The Dark Before the Dawn

(Solangelo Royal AU)

For nearly a decade, the Kingdoms of Old Olyum have been trapped in a brutal, unending war. The soldiers of the Allied Kingdoms-led by the Kings Zeus, Poseidon, and Hades-fight side by side to save their people and their way of life, but even the mightiest of kingdoms cannot fight forever.

When the fate of the kingdoms rests on the shoulders of one who has already carried far too much, the line between sacrifice and self-destruction becomes razor thin.

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"So you're resolved to do nothing?" Will said, staring at him like he were a stranger. "You know what happens to these people and your grand resolve is silence?"

"I am resolved to live long enough for Hazel to become Queen," Nico said, standing back up with a collection of journals in his arms, crossing to the desk. "I am resolved to end the war so that my father might step down and pass the crown to my sister. She will make changes that neither of us ever could. She will lead us into an age of peace where personal liberties might be afforded."

"So it falls to her?" Will said, crossing his arms and looking at Nico with a new look: disappointment. "I never took you for a coward."

Nico froze, his jaw tightening as he slowly turned around to look at William, rage flaring in his chest. His voice was deadly calm as he spoke, his words chilling the blonde to the bone. "I am far braver than you will ever be. You sit in your golden castle and judge my homeland, but what have you ever done that meant a single thing? You have no idea what it takes to wake up every morning and choose to survive. You cannot understand the things I have sacrificed to stand before you today. I have built wall after wall to keep air in my lungs-carving away parts of myself with each and every breath I take. You were born into a gilded cage, but I was forged from iron. It is not cowardice that makes me wait, it is strength that you could never imagine."