To the Sun, To the Stars, To the Sky

11: Literally Every Single Person Hates Octavian

Will POV

The next few days, we tried to ease Nico into the rebellion. I noticed Reyna didn't let either of us go anywhere alone, and if we tried, she sent someone to follow us. I couldn't blame her; neither royalty nor members of the army seemed like they would join the rebellion innocently, but it was rather annoying that I couldn't get a few minutes completely to myself.

I began to purposefully fall asleep last because of it. It gave me a few minutes to be alone, surrounded only by people who were asleep.

At many of these times, I looked at Nico. His face revealed at night what it didn't during the day—stress and fear and anger. He never made a sound, though, even as his face contorted into a look of pure terror or as tears streaked down his cheeks. He was once again the silent soldier we had met that first night.

He always woke up before me, which was no surprise considering the nightmares, and for this reason I found myself purposefully positioning myself in a way that might look attractive before I fell asleep in the hopes that in the morning he might look over and notice. Was it futile? Probably. Did that stop me? Of course not, you heathen.

By morning, all signs of Nico's nightmares were always gone, replaced by relaxed shoulders and happy eyes. I had plans to talk to Thalia about what she does to help Reyna, but she seemed to be helping Reyna cope with a battle that another rebel camp had gone into—and failed miserably. We were unable to send help without risking giving away our own positions and supplies, so all Reyna could do was send letters and invite them to stay with us when they needed to.

Meanwhile, word spread of a spy among us, probably the reason of Reyna's distrust of me and Nico. Perhaps her distrust was even the cause of the rumors—I wouldn't be surprised if the so-called spy everyone was talking about ended up just being a cover for their disbelief that a prince could be among their ranks. I mostly ignored the rumors, but I kept a lookout for anything unusual.

It didn't help to motivate me though when my boyfriend (maybe? We did almost kiss, but that was it and neither of us has asked) and I were the only two suspects. I mean, come on. Surely there are others out there who are more suspicious than us. So no, looking for a spy was not my top priority.

As we talked about it at lunch, Nico looked at me. "Actually, why are you here? Like...isn't the rebellion kind of against everything you are?" When I didn't answer at first, he quickly backtracked. "I'm sorry, I overstepped again. It's none of my business. I'm sorry."

I smiled. "No, hey, it's alright. I just...I don't know, I guess I just feel like I'm here for the same reasons as all of you are."

He raised an eyebrow, doubtful. "You were kidnapped before your execution could happen and now you're staying for the heck of it?"

I waved him off. "Everyone but you. I think the king is unfit to rule. I think the wars he's raging are unnecessary and too costly, considering the number of soldiers we've lost. And I think a lot of institutions and organizations that are run by the king need to be revamped—for instance, the army."

He tilted his head. "Are you allowed to say that? I feel like this is all very illegal, especially for you, Princey."

Thalia rolled her eyes. "Yes, Nico. This is all illegal. That's kind of the point. We're done living under the king's tyrannical rule, and we're going to overthrow him when we get the chance."

He looked at his plate thoughtfully. "You all talk like Percy."

I had no idea who Percy was and Nico didn't elaborate. We finished eating and once again went down to the beach (Nico seemed even happier at the beach in the sun and he said they hadn't been allowed to stay long in the army, so we went often now to make up for it) but I noticed once again, we were followed. I rolled my eyes and whispered "There they are again, making sure us spies don't do anything" to Nico, whose eyes and nose crinkled when he smiled.