Last Shadow || Deception Book III

Chapter 20

I woke to see familiar, wooden beams above me, the scent of herbs and nectar wafting through the air. "Augh," I groaned, pushing myself up to my elbows. "Everything hurts."

Nico's face popped into my vision, his eyes shining with concern. "You're finally awake, Rianna. We were worried."

"How long was I out?" I rasped, kicking my blanket off and moving to swing out of bed. "Did we win? How's the situation? Where's Percy and Annabeth? Chiron? What happened to Kampe? Are you okay?"

"Rianna, calm down," Nico said, gently pushing me back onto the bed. "And to answer your questions, a few hours, yes, everything's fine, they're helping the wounded, in the infirmary, dead, and yes, I'm fine." He sat back down in the chair beside my cot, amused. "Do you ever take a chill pill?"

"Hard to swallow one at a time like this," I muttered, collapsing back onto the pillow. "He didn't show up, did he?"

The slight mirth in Nico's eyes vanished instantly and he shook his head solemnly. "No. I think what we did back at Othrys stopped him."

"Thank the gods," I muttered. I pressed my palms into my eyes. "I just had the weirdest dream ever."

"Hyperactive brain weird, or Chiron needs to hear this weird?"

"Chiron needs to hear this weird. You won't fucking believe this, but...." I trailed off, my voice dying in my throat. Strange. What was I going to say?

Nico frowned at my silence. "But what?"

I looked at my hands, then at him. "I don't know. I can't remember anything."

"Rianna, are you okay? You don't have a fever, do you?" The son of Hades pressed the back of his hand against my forehead.

"No," I said, staring at the blankets bunched in my lap. "I feel fine."

Nico suddenly gasped and lurched back, his hand flying away from my head. He stared at me, brown eyes wide with shock, the blood draining out of his face so fast I almost thought he'd been stabbed and was bleeding out.

"Nico!" I yelped, reaching out to steady him. He slumped into the chair silently, still staring at me with that terrified gaze. "You okay?"

"What happened to you?" He whispered. "Why can I feel your lifespan now?"

"You...what?"

"I couldn't feel anything from you earlier," Nico breathed, ignoring my stunned question. "Not earlier in the labyrinth, not when you first told me your prophecy. Why can I feel it now?"

"Feel...my death?"

"I can see it," he said, his voice numb. "The breaking of your thread. It ends. I don't know when, but soon. Why can I see it? Why? Clarianna, what happened?"

"I....I don't know," I replied, my voice quiet at the reeling implication of what Nico was saying finally hit me. I was going to die. I mean, I knew that already, but he'd said before that he couldn't feel anything from me, so I'd managed to push it out of my mind. But now that Nico could, did that mean my death was imminent? "I can't remember anything."

"Did anything happen when you fought Kampe? When you passed out? Was it your dream?" Nico reached forward and gripped my wrists tightly. "Clari, I need you to think. Hard." Panic filled his voice, his eyes urgent. "Please, Clari, I need to know. You can't die."

"Nico, wait," I said, slowly pulling my hands out of his grasp, only to clasp them in mine. My mind was reeling, but Nico was so pale, I was worried he was going to give himself a heart attack. I could stress about my stupid prophecy and everything later. "Nico, I need you to take a deep breath, okay? Calm down."