no matter how many times a snake shed its skin, it would always be a snake. no matter how hard kit dempsey tried to prove he was no longer a traitor, camp half-blood would always view him as the boy who betrayed them for kronos. but not leo valdez...
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CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT: THE GROUPIES OF NARCISSUS
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"WHO IS AUNT ROSA?" Hazel asked Leo.
Kit stared at the side of Leo's face, tracing the muscle that twitched in his jaw as he hesitated then sighed. "It's a long story," he said. As they began to climb in the direction Nemesis had pointed, he inched further into Kit's space, hand finding his lower back to steady himself. His skin was warm through the thin material of Kit's shirt, and his mouth ached with the urge to kiss him. He shook the feeling away as Leo smirked at him. "She abandoned me after my mum died. Gave me to foster care."
"Oh," Hazel blinked, freckles dusted pink. For a moment, she seemed to forget how to speak. Uncertain whether she'd upset him by asking. "I'm sorry."
"Yeah, well..." Leo shrugged her off. "What about you? What Nemesis said about your brother?"
Kit hadn't cared to learn much about Nico Di Angelo. He knew the younger boy at surface level; that he was a son of Hades, that his older sister died after joining the Hunters of Artemis, that Nico was bitter in his loneliness ever since. He came and went from Camp Half-Blood whenever he wanted, so Kit wasn't that surprised he found his way to Camp Jupiter. He was surprised, though, that Hazel was so attached to him. Nico Di Angelo wasn't the most... affectionate of people, but then again neither was Kit. Maybe, it just took the right person, and for Nico that was his blood.
"He found me in the Underworld," Hazel said, misty-eyed and breathless. "He brought me back to the mortal world and convinced the Romans at Camp Jupiter to accept me. I owe him for my second chance at life. If Nemesis is right and Nico's in danger, I have to help him." She turned to Kit then, and he was both confused and vaguely alarmed at the glimmer of hope that shone through the sullen shadows of her pupils. "You'll help, won't you? You knew him before."
"I, uh... sure..."
While Hazel smiled, comforted by his agreement, Kit turned to Leo with a helpless expression the second her back was turned. In truth, he had no desire to save Nico. It wasn't that he wanted him to die, but the fortune in his pocket weighed on him like a bomb.
You will spend your whole life paying for mistakes you'll never truly learn from.
What did that even mean?
Kit hadn't wanted a fortune, but Gods were never particularly good at listening to demigods. Now, he knew. More so than before, Kit struggled to resist the urge to always second guess himself. Whatever choice he made, would it only end terribly?
"And what Nemesis said about your brother having six days to live, and Rome getting destroyed... any idea what she meant?" asked Leo.
Hazel shook her head. "None, but I'm afraid--"
Whatever she planned to say died on her tongue as she climbed to the top of one of the largest boulders to get a better view. Quickly, Leo followed, leaving Kit to drag his way up behind him. His boots scraped against rock as, predictably, Leo stumbled and almost kicked Kit in the jaw with flailing legs. Hazel hastily offered him a hand and helped him to the top, leaving Kit to grumble the rest of the way to where he found them staring at each other.
