Woah two chapters in one day!

WPOV

I shouldn't have said it. It just kind of slipped out. Annabeth went to tell the others what we had found.

I went to my room and collapsed on my bed. I felt almost sick knowing that Nico is somewhere in the castle and yet he's so far from reach. I had thought I heard a meow earlier but now I'm sure it was just a hallucination.

I wondered if my dad had really been feeding him or if Nico was starving.

I stood back up. I had to find him. If he wasn't getting food, then he would die...

I hurried back out of my room but stopped at Nico's. I felt my eyes water. Would Nico ever live in this room again? Or will he die before he gets to sleep here again?

I suddenly realized my dad could be moving Nico so we won't find him. Which means he could be in here...

I searched the closet first. Then I searched around the desk. I still couldn't find him.

Think, Will. Why would your dad put Nico in here? He'd be easy to find if he was in here...

I sat down on the bed and closed my eyes. If I pretended he was still here, sitting by me, maybe it would help me feel less stressed. I tried it. I pictured Nico sitting right next to me, laughing about something I had said. I pictured him resting his head in my shoulder. Then I pictured him falling asleep like that. I pictured myself wrapping my arms around him.

Then I opened my eyes. This wasn't going to help me find him. But still, I closed my eyes again. Unfortunately, I had lost my concentration and Nico wasn't there anymore. I pictured myself searching for him instead, wondering where he might have gone. Then I heard a meow and Nico, in cat form, bounded over to me.

I opened my eyes again. I had to stop this. It wasn't going to help me.

Then I realized... that meow wasn't just something I had thought up. I had actually heard it. It had came from under the bed.

I was almost too scared to check. If he wasn't there, if I had imagined it after all, it would be even worse than before.

"N-Nico?" I asked. There was silence for a while, and I sighed. What had I expected?

"Will?" I heard my dad ask. He was standing in the doorway.

"Yeah?"

"Go to bed, you look sick."

"I'm fine. Where's Nico?"

"I'm not telling you." A shadow passed across him. Hera.

"I thought you said he was dead, Apollo."

"He is, of course."

"Then why can't you tell your son that?"

"I would feel terrible."

"Liar! Where is he?! Where is that cat?!"

"Um, he's a neko, Hera. Not a cat. There's a difference."

"Well he's not human so we might as well not call him one."

"He's might not be one hundred percent human..." He said. I was about to strangle him if he said anything negative about Nico. "But he's more humane than you."

My heart soared. Was he going to help me after all?

"What?" Hera hissed.

"He wouldn't kill someone just to get power. He wouldn't hurt anyone no matter what! He only attacked me once, I think, and I deserved it! How many times have you, me, and Octavian combined hurt him?"

"That's besides the point!"

"And how many times has he tried to get revenge?"

"It doesn't matter!"

"Get out, Hera. I'm not killing Nico."

I grinned.

She scowled. "I will get you, Apollo. You'll regret it!"

She stalked off and I knew she was leaving the castle.

M dad looked at me guiltily and said, "Will, I'm really sorry but I've been think about what you said and-"

"Where's Nico?" I knew he would show me now. There was no doubt about it.

He bit his lip. "In here..."  He led me to the bed and pulled a cage out from under it. Inside, a cat with soft black fur and chocolate eyes got close to the cage door so he could leap out as soon as it was opened.

"Nico!"