𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐈 𝐑𝐈𝐒𝐄// 𝐒𝐨𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐥𝐨 𝐑𝐨𝐲𝐚𝐥𝐭𝐲 𝐀𝐔

𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝟑𝟔// 𝐑𝐮𝐧 𝐅𝐨𝐫 𝐈𝐭

The second he heard the swords being drawn, Nico lunged toward Will, a knife in his hand. He didn't need to look at him to know he was dissociating. He grabbed Will and pushed him next to Magnus. He shoved a knife into Magnus's hands, snapped, "Protect him," then turned to face the guards.

In the blink of an eye, Perseus had grabbed a chair and crashed it over a guard's head, before burying a knife in their gut. Jason and Leo were keeping the other guards busy on the other side of the table, swords clashing.

Blyden materialized out of the chaos, sword in hand, eyes fixed on Nico. Nico didn't wait, and lunged forward. The two met, swords sparking against each other. He refused to give Blyden an inch--he had to protect the two behind him.

One of the coffins burst open, and Annabeth spilled out, knife in hand, shouting her cousin's name. She stumbled to her feet and joined her comrades in the fight against the guards, trying to get to the other side of the room.

Nico struck Blyden on the head, who collapsed. Nico sighed in relief, looked over his shoulder--and saw the exact moment Magnus's eyes turned to a sickening green.

The chip--

Magnus whilrled on Will, the knife in his hand gleaming. Will fought back, trying to get the knife, but couldn't. Nico tried to run to him, but a guard knocked him to the ground, the air leaving him with a whoosh. He could only watch in horror as Magnus and Will were gone in the blink of an eye.

"Where are the crawlers?" the doctor demanded as she revived Blyden. "We need them now!"

Nico drove his knife into the guard's ribs, trying to ignore her scream and the fresh blood on his robes. He threw the guard off and crawled to his feet. He saw a flash of red, and saw Blyden breaking for one of the exits.

For a moment, he hesitated--what should he do?

He locked eyes with Annabeth from across the room, who had downed the last guard and slit the doctor's throat before she could run. All she said was, "I'll go after Magnus and Will. With Percy. You make sure Blyden doesn't escape. Valdez and Grace--"

He didn't bother to hear the rest, already sprinting after Blyden.

☀️☀️☀️

His robes kept tangling around his legs. Impatient, he sliced off the bottom, tossing the scrap of fabric aside, before breaking into a run, knuckles white around his dagger.

He chased Blyden down countless flights of stairs and hallways, deeper and deeper into the building. Too blinded by determination, he didn't stop to think about it, until the marble under his feet turned to concrete, and the vaulted ceilings became cramped and wet.

The tunnels. Blyden's exit couldn't have been far. He had to end this chasing nonsense.

Blyden ended it first. He skidded to a halt in the center of the tunnel and turned to face Nico. His red hair looked almost black in the faint light, his silver eyes bright despite the gloom.

Nico brandished his dagger, forcing his voice not to shake. "It ends here. If you come with me, I won't hurt you. I won't let any of them hurt you, actually."

Blyden gave a hysterical laugh. "You think I would trust you now? You just chased me through half of my damn building!" His smile was sharp and intimidating. "You're too determined for your own good." Nico opened his mouth to say something, but Blyden cut him off, switching the subject. "Even without the glamours, you look an awful lot like Jalgan. I wonder...did he ever tell you?"

Nico forced his eyes shut for a moment, trying to get Jalgan's voice out of his head. He couldn't keep the tremble out of his voice this time. "I know he's my brother. I know he was exiled due to Shade customs." He glared. "I also know you bastards were planning to destroy my kingdom!"

Blyden raised an eyebrow. "Which one? The kingdom that made you do its dirty work, and would have left you for dead otherwise? Or the Kingdom that's never trusted you, treated you like one of their own?"

"You don't know anything about me," Nico growled.

Another sharp smile. "Oh, I know plenty, di Angelo. Or should I call you Abbaddon?" He stepped forward, unfazed by Nico's knife. "We did our research on you. Raised to kill by Bryce Lawrence, played lapdog to your father when he croaked. Now serving a Kingdom that doesn't even care about you."

"Shut up," Nico snapped, barely able to speak, trying to fight back his racing thoughts.

"Don't you want revenge?" Blyden's voice was soft, light as a feather. "Why do you make yourself a slave to people that would turn your back on you?"

Nico's hands were shaking. He could barely hold the dagger. He snapped his eyes shut, took a deep breath.

"Well?" Blyden prompted, confident that he had the upper hand now.

When Nico opened his eyes, they blazed with determination.

"People care about me, in both kingdoms." He raised his knife, horrified that he had let his guard down. "I have friends and family to go back to. Friends and family that you and Jalgan were scheming to kill." A viscous smile. "You're lucky that Prince Solace was the one that killed Jalgan. Because I would have more than happily ripped his throat out myself."

Fury blazed in Blyden's eyes. With a shout, he lunged forward, trying to grab the knife. Nico dodged and drove the dagger into his chest.

Blyden froze, staring at the knife in his sternum. He raised stunned eyes to Nico's face.

He laughed.

The sound was gods-awful in Nico's ear. It bounced around the space, until it sounded as though several Blydens were laughing at once.

"You are so predictable." Blyden stumbled back, clutching at the wound in his chest. Despite the blood on his lips, he smiled. He raised his hand to show something he had pulled out of his pocket. A talisman of some sort. "All it took was a simple spell to activate the chips in the crawlers. At least four of them will be here. If the flood doesn't kill you first."

"Flood..." Nico's eyes scanned the walls frantically, watching water drip from the ceiling. This was a sewer. Gods, why didn't he figure it out before?

Hate filled his throat, choking him, blurring his vision. He lunged forward, grabbing at Blyden's collar, snarling in his face. Blyden gave another laugh, before coughing blood onto Nico's robes, slumping in his grip.

Nico threw the half-dead man to the floor, looking back at the exit as an awful snarling filled the air. Sleek forms appeared in the dark, claws scraping on the concrete.

Nico raised his knife.

If he was going to die, he would die fighting.