Wings

38: Broken On The Floor, II

WPOV

Track: Broken, Isak Danielson

The courtroom becomes a cell. It's a small room with weapons covering the walls, and Nico is thrown into the middle of it. He's already been badly injured, anyone can tell—although all we can see are silvery scars, his clothes are bloodstained, and he looks exhausted.

I think he's already been to the cell before at this point; he doesn't look surprised at all to find himself here today.

The King enters the illusion behind Nico, through a door guarded by a few soldiers, but I pay that little mind—I can't take my eyes off Nico. He tenses when he hears the king's footsteps, but then he immediately relaxes again, as if he's trying not to let it show that this is getting to him. As if anyone could be put through this hell and not let it get to them.

If I squint, I can see through the illusion—Nico is still chained to the courtroom floor, and Reyna is still on the throne, and a roomful of spectators watch this like it's a movie. I feel sick to my stomach. I can't believe Nico is showing us this—making himself see it again.

In the dungeon scene, Nico's eyes are dark, and his jaw is clenched. His hair is all messed up, and his gaze tracks King Hermes around the room as soon as he's in Nico's field of view. Nico pulls his wings closer to his body.

"Why are you so determined to stay on Earth?" Hermes asks. "If you hurt me, you'll join your sister in the stars. Is that not appealing to you? Do you not love her enough to give her company?"

"Not how it works," Nico says. Hermes has picked up a knife, and my stomach twists. I want to jump into that day and take it from him, turn it on him. Anything to keep the blade away from Nico. 

"You don't have anyone on Earth who cares about you," Hermes says, tapping the blade against his palm. I'm immediately enraged—he's dragging this out. I want to scream. I want to kill him again. I want to hold Nico and never let him go.

"Why persist in an existence where there is not a soul who is willing to help you?" Hermes asks.

"Will Solace—" Nico begins, his voice startlingly calm. I am startled to hear my name—

"—betrayed you," Hermes interrupts. "He called you a monster and handed you over to me. He has not shown up at the castle even once since your arrest—not even to testify at your trial. You matter so little to him that he didn't care whether you were executed or not. Why do you continue to cling to the hope that this is a mistake? He's made it very clear that he hates you."

I hate this. I hate everything about this. I hate Hermes for using me against Nico like that, and I hate the way Nico's face becomes cold and stony—carefully controlled, I'm sure, in an attempt to keep hiding how much Hermes is getting to him—

"He helped me," Nico argues, but it doesn't sound convincing at all. "Even if he wouldn't do it again...he helped me."

"It was a ruse," Hermes dismisses. "No one could capture you through force, so he found another way. Make you feel safe enough that he can betray you and you would let it happen, blind to his methods until it's too late. It was clever—you have to give him that."

Fuck. Shit. Every muscle in my body is wound tightly, and I squint, looking through the illusion at the real Nico sitting in the courtroom—he's grimacing. He avoids my gaze, but his lips mouth words over and over, and I could swear he's whispering, "It's not real."

Shit.

In the scene, Hermes grabs Nico violently, yanking on Nico's chin to force Nico to meet his gaze. Nico winces.