The Demigod King; Book 2

"A Way to Stop Ouranos"

Nico POV

Percy almost killed Jason. Will was able to stabilize him, but he spent so much energy doing so that he almost died in the process. Both the demigods were unconscious in the Hospital Wing of Hogwarts. Harry, Ron, and Hermione had been sent back to their dorm after swearing the Unbreakable Vow not to reveal what had happened in Dumbledore's office. The demigods sat silently around Will and Jason, too horrified to speak. 

The same thoughts were on all their minds. Mourning the loss of Percy, and the world. There was no way to stop Ouranos, not now. 

The only person that was not with them was Annabeth. The daughter of Athena was in the Hogwarts library, pouring over books. Classically, Hermione was with her. They both claimed to be searching for a way to save Percy and stop Ouranos, but no one had hope that would be successful. 

Nico was beating himself up about the whole situation. It was entirely his fault, in so many ways. He should have seen what Ouranos was doing. Obviously he wasn't trying to remove his soul. Nico should have felt that. If he had not been so stupid to understand, he would have known that they had far less time than he'd thought. And if he had been smart, he could have warned the demigods against healing Percy. If he'd been stronger, he wouldn't have passed out from shadowtravel, and then could have stopped them from healing Percy. There were so many places he screwed up. It was undeniable--this was all his fault. He could hardly bare to face himself. Both Jason and Will had almost died because of Nico's errors. He'd felt their souls ripping, nearing the Underworld.  With Nico and Will's relationship, they had unspoken roles. Will would take care of Nico's mental and physical health, and Nico would keep Will safe. That was all he had to do, and he failed. Through his errors, Percy was gone, Jason almost dead, and Will's powers exhausted. 

Nico reached out to push a stray lock of gold from Will's forehead, but quickly withdrew his hand. Will's state was his fault, so he had no right to touch him. 

Hazel placed a small hand on Nico's shoulder. "Nico," she said softly, the first time any of them had spoken in hours. "It was not your fault. Don't torture yourself."

Nico stiffened. Now was not the time for him to get into this with Hazel, so he remained silent. 

Frank stood up, wincing as he did due to being thrown across the room. He began pacing, which made Nico's anxiety significantly worse.

"Nico?" A small voice said.

The son of Hades turned around so fast he cricked his neck. 

Will was blinking up at him, dazed. He reached for Nico's hand, pulling it toward him.

Nico leaned forward, touching Will's face. He couldn't hold himself back. "Will," he breathed. "Gods, I was so worried--"

"M'okay," the other boy murmured groggily. "I'm fine." He turned his head with difficulty. "How's Jason?"

Nico pursed his lips together. "Still unconscious. But alive, thanks to you. I felt him at the gates to the Underworld..the fact that you were able to bring him back when he was so far gone...I can't believe you're alive."

Will would have given a weak smile then, but even he wasn't able to find any positives with the situation. "I'm okay, Neeks," he said again.

Nico shook his head, panic starting to creep up his throat. "Don't you ever do that again, Solace. If saving a demigod means you die, then do not do it, okay? There's no point in losing two people, and I can't--"

"Shh," Will shushed. He pulled Nico down, feverish lips brushing weakly against Nico's cold ones. He randomly wondered if kissing him was like kissing a dead fish.

Suddenly, a cry resounded from the bed next to Will. "Piper?" Jason called out, panicked. He started to get up, but Nico jumped over Will and pushed the older demigod back down. Jason looked pale and shakey and was clearly terrified. 

Piper rushed over to him, pulling the son of Zeus into a gentle embrace. He winced at the slight pressure on his neck, where a black-blue bruise had formed in the shape of a handprint.

"You're going to be okay, Jason," she whispered.

He nodded, looking dazed. "What happened? Nico?"

Nico twisted his skull ring. "After Percy, um...well, he left. Ouranos promised us very brutal deaths and then vapor traveled away."

Jason frowned. "He...left? Why?"

Nico shrugged. "I don't know. He had no need to retreat. Perhaps he wasn't fully settled into Percy's body."

"Or perhaps he wanted to plan a more painful death for us," Leo suggested.

Everyone turned to him.

Leo blushed. "Right, sorry. Not helpful."

The doors to the Hospital Wing banged open, and Hermione and Annabeth ran in, followed by Harry and Ron. Nico was startled and ashamed to see that there was a dark bruise on Annabeth's cheek complimented by a vivid black eye. With the force required to leave such a mark, Nico was surprised Annabeth hadn't been knocked out.

She seemed to be taking this the worst, which made sense. Not only was she incredibly close to Percy, but the situation mimicked what had happened to Luke. Nico could only imagine how these parallels were terrifying her and messing with her head. 

"We found something," Annabeth breathed, clutching a book to her chest. "A way to stop Ouranos."

Leo raised his eyebrows. "I thought that was impossible."

Hermione shook her head. "It's not. And we'll need your help to do it."