To the Sun, To the Stars, To the Sky

14: The Name on the Letter

Nico POV

We marched into the night. Reyna told us we had to cover a certain amount of ground each day so we only stopped briefly at noon and midnight, and brief is a bit of an understatement. She told us as we got closer, if we'd made good time, we'd slow down.

Personally, I was doing great. I had a gorgeous boyfriend who I'd just kissed⁠—twice, mind you⁠—and who held my hand the entire time we walked. My legs honestly weren't sore after all my training, and I had water and some bread in my bag which I'd been given at the start of the journey and which I shared with said boyfriend. The meals were fairly high quality considering we ate them mostly as we walked, except for lunch.

Will, on the other hand, was walking slower and becoming more and more tired as the night went on, and his struggle seemed to be mirrored in much of the rest of the force. Reyna seemed quite aware, and she had begun trading who got to ride the horses. Will had declined, and so did many others who she'd offered it to, and eventually there was a woman I didn't know on it, riding with Hazel, who she'd been carrying.

Hazel had quickly become a motivation to the camp. She made anxious or apprehensive soldiers, including me, laugh and play and dance with her, and her smile often lit up the soldiers' faces around her. I had grown extremely fond of her, even as she asked me more and more odd questions about being in the military.

"Do they make you eat fish?" she asked from atop the horse. "Sammy hates fish but his mom makes him eat it sometimes."

"Well, it kind of depends on what's available," I told her. "You know, if we're by the ocean we'll fish for meals, if we're in the forest then we'll hunt and scavenge. Usually we just ate whatever they gave us."

"He won't like that, Sammy hates vegetables and fish. What does 'to the stars' mean?"

I was caught off guard once again by her sudden change of subject. "What? How do you know that phrase?"

She leaned her head on the back of the woman sharing her horse. "You and Reyna both said it earlier to each other."

I blinked. "Oh, it's just.... It's something the army's soldiers say before battle sometimes, or if there's something else big that's about to happen. You know, it's like...like I hope things go well. Like 'We'll achieve our dreams' or 'we'll make it to the stars'? I'm sorry, I've never really had to explain this before. You're the first one to ever ask."

She took my explanation with a thoughtful look. "To the stars, Nico."

I smiled fondly at her. "To the stars, Hazel. Why don't you go to sleep? It's getting really late."

She frowned. "We're stopping at midnight anyway. I can sleep then."

I raised my eyebrows. "Uh, I don't think any of us are going to let you stay up until midnight, young lady. You're like seven."

"Well, you can't make me go to sleep," she said, arms crossed and face smug. I ignored her, figuring if she sat there without talking to me for a while then she'd go to sleep soon enough.

We continued marching. Midnight finally arrived and Will took my hand. "Hey, let's find a spot to sleep for the night." I followed him through the trees a short distance from the path we'd been following. I had just set down my bag to use as a pillow when Luke approached me.

"Hey, Nico? I know you're probably tired, but can Thalia and I speak with you for a moment?"

I stood up again as Will groaned. "What could you possibly need at midnight?"

"That's classified," Luke told him. I frowned. Classified?

Will looked confused, too. "Uh, alright, I guess? See you later, Neeks."

I brushed off the nickname as I followed Luke into the woods, where Thalia was waiting, a dark expression on her face. Luke's hand was on my shoulder. Was I in trouble for something? I couldn't think of anything I'd done wrong, but my heart thundered with anxiety anyway. I'd fallen into form when I had to, and broke it only when I was told I could. I took shifts as a hunter or a scout when asked to. I'd been doing anything they asked of me, and yet Thalia's face said I did something very, very wrong.

Suddenly I felt like I was in front of General Ares again. About to have my execution planned. About to have my rank tag revoked. I put my hand at my forehead, elbow bent and raised to eye level. I expected Thalia to tell me to break form as soon as I arrived since everyone had been doing that prior to now, and yet she didn't.

She held a rolled-up paper in her hand. The letter.

"Nico, are you aware of what you're doing here? Speak."

"I have no idea," I said truthfully.

She waited for me to expand on it, but I wasn't entirely sure what I was supposed to be expanding on. She sighed and approached me. Her knife was in her hand. What the hell?

She put the knife to my throat. "Would you like to admit to anything before I start talking?"

I looked at her, fear in my eyes. "Thalia, I don't know what you're talking about and I don't know what you're trying to get me to admit to. What's going on?"

Luke's hand never wavered from my shoulder, holding me in place in case I decided to break form and run. My heart was beating out of my chest. This was some sort of accusation, but whatever it was, I was pretty sure I was innocent. Thalia pressed her knife deeper into my throat. "Would you like to rethink that? Is there anything you can think of at all, for why you might be here right now?"

I looked to the sky again. God, what was happening? No, I couldn't think of anything. Do I lie? Would that save me? Or was this because I'd accepted Reyna's offer to lead? Were they jealous? My stomach roiled.

She waited. I cleared my throat. "I guess I'm not doing very well at following the rules right now, considering I already looked at you and spoke without the command. Is that...is that what this is about?"

Thalia waited a few more seconds, trying to convince me to admit to something. Maybe I should lie. But about what? I didn't know what their accusation was, I had no idea what any of this was about.

Thalia narrowed her eyes at me. "Nico, the letter we received from the king. It's addressed to you."

Word count: 1117