Golden Waves (Solangelo AU)

Chapter 10

Here is chapter ten! I really hope you guys like this chapter (I think you will ;)

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After a day's worth of sailing, they finally reached the outskirts of the Mare Nigrum. Just being near it made the hairs on everyone's arms stand on end. Nico took in a deep breath, squinting to see into the foggy waters. The only things in sight were the shadows of who-knows-what swimming beneath the surface.

"You guys ready?" Percy asked, holding Annabeth's hand.

"No point in turning back now," Reyna said. Her face was the same as whenever she was about to march into battle. "Let's go."

Leo nodded and headed to the Wheel without a word. He looked like he was about to crack a joke, but thought better of it. Nico looked at Hazel as she stared off into the waters. He got vertigo at the familiarity in her face, but it wasn't how people would normally tell you - like their stances or the look in their eyes. No, her features, the literal structure of her face reminded Nico of someone he knew. Not just Bianca...but their father.

When Hazel turned to look at him, he pushed the thought to the back of his mind.

"Hey, Nico," she said, stepping closer towards him. "Thank you...for getting me away from my mom. You saved me."

"Any decent person would do the same," he said, waving her off. Hazel scoffed.

"Then you'd be surprised," she said, her nails digging into the wood of the railing. She looked like she was about to say something else when Frank tapped her on the shoulder. She turned around and smiled at him.

"Uh, I need help with the sails, do you..?" he trailed off awkwardly, his face turning as red as a ripe cherry. Hazel laughed, taking his hand.

"Sure," she said, then looked at Nico one last time before running off with Frank towards the rigging.

Nico was then left alone, well, that is unless you counted the dragon figurehead. The boat groaned and churned as it moved further into the Black Sea, and Nico felt the need to brace himself as they became engulfed in the thick fog, though that was ridiculous. He looked back towards the Wheel, but could barely see past the deck of the boat. He felt cold and blind, and could only see about twenty feet forward in the water.

"Just keep going straight!" he heard Annabeth's voice call out back to Leo.

"Aye aye, captain!" Leo responded.

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The only good thing about the situation so far, was that initially, there weren't any storms, or monsters coming out to kill them. Unfortunately, their luck didn't last long.

Nico felt obliged to stay up front, as no one else was. Hopefully he could keep a look out and alert the rest of the crew if anything was about to come out of the water and attack them. About an hour in with no activity besides the endless fog, Nico was beginning to feel bored. However, he would soon miss that feeling when not even five minutes later, a storm would hit them out of nowhere.

It started with a simple drizzle, barely noticeable. Then, within the time of about ten second, it grew to heavy, pelting rain that completely soaked Nico before he could even comprehend what was going on. Everyone began yelling, trying to be heard under the crashing of the rain. Nico didn't dare let go of the railing, knowing if he did, he'd be pushed off the boat by the furious winds, not to mention the deck was now as slippery as ice.

Incoherent screams were drowned out by the rain, and Nico's hair was plastered on his face, almost covering his eyes and blinding him further than the rain already was. His clothes became heavy with water as they stuck to his skin and weighed him down.

In the midst of all the commotion, the bottle against his chest was the only thing that didn't seem to be crashing and swinging every which way. Even in the freezing rain, it grew warm against his skin. And then, through all the rain, screaming, and wind, a voice in his mind cut right through it all.

But I am real!

It rang in his head like a bell, so life-like, so clear, he'd feel like a fool to say he made it up. He forced his eyes open and looked around for the speaker of the voice, and when he did, he saw, in the dark, rippling water, a light came from under the surface. A glowing, golden beacon that lights up the water around it. If Nico had looked closer, or bothered to wipe the hair out of his face, he might've seen it was a tail.

Then, the golden beacon began to swim right, and something in his gut told Nico to follow it. So, at the top of his lungs, the loudest he's spoken since he got on the ship, he screamed.

"GO RIGHT!" he yelled, facing back towards the wheel.

"WHAT?" A voice called back, though he didn't know who it was.

"JUST DO IT!" he screamed, hanging onto the railing for dear life. "TURN RIGHT!"

The Argo II wavered and groaned as it began to follow the golden light. Nico continued to shout directions whenever the light changed directions, and whoever was steering the boat would oblige. The prince noticed the rain becoming lighter and lighter until eventually, it was gone. Then, a few seconds later, they emerged past the fog, and into the bright sun. Nico immediately looked for the light, but it was gone, whatever it was having swam back deep under water.

He looked back behind him, seeing that everyone was okay, more or less. The only big, noticeable injury was a nasty bruise Jason had forming on his forehead. Everyone looked relieved to have gotten out of the storm. From the wheel, Leo looked confused.

"Hey, who...who was shouting out directions?" he asked, pushing his wet hair out of his face.

"Yeah I heard them too," Percy said, looking around the boat.

Before Nico could be questioned, he quickly retreated back to his cabin, if only to grab a towel and change his clothes.