This chapter contains many references to religion. If you do not care for that subject I suggest you skip this chapter
3rd person POV
When the days are cold
And the cards all fold
And the saints we see
Are all made of gold
Nico watched as Eliza laughed, giving her brother a playful smack on the back of the head. He smiled faintly to himself seeing Eliza in such high spirits. He couldn’t help it. She looked like angel in the firelight. Her hair glowed, the gold highlights shining. And she was the closest being to an angel. She was amazing, blameless, even. She lit up anytime she talked about her religion. That’s what he admired most about her. She wasn’t afraid to stand up for what she believed no matter what the consequences. She was practically fearless.
When your dreams all fail
And the ones we hail
Are the worst of all
And the blood's run stale
Nico’s dreams of a happily ever after had been crushed once already. He would have been happy living with his sister for the rest of his life, but then life threw him a curveball. Bianca joined the Hunters and died on a quest leaving Nico on his own. Now, he had a chance to start over. He could live happily with Eliza, but even that would go wrong eventually. Something would go haywire and leave him heartbroken. He had a feeling that he knew what it was. The demons.
I wanna hide the truth
I wanna shelter you
But with the beast inside
There's nowhere we can hide
No matter what we breed
We still are made of greed
This is my kingdom come
This is my kingdom come
Nico didn’t want to hurt her with the truth. He knew Eliza would find out eventually, but he wanted her to be happy now, so he didn’t tell her. He wanted to protect her from the demons inside of him, but he knew he couldn’t without leaving her, and she wouldn’t allow that, and it would make Nico more miserable. There was just no way that he could protect her, no matter how much he wanted to. He knew it was greedy to keep her near him, but they both wanted it. It just wasn’t safe. Nico had many internal debates like this, but they didn’t make the situation any easier. He was always trying to decide if he should protect Eliza or if he should make her happy.
When you feel my heat
Look into my eyes
It's where my demons hide
It's where my demons hide
Don't get too close
It's dark inside
It's where my demons hide
It's where my demons hide
Her calculating blue-grey eyes met his warm brown ones. “Demons.” she whispered. “Why didn’t you tell me Nico?”
He sighed. He had known this was coming. He should have prepared for it. “I…. I wanted to protect you.” he stammered looking into Eliza’s eyes that had changed from blue-grey to bright blue to match her sorrowful mood. He kissed her hesitantly, holding her hips and pulling her closer to him. “You have enough to worry about without constantly taking care of me.”
“Nico, it’s my job to look out for Camp and the people there. That includes you.”
At the curtains call
It's the last of all
When the lights fade out
All the sinners crawl
So they dug your grave
And the masquerade
Will come calling out
At the mess you've made
The same dream. Again and again. Every night. A grave.His grave. There were people standing around it. All of Nico’s dead family and friends. He was used to the biting insults that they hurled at him telling him how much he had messed up his life and theirs, but that’s when the scene changed. He was alone in a glowing room with Eliza. This wasn’t normally part of his dream and his heart started to race. “Calm down, Nico.” she whispered in a soothing tone. “I just come to bring the truth. The voices of the dead, the voices of the living, they don’t matter. they’ll try to put you down, but ignore them. Focus your eyes above.” her voice faded leaving him alone in the room. Nico woke up. Despite the fact that his body was shivering, he felt warm. He doubted the nightmare would come back.
Don't wanna let you down
But I am, hell bound
Though this is all for you
Don't wanna hide the truth
No matter what we breed
We still are made of greed
This is my kingdom come
This is my kingdom come
Nico sighed as he met Eliza’s eyes. He didn’t want to disappoint her, but she needed to know the truth. She had been begging him to let her help him. Nico had seen her strength and power from the Healer that she called Christ, but he didn’t think he was ready for that yet. Her presence alone made him feel vulnerable. When she glowed with the light of Christ, Nico felt imperfect like that was something he could never reach. He felt unworthy to be there. He felt like he should be in the depths of Tartarus instead of here. Eliza had told him many times that he didn’t have to be perfect to accept Christ, he just had to be willing, but Nico felt like he was so far from this light that he thought there was no reaching it.
When you feel my heat
Look into my eyes
It's where my demons hide
It's where my demons hide
Don't get too close
It's dark inside
It's where my demons hide
It's where my demons hide
This light that came from within Eliza was the opposite of Nico. Light and darkness. It was a war. A war he thought darkness would win, so he tried to just cease it. Of course, that didn’t work, but the result shocked him. It didn't turn out the way he thought. Reaching for the light wasn't the struggle he thought it would be, she made it easy.
They say it's what you make
I say it's up to fate
It's woven in my soul
I need to let you go
He tried to block her from the Demons, shield her, but he had failed. He tried to stop her, to save her. That failed too. He felt like he was failing her. He felt like he should be there to catch her, not the other way around. He needed to let her go, but he didn’t, and, even when he tried, she always stayed. It was in their fate. They were meant to be together………...
Your eyes, they shine so bright
I wanna save that light
I can't escape this now
Unless you show me how
Her eyes shone. Even in the darkest dark Eliza’s eyes shone like there was a bright, noonday sun. The light seemed to come from within her. Nico wanted to protect her, protect her light. He didn’t want her to end up like him, radiating darkness. But, he knew he wouldn’t be able to escape the dark without her help. The more time he spent with her, the more he felt himself being pulled into the light. He knew, eventually, with enough help, the darkness would be gone.
When you feel my heat
Look into my eyes
It's where my demons hide
It's where my demons hide
Don't get too close
It's dark inside
It's where my demons hide
It's where my demons hide
He accepted her help. After years, he accepted her help. She lit up when he asked. They spent hours doing Bible studies and answering his questions. A year or so later, he accepted the Biblical invitation. He became a Christian. As he was lowered into the water, he felt the Demons fleeing. He was free for good. When he was risen from the water, he saw the beaming smile on Eliza’s face. She was overjoyed at his decision. And he was glad he had made it to the light. The Demons were gone and he was free and welcomed into Eliza’s church home. He knew he would love it here.

Notes

This songfic is dedicated to Akuma Diavola. Sorry to anyone who finds this confusing. I skipped around a lot while writing it.