Rejection - Pernico

Chapter 29

The sun had risen by the time I'd finished ironing out my plans. The rest had drifted off and gone to sleep one by one, and only Leo remained, sleepily tinkering in the corner with his machine, occasionally muttering to Festus, who whirred back comfortingly. Everything was quiet, but I couldn't seem to relax; the entire plan hinged on the deception. Sitting down, I dropped my head into my hands, trying not to think about what lay ahead. It wasn't confirmed yet, far from it, but...

"No! There's no way I'm letting you do that, no way in hell, do you hear me?" I glared at Nico, holding his arm in an iron grip.

"Percy! When Hazel asked to speak to me alone, she told me that with your blood, she could raise the rest of herself from Tartarus. You can't do this. If you sacrifice yourself for us, she'll win anyways." Nico's voice softened, and he took my hand pleadingly. "Just let me do this one thing for us. I can shadow travel out as soon as everyone is safe, and she doesn't need me."

"She'll kill you!"

Nico's smile turned sharp, and the shadows that his hands cast danced and flickered. "I'd like to see her try." Yet sharp as it was, his grin was brittle as glass, and as I shook my head, I couldn't help wondering whom he was trying to convince.

As the ceiling lights began to imitate the late morning sunlight outside, I examined the plans once more. Idris and Amy would go with me to free the Seven, while Alexa helped Leo with the preparation of the machine, ready to usher everyone out. The portal would be opened as near to the bunker as they could manage; the son of Hephaestus had been busy with his network of tunnels. Some led off to safe rooms, but others to strategic points surrounding the campus. Jack and Nico would be in the centre of camp up through another tunnel, as far away from the bunker as he could be. Nico would challenge Eris to a duel for Hazel, and generally raise a commotion with his dodgy shadow powers, and I'd made sure to contact the river nymphs. Nico might stand without me, but he wouldn't stand alone. Jack, I'd admitted reluctantly, was the only with the strongest demigod powers, so he would accompany him and watch his back. Then once everyone was out and running like hell towards the ship, Nico would shadow travel with Jack to the barrier and slip through the portal, and then shadow travel again down to the ship, where we'd be waiting to cast off.

It was more or less a sound plan, but I couldn't help feeling uneasy. Nico was an able fighter, he could take care of himself, especially with all the training he'd had with his demigod powers. Plus, with Jack at his side, a demigod who could apparently exert some control over time, they'd be the best combination to create a diversion. Yet Eris was a hugely powerful being, and if I was right, one of the most primal ones. Love and hate had existed since the beginning of time, and if the love concerned was as cruel as Eros, I was willing to bet the hate was worse.

Rubbing my temples, I muttered. This would be tricky, and messy, and was hinging on a flimsy hope that they'd concentrate on Jack and Nico as a diversion until it was too late, but there wasn't time or resources for a new plan. Eris had the upper hand in every way, and she probably already knew that we were here. Somehow, the thought of her toying with us was too much, and I balled my hand into a fist, resisting the urge to growl.

"Perce? Why're you up?" The soft whisper jerked me out of my reverie and I looked over to see Nico, hair sticking up and all, sleepily padding over to where I stood, tucked away in an alcove. "Hey, you. Are you still worrying?"

Forcing out a smile, I shrugged. "Can't help it. Our plan's kind of crap, and if it fails, you could die. Don't want that happening before we have our first date." Where did that come from? I winced in embarrassment as Nico huffed a bemused laugh. "Tell you what, when this is over, we can go get a coffee at New Rome. I've spent quite some time there, and I know a few good shops." Grinning back at him, I couldn't help but wonder at the surreality of the situation. Here we were, only a couple hours away from executing a dangerous and practically suicidal plan, and Nico was asking me out on a date.
Still, I wasn't going to complain. At least there was something else to look forward to now, other than the end of this miserable business. Leaning forward, I rested my forehead against his, watching his dark eyes shine with affection. "That sounds great. If we make it out of this."