ENTRAPPED ₂

109

THE GROUND IN THE CLEARING BLACKENED. As Nico screamed, a wave of memory hit Ethan, but for once, it wasn't his own trauma. Instead, he was taken through Nico's perspective: his journey through Tartarus alone, his capture by the giants, his days wasting away inside that bronze jar. Ethan felt Nico's anguish from his days on the Argo II, unsure if Madeleine, Ethan, Percy, and Annabeth were going to survive, feeling utterly alone on a ship full of people. He saw Nico's and Jason's encounter with Cupid in the ruins of Salona.

And Ethan knew, by the devastation on Reyna's face and the shock on Bryce's, that they saw the exact same things. Nico's unspoken challenge to Bryce Lawrence was this: You want secrets? Here.

The spartoi disintegrated into ashes, and Ethan dropped to the ground in a crouch. The rocks of the cairn turned white with frost. Bryce Lawrence stumbled, clutching his head, both nostrils bleeding. Ethan would be lying if he didn't feel a sick sort of satisfaction in watching the kid suffer.

Nico marched toward Bryce. He grabbed his probatio tablet and ripped it off his neck.

"You aren't worthy of this," Nico growled.

The earth split under Bryce's feet. He sank up to his waist. "Stop!" Bryce clawed at the dirt and the plastic bouquets, but his body kept sinking.

"You took an oath to the legion." Nico's breath steamed in the cold. "You broke its rules. You inflicted pain. You killed your own centurion."

"I―I didn't! I―"

"You should've died for your crimes," Nico continued. "That was the punishment. Instead you got exile. You should have stayed away. Your father Orcus may not approve of broken oaths. But my father Hades really doesn't approve of those who escape punishment."

"Please!"

Nico's face was cruel and impassive, like he didn't understand the word. For a moment, his body flickered, and he was half boy, half shadow. Too late, Ethan understood what was going to happen.

"Nico," Ethan whispered. "Stop."

He didn't care about Bryce. He would lop the kid's head clean off his shoulders, he didn't give a single fuck. But he knew if Nico kept torturing him, it would be his demise.

But Nico didn't seem to hear Ethan. "You're already dead," he told Bryce. "You're a ghost with no tongue, no memory. You won't be sharing any secrets."

"No!" Bryce's body turned dark and smoky, far worse than Nico's. He slipped into the earth, up to his chest. "No, I am Bryce Lawrence! I'm alive!"

"Who are you?" Nico asked.

The next sound from Bryce's mouth was a chattering whisper. His face became indistinct. He could have been anyone―just another nameless spirit among millions.

"Begone," Nico said.

The spirit dissipated. The earth closed.

Nico looked back at Nico and Reyna. Reyna stared back at him in horror. Ethan met his eyes.

"I'm sorry," Nico breathed.

Then he collapsed.

⎯⎯ ୨ winged ୧ ⎯⎯

Ethan scrambled to Nico faster than he had ever moved in his life. He tried to touch the son of Hades and his hand passed right through him. He tried to touch him again and he couldn't make contact. His body had no substance. His form wasn't even cold, it just wasn't there.

"Nico," Ethan said. And then again, his voice cracking: "Nico. NICO!"

Nico gave no response. He was absolutely still, his body shimmering in and out of reality, and Ethan was going to lose it, he was actually going to lose his fucking mind, because Nico di Angelo, his little brother, the person he was fondest of in the entire world, was fading away like he had never even existed.