My Boyfriend is a Dead Roman Hero | Jason Grace

I Pull a Bruce Banner

Percy gives her a hug before he sneaks away, and Julie does her best to absorb as much of the anxiety rolling off of him as she can. He relaxes a little into the embrace, so she feels accomplished. His departure seems to have put Nico at ease about Bianca's situation. Julie's not sure what the reason for that is, but she's happy for her new friend all the same.

She and Nico spend the next week getting him acclimated to camp. He seems to be getting along well with the other members of the Hermes cabin (which doesn't make Julie jealous at all), and they even discover that he has a talent for sword fighting. Julie tells him that Percy helps teach lessons sometimes and will be impressed, and Nico glows with pride for the rest of the day. He does take a swipe from a blade while sparring against one of the Ares kids, but Michael and Will are able to patch him up no problem.

She brings him to the archery range the next day to show him her above average shooting skills, and he kicks her butt at that too. Julie's laughing too hard at the very shocked expression on his face to be upset, though. He seems genuinely surprised at his own talents every time they find something he's good at. It's endearing. Julie's careful about suggesting who his godly parent could be. Nico doesn't remember either of his parents' faces, let alone if one of them had magic powers, so he could belong to any of the cabins, really. They both agree they probably aren't siblings, though, so Cabin 10 seems to be out of the running.

By day three, Connor and Travis are making kissy noises every time they spot Juliette and Nico together. Julie lets it rolls off her back. Her mom's the goddess of love. She's constantly making love matches of other people in her background thoughts, so she can't be mad when it's her being teased. It bothers Nico, though (Julie tries not to be offended), so she throws her shoes at the Stolls to get them to stop whenever they're in range. Oftentimes, the older boys refuse to give them back, and she's stuck walking around in her socks all day. Nico always gives her a little of his dessert when this happens.

Day four, Nico and Julie have a sleepover. It isn't intentional. The two of them get caught up playing (or, losing at, in Julie's case) Mythomagic well into the night in the Big House and miss the curfew bell. Instead of getting angry at them, Chiron brings Nico a pillow and blanket and tells him to sleep on the sofa in the den rather than braving the cleaning harpies outside. Julie sneaks down from her room half an hour after Chiron goes to sleep and ends up painting Nico's nails ocean blue while he tells her about a card game tournament he won in the Lotus Casino. They both fall asleep on the purple leopard print rug. Julie still thinks it's ugly, but she has to admit it's fairly comfortable. They do end up with stable duty for sleeping in the same room, though.

By the end of the week, Juliette is on top of the world. She doesn't remember ever having a friend like Nico - someone who just hangs out with her. Not because of guilt, like Silena. Not out of some well-meaning sense of responsibility, like Percy. Nico talks to her because he wants to, and he actually seems interested in the things she has to say. So, she says a lot. She opens up about what's going on with her and her siblings, and Nico tells her his feelings on Bianca and the Hunters. Julie tells him about her curse, and Nico tells her about his foggy memories. Juliette's happy. Life is good.

Until it isn't.

The quest group returns bloody, exhausted, and looking quite a bit ticked off. But, Percy and Annabeth are side by side, their fingertips brushing as they walk, and Juliette sobs in relief as she tackles the blonde into a hug outside the infirmary.

"Thank gods!" She cries. Annabeth smells like sweat, blood, and nectar, but Julie can feel her heartbeat in her chest and sense the lingering adrenaline in her pores. She's alive. When the older girl hugs Julie back, there's a pulse thrumming in Annabeth's wrist and warm breath laughing against her hair.