Trust Me (a Percico Fanfic; Sequel to Letters to Nico)

Chapter 23

PERCY'S POV

Percy woke up, gasping in fear. He looked around, not understanding where he was at first. Then he remembered. He had passed out in Nico's cabin because he was looking for his lost daughter. The worst part was that all the clues so far had led to Nico taking her.

Pain shot through Percy again and he squeezed his eyes shut to block out the tears. Finding Zoe was more important. He couldn't let his emotions control him.

Getting dizzily to his feet, Percy pulled the newest clue out of his pocket. One word; shadow. Percy had no idea what this could possibly mean.

Percy decided he only had one option left; to talk to Annabeth. Time could be running out, he had no choice. With a sigh, Percy got off of Nico's bed, ignoring the pang of heartbreak that flowed through him as he breathed in his ex's scent.

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Percy arrived at Annabeth's cabin quickly after. He had ran to escape the memories that Nico's cabin held.

The son of Poseidon knocked on his ex's door. Annabeth opened it, thankfully.

"Percy?" Annabeth said in stunned silence. Piper looked over Annabeth's shoulder at Percy.

"Yeah, hi, can you help me? It's.. urgent," Percy said. Annabeth's gaze softened when she heard the desperation in his voice. She opened the door wider and Percy stepped in.

Percy sat down on Annabeth's bed and held his head in his hands.

"What happened?" Annabeth asked after a moment. Percy told her the entire story, starting from them finding out about Destiny's pregnancy to the clues Percy had found scattered around.

Throughout the story, Percy had noticed that Annabeth had her arm around Piper and Piper was holding Annabeth's hand. They must be together, Percy thought. A small fire spread through Percy's heart. He was glad that she had found someone to make her happy.

When he finished, Annabeth stared at him. She was obviously lost in thought, her gray eyes narrowing with concentration while Piper rubbed small circles on her girlfriend's back.

"From what you're telling me, it does seem that Nico took her.. Can I see the newest clue?" Annabeth askekd. Percy reached into his pocket and pulled out the small sliver of paper and handed it to her. Annabeth examined it carefully. She tilted the paper multiple ways and inspected each letter with a magnifying glass.

"What did you say about that boy, the one you met in London?" Annabeth asked. Percy thought back. He instantly remembered the ginger boy and the ginger man from the hotel that had haunted Nico.

"Well, there was a man in the hotel we stayed at that looked like someone who drowned his best friend back in the 1940's. When Nico saw him he seemed almost spooked. Then, a week after seeing that guy in the hotel, we went to a park. We saw a ginger kid judo flip some creepy guy and when Nico saw him, he was convinced that this kid also had the aura of Blake. I didn't really think about it at the time, but it doesn't make any sense. How could two different people have the same aura?" Percy mumbled, half to himself. Annabeth's eyes suddenly widened.

"You said these people spooked Nico?" Annabeth asked. Percy nodded.

"Yeah, almost like Blake was his shadow," Percy said. Annabeth gasped and looked at the paper.

"Percy, look," Annabeth said and held out the clue. Suddenly, everything fell into place.

"Blake was Nico's shadow, but what does that even mean? How could that make any sense? Where do I go from here?" Percy asked. Annabeth shut her eyes and concentrated deeply.

"Is it possible someone could be shape shifting?" Piper spoke up quietly. Percy looked at her, considering the idea.

"Maybe, but how could that explain the aura? The person would have to be a daughter of Hades for that, wouldn't they?" Percy questioned.

"Not necessarily. For example, some of my siblings can manipulate people so strongly that they can make them think they're a completely different person," Annabeth said.

"Destiny is a daughter of Athena.." Percy said quietly, his excitement growing.

"It must be her! Destiny must've been plotting with Nico!" Annabeth said triumphantly. "Percy, we'll help you look around for clues in here. They must've left something somewhere.."

Percy, Annabeth, and Piper all scrambled around, looking under beds and behind desks. After an hour, they still hadn't found anything.

"Maybe we were wrong.." Percy said, his confusion and frustration returning. Suddenly, Annabeth screamed.

"OH MY GODS I'M SO STUPID!" she screeched. Annabeth shoved past Percy and looked at her in alarm. Annabeth jumped up onto a top bunk and began tearing apart the bedding. Percy thought she'd lost her mind until she handed Percy a piece of paper. Her hands were trembling and her eyes were wide. Percy grabbed it and read it.

Meet me in the place where darkness and shadow come together

~N

Percy felt his heart sink. The whole time he had been hoping that maybe he had been wrong, but now it looked as if he had been correct. The note was in his handwriting and signed off with an "N". Maybe... No. It was definitely Nico, and maybe Destiny.

His trust was broken.

Now Percy was the broken one, not Nico.

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Until next time,

-Callie