By The Angels (PJOxSH)

10

Nico made a mental note to never go through with a plan until he finished said plan because now he was just standing there, fighting the urge to shift from foot to foot or fall back into the cot due to exhaustion. Yes, it had all gone perfectly in his head, but now he had no idea where to go from here. He fought off the urge to blush and hide under the covers, to cringe away from the stares the Shadowhunters (and Magnus) were giving him.

Nico shifted his weight from both feet to his uninjured leg and let his posture relax, almost forcefully.  This was awful, he hated this type of situation. This was worse than dealing with the Romans because while they would kill him on sight for being a Greek demigod, they at least knew who and what he was. But he couldn't tell the Shadowhunter any of that. Now he had to get creative. They couldn't know about the gods, they couldn't know about demigods, but now he had to work with them to catch a murderer that was actually after him. 

Just another average Tuesday... 

Nico huffed in irritation, hiding his embarrassment with it, "Things have gotten dicey. Normally I'd just handle my job on my own, but now he's hunting me as well," Nico admitted, his tone flat with disdain. He sat back down on the springy bed, twisting his healing leg in discomfort. 

"How are you sure that he's after you?" Jace demanded, still standing but a few feet away from Nico's cot. 

"He came after me. He knew my name and clearly knew what I was capable of. He also knew when and where I'd show up," Nico listed. he hadn't even known he would be in some forclosedd cafe until a few hours ago. 

"But why?" Alec spoke, gazes shifting between each person in the conversation. Jace had backed off relaxing his own posture, but his gaze was still locked onto Nico. 

Nico shrugged, "There are lots of reasons why, but I'm more worried about how. It's not like I make myself easy to find," he complained. 

How Valentine had found him was actually his biggest concern. There were so many different 'why's that existed for a demigod like Nico, he could care less, but he knew he was damn hard to find, so either this Valentine had some godly help, or had a supernatural tac for finding people. It could be both. Whoever wanted him had access to hellhounds, his location, and plenty of other information about him, including the fact that Nico had trouble getting away from Hellhounds since they were one of the few monsters who could shadow travel. Now it was a question of old enemy or new enemy?

"We'll need to continue this discussion in the morning. It's well past four in the morning and none of us are clear-headed enough to unpack everything tonight," Maryse announced.

Nico eyed her carefully, wanting to protest but the exhaustion seeping into every part of his being, demanding rest, was becoming overwhelming, not counting emotional exhaustion from the high tensions. Nico caught her glace and huffed. 

"I'll stick around, I'll be here when the sun rises. Don't worry." Nico said, settling himself in the cot to make it clear he wasn't leaving, "but I want the stuff you all took from me last time back."

"That can be arranged," Maryse nodded, looking pleased with his reaction. 

Slowly but surely, everyone filed out the room, muttering amongst themselves, sending Nico glances every now and again before they were out of his sight, except Magnus, he stayed right where he'd been during the entire "conflict". 

Nico glanced over him, unsure of why Mangus remained, "Do you still need something?" Nico decided to ask. He was tired, and keeping up this act any longer was getting harder and harder.