Shelter (Solangelo)

Chapter 5

Nico wakes to the sound of shouting. His senses snap to high alert.

"Hey, it's alright," Hazel says. He turns. She's curled up with a blanket on a sofa Nico doesn't recall being there when he'd closed his eyes. "Reyna's gone to see what the commotion is."

"Did you sleep here? Reyna too?" He can't quite fathom the lengths his sister and friends go to for him.

Hazel nods. She pulls her knees to her chest and snuggles with her blanket. "Reyna wanted to make sure you didn't fade in your sleep. It was touch and go for a while. She coaxed you back a few times." There's a chastising tone to her voice that Nico suspects she's holding back for fear of scaring him off. His cheeks burn. Why do I have to be so sensitive? The last thing Nico wants is to be a burden.

"Listen, Nico. You're gifted with the ability to shadow-travel, and it was awesome what you did to transport the Athena Parthenos, but you almost sacrificed your life in the process."

Nico shifts, not wanting to hear the criticism, but unable to not let Hazel have her say.

"You have friends now, people who care about you. Sacrificing yourself for no good reason is a pretty lousy way to return the sentiment."

"Yeah." He bites his tongue, allowing himself to feel the remorse his instincts tell him to repress. "Sorry about that. Will basically said the same thing."

The shouting outside grows louder. Nico throws back his blanket.

"Wait for Reyna to come back." Hazel's watching him like a hawk, like she's ready to incapacitate him if he tries anything stupid.

"I'm not leaving the room, just looking." He jumps out of bed and opens the door before she can protest. His stomach bottoms out again.

Can't I catch a single break?

Will Solace, surrounded by what looks like the entire First Cohort, marches with determination toward the infirmary, Reyna at his side. Will shouts over his shoulder at Mike Kahale, Octavian's successor as senior Centurion.

"I'll show you my letter after I've seen Nico! He shadow-traveled against medical advice! If that punk isn't already dead, I'm going to kill him!"

"I'll take care of it, Mike," Reyna calls, before Kahale has a chance to argue further. The Cohort falls back, but doesn't disperse, and Nico wants to hide as Will and Reyna approach.

Reyna separates Will from the crowd and escorts him to the infirmary.

"Speak of the devil," Will says as he steps through the open door. Nico refuses to back away, though all he wants to do is disappear. Instead, Will pushes right in, past Hazel, and grabs him by the shoulders. Surprisingly, since he's got murder in his eyes, he pulls Nico against his chest in a giant hug. Thankfully, it's not bone-crushing like Jason's hugs. "You are such a pain, you know that? I thought I'd lost you."

Nico's not sure how to react. He longs to melt into the embrace, and perhaps return it, but Hazel and Reyna are still in the room and he's frozen to the spot.

"We'll just wait outside," Hazel says. Nico, still trapped in Will's arms, looks to Reyna. She smirks at him, then follows Hazel outside, closing the door behind her.

"Um, yeah, sorry about that." He can't think what else to say. The hug is getting awkward.

Will finally releases him, but doesn't step back and his eyes are still angry. "What do you have to say for yourself?"

Nico's not sure. His mind flashes back to his sister. How, the one time he'd accidentally gotten separated from her in a shopping center, she'd hugged him just like Will and demanded the very same thing. He'd felt comforted then, loved. What about him had changed so much that he hardly remembers the boy he once was?