Sea Angels

~6~

"He lied to me," Nico growled, his hand lashing out at the Iris message, knowing that Percy would hear him. Well, he'd be able to hear him, but not respond. "He said Percy was with Sally!" Nico could feel his body trembling in anger, and Jason ensnared him in a hug, trying to stop his shaking body. As a precaution, Jason made sure they were alone behind the Iris cabin.

"Hey, hey, calm down, Nico," Jason told him. "Deep breaths. In and out."

"I know how to freaking breathe, Jason!" Nico shouted, ripping himself out of Jason's arms. No, it felt like Will's embrace, and he didn't want his boyfriend's ghost haunting him right now while he was angry.

"Nico, look at me," Jason said sternly, leaving no room for argument.

He turned around, red faced, wanting to deck someone in the face to release some pent up anger, but stiffly, he managed to look at Jason without attacking. "You might want to get Piper," he said through gritted teeth. "I'll let her charmspeak me this once."

The shadows swirled beside Jason, and his girlfriend was on the floor, her dagger halfway into the dirt. Scowling, she stood up, brushing the dirt off her knees and dagger, before looking at the two boys.

"Not even going to ask," she said, sheathing her dagger near her waist.

"Could you calm him down?" Jason asked, gesturing to a still angry Nico.

Her kaleidoscope eyes darkened to a dark brown, which showed her concern. "Fine, but if he kills me-"

"He asked me to bring you here."

"He has a name you know!" Nico shouted, shoving his fist into the nearest tree, causing a dryad to pelt him with acorns. The pain didn't even register in Nico's brain, but all he could feel was the anger, burning, bubbling anger that wanted to blow.

Piper looked Nico in the eye, and in her gentlest voice, she said, "Calm down. You're the picture of calm. You're safe, but you have to calm down."

Nico felt himself relaxing, but his muscles wanted to fight the charmspeak, they wanted to stay strung up and taut, prepared for punching Poseidon's lights out for lying to him. Another part of him - the smaller, rational part - wanted to succumb to Piper's soothing words. He wanted to be able to tell them what he knew with a clear, level mind, not on the verge of sending someone to the infirmary.

Slowly, Nico slumped against the base of the tree he had just punched, and the dryad harrumphed, leaving to talk with her friends. His hand felt like he had shoved it in a burning fire, or at least touched the red hot poker. Pain flared every time he'd move his hand. It was so painful that he didn't even feel when Piper shoved a piece of ambrosia down his throat while Jason made a makeshift sling out of the tall weeds and long, green vine that grew around them.

His wrist didn't feel so bad after the ambrosia, but it was still sore, wincing if he moved it too much or too abruptly. Times like these is when he missed Will the most. The way the son of Apollo would fret over Nico like a china doll, threatening him to stay for a month in the infirmary on the grounds of "Doctor's orders." He'd then sing a hymn to Apollo, which would heal whatever injury Nico had sustained, and the two would then end up kissing, until Nico would pull away, blushing, saying to wait until they were alone.

After confessing to Eros about his crush on Percy, he believed that the love gods were done messing with his life. Of course they had to prove him, and Percy too, that one, a hero's fate was never happy, and two, that true love would always break your heart.

"Don't black out on us," Jason said, waving his hand in front of Nico's eyes.

"I'm fine, Grace," Nico muttered. "In pain, but I'll survive. Thanks, Piper."