretty good strategists."

Katie Gardener shot him a look.

He sat back in his chair. "Nevermind." Nico wanted to laugh if the situation wasn't so serious.

"You guys have cohorts, right?" Rachel asked. "How many-"

"Sorry I'm late," Will Solace burst into the room. "I was uh," he scratched the back of his head. "Delivering a satyr baby?"

Coach Hedge had rushed off to find Mellie as soon as they reached camp borders. Nico hadn't realized how pregnant Mellie really was. He was considering it when Will sat in the chair next to him.

"Hey," he muttered under his breath.

Will scowled. "Don't hey me," he hissed back. "Coach Hedge told me all about your shadow-travelling, don't even think about pulling that here."

"What-"

"I'm a healer," Will continued as if Nico hadn't even spoken. So much for great and powerful, even the bubbly Son of Apollo was standing up to him. "I can feel your darkness. If you try that one more time-"

"Di Angelo," Clarisse's voice boomed. "Are you going to pay attention to the fate of the world?"

"But Will..." Chiron raised an eyebrow. "Fine," he grumbled. Yep, really powerful.

"Each cohort has about 40 people," Michael Kahale was describing. AKA stuff that Nico already knew. "Dakota," he nodded at them, "has gotten the support of all of the Fifth. Clara's got maybe 5 people from the Third. I've got most of the First, but," he spread his hands. "I'm not Daria, I can't gather that much support. And from the Second..." Michael's trailed off, which shocked Nico. The guy was normally solemn as a stone.

Dakota explained. "We've got a surprising amount of support from the Second," Dakota told them, though they were mostly talking to Reyna. "Partly because of you, Reyna, and then there were people that were close with Nathan."

"The First and Second cohorts house our best fighters," Clara explained to the Greeks. "We're going to want to put them on the front lines."

"Though the Fifth makes up for it with enthusiasm," Michael added. "And...well." He shot a glance at Nico. Help me out.

Thankfully, Nico knew what he was trying to say. "The Romans are better fighters than most of you," he said bluntly. "Except," he held a hand up as the tips of Clarisse's ears started to turn red. "For the Ares cabin."

"Let's weave the Greeks and Romans together," Reyna decided. "They're two different styles of fighting. It'll trick Gaea, and Octavian."

"A lot of things will trick Octavian," Dakota pointed out.

"We should wait for him to make the first move though," Reyna continued. "It'll tire the Romans out."

"Right," Will agreed. "And I can get some archers lined up. It'll give the Hephestus cabin time to place their traps."

"And Grover can report back to us on the terrain," Rachel added.

"I must warn you," Chiron said gravely. "The border will not hold for too long."

"We'll keep that in mind," Clarisse said dryly. "Seeing as you've been so helpful so far."

Wisely, the centaur didn't agitate the daughter of Ares further. Nico wondered what she was referring to; especially surprising was that the rest of the Head Counselors seemed to be in agreement.

In the distance, they heard a loud boom. It seemed like the Romans hadn't waited for sunrise. Which was-

"That's stupid of them," Connor said, and if Connor could see it then god help what was left of Octavian's army. "Why would they attack right before dawn?"

"Because they're idiots," Michael grumbled.

"Still," Clara said thoughtfully. "We should be patient. Octavian does have the better half of the First Cohort," she winced and looked at Michael. "No offense."

Michael rolled his eyes.

"You," Clara turned to Will and stuck out her hand to him. The others had dissolved into chatter. Nico could see Reyna and Clarisse poured over a map of the Camp's border. "You're the medicine guy around here, right? I'm Clara, daughter of Asclepius. We should talk."

"I can make introductions," Nico's mouth seemed to be moving of its own accord. He would definitely be more useful by Reyna's side, but... "I've been to both camps. You do things differently."

Clara shrugged, nonchalant and kind as always. "Sure."

Will looked him over once, surprised at his enlistment. "Okay," he said slowly. "No shadow travelling though."

Nico scowled. "Why would I-?"

"Reyna," Michael said standing. "It's almost daylight. The legionnaires haven't seen you in weeks. You need to rally them."

Reyna glanced at the map on the table, then back up at her second in command. "Do they still recognize me?" As praetor, Nico understood. But Reyna had crafted her words so that the Greeks would have no idea what she was referring to.

"The Senate hasn't held a vote yet," Michael responded lowly. "And even then Reyna, aude, remember?"

Reyna tilted her head. Nico could tell she was surprised at Michael's boldness. Nico's chest ached with pride. Reyna was the most powerful demigod he'd had the honor of knowing. In his mind, and in Michael's and Clara's and Dakota's minds, she would be their praetor until the day she retired.

"Aude," she repeated, testing the word on her tongue. She nodded to Clarisse. "Godspeed."

Clarisse nodded back. "Until we meet again, praetor."

I think the book is finished this week. Exciting!

-M