[Third Person Pov]
All the quest-takers stood outside the camp in the middle of the afternoon, patches of snow surrounded them all over. They had arranged themselves into three groups of horses, the animals shifting and breathing out soft clouds of steam in the cold air.
Artemis sat astride Sebastian, her silver bow strapped across her back, posture straight and composed. Phoebe sat right behind her, arms loosely around the goddess's waist, already looking restless. Nearby, Blackjack stood close to Sebastian, her black coat sleek and her wings folded tight against her sides. Percy was settled in the saddle with Grover perched behind him, the satyr's expectant grin already in place.
Blackjack flicked her ears and glanced sideways at Sebastian, trying her best to sound cool and casual. "Crazy how we're taking this journey together," she said, batting her eyelashes at him. "It almost feels like a date, don't you think?"
Sebastian simply stared at her out of the corner of his eye and offered no reply. Instead he leaned down and began cropping the sparse grass that poked up through the snow that slowly melted around him, the soft tearing sound the only answer he gave.
"Yeah, no. Me either. Totally stupid, right?" Blackjack scoffed, tossing her head dismissively and pretending the whole exchange had never mattered.
Percy rubbed his forehead with one hand, feeling deeply cursed for being the only one who understood every word she said. He could already tell this was going to be a long ride.
A short distance away, Annabeth and Thalia shared Aerarius. The celestial bronze spirit had shifted his mechanical body into the form of a powerful horse, joints faintly gleaming as he shifted his weight and waited with quiet patience.
"He's taking too long," Phoebe muttered, irritation sharpening her voice. "We should just leave without him."
Percy's head snapped toward her at once. "He's talking to his mother. It's reasonable that he's late."
"Every second we wait is a second we could be closer to rescuing Zoe," Phoebe shot back, her impatience growing by the moment.
"And Lucian," Thalia added, rolling her eyes.
Phoebe dismissed the correction with a careless wave of her hand. The motion nearly earned her a bolt of lightning from Thalia purely on principle; the daughter of Zeus's fingers twitched, a faint crackle of static dancing across her knuckles before she forced herself to stay still.
"Someone is still just a little salty that they lost~" Annabeth said in a teasing drawl, leaning sideways against Thalia with a knowing smirk.
Phoebe snarled. "Hey, I didn't lose. If you remember correctly, I am one of the three still standing—which is why I'm here."
Percy started snickering under his breath, the sound quickly turning into open giggles that drew everyone's attention.
"What's so funny?" Phoebe demanded, narrowing her eyes at him.
"Sorry," Percy said, grinning. "I'm just thinking about Lucian. I can perfectly picture what he would reply to what you just said."
Annabeth, Thalia, and Grover all caught on at the same time and joined in the laughter.
Phoebe tilted her head in confusion.
"Cope," the four of them said in perfect unison, then burst into louder chuckles and open laughter.
Out of the corner of her eye, Phoebe saw Artemis's cheeks puff ever so slightly before the goddess quickly forced her expression back into perfect neutrality. Phoebe refused to believe what she had seen and decided she must have imagined it.
"Anyways, don't worry," Thalia said, waving the whole thing off. "He's already here. I can feel his presence in the wind."
A few seconds later Markus dropped out of the sky and landed lightly in front of the group, a duffel bag slung over one shoulder. "Sorry I'm late, everyone. Had to pack a few things."
"It's cool. Pass it here." Annabeth reached over, opened her magic pouch, and stored the bag for him in one smooth motion. Markus gave her a grateful nod.
He looked around at the three occupied horses and raised an eyebrow. "Wow. So no horse for me? I see how it is."
"Sorry, man," Thalia said, leaning against Annabeth's shoulder with a playful grin. "You snooze, you lose. You should've been here quicker."
"I can have Nox or Nebula conjure you a horse if you want," Annabeth offered, smiling in open amusement.
"Nah, I was only kidding," Markus replied, already stepping back and stretching his wings slightly. "I'll follow in the air. Don't worry. Maybe later if I get tired."
"If everyone is ready, then we had better get moving," Artemis commanded, her voice calm but firm enough to cut through any lingering chatter.
They all agreed. One by one the riders turned in their saddles and looked back toward the camp one last time. Beyond the treeline they could still make out Charon standing near the edge of the clearing, the rest of the campers gathered behind him in a quiet cluster, watching the departure with mixed expressions of worry and hope.
Markus pushed off the ground and rose into the air with a soft rush of wind. The horses followed at once, hooves thudding against the damp earth as Artemis urged Sebastian forward and took the lead. Blackjack and Aerarius fell in behind her, and Markus banked slightly so that he flew level with the group, matching their pace with easy, measured wingbeats.
…
Inside the cabin of hades the air was still and dim. Bianca sat cross-legged on the couch, eyes closed, hands resting quietly in her lap. Across from her Nico leaned forward with his elbows on his knees, fingers laced together, head bowed. His foot tapped an impatient rhythm against the floorboards.
"Are they gone yet?" he asked, lifting his gaze to her. The look on his face was stern and tightly controlled, almost unrecognizable.
Bianca did not open her eyes as she was looking through her activated ability: [Shadowwatcher]. a small cluster of dark eyeballs she had conjured with bat-like wings, that had scattered through the shadows in every direction. Through them she tracked the departing group without being noticed.
"Yes," she said quietly.
"Great. Then let's go already." Nico was already on his feet.
"Hold on, Nico." Bianca's voice was calm but firm. "Let's give them a few minutes' head start. We don't want to be detected. You know how perceptive Thalia and Annabeth are."
Nico clicked his tongue in frustration and dropped back onto the couch, arms crossed, shoulders pressed against the cushions. "Tsk. Do you seriously expect me to just sit here and do nothing while they charge ahead of us?"
"Porta pazienza," Bianca murmured, exhaling a soft sigh.
"You have patience," Nico snapped back, more irritable than ever.
His restlessness bled into her. Bianca snatched the nearest cushion and swung it at him. Nico caught it mid-air, already winding up to throw it back.
"Are you trying to pick a fight or something?" he demanded.
Bianca's eyes flashed. "You're not the only one who wants to run off and rescue Lucian, Nico. You're not the only one who cares about him and is worried about him."
"Could've fooled me," Nico muttered under his breath, looking away as he tossed the cushion aside.
"And what exactly is that supposed to mean?" Bianca asked, voice low and threatening.
"You know exactly what it means," he said, rolling his eyes.
Her gaze narrowed to a sharp glare. "Just because I'm not as openly affectionate as you are—or because I don't express my feelings as loudly as you do—doesn't mean they aren't there."
"And that's exactly the problem," Nico answered. He lifted his legs onto the couch and stared at the opposite wall, refusing to meet her eyes. "You've gotten so good at hiding and locking away your feelings that they almost feel nonexistent to everyone else."
The air between them grew tight and heavy. Silence stretched until Nico's voice finally broke it, quieter now, almost a whisper.
"Some people need reminders of how you feel. The longer the silence lasts, the more they start to assume the wrong things… and that's how misunderstandings begin."
Bianca's expression softened. She rose from her seat and crossed the short distance between them, settling beside Nico on the couch. For a moment she hesitated, then reached out and carefully drew him closer, wrapping her arms around him. She pressed a quiet kiss to the top of his head.
"I love you, Nico," she said softly. "I might not say it as often as you need me to, and I'm sorry for that. I want you to never forget it… and never doubt it for a second."
Nico's arms came up at once. He buried himself against his older sister, eyes stinging with tears he didn't bother to hide. "I'm sorry too," he whispered. "I shouldn't have snapped at you like that. It's just… everything that's been happening with Lucian. I don't want to lose you as well."
"And you're not going to," Bianca promised, her voice steady even as a tight bubble of emotion rose in her throat. She forced it down before she continued, speaking more quietly now. "…I love Lucian too. I love him just as much as I love you. So I understand what you're feeling, because I'm feeling it too."
She slowly stood. The resolve in her posture left no room for argument. "I don't know what's waiting for us out there… but I know one thing for certain. Our brother is in trouble. And I'll be damned if I'm just going to sit here and do nothing about it."
Nico smiled and rose with her, the earlier tension easing into something sharper and more focused. "Does that mean we're done waiting?" he asked, already eager.
"Yeah. It does. Let's go."
Their shadows began to move on their own, arcing and twisting around their bodies like living ink. The darkness rose, swallowed them completely for a heartbeat, and then receded. When it fell away again, both siblings stood fully geared.
Nico wore an open brown bomber jacket over dark clothes, heavy boots planted firmly on the floor. In one hand he held a saber; in the other, a handgun. Bianca stood beside him in a black-and-grey winter coat, black fingerless gloves already in place. A dark, ominous bow rested in her grip, a quiver of arrows strapped across her back, and a thin silver circlet sat against her dark hair.
Without another word the two of them sank into the shadows at their feet. The cabin vanished above them as they plunged into the abyss. A moment later the entire camp disappeared behind them as they slipped through the dark.
…
Mid-travel, something changed.
A pair of strong hands seized both siblings inside the darkness and yanked them hard. The shadow path shattered. Light and cold air rushed in as they were dragged violently back to the surface.
They tumbled across an open field of snow, rolling once, twice, before both recovered with sharp, practiced motion—flipping and somersaulting back onto their feet in the same instant. Weapons came up immediately. Their shadows stretched long and restless behind them.
A presence registered at their backs. They spun as one and fired.
The shadow figure merely tilted his head and leaned aside. The attack passed harmlessly by.
Bianca blinked, then clicked her tongue in sharp annoyance. "Nox?"
Nox stood tall and composed in the snow, already straightening the knot of his tie with unhurried precision. His expression was cold, distant.
"Forgive me," he said. "I hold the two of you in the highest regard as my aunt and uncle. Even so, there exists an authority greater than the familial bonds we share that I answer to first."
Nico clicked his tongue, eyes narrowing. "Of course it had to be you. The prodigal son."
Nox's red eyes flared with a fierce, overbearing light. Power rolled off him in a quiet, crushing wave—enough to make both Di Angelo siblings feel sweat prickle at the backs of their necks despite the cold.
"Father already gave you his instructions," Nox said, voice even and absolute. "Fail to comply… and you answer to me."
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