The Daughter of Dionysus

Broken

Nico's P.O.V.
On the third day of looking around the underworld, we finally found the helm. It was just sitting there on a boulder. Nadia sprinted towards it with Grace at her heels, "Come!" she called. I want to punch her and hug her at the same time. I drew my sword just in case. When I caught up, Nadia was on Grace's shoulders reaching for the helm. Her long, slim fingers brushed against the helm for only an instant. Before we could react, she was clutching on to it for dear life and falling to the ground. She must've still been slightly consious of her surroundings, because she managed to make her fall less ugly. Huriedly, Grace rested her on the boulder and tried to pry the helm from her hands.

"No, leave it," I snapped, "Otherwise you'll end up the same. It'll fade when she gets over the fear,"
"Are you sure?"
"Not really, but that's how fear works. It can only affect you until you get over it,"
"What do we do?!" Grace asked me with begging eyes.
"We wait," I answered flatly. Grace threw her new stygian iron sword beside her and sat on the ground. I sat down beside her and pulled Nadia's trembling body to me. Setting her head on my lap I unconiously began humming an Italian lullaby my mother used to sing to me.

Nadia's P.O.V.
I crawled out of the wreckage cut and bruised. Trembling, I stumbled to the other side of the car. "Bash?" I called. No answer. "Bash?!" I yelled. My throat burned. My eyes stung. My body ached. All that didn't matter. Where was Bash?!

Somewhere, sirens were going off. Cars came along the highway. "Sebastian!" I screached, "Where are you?!" That's when I saw his body. It lay on the ground among the broken glass, lifeless. Huriedly scrambling to his side, I felt for a pulse, sings of breathing, anything that would tell me my cousin was alive. Finding nothing, I cradled his upper body in my arms as I cried. My eyes felt dry, yet more tears came flooding down.

At some point, a police officer tried to take his body away and get me help. I didn't let go of him. Bash was dead. I couldn't let them take him away. He was the only person that loved me. My mother loved me, but she was embarrased to say I was her daughter. Bash wasn't. He would throw me over his shoulder and kiss my forehead. He loved me like a brother loves his little sister.

Suddenly, everything began to blur. Everything but Bash's smiling face at the end of the tunnel.

"Bash!" I screamed as the image faided and I woke up with a jolt. Nico's face was above mine, his fingers wiping away stray tears on my cheecks.
In a second, Grace was beside me and asking, "Are you ok?!"
"Yeah," I said, trying to get up, "Yeah, I'm fine," I faltered and lay down again.
Nico looked at me concerned, "You sure? I don't want you suddenly bursting into tears on us,"
"Yeah, I'm fine. Just a little sore from the fall I'm guessing I had," I snapped back.
"You don't remember?" Grace asked.
"Vaugely," I confessed, "Bits and bobs. Me grabbing the helm, falling hard, and was someone humming?"
"I was humming actually," Nico confessed. I felt blood trickling down my neck. Pulling out a piece of sharp rock, I winced. Nico handed me a small cube of something, "Here. Eat this," I obeyed. It tasted like the pretzels Bash and I used to have when we were little. Blood stopped coming out and the wound healed.
"What is it?" Grace asked touching my head.
"Ambrosia. That and nectar are the food of the gods. It can heal demigods if used in moderation, but it will burn up mortals," Nico explained to both of us.
I nodded, "Thanks,"
"What for?" he asked.
"For telling me about ambrosia, and singing to me,"
"Humming,"
"Same thing," I shot him a small smirk.

Grace's P.O.V.
Nadia was unusually quiet. She wasn't humming. She wasn't singing. She wasn't even talking about her newest celebrity crush. I nudged her, "What's wrong?"
Not now. She said with her eyes
Why?
At camp ok?
You realize he can't understand right?
Fine. I don't know what it is, but when I was unconcious I saw Bash. I relived his death. I had to watch again how he put himself in front of me. I couldn't take it a second time. When I woke up, I had this weird feeling. As if I were broken inside permanently. I don't know how to fix it...
We're all slightly broken. I gave her a sad smile. Simply looking away, Nadia hid her tears.

Chapter dedicated to @AhensHarbored. For her comment about the awesomeness of the story and encouragement to keep writing. Thank you! ♥