NICO
'Okay.' I say, 'okay. The Isle of the Blessed isn't easy to get to. It could take us days.'
'Days?' Annabeth asks, 'we don't have provisions for that.'
'It's fine, we've got these.' I say, as I lead everyone round to where my dad's garden is - and where all the pomegranates are.
'I'm not the best on all the myths but isn't that how Persephone got stuck down here half the year?' Percy asks.
'Technically, yes, but I can pick them, and I can eat them, and I come and go freely. My dad made the rule to trap Persephone. I don't think he's going to enforce it on people he doesn't want down here with him.' I say, 'plus, who's going to tell him?'
They all stare at me, unconvinced.
'Also, didn't these keep you in a coma?' Annabeth asks, 'not really what we're going for.'
'One a day kept me alive.' I say, thinking back to when I had to eat them to survive. I haven't had pomegranates since, 'but four or five a day will be enough to keep you going.'
'What if I ate, like, forty?' Percy asks.
'You'd die.' I say, bluntly, 'don't try it.'
'Noted.' He says.
I pick a load of pomegranate seeds, and load them into my bag. I give everyone their sharing, and they eat.
I hold my share in my palm, Will beside me. He watches me, I can feel it. And in an instant, without second thought, I swallow them. I don't dwell on the past.
'Right.' I say, turning to see everyone clearly far more energetic than before, 'let's go find Jason.'
