Chapter Text
Jason Grace has become Emperor.
It was a decision that sent shockwaves through their world, secreted and tunneled away from mortal society though it may be. New Rome, like the Rome of old, was a republic.
And there were no Emperors in New Rome.
Well. At least, not until now.
Nico tugged the fine wool cape tight to his skin, feeling goosebumps rise along his arms as he leaned out of the carriage window to look out at the passing world. It had been years since the last wars were fought, and both sides had done their part without the slightest inkling as to what went on on the other side.
But Nico was different. How could he be anything but?
Shadows were everywhere in New Rome, not just in its dark alleyways and underground tunnels, but in its great houses and villas, in its complexes and mansions and palatial temples. Secrecy was the currency on which New Rome went round, and Nico was on his way to uncover a few of these secrets for himself.
The rumor that had been spirited all the way to the Greek gods - all the way to him - was that Jason had set himself up as something of a tyrant. A sudden change from the mild-mannered and idealistic young man that much of Rome had known him as, but shockingly, this change had not been an unwelcome one.
Jason’s coup had been more violent than many knew, and quite a few of those in power had been quietly dismissed to join their forebears, in far greater numbers than those whose deaths had been published and made into a bloody spectacle. Jason had played the game so well that in the state of confusion they were in, the Roman people welcomed an Emperor as the kind of guiding hand they were in desperate need of.
It probably doesn’t hurt that he’s Jupiter’s son, Nico wondered to himself, eyes tracking the winding path the road was beginning to take. If he hadn’t scouted out the route himself weeks ago, he might have been suspicious that he would be dragged off and robbed.
This change too was one the Emperor had made. With a legion of spellcasters at hand, it was a wonder New Rome had not taken such measures before, but this and other changes would come to be seen as marks of Jason’s ability to remain both decisive and analytical when dealing with the outside world.
The roads curled in hundreds of directions to the mortal eye, enchanted to mislead all but the clear-sighted or demigods. There were dozens of particularly sadistic traps laid out for whatever poor sod wandered into this wonderland of strange delights and stranger magic, but for the golden-blooded, there was only one road, a snaking, meandering, coiling thing, with smatterings of settlements, homes, rivers and rest houses by its side. These were the farthest throws of the Empire, and guarded round the clock both by automaton sentries and guards. Nico peered between the copses of trees lining many stretches of the roads, spotting towers and walls and villages in the distance if he squinted hard enough. He was something between awed and uneasy at just how far the paved road went; from the moment he’d gotten onto his chariot, the roads had been fully paved in dull grey cobblestone, the constant clacking of hooves against stone a resonant, continuous noise that dulled out his mind enough to fall asleep.
He rubbed at his arm self-consciously, realising that what he was about to do would change him irreparably. Rome did not believe in being abandoned, by anyone, for any reason. He would be branded the moment he arrived, as he was already claimed - so Hazel had relayed to him in her letters. He did not look forward to it, the very thought of a branding iron searing over his own flesh-
Shuddering, he sat back inside, pulling the window shut and drawing the curtain. This was a far more luxurious welcome than most of the new members of the Empire received, but Nico was, as in most aspects of his life, different.
He would be part of Hazel’s house, would have even been her paterfamilias if not for his inexperience, uninitiated status, and one the newer, more modern decrees, that allowed unmarried women to become materfamilias in their house if they gained their family members’ approval. He was one of the highest of the high, a noble that would tower over even many of the others in the Empire. The children of the Olympian council held more seniority and received higher noble titles than the children of Minor Gods, but even Olympian-born had to prove themselves amongst their siblings.
No such trial by fire existed for a shadow mage born of the King of the Dead. Hazel was obviously in power; infinite wealth and a steady source of power was her birthright, no Emperor would have been able to rule if she dissented. But that was the great puzzle for Nico, Hazel had agreed to be a part of Jason’s court, and had even sworn oaths of fealty. It made no sense to him that she should do such a thing, seeing as she could have taken power for herself - and she would have, perhaps, if things had been as bad as Nico believed.
But the simple fact that she trusted him, the fact that she had made herself a part of his inner circle, it could only mean one of two things.
Either Jason was no despot playing at being a ruler at all, and was indeed the formidable leader and astute thinker he was made out to be, or he was far, far more dangerous than even Nico’s wildest dreams would suggest.
It was precisely this quandary that prompted him to make this insanity his reality, that prompted him to declare to all of his fellow Greeks that he was going to join his father in the duties of the Underworld, only to declare to his father than he was going to do his filial duty - pietas - to Hazel.
He would worm the secret of Jason’s game out of anyone by any means necessary, and when he did, he would outplay the man at his own game if it meant discovering the truth.