A Daughter's Revenge •{Nico di Angelo}•

Chapter 2

*Back to Sofia and Leo*

We reached the rest stop. Leo helped me over to a bench, where I flung myself down, ignoring the pain that shot up through my leg.

Leo must have noticed the pain in my eyes, because he immediately pulled out some ambrosia and held it out for me to take.

I pushed it away. "I can't eat it. If I eat too much ambrosia and drink too much nectar, I will literally burn myself up. And then I'll be nothing but a pile of ashes."

"Oh." He put the ambrosia back in the bag and sat down on the bench next to me. He looked around a bit, taking in our surroundings.

"I'll be right back." Leo stood up and jogged over to the rest area and disappeared inside.

I gently lifted my leg up on to the bench and pulled the jeans away. The gauze covered the wound, and the ambrosia was helping, but there was still blood soaking through the bandage.

I grab some grass and start braiding it together, trying to keep my brain busy so it didn't dwell on what had happened.

My name is Sofia Rodriguez. I am fifteen years old. My dad is Poseidon. My sister is dead. My boyfriend has been kidnapped. I go to Camp Halfblood. I can control water. My name is Sofia Rodriguez. I am fifteen years old... I repeated it to myself over and over again. My conscious was full of grief. I knew I'd lost a lot of blood, so I wasn't surprised when my vision became rimmed with darkness.

I passed out just as I saw Leo running towards me from the building.

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When I woke up, I was laying on the bench and Leo was sitting by my feet. He looked like he was struggling to stay awake.

I tried to sit up, but every muscle in my body was stiff and my leg hurt. I managed to prop myself up on my elbows. I nudged Leo with my foot. "Hey, you can go to sleep if you're tired. I'll watch for monsters."

When he heard my voice his head shot up and looked around. "What? Oh. Are you sure?"

"Yeah," I peeled the gauze off my leg. "See? It's all healed now."

"O-Ok. If you're sure." Leo yawned and fell asleep. I managed not to laugh as he started snoring.

I pulled my leg off the bench to give Leo more room to sleep. As if on cue, he slouched over and was now laying on his side. His head was inches away from my lap.

I sighed and looked up at the stars. I could make out the constellations Orion and Andromeda. I could also see something that was a former Hunter. Zöe Nightshade. She died on the same quest as Bianca.

Bianca, I remembered finding out she was dead. We had been friends for three years. Nico was so upset when he had found out what happened.

I could feel tears welling up in my eyes. I quickly looked away from the stars and started trying to figure out where we were. I wanted to go inside the building and see if I could find a map, but I didn't want to leave Leo outside alone in the middle of nowhere.

Instead, I turned my attention towards a clump of bushes off to the left of me. They shook slightly. I pulled out my dagger and eyes the bushes.

A little tiny bunny hopper out from under the bush. I sighed. I was too jumpy. I needed to calm down.

I tried to find a more comfortable position on the bench, but I couldn't. It was too hard, and I didn't want to get any splinters.

I stood up and walked around a bit, keeping a watchful eye on Leo. My legs were sore from sitting on the bench for so long.

I poked the bushes a bit to make sure I wouldn't get anymore bunny surprises. I wanted to go inside the building, but then I would have to wake up Leo and I would feel bad. He looked so tired.

The night wasn't too cold, since it was the middle of summer, but I had to suppress a shiver every now and then. I started circling around the bench, making the blood flow in veins, hoping it would warm me up.

I was tempted to start a fire, but I could attract unwanted attention if I did that. Instead, I grabbed a protein bar out of the bag and nibbled on the corner.

A sharp crack echoed in the woods around us. I jumped to my feet and got my bow out. I nocked an arrow and studied the tree line. There wasn't anything moving that I could see.

Probably another bunny, I thought. Still, I kept my bow out. It's never safe for a demigod to be out in the wilderness and mistake a twig snapping for a rabbit. I had heard stories about monsters that were stealthy and fast.

A flash of movement caught my eye. I turned to my left quickly and lifted my bow. Another twig snapped.

I could just make out a figure in the dense tree line. It looked like a person, tall and slender. Maybe a girl?

"Come out! I can see you! Nice and slow! Or I'll shoot you!" I called to the figure.

The person disappeared again. They appeared again a few feet in front of the tree line. It was...Christina!?

"Christina!? Christina, is that you!?" I dropped my arrow in shock.

"So-Sofia? Oh my gods! Sofia!"

Christina ran towards me.

I grabbed her in a hug. "Oh my gods! It's really you! I thought you were dead! Are you ok!?"

I could feel tears of joy sliding down my cheeks. Christina pulled away.

"I can't believe I found you! I was so scared the gryphons were going to drop me and kill me!" Christina's brown hair was tangled and dirty. The rainbow highlights were fading and her shirt was torn and peppered with holes. Her jeans were covered with rips, including a huge one on her knee and there was some blood around it. Her eyes were sparkling with tears and she was grinning from ear to ear.

"Come on, I have some clothes you can borrow. Then you can tell me what happened." I grabbed her hand and pulled her over to the bench. I got down on my knees and dug in one of the bags. I pulled out a shirt, a pair of jeans, a hairbrush, and some ambrosia. "Here, eat this ambrosia. It should heal the cuts and bruises."

Christina took the ambrosia great fully and nibbled on the corner. The effects were almost immediate. The cuts on her arms scabbed over and disappeared, along with all the other cuts and bruises. "Thanks."

I handed her the clothes. "Here, you can change in the building over there. There should be a bathroom."

"Thanks," she took the clothes and ran off to the building. I smiled to myself.

Thank the gods, shes alive. Maybe she can help us find Nico, I thought.

Leo stirred on the bench and he grabbed the closest thing to him, which just so happened to be my arm. I felt a jolt run through my arm. I almost jerked my arm away, but I didn't want to wake him up. He looked so peaceful.

Then his face contorted in pain and he started mumbling something. I could barely here him. I leaned closer and listened.

"...no....let him go...no!" His eyes shot open and sat straight up. He was breathing heavily. I fell back in shock. His eyes, were glowing a soft red and orange color, like a fire.

"Leo? Leo? Are you ok?" I jumped to my feet and looked at his face. His eyes were back to their normal brown color. They glistened with tears.

"Yeah, I'm fine." He tried to blink away the tears.

"No, your anything but fine. You're crying. What happened?"

"It was just a dream. It's nothing."

"Stop lying and tell me already."

"Fine, but you aren't gonna like it. It was about Nico. The monsters have him in a dungeon, and he was covered with bruises and cuts. He was whiter than snow. He...he looked...dead...