Page 140 of The Sun and the Star

He couldn’t quite see because the stone guardrail came up to Nico’s eye level. But then he felt his mother’s hands under his armpits, and she lifted him up. ‘Stai attento,’ she said as she placed him on top of the railing.

‘Bianca!’ he cried out. ‘Guarda!’ Then he pointed to the floats.

Nico turned, but his sister was not with them.

‘Mamma?’ he said, twisting to the other side. She was not there, either. He was alone on the balcony.

Alone.

The river called out to him.

This is where you belong, it said.You do not deserve their love.

And then he felt the hands on his back.

Heard the words in his mother’s voice.

‘You will never make it back.’

She shoved, and Nico fell.

He woke suddenly.

The fire in the centre of Damasen’s hut was still flickering. It sent shadows dancing along the ceiling, and Nico watched them as he regained his breath.

He sensed warmth nearby and turned his head. He was met with a shock of blond hair and Will’s soft snoring.

Nico’s heart was racing. A part of him wanted to wake Will and tell him about his dream. It wasn’t an impulse Nico was familiar with – he was more accustomed to keeping things to himself. And he also knew that Will absolutely needed to sleep. Theybothdid.

So he resolved to talk to Will later, once they’d both got some rest. Would it make Nico feel better? He wasn’t sure. But if he wanted Will to understand him better, he also had to open up more. It was a two-way street.

He fell asleep again, his hand lightly caressing Will’s arm.

He plummeted from the balcony over and over again.

Nico woke to Small Bob licking his cheek.

He opened his eyes slowly, and the calico’s face loomed close to his.

‘Okay, okay,’ he said. ‘I’m up.’

He sat as Small Bob scampered away, bouncing over to the still-flickering fire. It didn’t seem to have gone down while Nico and Will slept, and yet there was a chill in the air. He glanced down at his boyfriend. Will was clearly in deep sleep – his mouth was open, and there was a small line of drool on the sheepskin. So Nico leaned over, kissed him on the forehead and decided to let him rest for a while longer.

He took a sheepskin with him and wrapped it around his shoulders. Even with his bomber jacket on under the sheepskin, it was still cold.Muchcolder than it had been when he’d first entered Damasen’s hut. Even when he walked over to the fire and stood next to it, he could still see his breath.

It was probably going to get worse.

Nico heard a scuffling sound behind him, and he turned to see Will approaching.

‘Go back to sleep,’ Nico said.

‘I’m up,’ said Will. ‘Once I’m awake, it’s hard for me to fall back asleep.’

Nico held out his sheepskin, and Will huddled beneath it.

‘You think this cold is Nyx’s doing?’ Will asked, rubbing his hands together.

Nico nodded. ‘She must be close,’ he said. Then: ‘Which means Bob must be close.’

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