Darkness and Duty

Absolutely Nothing

Of course they had a welcome back feast. It wouldn't be a proper Roman reunion without one.

Reyna gave a speech. She made sure it was a short one, though. "Today, we celebrate to welcome our brethren to Camp Jupiter! And to welcome back our once-praetor, the hero Jason Grace! Enjoy your stay here, and be sure not to trust any of the faun!" She was aware she was speaking in all exclamation points, as was she aware of the fauns' protests.

As was she aware of Nico's dark eyes on her.

Reyna stepped down from the podium and mingled, making sure to avoid the faun and extend her warmest greetings (again) toward Leo, Calypso, Jason, and Piper. Nico stood off to one side, never missing anything, just watching everyone eat and talk and laugh.

Eventually, Reyna found that she couldn't keep herself from staring at him. His hair was shorter, clipped close to his head, his cheekbones more prominent. He was handsome, with his angular face and long eyelashes, but again with the darkness--rippling around him, something almost tangible. And he didn't smile, not once. Something was wrong, and Reyna couldn't squash her feelings of fear. He was supposed to be happy, he was--

Nico caught her staring. That anger flashed through his eyes again, and this time it stayed. He stalked toward her, the skeleton ring on his finger catching the light and flashing, like it was warning  her to run, run far, far away. She stood frozen, even as he reached her, even as he gripped her shoulders with so much force it physically hurt.

"I can see you looking at me," he said in a low voice. That feeling of fear intensified. She wasn't supposed to be afraid of Nico. "You think there's something wrong. You think something happened. I told you, nothing happened. Absolutely nothing!" The last bit, he yelled at her. Then he brought his face in close, so she could see her eyes reflected in his, the fear there... "I'm still the same."

Nico released her abruptly and vanished, swallowed into the crowd, which was full of eyes staring at her. She didn't move, not for a long while.

She didn't feel, not for a long while.