young god • percy jackson

04: I am Mean, Apparently!

xx

NICO TRAINED ALONE.

Well, not entirely. Other campers were there but he practiced in his own corner. No one bothered him.

I've only had the pleasure of meeting him a few times, never training with him. But he was beating the crap out of a training dummy. He was good. I walked over, not planning on scaring the kid.

"Hey, careful. Dummies have feelings too," I said.

Nico whirled around, nearly taking off my head.

I ducked, grabbing his wrist on the way up. He cursed in Greek, his sword falling to the ground. I picked it up, inspecting the dark weapon. Percy's glowed, gave off light. Nico's was darkness. It sucked in the light.

"So hows Will?" I hummed, studying the weapon carefully.

He watched impatiently. "What do you want?"

"Nothing. Just for your little southern belle to sneak me some ambrosia," I hummed. "Chiron's keeping an eye on me, so I can't go..."

"No," he deadpanned and reached for the sword. "Give me my sword, Phoenix."

I tossed it back, watching him fumble the catch the right end. He glared at me.

"Phoenix!" one of the campers said. "Come to train?"

Somehow, even after the Capture the Flag incident, they still tried to be nice and get me on their good side. Except Annabeth. She kept her distance. She was smart enough to do that at least. I rolled my eyes, hearing Nico laugh over my shoulder. Under no circumstances could I do nothing at this camp. Or be left alone.

Nico knew damn well I did not need this training. He knew what it was like to want to be left alone. He knew all too well. I glared over at him.

Despite him choosing the wrong side in the war, we got along pretty well. For a boy who could really hold a grudge, he didn't seem bothered my lose canon morals. He didn't hold it against me. Probably a lesson from the son of Apollo he was so smitten with.

"I don't need the training," I said, not in the mood.

"Nonsense. Grab a sword and armor," they said.

"Not necessary," I said, reaching behind me. A sword appeared from seemingly no where, strapped to my back. It existed in a pocket dimension, appearing when I needed it, vanishing when I did not. I unsheathed it, showing it off to all of the campers training.

The blade itself was silver. At the hilt was a purple, glowing gem. Magic. It was a beautiful sword. It's name was carved into the hilt in Latin: Indomitus.

Untamed.

"That's beautiful," the guy said, stepping forward. He moved in closer. He was testing me. Seconds later I had my sword up avoiding my decapitation. I knew he wouldn't actually do it, it'd be more interesting if he did, though.

I glared over at him. "I was trained by the dead souls of heroes in the Underworld. Are you any match for Hercules? Achilles? What about Odysseus? Mother insisted on the best."

He swung again and I lazily blocked it. He swung a third time. It pissed him off. In one swift move I had his sword and mine. One was against his stomach, the other his throat.

"Is that all for today?" I asked, not intending to play this dumb game any longer.

xx

I walked back toward my cabin, Percy rushing to keep up. Where had he come from?

"You can't be an asshole, Nix," he said, looking over his shoulder at the training arena.

"An asshole?" I inquired.

"Yeah. They were trying to train with you. They're trying to be kind and welcome you and you push them away," Percy said. "Even after what you did to Annabeth—"

"She had it coming," I argued. I stopped outside my cabin, crossing my arms.

"My mother trained me herself because of the power I possess. It's dark, Percy. I am dark. I am not meant to be here. Neither is Nico. We aren't made for this world," I said in a low voice, hands tingling with magic. "We don't belong."

Percy looked down at my hands. I knew they sparked with magic. He didn't look scared. He looked intrigued. Similar to how Will did. I knew now I had the strength to burn the camp to the ground, though. Will had every right to be unafraid. Percy on the other hand...

"You told Nico he wasn't welcome here...that's why didn't stay when he was younger?" Percy said, sounding hurt.

I shrugged. "How do you think he got the idea for you to take on the curse of Achilles? Achilles trained me. Taught me. Nico hung around in the Underworld and we got to talking. Of course he didn't know I was working with Luke... And how do you think Ethan knew were to aim..."

I stepped closer to Percy. He looked startled as my hand found the small in his back. Where he had once been vulnerable. I'd seen him dive into the Styx that day.

"Right there, wasn't it?" I hummed, looking up at him. His breath hitched.

We were barely inches apart. He didn't move. His eyes flickered to my lips and back up again. Those damned green eyes. I couldn't tell what he was thinking, what he wanted to do. His face turned red as I stepped back. He looked...well. I couldn't describe the emotion on his face. Longing, maybe?

"You're going to go find Persephone, aren't you?" he asked after a moment, shaking away the moment between we shared.

I wish he hadn't. I wanted to stay in that moment just a bit longer. I loathed that I wanted it.

I nodded. "My mother is her hand maiden. It's my duty to help her with this. I don't know where to start—"

"Rachel."

"Rachel?"

"The Oracle. Come on," he said, turning to walk away from the cabins and toward the woods.

He didn't stop to see if I was following. I hate to admit that I followed him without question. Except for one:

Rachel the Oracle? I thought her name was Delphi.