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“Get back! Stay away!” Nico shouted, waving his Stygian sword in a wide arc.
The hoard of spirits around them hissed apprehensively.
“More are going to be coming Nico,” Hazel whispered, gripping Nico’s other arm, “they sense us. You get out of here, I can call Arion.”
“I am not leaving you,” Nico snapped his voice pinched and full of emotion, “you’re injured.”
“I can hold them off.”
The spirits chattered and crept closer realizing that nothing was going to happen. The grass underneath Nico’s feet withered. He wrapped his other arm around Hazel’s waist, supporting her the best he could. Blood soaked through Hazel’s shirt.
“You can’t shadow travel both of us out of here,” Hazel insisted as if she knew what Nico was thinking (which she could take a pretty good guess), “please Nico, we’re surrounded and we can’t fight them all.”
Nico gritted his teeth, tightening his grip around Hazel’s waist, “ watch me .”
“Nico!”
Nico waved his sword in one last long arc, forcing the spirits to back up before melting into the shadows. Forcing his energy into transporting the both of them safely.
Nico and Hazel were spit quite unceremoniously in a heap in the middle of the dining pavilion. And to much of Nico’s embarrassment and relief. It was the middle of dinner.
Nico and Hazel were both quickly whisked to the infirmary to be tended to. Thankfully Will held back on the lecture for a while. Nico just wanted to sleep.
On another positive note: Will also didn’t keep them in the infirmary for very long. He patched up Hazel’s wound, gave her some ambrosia, threatened Nico that if he didn’t go to his cabin and get some rest there would be consequences and sent the two of them on their way to bed rest. So that meant Nico could at least sleep in his own cabin.
“Thank you,” Hazel whispered as they were walking back to their cabin.
“I did what I had to do to save you and I would do it again a million times. Even if I had to sit through twenty lectures on my own personal health,” Nico managed a small smile, “you’d do the same.”
“You really saved our butts out there,” Hazel said.
“Should you iris message camp Jupiter? Let them know you’re here?” Nico asked, desperately trying to change the subject from their small battle.
“I’m sure that can wait a few hours, I just want to sleep,” Hazel yawned, “I bet you’re exhausted too.”
It was more of a command than an actual question.
“Right.”
When they got to the Hades cabin Hazel plopped down on her bunk. There were only a handful of beds in the Hades cabin since there weren’t usually many children of Hades around. On a normal basis it was only Nico.
But, having Hazel to stay over was nice, he had to admit.
Nico flopped face down on his bed. He heard Hazel shift and get comfortable. Nico was exhausted and wanted nothing more than to sleep, but something was keeping him awake.
Reluctantly he sat up, “Hazel?”
“Hm?” Hazel hummed.
“Can I... come over there?” Nico asked shyly, he was so used to sleeping in the same bed as someone else (since Will liked to sleep in Nico's cabin) that trying to sleep alone felt weird.
Hazel chuckled and rolled over so that she was facing him, she lifted up the blankets and patted the bed, “of course.”
Nico sheepishly crawled under the covers and settled in next to Hazel. Hazel smiled at Nico and closed her eyes, resting her arm around Nico’s shoulders.
“Goodnight Nico,” she whispered.
“Goodnight,” Nico responded, snuggling closer to Hazel.
Hazel pulled the sheets up higher and let herself fall asleep, her brother laying next to her.