the ocean breathes salty, won't you carry it in?

Annabeth and I shared a look of silent understanding. She put on her Yankees cap and disappeared. I uncapped Riptide and waited in the shadows, eyes peeled for any monsters. The door swung open. White light spilled into the hallway, and I charged in.

If the light was bright in the hallway, once I entered the room, it was blinding. I narrowed my eyes. There were lamps blasting cool bright light from the ceiling of each corner, and the walls were stark white. There were lights installed on the floor too, shining light upwards. I looked down and couldn’t find my own shadow. All of the light had bleached the shadows away. 

My gaze landed on the only dark spot in the room. A teenage boy huddled next to one of the walls, an untouched tray of food sitting beside him. 

The boy was facing away from me. He wore a brown aviator jacket and dark jeans, and his hair was a dark and silky. His hands were covering his face, as though he was trying to hide from the light. I couldn’t blame him. The lights were already starting to make my head pound. 

“Hey,” I said, taking a step closer. 

“Leave me alone,” he growled, pushing the tray of food away from him. “I’ve already told you, I’m not helping you.”

My stomach turned to ice. I knew that voice. 

"Nico?!” Annabeth appeared next to me, her Yankees cap in one hand and her celestial bronze knife in the other. 

He turned around slowly, raising one arm to shield his face from the light above. My heart pounded. 

It was him. My friend Nico di Angelo, the son of Hades. He’d disappeared from Camp Half-Blood last year, after his sister Bianca had died on a quest trying to clear their names. Rumors abounded— mostly people saying that he’d turned traitor. The curiosity ended there. For most campers, Bianca’s death and Nico’s disappearance were met with relief. 

“Good riddance,” I’d heard a child of Demeter say, one time. 

It was easy for the campers to dismiss Nico. They judged him for his godly parent without even getting to know him. 

I knew what that was like. I was a son of Poseidon. But Nico had it ten times worse. 

“Annabeth,” Nico said, getting up. I heard the rattling of chains, and followed the noise to realize that his ankle was chained to the wall. His gaze landed on me. “Percy.”

Nico had grown an inch or two since the last time I’d seen him, and was probably fifteen by now. He’d traded his orange Camp Half-Blood T-shirt and blue jeans, that was obvious. Silver chain necklaces hung from his neck, some with pendants like a cross or a coin. On his right hand, he wore a silver skull ring— the last gift from his sister. 

I remembered his dark eyes gleaming with mischief back at camp. They just looked dull and tired now. 

“Nico,” I said, stepping closer to him. “Why haven’t you escaped?”

“They blocked my shadow travel,” Nico said.

That explained the lights and the flimsy chain around his ankle. Nico couldn’t go anywhere if he was surrounded by light. 

Annabeth walked over to him and cut the chain with her dagger. We didn’t waste anymore time— we left the bright room in the dust.

“What were they trying to do with you?” Annabeth asked, voice low. 

A ghost of a smile crossed his face. It was like seeing the first glimpse of the sun after a week of rain— or maybe it was the relief of the shade after being in the blazing sun all day. My heart skipped a beat.

“Mostly waiting for me to turn sixteen, I guess. That’s months away. But since they had me, they didn’t want to let me go.” Nico snorted. “Luke treats his prisoners well, at least.”

The reminder of Luke made my stomach burn. 

“You should leave,” I urged. “You can shadow travel now.”

“So eager to get rid of me already?” Nico raised his eyebrows.

“N-no!” I could feel my face getting red. “Of course not. It’s just—you’re safe now.”

Nico frowned and offered his hand, a question in his eyes. 

I shook my head. “I can’t leave yet. Annabeth and I—we need to stay and figure out what Luke’s planning.” 

“Then I’m staying too,” Nico decided. 

Annabeth paled. “But—”

“They took my sword,” he said. “I need to get it back.” 

--

Note: In an AU where Nico and Bianca are taken out of the Lotus Casino early, and Bianca is framed as the lightning thief instead of Percy! This is Sea of Monsters-era, because Nico decides to leave camp due to their distrust of Hades kids.