To the Sun, To the Stars, To the Sky

19: Back to Stone

Will POV

Zeuskeepurpanceon was formidable and gorgeous at the same time. The military base used shiny metallic plates along its outside, refracting the glass into a thousand brilliant fragments. The nobles' homes on the outskirts were big enough to fit our entire force. The fact that each home probably only held one family was appalling.

And in the center, the castle. Towers climbed up to the sky, to the sun, to the stars, and beyond. Stained glass windows portrayed scenes of fairy tales or semi-historical myths of the kingdom and sunlight reflected off of them to create a brilliant array of lights that shown brightly around the castle grounds. White brick stood proudly, challenging anyone to try to break in.

And so of course the rebellion accepted the challenge.

Right. I began having doubts about how long I would live.

I didn't seem to be the only one wishing we weren't here yet, either. All across the camp, there were tears, grim faces, and whispered goodbyes. Reyna held Thalia's hand and murmured something to her, and I saw Thalia smile melancholically. It occurred to me that I really didn't have that many people to say goodbye to; the one family member I'd had left was waiting in that castle, and we were going to attack him.

My father had turned into someone else entirely since my childhood. My mother and siblings had died from a strange illness that kept my father and I away from their deathbeds even in their last moments. And as his war raged on, it became all my father focused on. His sanity left with the souls of my siblings.

And now he was a shadow of a man. Gaunt. Irritable. He rarely spoke to me, and when he did it was through a drunken choice to give me life advice to never trust, to never fall in love, and to be a strong king when my time comes. He became dangerous to me, and so the servants kept me away from him.

I've been calling bullshit on all his advice and opinions for quite awhile now.

I saw my boyfriend mount the hill to say goodbye to Reyna and Thalia, who nodded solemnly as he saluted to Reyna. I could see her lips tell him to break form, and he complied before throwing himself over her in a hug. It was the first time I'd seen Reyna hug someone other than Thalia. My heart grew warm at the thought of Nico mindlessly showing his love for friends, despite the fact that I doubt it was very common in the army. He was loving. He was learning.

God, I need him to survive this so he can continue learning.

I made my way up the hill to them. It seemed to be an infinite trek.

I took Nico's hand as he pulled away from Reyna. I said a quick goodbye to Reyna and Thalia, and then Nico and I walked back down the grassy hill to the forest together. We didn't know what to say to each other. He moved a low branch out of the way for me and I smiled at his attempt to be a gentleman.

Nico finally broke the silence. "We're not going to say goodbye to each other."

I nodded, relieved. "I agree. We're both going to survive this, and we're going to see each other after the battles. Where should we meet?"

"I'll probably be helping Reyna count the dead; it's a hard job and I don't want her to have to do it alone," he said. "Will you come find me?"

"Yeah," I promised. We fell into another comfortable silence. Near him, my thumping heart calmed down to a relaxing beat and my breaths evened out. Near him, I was safe.

He put his arm around my shoulders after several minutes of this. "To the stars, Will."

I picked a leaf off of a tree. "Why is it 'to the stars' anyway? Why not to the sky or the sun?"