Darkness and Duty

Dreams

That night, Reyna dreamt of Nico.

The dreams came in flashes, leaving her tossing and turning--

The last time he had come to seen her, he had teased her because he was now taller than her.

"Haven't grown an inch, have you, RARA?"

She had responded with a sniffy, "Don't call me that!", leading to him laughing. They were sitting underneath their tree, the moonlight reaching silver fingers and caressing their faces. The breeze was soft and pleasant, and Reyna felt content. 

"How are Jason and Piper?"

He had looked at her with a smirk gracing his face. "Not jealous, are you?"

"No," she answered honestly. "Not anymore."

"They're happy." Reyna appreciated the fact that he had not responded with a "they're good", which would have left her dissatisfied. Instead, he had told her that they were happy, which was all she really cared about.

"And Leo? What of my favorite little madman?"

He had grinned at that. "Still infatuated with Calypso."

Reyna knew enough Greek myths to figure out who Calypso was. "Wasn't she the Titan that got stuck on the island forever?"

"Strike a nerve, does it?" Nico answered with a raised eyebrow. She had glared back at him, because he was correct. "But, yes, you're right."

"Now," she said, laying a hand over his, "tell me about you."

He looked down at their twined fingers, his lashes brushing his cheeks. "What about me?"

"What's going on with you and Will?" she teased.

"Nothing," he answered, the curve of his mouth flattening into a line.

"Oh, come on," she said, rolling her eyes, "we all saw something--"

Abruptly, he pulled his hand back, refusing to look at her. "Look, I thought I loved him, okay? I guess I was wrong. Again."

Reyna didn't know how to answer that. She didn't have to, because with a dark look at her, he melted into the shadows, leaving her with two empty coffee cups and a long, lonely walk back into her room. 

The night melted away into darkness. Flashes of her past flickered by, the look on her father's face when he was yelling at her and Hylla. The look on Nico's face, when he looked at her when he thought she wasn't watching. Hand in hand with Annabeth and Piper, her first real friends. Octavian, holding up a teddy bear with stuffing spilling out of it like guts, promising her that the future of Camp Jupiter would be safe and happy. Aurum and Argentum, there faces smashed in, their mouths gaping. Nico, again, turning transparent in front of her eyes while she held his hand, trying desperately to keep him grounded--

And then the feeling of the cutlass in her hand, the one she used to kill her father. She imagined the Imperial Gold spreading, turning her into a statue as if MIdas had touched her (another crazy king from Greek mythology), freezing her lungs, her tongue, her heart.

Reyna woke with a gasp, sitting up so fast she felt her back crack. With a groan, she slipped jeans and a t-shirt on, because even if she could, she had no intention of going to sleep again.

She just needed to clear her head.

"Can't sleep either?"

Okay, so she hadn't expected to see Percy out here.

"I just--" she stammered some sort of excuse out, but Percy shook his head, deciding to get right to the point.

"There's something up with Nico," he said bluntly. "Can you... please do something?"

"Why me?"

Percy fixed her with a stare. "I've always felt responsible for the kid, y'know? But I feel like--well, he's closest to you."

Reyna was tempted to shoot back with a What if I don't want to fix him? What if I don't want any more responsibility?

Percy gave her a tired, sad little smile, like he knew exactly what she was thinking. "Good night, Reyna."

And then she was alone again. With a last glance at the moon, she went back to bed. Her head was clear. She didn't know exactly what to do, but she knew she had to do something.

Something, just something.