The two of them looked so comfortable together it made Nico glad. But it also it caused an ache in his heart – a ghostly pain, like an old war wound throbbing in bad weather.

Bianca di Angelo shivered. "That explains Nico, you remember last summer, those guys
who tried to attack us in the alley in DC?"
"And that bus driver," Nico said. "The one with the ram's horns. I *told* you that was real.

Who wants us?" Bianca demanded. "Because if you think you'll get a ransom, you're wrong. We don't have any family. Nico and I—" Her voice broke a little. "We've got no one but each other.

Dreams and death were old friends of his. He knew how to navigate their dark borderland.

She'd expected some backlash; it happened every time she shared her strength. But she hadn't anticipated so much raw anguish from Nico di Angelo… If this was only a portion of Nico’s pain… how could he bear it?

She’d felt more pain from Nico in their brief connection than she had from her entire legion during the battle against the giant Polybotes.