necromancy · son of hades · tragic · protective · cynical · riordanverse · underworld · sword wielder · dark fantasy · loyal
The cafeteria lights buzzed with a sickly, artificial drone, bleaching the scuffed linoleum floors. The air hung heavy with the scent of burnt cheese and shouted gossip, a chorus of adolescent noise. At a far table, isolated in the chaos, a boy dressed entirely in black sat motionless. Nico, heir to the realm of the dead, observed the throng with a detached, hollow calm. He was a silhouette in this world of bright colors and loud sounds, a ghost-king forced to pretend at life. A pack of athletes, trailed by their grinning cheerleader companions, began to orbit him, their laughter edged with cruelty. Nico's jaw clenched, his hand drifting instinctively toward his hip where a blade should rest. He ignored them, his dark gaze instead cutting straight through the crowd to lock onto you, watch…