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The first time Percy properly talked to someone from the Aphrodite Cabin was when he had to learn to ride a pegasus.

The idea of flying hundreds of meters up in the air had terrified him initially - Zeus would relish the opportunity to blast him out of the sky – and so he was reluctant to even go to the Camp's stables.

But alas, it was a compulsory activity and Tyson practically dragged him for most of the journey, so he had no choice in the matter. Percy would inevitably make a fool out of himself and when word got out, the rest of the Camp would just laugh harder.

As though having a Cyclops for a brother wasn't enough fuel for the campers.

Incidentally, the class was taught by the new Head Counsellor of the Aphrodite Cabin, the cabin that had been mercilessly taunting him about Tyson. He couldn't walk more than a few meters before one of them would say something about his 'eye'.

So to say he hadn't been surprised that the Head Counsellor, Silena Beauregard, had been nice would be a lie. She was nothing but kind to both of them and had very gently let Tyson down when the Pegasi had behaved skittishly in his presence.

"Tyson," said Silena, inspecting the pegasus. "Why don't you fetch some carrots from the Big House?"

The cyclops took a few steps across the field, before pausing slightly.

"Did I scare it?" he asked, his voice shaky.

"Of course not," she said, "It's just a bit hungry."

And then he bounded away, a large grin plastered on his face, away from the field.

"It's not hungry, is it?" asked Percy, eyeing the grey mare warily.

The girl grinned and shrugged. "I don't think I've ever seen a pegasus eat a demigod."

"So it's perfectly safe?" he asked quietly.

The grey mare glared at Percy.

"Yeah," said Silena. Then she frowned slightly, her forehead creasing. "Unless you count the time when one got a good chunk out of one of the Apollo kids-"

Percy shuffled back, hands in pockets.

Was it too late to leave the lesson? She probably wouldn't care that much, in fact, she'd get the rest of the afternoon off. It'd be a win for both of them.

And then Silena glanced at him, her eyes lighting up. "Only joking. They wouldn't hurt a fly." She beckoned him over. "We can leave the actual flying for another day if you want?"

The flying isn't left for another day.

And it was the most fun he'd had in weeks. The wind rushing through his hair, paired with the soft, silky feathers of the pegasus was amazing.

'Incoming!'

Percy's heart lurched as the hooves thudded into the ground, his grip tightening around the pegasus, which was how he realized he could talk to the pegasi.

"I'm sorry about the stuff my brothers and sisters have said to you," Silena said once the lesson was over. "And about the flack they give to Tyson."

No one had bothered to consider that maybe, just maybe, Tyson had feelings too. Even Annabeth had called Tyson a 'deceitful and treacherous monster', but here the Head of the Aphrodite cabin was, apologizing.

"Um thanks," he replied. Because what else could he say to an apology that had come out of the blue?

"I'll have a word with them. Remind them that I'm their head counselor now."

A mischievous grin made its way onto her face before she added, "I'm sure Annabeth's waiting for you, with the Chariot Race coming up soon, and all."

"Erm yeah."

Probably not. Since she'd clearly told him to 'design a chariot with Tyson' instead.

But Percy didn't mention any of that to Silena, who for some reason was grinning at the idea of him and Annabeth taking part in the race together.

"In that case, I'll see you later," she said before skipping off towards a nearby pegasus.

It was then he realized, the daughter of Aphrodite wasn't that much older than him. Perhaps, a year at most.

"Bye," he waved, before turning towards the cabins.

Maybe not all of Aphrodite's children were as cruel as he originally thought.

Everyone was singing Clarisse's praises once they had returned to Camp Half-Blood. Even when Chiron had announced that the chariot races would continue, the main focus was still on Clarisse and how she'd bravely escaped from the clutches of Polyphemus.

If Percy was being honest, he didn't mind one bit. He was glad he got to sit back and be a normal camper. It also meant that he and Annabeth could focus on their second, and hopefully much more successful chariot race.

And because he truly did want to win, he was at the stables on the evening before the chariot race giving their horses a pep talk. Some of the language those horses used, certainly made things harder.

Honestly, did they have no shame? Using language like that in front of the young, Pegasi foals? Embarrassing.

He was about a third of the way through his pre-prepared speech (written by Annabeth, of course) when he heard the smaller stable door creak open.

Percy shoved the paper in his pocket and turned around where Silena stood, grinning. Rather rude of her to interrupt his very important speech.

"Hi?"

He raised a hand, his fingers twitching in what was supposed to be a wave.

Silena's arched brow said otherwise.

Oh gods. Heat rose to his face, his hand curling into a fist. He probably looked like such an idiot.

"Are you trying to sabotage tomorrow's race? Sweet talk our horses?"

"Of course not," he replied, shaking his head.

He had, in fact, thought about bribing the other horses for a teeny tiny second, but no one needed to know about that.

"Sure," she drawled, leaning against the stable doors. "Whatever you say." And then she added, "Thanks for saving the camp. Again."

Of course, someone would comment on the little adventure he'd undertaken with Annabeth and Tyson. He just didn't think it'd be today, or that it'd be Silena.

Percy would've bet good money on one of the Stolls giving him a subtle nudge and winking towards the Golden Fleece.

He shrugged, but his mouth twitched nonetheless. "I'm not sure what you're talking about."

"Oh really?" Her eyebrows were raised skeptically, but her smile was still there.

"I was at camp the whole time," he said, the smile widening.

"Well if someone did happen to sneak out of camp and make their way across the sea of monsters to fight a cyclops, I'd give them my thanks."

"I'm sure Clarisse is still by the campfire," he said pointedly.

"Of course." She said as she pushed herself away from the wall gracefully and winked at him. "I'll get going. Just turn the lights off once you're done. Even Camp Half-Blood has to pay their bills."

As she was leaving the stables, he called out, "Camp has to pay bills?"

The girl just laughed in reply as she left the stables.

(Percy didn't turn the lights off when he left the stables. Instead, all he could think about was how Poseidon had sent the messenger of the gods to tell him to 'brace himself'.

Maybe Luke was right about the gods)

Annabeth had been kidnapped and there was nothing he could do to help. Last night's dream was practically confirmation that she was in grave danger, and add to that Zoe's dream, well, it didn't take a genius to realize his friend's life was at stake.

There had to be something.

Naturally, he went to the stables. He could take a pegasus and find Annabeth like that. Camp had enough of them anyway, it's not like anyone would notice. The biggest problem was how he was going sneak out of camp unnoticed.

Percy was a few feet away when he realized the stables weren't empty. The voices inside were clear as daylight.

"Run along now and go paint your nails or whatever mundane things you Aphrodite lot do."

The poorly disguised fury in the words was enough to know the voice belonged to a hunter. As well as the sheer arrogance.

"Watch it," the other voice snarled. This voice, on the other hand, was very recognizable. It belonged to Silena Beauregard. "It'd be a shame if a love potion accidentally found its way into your dinner."

Percy pushed the stable doors open, and on one side was a hunter of Artemis, reaching for a bow in her quiver, and on the other side, stood the daughter of Aphrodite, her eyes narrowed.

"Am I interrupting something?"

Silena whirled around, her shoulders relaxing slightly as her eyes fell upon him.

The hunter, on the other hand, muttered something under her breath before she stormed out, but not without throwing a glare at him.

A real friendly bunch, those hunters.

"Are you alright?" he asked. "That sounded pretty rough."

"Oh yeah. That was nothing," she said, shaking her head slightly and sending a tight smile his way. "Just a small misunderstanding."

Silena turned towards a small pegasus and fed it a sugar cube. Her hand forcefully and down its feathers, her jaw set as the pegasus backed away.

"You sure? Because from what I could see, she looked ready to attack you."

As he said this, his eyes fell upon a dark mare, the one he rescued from the Princess Andromeda. His ticket out of camp, a way to rescue Annabeth.

It was going to be okay. Annabeth would be safe.

"No need to worry about me Percy," she said, still facing the pegasus. "Anything I can do for you?"

"I just came here to clear my head," he spoke as pleasantly as he could manage, desperately trying to get the pegasus's attention.

Blackjack.

The pegasus finally looked up.

'Sup boss.

He could hear Silena say something to the pegasus she was stroking.

Can you please do me a favor?

Anything.

Once Silena leaves, I need you to-

"What are you doing Percy?" Her gaze was fixed on him as she spoke.

When had that happened? The pegasus she'd been muttering to still neighed away, lamenting about the drop in quality of the hay.

Silena's gaze, however, was undoubtedly fixed on him. She wore a small frown, her brows furrowed.

"Nothing," he replied slowly. "What happened?"

"You've been staring at Blackjack for ages." She looked at the pegasus and then back at Percy before her eyes widened. "You're going to go after Annabeth, aren't you?"

"No?" He winced as he said this.

"Are you insane? The same people that took Annabeth, kidnapped Artemis as well." She ran her fingers through her hair like a comb as she spoke, "They have a literal goddess in chains. What you're thinking of doing is suicidal."

No one was supposed to know about Artemis. He only knew because Grover had overhead Zoe earlier, but even then, he was on strict instruction to keep it quiet.

"How do you know that Artemis's been kidnapped?"

Her face paled, gaunt in the dim light of the stables. "The Hunter let it slip," she said sharply.

Of course, Zoe had told the hunters. Maybe the hunters had other information as well.

"Did she say anything else?" Percy asked tentatively.

"No." Silena shook her head. "But as adorable as it is that you want to be Annabeth's knight in shining armor, you need to wait."

He wasn't a knight in shining armor or anything of the sort. He was worried, you know, like normal people were when their best friends got kidnapped.

The daughter of Aphrodite must've gone mad.

"It's not adorable it's..." he spluttered, his cheeks reddening.

"It's so cute." She ruffled his hair, her blue eyes shining with mirth. "But it's also downright mental," she said firmly, "which is why I'm going to lock the stables because you're not doing anything stupid on my watch."

"But Silena-"

"I'm not going to listen to another word," she said, before arching a brow. "Besides, we have a game of Capture the Flag to win, don't we?"

Sure, he could wait until they beat the hunters. A few hours wouldn't do any harm.

Silena's armor was so crooked that there was no way it was an accident. It all became very obvious when Beckendorf began fixing up her straps and straightening up the metal plates.

Percy didn't know whether it was because he was raring to go for their game of Capture the Flag, or whether he was losing the plot, but he found himself smirking at the daughter of Aphrodite.

Her blue eyes shone through the bronze helmet, her lips curling into a coy smile. She winked at him, before whispering something to one of her sisters, who giggled.

And then he gets elbowed in the ribs by Thalia.

"I'll take offense," she said to him. "You take defense."

And it all went downhill from there.

He saw a chance to grab the Hunter's flag, so he went for it. But thanks to the Hunter's less-than-moral tactics they lost the game. He would've reached their side comfortably if Zoe hadn't pushed him.

The daughter of Zeus didn't think of it that way, though, and decided to electrocute him in the middle of the camp. To humiliate him in front of everyone.

Percy's body writhed in agony, choking on the acrid smoke from his camp shirt. He didn't even think before he doused the dark-haired girl in ice-cold seawater.

And as if matters couldn't have got any worse, the Oracle had walked out of the Big House and prophesized the death of two out of the five questers.

As far as Thursdays went, this was less than ideal.

"They're insufferable," huffed Silena.

She was sat next to Beckendorf, on the ground at the foot of the Poseidon Cabin. Opposite her sat Percy alongside the Stoll brothers.

"Did you hear her? 'I won't have the Hunters traveling with a boy'." Silena's eyes blazed with anger as she spoke. She looked at Percy, "You're going on that quest."

Well, that was one hell of a U-turn from a few hours ago.

"Erm, Silena," began Percy, "they've made it clear they don't want me there. And the prophecy clearly said only five people will go on the quest."

He appreciated the support, truly. But no one would be able to convince Zoe to reconsider.

"I don't care about what Zoe thinks. If you want to go on that quest, you're going," she said, turning to the Stolls. "Travis, Connor, have you got anything that'll force one of them to stay at the Camp? Something that'll give them a splitting headache, or severe diarrhea."

Travis grinned, "We'll do you one better." He pulled out a vial filled with a dark red substance that had a sort of gold-ish tinge.

Beckendorf's eyes widened, "How'd you get hold of centaur blood?"

"It was a gift," Conner said smugly.

"What's so special about centaur blood?" asked Percy.

"A spray of this stuff," Travis said, as he shook the vial, "Is powerful enough to knock even an Olympian out cold for a few minutes."

"And how are you going to get a Hunter with it? You'll be shot by about fifteen arrows before you can even get the vial out of your pockets."

"By using Annabeth's cap." It was Silena who replied. "They'll give it back."

All of a sudden, both Travis and Connor were far more interested in the pattern that adorned the Poseidon cabin.

"Won't you?" she glared at the two siblings.

"Yes, of course, Silena," Travis muttered under his breath.

"Good," she said standing up. "Charlie can you seal the big house door and window with that soundproof putty you made?" she asked.

"Yeah, no problem," he grinned.

Silena flashed a smile at him, "Thanks." She turned to Percy, "I'll get Blackjack ready for you."

"What do I need to do?" asked Percy.

Everyone else here had something to do apart from him. Surely he could help in some way, it wasn't like he didn't have any skills.

"You, dear Percy," she said, placing a hand on his shoulder. Warmth bloomed through his arm, melting through the iron-clad grip of the bitter night. "Need to sleep. You have a long few days ahead of you."

The prophecy had been right. Only three of them made it to Olympus for the winter solstice. And if it wasn't for Artemis, Percy was pretty sure the gods would've had him and Thalia killed.

Once the meeting had adjourned, the Olympians decided to celebrate. Why they threw a party, Percy had no idea. One minute they were voting to kill two demigods and an ophiotaurus, and the next they were partying like there was no tomorrow.

Even the sky changed color, a deep navy blanket, golden stars blinking as glasses of nectar clinked against one another. Tumblers of sparkling drinks floated across the streets of Olympus, lingering beside the gods. A trail of vines rose from the ground, leaves curling around to form a table. Dionysus grunted as a minor goddess approached him.

"It's amazing, isn't it? A grumpy old sod like him fell in love with Ariadne."

He turned around to see a beautiful goddess standing beside him.

Aphrodite.

Again.

He still hadn't been able to wrap his head around their meeting in the limo. Why had she been so insistent that he was on this quest because he was in love with Annabeth?

"What do you want?" He asked.

The goddess looked offended. "Me? I don't want anything. I was just checking up on you,"

Yeah, no. Even he knew that Olympians didn't just 'check up' on someone.

"So, did you think about any of the things we talked about?" She looked at him expectantly.

"No."

Yes. For far longer than he'd like to admit.

She sighed, "Well that's disappointing," before muttering something about 'ignorant heroes.'

"Did you learn nothing from your quest?"

"The sky's really heavy?" he shrugged.

"I can't believe I went to all that effort for nothing," she huffed.

What effort? She had literally talked to him for ten minutes in a limousine. Even Apollo had tried harder.

"Excuse me? Who do you think got you on the quest?"

He hadn't meant to speak out loud. Oh well.

"Silena did. She planned everything out," he replied.

"Oh please, who do you think planted the idea in the first place?" scoffed Aphrodite, her eyes narrowing. "Don't tell me you actually thought that silly girl was capable enough to sabotage a hunter's quest."

And while Aphrodite might not have cared about her daughter, Silena was his friend.

"She's not sill-"

Aphrodite waved him off, "And how do you think those Hermes kids got hold of the centaur blood?" She plucked a champagne flute out of the air.

So perhaps she'd pulled some strings for him. But why? Surely it can't have been simply to weave a 'good, tragic love story,' as she had so eloquently put it. Nor could it have been to interrogate him on his feelings.

She'd even warned him about Hephaestus's junkyard, not that it had helped in any way. Not that he'd been smart enough to understand her cryptic message.

If only he was smarter and knew more about the world he lived in, and the monsters surrounding him. If only he hadn't told her the plan.

At the end of the day, it would be his fault.

"So you told Silena what to do?" he asked, hands playing with the hem of his torn shirt.

It was his fault Nico had been abandoned. The boy would hate him forevermore.

And he deserved it.

"Goodness no. She has no idea."

"So how did you-"

Aphrodite interrupted him, "Ah, ah. If I told you, I would have to kill you."

Even though the goddess of love was smiling, Percy wasn't sure whether she was joking.

"Oh, would you look at that," said Aphrodite dryly, her eyes flashing blue – like fairground cotton candy. Her smirk widened, lips curling around like Dionysus's vines, threatening to ensnare him. "Hermes wants to talk to you."

And then she walked away, her cream dress trailing behind her.

She'd done something, that much he knew. Though what exactly she had done, he had no idea about.

"What's wrong?" Silena asked him.

Everything. Nico had disappeared, Bianca and Zoe were dead, and Luke was still alive.

"Nothing," he said instead. "I'm just a bit tired."

"You can trust me, you know," she said. "If anything's bothering you-"

"I'm fine." His words came out harshly, and gods he was just so tired.

A flash of hurt passed through Silena's eyes, but it was gone almost as soon as it appeared.

"Sorry," he apologized. "I just... I don't know..." he trailed off. "He killed her, you know?"

"Who?"

"Atlas. He killed Zoe. His own daughter. I didn't think that anyone would actually die."

He sank to the floor. It wasn't cold enough, painful enough. He wanted to freeze on the spot, forget the reminders. Forget his failures.

"And you know what the worst thing is? Apart from Artemis, none of the gods cared." He ran a hand through his hair. "Bianca died in Hephaestus's junkyard. How messed up is that? And then-"

Thunder roared in the distance, drowning his thoughts out. Zeus could smite him on the spot, perhaps it'd be for the best, but he wasn't going to be quietened by him.

"The gods-"

Silena placed a hand on his arm, his words dying on his lips. Her jumper tickled at his exposed skin. A squirrel scuttled across the path to Zeus's fist.

"I'm sorry about what happened to Bianca and Zoe," she said gently. "And the gods, well," her voice darkened, "when have they ever cared about anything that didn't involve them?"

"So why are we doing this? Why are we fighting for the gods Silena?" he asked, lips twisting into a frown.

"Because the alternative is much, much worse."

Percy didn't ask for the Empousai to attack him and Rachel Elizabeth Dare. He couldn't understand why Annabeth had been so angry at him when he told her about the monsters.

It wasn't his fault. He was looking forward to the movie and some pizza after the orientation, but then Annabeth decided to change their plans. And so they drove in silence to Camp Half-Blood.

He dreaded the impending iris message from his mom who would inevitably ask him about his 'date' with Annabeth. Hopefully, that was a problem for some other day.

Percy didn't even get a chance to talk to Grover properly after the hearing, because of cabin inspection. He ran off as soon as he heard the conch horn. His cabin was probably filled with chocolate wrappers and empty packets of chips from the winter.

He really didn't want to be on washing-up duty for the rest of the week.

But when he got to the Poseidon cabin it was clean. Not just clean, it was practically sparkling. Tyson stood in the cabin broom in hand desperately scrubbing away at the floor.

"Percy!" Tyson dropped the broom and squeezed the demigod in a bear hug.

The cyclops showed him the vast array of vases he'd filled with oceanic plants. Tyson had created mini hippocampi models made from celestial bronze, which hung from the ceiling.

On the wall hung a shield. His shield, which had been damaged in the winter whilst he was trying to protect the Di Angelo siblings from the manticore. He had failed miserably, Bianca was dead, and Nico had disappeared. And it was all his fault.

Meanwhile, the shield hung there, without a scratch, restored to its original state.

"Oh my," came a voice from behind him.

Silena was standing in the doorway with the inspection scroll. She looked different. Maybe her hair was lighter – not quite the chocolate brown like the winter – or perhaps it was simply the cabin casting a ghostly blue shadow over everything in its vicinity.

Her mouth curved into a smile as she stepped into the cabin. She raised an eyebrow and whistled appreciatively as she inspected the cabin.

"You certainly clean up nicely, don't you?" she said with a wink. "Annabeth rubbing off on you after one date?"

Percy blushed, grimacing as he spoke, "We didn't go on a date?"

Silena raised an eyebrow, "Are you asking me or telling me?"

"Telling?"

Silena's grin just widened at his reply.

"Telling." This time it was much more confident.

"So you're saying watching a movie with Annabeth alone wasn't a date?" She asked, taking a seat on one of the beds.

"We didn't watch a movie. We came straight here," he explained.

"Why? Annabeth was looking forward to it," Silena sighed. "I'm sure you were as well."

"Well, the school got attacked by empousai, and if it wasn't for Rachel-"

"Rachel?" She raised a brow.

"Just a girl from the orientation," he said quickly. "Anyway we running away from the empousai-"

Silena groaned, "You idiot."

Was he not supposed to run away from the empousai? Is that why Annabeth had been so annoyed with him? Because he'd missed something obvious?

"What have I done?" he asked incredulously.

"The other girl you just mentioned," she said, "Rachel was it?"

Percy nodded.

"That's why you didn't go on your date. It's because Annabeth was jealous," she said, matter-of-factly.

Annabeth? Jealous? That didn't make any sense.

"But we're only friends. We don't like each other like that." He shook his head, "Even Aphrodite kept saying-"

Silena held up a hand. "You've met my mom?"

"Yeah," he replied. "Twice."

She bit her bottom lip, "That's not good. Like, really, really not good."

"Why?" His eyes narrowed in confusion.

She looked him in the eye. "Because she's going to make it her personal mission to mess up your life."

Percy chuckled nervously. "She can join the back of the line then,"

"I'm afraid she's going jump the queue," she replied, her tone grim.

It was all Percy could think about for the rest of the day. He couldn't even look at Annabeth when they talked in the afternoon. Even when he fought Quintus in the arena, his guard was either too low, or his parries were too late.

Of all the Olympians to worry him, he'd never have guessed it'd be Aphrodite.

"Percy, will you just stop it."

Silena glared at him as he paced outside the stables. Percy halted to a stop.

A faded Milky Way wrapper fluttered about on the grass. It floated to the side and caught on a stray branch.

"See that wasn't so hard."

Percy drummed his fingers on his knees. "She's going to die on this quest," he choked out.

"Since when did you become a son of Hades?"

Funny she mentioned that because there was one on the loose looking for him.

"We all heard Annabeth. She's practically signed her death warrant." He ran a hand through his hair furiously.

Annabeth was going to die. And there was nothing Percy would be able to do about it.

"Percy look at me," Silena demanded.

She wore a loose orange camp t-shirt; Percy didn't think he'd ever seen her in one. Her hair danced across the camp logo, choreographed by the gentle breeze. Her blue eyes were narrowed.

Cotton candy blue.

Percy felt sick. He stumbled backward, his head hitting the timber barn. He couldn't look her in the eyes.

In Aphrodite's eyes.

'I wish all my daughters could break the heart of a boy as nice as you.'

The corner of the wrapper tore against the branch, darting away from the rest of its body, still trapped under the branch.

"Percy?" She sounded tentative.

His eyes followed the small piece of wrapper along the grass. "I'm fine." And then he added, "It's just the prophecy."

Because he was worried about what the Oracle had said.

"It might mean something else," she said. "Prophecies always have double meanings."

The wrapper disappeared out of sight. Percy closed his eyes.

"I'm sure there are plenty of other things that 'the child of Athena's final stand' could mean," he scowled. "She's been through enough already. It should've been me."

"Don't you dare say that, Perseus Jackson."

"It'll be in everyone's best interests if the Labyrinth does a number on me," he chuckled darkly. "It'll delay the Great Prophecy."

Not by much. But he couldn't mention Nico's parentage, not without putting the camp in more danger.

Silena grabbed his arm. Her hands were warm. He could feel himself leaning into her touch, but he caught himself. He wasn't supposed to feel like this.

So he yanked his arm from her grip, taking a few steps forward. He couldn't... he wouldn't let the words of an insane goddess fester in his mind.

"Hey, it's alright Percy," she said quietly. "Aphrodite won't let a mere Oracle ruin the greatest love story in a millennium." She tucked her hair behind her ear and gave Percy a tight smile.

He gave a nervous laugh, "I suppose not."

He didn't believe her, not even for a split second, but Silena was trying so hard, and he couldn't bring himself to push her away further.

"Just...just stay alive, will you?"

"I'll think about it," he replied, as he kicked at the straw near his feet. His trainer scuffed the soil, uprooting a chunk of grass.

Silena just glared at him.

A demigod goes AWOL for two weeks and everyone decides to assume he was dead. What had the world come to?

The whole camp had gathered in the amphitheatre and watched as a teary-eyed Annabeth set a beautiful green shroud on fire. He had never seen the camp this silent.

Even the breeze had subsided, the straw dummies deathly still. The flames licked over the shroud, deafening in the otherwise static world.

It was strange. It was wrong.

But then Annabeth looked right at him, her eyes shining with tears, and she gasped audibly. The burning shroud was now a hiss in the background, the pale orange flames drowning as the amphitheatre roared back to life. Beckendorf grinned at him, and then Percy was surrounded by dozens of other campers.

Much better.

Clarisse rolled her eyes, Annabeth hugged him (and then yelled at him), and everything was back to normal again.

Most importantly Percy knew how they could navigate the labyrinth. While Annabeth wouldn't be too keen on the idea, he was confident Silena would help him convince the daughter of Athena.

When the crowd began to disperse, he caught sight of the girl. She was walking alongside one of her brothers, who kept throwing glances at a girl from the Demeter cabin.

Her brother caught sight of Percy and gave him a small nod, before nudging Silena. He jogged up to the Demeter girl.

"Hey Silena," he called.

She kept on walking.

"Silena?"

Again she gave no indication she'd heard him.

"Silena!"

This time it was much louder, and there was no way could've missed it. But she didn't turn around, instead, she sped up, fidgeting with her silver bracelet.

Had he done something wrong?

He ran up to her and took hold of her arm in an attempt to stop her.

"Get off me," she spat, her voice trembling.

A jolt shot through his spine, like a shock of unyielding lightning. He snatched his arm away, eyes wide.

"Sorry," he muttered, shaking his hand slightly. "Will you listen to me for one second? Please?"

Yet again, she ignored him and seemed to be far more interested in her bracelet.

"I need your help, like, really urgently-" He said before he was cut off.

"I'm busy. So I'd appreciate it if you would stop following me."

She didn't even bother to face him as she spoke. She didn't need to. Her bitter melody was enough.

And it hurt. Because as far as he was aware, they had been friends, and now this.

He wasn't even sure what he'd done wrong.

"Fine. I'll go," he said quietly.

And he does eventually, dragging his feet towards the Big House.

"I know how we can navigate the labyrinth without Ariadne's string," he told Chiron who had been waiting for him.

After Annabeth arrived, Percy began to explain how they could ask Rachel to help them. And as Percy had guessed, Annabeth hadn't reacted well to the news.

No, in fact, she had stormed out of the Big House, slamming the maroon door behind her. The jar of marshmallows toppled over, pastel twists tumbling onto the plastic table.

It couldn't have gone any worse.

They were going to blow up the Princess Andromeda tomorrow. They'd been planning it for weeks, but now that the day was almost here, Percy felt nauseous.

He was alone in the room, Beckendorf had gone to collect the armor, and all he could do was think about their mission. To blow up Kronos's ship, and kill the Titan before the war could even start.

Before Kronos could lay a finger on Olympus.

But the chances of him and Beckendorf escaping the explosion were slim to none. They would have ten seconds to set the jars of Greek fire off and jump into the sea, where Percy would take over.

So to distract himself, he checked over his supplies several more times than necessary. The list was impossible to read, the words swimming on the page, but Annabeth had quizzed him on it for hours on end so much so that he didn't even need the checklist.

And yet he stared at it desperately, waiting for something – anything – to appear and provide them with a safer alternative.

The clock on the table ticked loudly. Incessantly. He shoved the list away.

He rummaged through the bag once more, double-checking whether they'd packed everything.

Nectar. Check.

Ambrosia. Check.

Duct Tap-

"Wha-?"

He flew backward, shoved up against the wall. A pair of hands gripped his camp t-shirt.

"Tell Charlie not to go," she said, her voice trembling. "It's too dangerous."

They hadn't spoken since last summer when Percy had returned from Ogygia.

Now Silena clutched at his arms, her eyes welling up with tears.

"You can tell him yourself," he scowled. "I've got things to do if you'll excuse me."

She didn't let go of his arms. Instead, her grip just tightened, her bracelet digging into his forearm. The sleeves of her turquoise blouse rubbed against his skin.

"Please, Percy," she pleaded. "He won't listen to me."

"And what makes you think he'll listen to me?" he scoffed.

A tear slipped out of her eyes. "Just try," she begged. "You won't have to talk to me ever again, I swear, just try."

"Fine," he said, pushing her off. Yeah, he was bitter over last summer, sue him.

She stumbled backward and said a quiet, "Thanks."

Silena turned back when she reached the door.

"Stay safe."

Her brows knitted together tightly, as she swallowed thickly. Her eyes flitted back and forth between Percy and the supply bag.

"You don't have to pretend to care, you know," muttered Percy.

The girl winced, she opened her mouth to say something but decided against it, and trudged out of the room.

And when Charlie returned Percy did, in fact, try to talk him out of it.

"Hey man, if you're going, I'm going too," Beckendorf had replied, before grinning, "We're a team, right?"

"Silena's worried about you. Don't do this to her," he argued, rolling up the map of the Princess Andromeda.

"Of course she's worried. That's practically her job," he chuckled. "You were distraught over Annabeth when the Titans kept her captive. It's only natural."

"Look, this is different," he said quietly, "We can go another day."

"Don't worry, It'll be just like we practiced," reassured Beckendorf. "Now, which helmet do you want?"

('All my fault. Should've tried harder,' is all he thinks when he falls into the sea. 'My fault.' And then he loses consciousness)

His eyes squeezed shut as Annabeth held him, burying his face in her, choking on the scent of lavenders.

Beckendorf was gone and it was all his fault. Crowds of campers congratulated him, and all Percy wanted to do was curl up into a ball.

He had failed. He had killed Beckendorf, and he was getting congratulated.

"Where's Charlie?"

Percy forced his eyes open and stepped out of Annabeth's arms.

Silena stood there, her gaze burning through Percy. Something in his chest twisted painfully, squeezing his heart in a vice-like grip. He couldn't breathe.

He didn't deserve to breathe. Beckendorf should've been the one to return. Not him.

Percy couldn't even find it in himself to scowl at the girl, gods, he didn't even know why they were fighting.

Maybe she always knew that he was destined to fail. He wouldn't forgive himself for this. She wouldn't ever forgive him. And he wouldn't even blame her.

It would be like Nico all over again.

And this time he wouldn't even fight the anger, the insults. Because he didn't deserve to. Because he'd failed.

Again.

"He..." Percy took a few steps towards her. "Silena, I'm so sorry," he choked out.

"No," she muttered. "No. No. No."

She staggered, and as though he was on autopilot, he found himself steadying her gently, his hands on her shoulders. He had no idea how got there.

Silena sank into his chest, clutching at his shirt as she sobbed. He wrapped his arms loosely around her, chin resting on her head.

"I'm sorry," he whispered, rubbing slow circles on her pink sweater.

Sorry. Sorry. Sorry. Sorry. Sorry. Sorry. Sorry. Sorry. Sorry. Sorry. Sorry. Sorry. Sorry. Sorry. Sorry. Sorry.

My fault. My fault. My fault. My fault. My fault. My fault. My fault. My fault. My fault. My fault.

He wasn't sure how long they stood there, with her tucked in his arms. But then Chiron announced an emergency meeting for all Head Counsellors.

He didn't let go of her. Whatever it was that Chiron wanted to discuss could wait a few moments.

And then someone flicked his shoulder. "Prissy."

"Chiron and Annabeth are waiting for you," said Clarisse. And then she lowered her voice, "I'll look after her," she indicated to Silena.

He unwrapped his arms, albeit reluctantly. Silena still clutched his – now damp – t-shirt, her head resting on his chest.

"Hey, Silena?" Clarisse said softly. "Let's go to the Big House. I'll make you some hot chocolate."

The daughter of Aphrodite let go of his shirt, her fingers lingering until Clarisse threw an arm around her shoulder.

Percy watched the daughter of Ares guide her away.

(The meeting had been an absolute disaster from start to finish. From the moment Clarisse stormed off, all the way to finding out Typhon was on the loose.

And if that wasn't enough, he had told everyone about the spy in the camp, which had caused counselors to hurl accusations left, right, and center.

Oh, yeah, and he'd also learned that he was destined to die.)

It didn't matter how hard he tried to delay it, eventually only the Aphrodite cabin was left. Gods, maybe he shouldn't have swapped jobs with Annabeth. There was a reason Chiron had given him the reports and inspection duty to Annabeth.

He hadn't spoken to Silena since he returned to camp. He hadn't even looked at her during Beckendorf's funeral. How could he, after he all but killed her friend?

Not that it mattered since she'd disappeared immediately after the shroud was burnt.

The door to the Aphrodite cabin was already open, and Percy knocked thrice before going in. The heady scent of perfume made him gag, his insides churning and his eyes burning. The blinds were pulled tautly, the windows obscured completely. The decorative lamp in the corner offered meager scraps of light.

Silena sat on her bunk, her head leaning against the wall. It appeared to be peach, its usual baby-pink hue swallowed by the darkness. She had a box of chocolates on her lap and stared blankly at her hands.

"Hey Silena," he greeted, tapping his pen against his thigh. He hung back by the door leaning against a table just beside it.

Silena turned slightly, "Oh, hey Percy." Her shoulders were drooped and her eyes puffed up and bloodshot.

He wasn't sure what to say. What he was even supposed to say?

He swallowed thickly, "good job on the cabin."

She just nodded, her fingers pulling at her bedsheets. A thread came loose as one of her nails caught on the fabric of the beige, satin sheets.

"How are you?" asked Percy.

Her reply was, "Do you want a bonbon?"

Okay then.

"Erm, no thanks," he said, confusion creeping into his voice. He had never seen Silena look so expressionless. It was like she was in another world altogether. "Silena?"

"Hmmm?" It sounded robotic, an automated response. Her eyes were blank.

The cold shoulder had agitated him, made him restless. Filled him with the need to pace around for hours on end wondering why she hated him so much. Wondering where he'd messed up.

Maybe she'd known all along he was destined to fail.

This was something else altogether. It felt like the air was running thin, like the world was becoming hazier by the second.

Maybe this is what drowning felt like.

If this is what he felt, then only the gods knew what Silena was going through. And he knew he should steer clear of her, that she probably still hated him, but if he felt like fleeing the cabin in the space of a few minutes, then she needed to leave now.

He marched across the cabin, refusing to let her wither away into a soulless vessel.

"Let's go on a walk," he said, grabbing her arm. She tried to shrug him off, but his hold tightened.

She shook her head. "I don't want to."

"You can't just stay here like this," his tone was slightly exasperated.

"Just go," she muttered, turning away.

That wasn't going to happen. Not this time. It didn't matter if she hated him for the rest of her life, he was going to drag her out with him.

"It won't take long. I promise."

"Why are you doing this?" she asked quietly. "I've been nothing but awful to you this past year."

He looked at her, "Because you're my friend. And friends help each other, don't they?"

It was a last-ditch effort. He knew full well that Silena thought of him as anything but a friend. Nemesis, monster, and villain were far closer to the truth.

But the girl took pity on him. Or rather, just accepted that to get rid of him she'd have to follow him.

"You're so stubborn," she said monotonously but didn't protest as he dragged her out of the cabin.

They found themselves at the beach, where their only company was the sand and the sea. Usually, he could hear the voices of all sorts of fish conversing with each other. This time though, waves lapped onto the sand, carrying nothing but small rocks and shards of broken shells.

It was brighter here than it was at the Aphrodite cabin, and it was only now that Percy noticed the bags under Silena's eyes. Her blouse was creased, the floral hem ruffled by the gentle breeze. Her hair blew into her face, eyes the color of the glittering sea behind her.

She looked beautiful.

And it shouldn't have been so surprising. She was a daughter of Aphrodite, after all. But his breath hitched nonetheless, and he forced himself to let go of her arm.

He tugged at the sea, summoning a ball of water, the size of a golf ball. The water changed shape on his command until it formed what looked vaguely like a flower – the ones kindergarteners drew, with petals of all different sizes, and a sharp vertical stem.

He held it out. "For you," he said, "For coming to the beach with me so I wouldn't look like a loner."

"Thanks," she murmured, with the barest hint of a painful smile. It wasn't much, and it wasn't close to reaching her eyes, but it was progress.

If his concentration wasn't on keeping the water in the shape of a flower, he might've blushed when she plucked the flower from his hand, their fingers briefly brushing against each other.

After a moment, "I'm sorry," she said. "I've been such an ass to you and-"

There were far more important things to worry about now, and here she was apologizing for something that seemed so insignificant. Yet his heart fluttered because maybe she didn't hate him.

"Hey, it's fine," he cut her off. And it was fine because she was talking to him now, and that was enough.

It was more than enough. Silena should've been hating him with all of her heart. It was the least he deserved.

He was a killer. A murderer. He wasn't good enough. If only he had tried harder... If only he hadn't goaded the Titan Lord...

Gods, why had he been so stupid? Beckendorf would still be alive if Percy hadn't taunted Kronos.

"Percy, are you not scared?" She asked, twisting the water flower around her fingers.

All the time.

"Of what?"

"Of anything?" She wasn't looking at him, but instead at the sea.

Yeah, far too many things. But he couldn't tell her.

No. He was supposed to be the hero of the Great Prophecy. If he showed even a hint of weakness, he would shatter any remaining hope the demigods had left.

If they even had hope.

So he plastered a smile on, "Annabeth's terrifying sometimes."

The daughter of Athena had a death stare that would leave even monsters close to tears. He'd been on the receiving end of it more times than he'd like to admit.

His answer didn't amuse Silena. Her hands were clenched, and the poor flower suffocating.

"I'm being serious Percy," she said, brushing her hair away from her face with her left hand. Her silver bracelet gleamed in the sunlight, almost blinding Percy.

There was a vague shape on the charm, but it was too small to see from that far away. Probably some designer logo Percy had never even heard of.

"I dunno," shrugged Percy. "The Prophecy bothers me sometimes."

Lies. All lies. It had kept him awake during the night, sleep now a long-lost luxury. He spent more time pacing around his cabin these past few days than he spent training in the arena.

Her eyes met his, "Bothers you a bit? Percy it literally said you're going to-" she cut herself off and shook her head.

"Prophecy's have double meanings. You said it yourself last year," he said quietly, more for her sake than his.

There was no point in trying to convince himself; he knew his fate was sealed. If it meant that he would save his friends in the process, it wouldn't be such a bad thing.

Right?

"It's different this time," she whispered, running her free hand through her knotted hair.

"Why?" he asked, crossing his arms.

And despite Percy's own beliefs on the matter, even he knew it wasn't different. Not really anyway, they had all assumed Annabeth was going to die last year, but she was alive and well.

'Well' was a bit of an overstatement, given the fact that they were fighting a war, but she was alive.

"Because... Because it's..." her voice wavered. "I don't know," she finished unconvincingly, her voice strangled.

Her next words were so quiet, they were almost lost in the breeze.

"Run away with me."

Her eyes were so blue and for a moment he thought Aphrodite had spoken the words. Thousands of thoughts ran through his mind, none of them having anything to do with Silena's words.

A wave rushed up to the shore, taking his ability to form words as it retreated to the sea. And there it would wait until it was soaked up by the late afternoon sun, casting a golden sheen over the sea and the sand alike.

"You can escape the Prophecy. We can pretend to be normal," she whispered, grabbing his hand.

Her purple blouse had splatters of water; the flower must've lost its shape. That explained the patch of wet sand by her feet.

Could Percy even be normal anymore? It had been so many years since he'd experienced anything remotely normal.

A small part of him was tempted. Tempted to leave the fighting to someone else, tempted to live a life without monsters, tempted to be free of responsibility.

But that would mean leaving his friends, leaving Annabeth and Grover and Tyson, and everything else Camp Half-Blood had given him. It would mean surrendering the Prophecy to Nico. To a kid who didn't deserve to be condemned to death.

"I can't, Silena," he said, finally finding his voice. "I can't just let someone else die instead of me," he swallowed.

She chuckled bitterly, "I should've known. Of course, you care more about the gods than yourself."

It wasn't that, at least Percy didn't think so. He wasn't that loyal to the gods; he wasn't fighting for their approval. Or maybe just maybe he wanted his father to give him a pat on the back. Or a well-done son.

"Percy the gods don't care. You can throw yourself in the firing line a thousand times and they still won't care," she spat. Her eyes blazed with fury, her mouth twisting into a scowl.

Even when they weren't speaking, Silena hadn't been this angry with him. Hell, she hadn't been shown this sort of fury to the hunters.

But then again, she had lost her best friend in the war, and the gods had said nothing. The gods were fighting their own battle against Typhon.

Another thing that was his fault. His sins before the Titan war alone would be enough to guarantee him a one-way ticket to Tartarus.

If he hadn't caused the stupid explosion maybe the gods would be helping them. Maybe Silena would've got some reassurance from her mother if she wasn't fighting some ancient monster.

"Silena, they do care," he squeezed her hand. It was so soft. "If I hadn't woken Typhon-"

"Don't you dare blame yourself," she demanded, her eyes narrowing. "It's their own fault. If they hadn't been so ignorant, if they had listened, none of this would be happening."

The Olympians listening to mere mortals? Yeah, that was impossible. But yet they were so reliant on their half-blood children.

The irony was laughable.

"I'm not blaming anyone, Silena. It's the truth," he said, shoving his free hand into his pocket. His other hand was still interlinked with Silena's.

She shrugged, but her frown told him that she didn't believe a single word.

Oh, ye of little faith.

It didn't matter though, because he finally had his friend back.

Percy stepped into the river. And then he was falling. Plummeting down a bottomless cavern. He couldn't breathe, although that might've been the water. The water which was no longer in sight.

There was nothing. Nothing. Nothing. Nothing...

This place, whatever it was echoed his thoughts back to him. There was no one there apart from him, no voice nothing. But he felt his thoughts being bounced back to him.

It was so cold. Cold, cold, cold...

His heart was beating so fast, he was afraid that it was going to burst any second now. Three, two –

And then he saw a pair of tawny, feathered wings, like those of a pegasus. The figure flew towards him, wings beating majestically.

It was a girl. A girl with baby blue eyes. She looked so familiar to the green-eyed boy. What was her name?

What was his name again?

Panic set into the dark-haired boy. He was no one. No one. No one...

The winged girl caught him, stopping him mid-fall. Her shiny brown hair framed her face, ringlets cascading down her back.

And she smiled at him.

An angel was smiling at him. A nobody.

He could see the sky again. Fluffy, white clouds were dotted here and there, standing out against the bright blue. It was getting closer with each flap of the angel's wings.

The angel loosened her hold on him. They were flying over a field filled with dandelions and buttercups.

Percy – he was called Percy Jackson - didn't even remember leaving the dark cavern and – oh no.

He was falling again. The Angel had flown off, and there was no one to save him this time.

It turned out he didn't need saving, as he landed on a soft bed of grass, surrounded by three other people: Annabeth, Tyson, and Grover.

They were joking and laughing, and Percy couldn't help but smile alongside them. Annabeth's blonde hair was covered in straw, which seemed odd, but everything here was weird. Grover was eating normal food rather than tin cans, and Tyson laughed as a grasshopper danced across his palm.

And then someone was calling his name. A young boy.

Percy's eyes flew open, and he pushed himself up. His arms were bright red, and his body felt as though it had been set on fire.

"You're hurt," came Nico's voice.

The young boy was sitting on the sand beside the river. Beside the River Styx.

None of that had been real. It had been the river messing with his mind, there was no endless pit, no angel, no field. Nothing.

He just hoped this whole Curse of Achilles thing worked out.

(Turned out it did, because not even ten minutes later he's single-handedly managed to destroy an army of zombies sent by Hades.

Maybe, just maybe, they'd win this war.)

The Empire State Building was illuminated in a harsh cobalt, an alarmingly bright beacon for the Titans. The doors were wedged open, but the entryway was empty, not a single person in the queue.

The only sign of life was the forty demigods clustered on the footpath. Forty demigods ready to fight Kronos. Ready to lay their lives on the line.

One of whom was a spy.

He couldn't think about that now, no, he wasn't going to drag the team morale down. They would defeat Kronos regardless of his spy.

Silena was amongst the campers. Amongst the fighters. He knew from previous games of Capture the Flag that she was a decent commander, especially when it came to decoy. She'd led a group of campers around the back of the creek, acting as bait for the hunters.

And then Thalia decided to get caught. Which then resulted in Percy getting surrounded, and well, what happened after that wasn't exactly a secret.

It was a shame that the Aphrodite cabin rarely took part in the usual games of Capture the Flag. A cabin filled with campers who could inspire the most obstinate of soldiers to march into war on their behalf.

"Where on earth did you go?" the brunette demanded storming toward him.

A few campers glanced at them, but Silena threw a withering glare in their direction. They hastily turned back, resuming their muttering.

"On a walk?" He replied.

Silena punched his shoulder. There was really no need for that.

"Ow," he grimaced, clutching his shoulder.

He stumbled a bit, because, well, there was no point trying to half-ass a fake injury. He thought about tripping, but a quick look at Silena's narrowed eyes told him she was having none of it.

"Not even the gods can help us if our hero can't even take a punch." She huffed.

Of course, it didn't hurt him. He was invulnerable. But he couldn't exactly announce it in front of everyone.

Not when there was a spy amongst them.

"Oi, that's so rude," he pouted, but the corners of his mouth twitched ever so slightly.

Silena rolled her eyes but didn't respond immediately. She fidgeted with her bracelet, which hung loosely on her wrist.

"I...We..." she began, her gaze darting towards him. "The camp was worried sick about you," she breathed.

He probably should've let someone know where he was going. He would've, but Nico had barely given Percy enough to agree to his plan before Shadow Travelling to the underworld.

"I'm sorry about that," he said, with an apologetic smile, "It won't happen again."

Hopefully not, unless the whole River Styx thing had an expiry date. That would certainly be annoying, having to go to Hades's realm again.

"It better not," she frowned, crossing her arms. "I'll kill you myself if you pull another stunt like that."

Percy just grinned at her.

Travis cleared his throat. "Uh, if we find a really nice phone-"

"No. You can't keep it," Percy said firmly. This, naturally, was followed by several groans.

Once everyone had gotten over their disappointment, Percy said, "Right then. We'll get going in-"

"Hold it, Percy." It was Jake. "You forgot the Lincoln Tunnel."

Percy sighed in frustration. Of course he'd forgotten something. And everyone was already preoccupied. If only Clarisse hadn't thrown a hissy fit over a chariot then-

"How about you leave that to us," came a very familiar voice from behind.

Percy turned around to see Thalia Grace standing with about thirty other huntresses. All of them were ready for battle, hands resting on their bows, their wolves prowling around.

"Thalia!" Annabeth cried and ran towards the daughter of Zeus.

The daughter of Zeus grinned, "The Hunters of Artemis, reporting for duty."

Percy had never been happier to see Thalia, like, ever. Maybe, just maybe, the odds were starting to shift.

There were hugs all around. Well, it was mostly campers hugging and high-fiving Thalia – the other hunters standing a fair distance away.

Not long after, they were all ready to go. The hunters went first, followed by the Hermes and Hephaestus cabins. Then it was Demeter and Apollo cabins. That left the Athena and Aphrodite cabin.

Annabeth was having a long-winded discussion with Malcolm, going over plan twenty-three, whatever that was. Daedalus had mentioned it somewhere on his laptop.

Percy approached the Aphrodite cabin. Silena was talking her siblings through the plan, the route they were going to take, and the traps they were going to set.

One of Silena's sisters said something to her, causing her to turn around.

Percy felt his chest tighten at the sight. It shouldn't have been possible for anyone to look so beautiful in a set of dull metal armor. But there she was, chocolate brown hair tied up, and her pink lips forming a smile.

"Hey there, Silena," he breathed out. He was surprised that he could actually speak, that his tongue wasn't all muddled like his brain.

"Hey, Percy." She bit her bottom lip, her eyes meeting his. Her eyes were like the sunset. Or more precisely, the moment after sunset, a faint ring of cyan around the edges blended into a deep azure around her pupils.

From the corner of his eyes, he could see the rest of the Aphrodite cabin begin to wander off. It was just him and Silena.

"So..." he trailed off.

What was wrong with him? They had only spoken a couple of hours ago and he had been fine then.

"You okay there?" she asked.

He noticed a strand of hair that had come loose from her hair tie. It was distracting.

Percy nodded, "Yeah." He was still staring at the stray strand of hair.

He blamed his actions on his messed up thoughts – Silena's hair certainly didn't help – but he surged forward and hugged the daughter of Aphrodite.

She let out a surprised, "Oof," as he pressed her against him, wrapping his arms around her.

"Be careful," he whispered. "If anything happens, you tell me straight away."

He didn't care if she called him because of a small fly or Kronos himself. If anything happened to her, he would never forgive himself.

He felt her nod against his chest followed by a muffled, "Can't breathe, Percy."

"Sorry." He loosened his hold, letting Silena step back.

She cupped his cheek, "Promise me you'll stay safe."

They were close. So close. If he leaned down a touch, their noses would bump into each other.

"We all heard the Prophecy. I don't think I get much say in the matter," he replied with a bitter smile.

"Forget the stupid prophecy," she gritted her teeth. "You have to come back," she said, her gaze intense. "You have to," her voice wavered.

"How about we make a deal? You stay safe, and I stay alive, yeah?" he whispered.

She let out a watery laugh, "We're in a war. I might not stay safe, I might-"

"And I might get hit by an arrow," he said to her.

It would have to be a well-targeted arrow, one that would hit the small of his back. But it might happen.

"Why would you even-"

"Silena? It's time for us to go."

They jumped away from each other.

One of Silena's sisters was standing across from them, her curious gaze fixed on Silena.

"Good luck," Silena muttered to him, before joining her sister.

He watched the Aphrodite cabin leave as they began their journey to the Queens-Midtown tunnel. Silena lead from the front, her helmet now on. She was a natural leader, giving orders to the rest of the cabin, all of whom obediently followed.

A voice called out his name.

It was Annabeth. She was waiting for him arms crossed, ready to go.

"You like her, don't you?" asked Annabeth, as he approached.

"Who?"

Annabeth rolled her eyes impatiently, "You're not that thick." She gave him a tight smile, "Of course you do, she's a daughter of Aphrodite."

"Erm, yeah. We're friends." He shoved a hand in his pocket, fingers running over the plastic shell of Riptide.

The blonde huffed, "Gods Percy. You're so dense."

"What? Why?" he asked, raising his other arm.

"Nothing," she said sharply. "Let's just get on with it," she said, marching ahead.

Okay then. That was weird.

The blast had killed Michael Yew. A blast caused by Percy.

It was supposed to be small, just enough to separate them from Kronos and his demigods. But the bridge had been weaker than it looked, and now there was asphalt and debris everywhere, cables and wires were suspended in mid-air.

Michael must've fallen off the bridge. He was dead because of Percy. Another demigod was dead because of him.

He was desperately rummaging through the wreckage in an attempt to find the Apollo Head Counsellor, when his mom's phone rang.

"Percy?" It was Silena's voice, raw and shaky, as though she'd been crying. "Plaza Hotel. You'd better come quick and bring a healer from the Apollo cabin."

"Silena, what happened? Are you okay?" he asked urgently.

"It's...it's Annabeth," she whispered before the line went dead.

No. No. No.

She had to be okay. She had to be. She had saved his life, and now she was dying. Why did everyone around him get hurt?

Percy sprinted towards the Apollo campers on their side of the bridge.

"Woah, there Percy," said one of the campers.

"I need a healer," Percy said, his eyes scanning the group, "Now."

A blond kid, Will Solace, stepped forward.

"What happened?" he asked.

"It's Annabeth," he said quickly. "She got hit by a knife."

A knife that would've killed Percy, had Annabeth not jumped in the way.

"You lot carry on looking for Michael," he said to the others. They nodded.

He deserved a send-off fit for the finest of heroes. Wrapped in a shroud, not lost underwater. Or worse yet, trapped under tonnes of rubble and asphalt from the blast.

Percy turned to Will. "You're coming with me."

He began looking for a scooter, a Vespa, a bike – anything would do.

They eventually found a motorcycle and hopped on. The key was still in the engine, and despite never having ridden one, Percy revved the engine and they practically flew to the Plaza. He drove at speeds that would probably give the average mortal a heart attack and took shortcuts that definitely weren't legal.

They ran into the building, which seemed to be overrun by Hunters and demigods alike. A hunter gave him directions towards the elevators.

They really should've taken the stairs. This was far too slow. The waiting was going to kill him. But eventually, they reached the penthouse suites.

"Where's Annabeth," Percy asked Jake Mason.

"The terrace, she's alive, man, but-"

Percy pushed past him, dragging Will alongside him. The people began to move out of the way, with Jake barking orders at them.

Annabeth was lying on one of the lounge chairs. She was covered in blankets, but the blonde was still shivering. Silena was wiping Annabeth's forehead with a small cloth.

"Annabeth," he said as he ran towards the other two.

"Hey," Annabeth croaked. "Poison on the dagger," she mumbled. "Pretty stupid of me, huh?"

She tried for a chuckle, but it turned into a cough, and then a wince, as Will unwrapped the bandages around her wound. There was a deep gash, a horrible shade of green, but thankfully it wasn't bleeding any more.

"Careful there, Annabeth," said Will. "It's not so bad. The venom hasn't got past the shoulder yet," he exhaled in relief. "Somebody hand me some nectar."

Percy grabbed the canteen and passed it to Will. Annabeth gripped Percy's hand tightly, as the son of Apollo cleaned out the wound. Silena muttered words of encouragement, her eyes glistening with unshed tears.

Silena was in her camp t-shirt, her armor discarded to the side. Her hair was knotted, her hair tie wrapped around her wrist, covering her bracelet.

"We're going to need some mortal supplies," said Will once he was done applying a silver paste to Annabeth's wound.

Annabeth let go of Percy's hand, her eyes squeezed shut.

Will grabbed a pen, wrote down some notes on a clean tissue, and handed it to one of the Athena guys. "There's a Duane Reade on Fifth. Normally I would never steal-"

"I would," Travis volunteered eagerly.

"Leave cash or drachmas to pay, whatever you have," he glared at him. "But this is an emergency. I've got a feeling we've got a lot more people to treat."

As Travis gathered a group of demigods for the drugstore visit, Will turned back to Annabeth.

"Here take this." He handed her a small capsule and a bottle of water. "The wound will heal faster if you sleep." He then looked at Percy, "You can stay if you like, but don't disturb her. It'll slow the healing process."

Annabeth fell asleep within ten minutes. Her breathing became measured – calm, even – and her skin was slowly beginning to lose its pallor.

Percy got up from his kneeling position and walked over to the edge of the terrace. He leaned over the metal railings, the breeze running through his hair.

The skies were clear, not a cloud to be seen – perfect for a picnic or a hike, or pretty much anything else apart from fighting monsters. And yet Manhattan was a ghost town, dead to the rest of the world.

What would it be like to be one of the mortals who lay on the streets, unconscious and blissfully unaware of what was going on?

Would he be dreaming as chaos ensued around him? Or would he be trapped in an abyss – locked in another dimension – able to see and hear everything going on, but unable to do anything?

"I'm sorry," came Silena's soft voice from his right. "It's all my fault."

He stared ahead, towards Central Park, and the hundreds of mortals sprawled on the floor.

"No," he replied. "How can it possibly be your fault?"

"I've never been good at any of this demigod stuff," she murmured. "Not like you anyway," she chuckled darkly. "If I was a better fighter..."

Percy shook his head adamantly. "That's not true. You're a brilliant camper. You're the best pegasus rider the camp has ever seen. And you have this ability to get along with everyone. I swear you're friends with everyone," he said, forcing a chuckle. "Even Clarisse. I didn't think anyone could get along with her, and then you come along and actually befriend her."

He had no idea what the stubborn daughter of Ares had done to deserve Silena as a friend. Perhaps she'd done the gods a massive favor in a previous life, and this was their repayment. He was surprised Silena hadn't throttled her yet.

"That's it, Percy," Silena gasped. "We need the Ares cabin. I can talk to Clarisse. I can-"

Fast as a whip, he turned to face the daughter of Aphrodite. "No. It's too dangerous."

There was no chance it was going to work. Clarisse was far too stubborn, no she'd just curse them for it. It was too risky.

If one of Kronos's demigods, or even Kronos himself spotted her trying to leave, they would– no. He refused to even entertain the thought.

"Percy, please," she insisted, grabbing his shoulder. "She'll listen to me. I know it."

And then, "Percy?"

The door to the terrace had slid open, and Jake Mason stood there, his eyes flickering to and fro from the dark-haired boy and the daughter of Aphrodite.

"Oh, sorry." The head of the Hephaestus cabin wore a mortified expression and began to shuffle back towards the doors.

And then Percy realized that Silena's hand still gripped his shoulder, and the two were really close - like really, really close. Oh.

"Jake, wait," Percy called. "What is it?"

"Erm, the enemy withdrew at sunrise; not sure why," he said, looking at his feet. "We've got a lookout at each bridge and tunnel."

"Thanks, man," Percy replied.

He nodded his head slightly, "Yeah. Erm, sorry about that." He bolted out of the terrace.

So the Titans were planning something. Something big. Something that would involve Olympus. Or maybe it was just a ploy to bring the demigods out, to ambush them.

"See," said Silena, her bloodshot eyes lighting up. "It's safe. If I go now, then the Ares cabin can get here in a couple of hours."

"It could be a trick, Silena."

"Or, it could be our chance to swing the war," she whispered, her hand tightening on his shoulder.

If the Ares cabin joined them, then they would have a fighting chance. A glimmer of hope to defeat the Titans.

"Fine," sighed Percy. "But if you can't convince her, you stay at Camp, yeah?"

Where it was safe. Where she couldn't be hurt.

"Don't worry. Clarisse will come."

There was a nagging feeling at the back of his mind. Something was bound to go wrong. So very wrong.

He was terrified he might never see Silena again. Terrified he'd never be forgiven.

"Silena. If something happens... if I die..." he trailed off.

She grabbed his other shoulder, pulling him down slightly. "Don't say that."

"But if-"

"For the love of gods, just shut up Percy," she whispered.

Their foreheads were touching – and when had that happened?

"Silena just listen to me for one second," he begged. "If we don't see each other again-"

He didn't get a chance to finish his sentence, because all of a sudden, Silena's lips were on his. They were kissing. Or more precisely, she was kissing him.

And just as abruptly, she pulled away from him. Her hands left his shoulders, and she took three steps back and turned away from him.

Percy surged forward and grabbed her arm. "Be careful." His voice was barely above a whisper, and Silena's back faced him.

She gently tugged her arm away and walked away. It was more of a trudge than a walk, her champagne trainers dragging across the concrete tiles.

Silena paused at the door and turned slightly so her right shoulder pointed towards him.

"You too." She slid the open and left the terrace without a single glance back towards him.

His heart was racing, threatening to burst any second now. Silena had kissed him. It had been so gentle and he could still taste the vanilla on his lips and oh gods maybe Annabeth had a point. Maybe he did like Silena. Maybe.

And Annabeth. Oh gods.

She was still on the terrace.

Thankfully, she was still asleep. Whatever Will had given her must've been strong, considering she had barely moved. No tossing, no turning. A dreamless sleep.

And so Percy sat on a chair near her couch and waited for Travis to return with the medicine.

He spent the whole time praying to the gods to keep Silena safe.

Percy had never been happier to see a chariot. He'd also never been happier to see Clarisse. She wore her proud red armor, her spear held aloft.

Yet there was something about her that felt off.

"Ares, to me," she yelled. Her voice was shrill, shaking as she turned towards the drakon.

The Ares chariots circled the drakon, their campers swinging their lances between the chinks in its scales. They dodged poison spray expertly, not a single camper getting hit. Clarisse herself, lead from the front jabbing her spear in the drakon's eye.

And then it went all wrong. So, so wrong.

The drakon snapped up one Ares camper in a gulp, knocked another aside, and sprayed poison on a third.

"We have to help," Annabeth said from beside him.

Both of them climbed up on the drakon's back, trying to take its attention away from Clarisse. The Ares campers threw javelins at the serpent, most of them breaking as they came in contact with its scales.

"C'mon Clarisse," he said to the daughter of Ares. "A child of Ares is destined to kill it."

Clarisse looked up. Through the helmet, only her eyes could be seen. Blue eyes shone with fear and she raised her spear...

Clarisse didn't have blue eyes.

Those eyes didn't belong to any of the Ares campers.

No. No. No.

Percy couldn't breathe. His grip around Riptide weakened and the sword fell on the drakon's scales, sliding onto the floor with a clang.

A pin drop, compared to the chaos that surrounded them.

What was she doing here?

She was supposed to be at camp. She had promised she would stay there.

She wasn't supposed to be leading the charge against the drakon.

"Ares," she yelled and ran at the drakon.

Percy jumped off the drakon and tackled the girl on to the floor. He felt his shirt sizzling – drakon poison, probably – as he landed on the floor.

The helmet, Clarisse's helmet, rolled off and- oh gods.

Silena Beauregard lay beside him, gasping for dear life.

He scrambled towards her and grabbed her hands. One of her shoulders was covered in poison.

No.

Behind him, he heard a scream – this time the actual daughter of Ares – who fought the drakon like a lion who'd been caged up far too long. Recklessly and without abandon. Fearlessly.

"Why, Silena?" he cried, as he removed her armour.

She cupped his cheek with her unaffected arm. "Clarisse-" she coughed. "Too stubborn."

He had let this happen. He should've stopped her. Gods, what had he done?

Despite her armor, her arm was burning. It wouldn't be long before the poison entered her bloodstream.

She closed her eyes, her breathing ragged and heavy.

"Keep talking to me Silena." He gently shook her shoulders. "Please."

Her eyelids opened a fraction. "You're eyes," she whispered hoarsely, "they're so green."

And then he yelled, "Is there a healer? It's an emergency."

There was no response. A few of the kids shook their heads. Of course not.

She couldn't just die. Not like this. Not right now.

Her hand dropped away from his cheek, falling limply to her side.

"Don't you dare close your eyes," he all but demanded, taking a hold of her hand. It was dangerously warm.

The blue of her irises peaked through her long lashes, like caged prisoners.

"Where would we go?" he said desperately. "If you ran away, where would you go?"

She gave him a weak, half-smile. A sad smile.

"I've never left New York," she whispered, her lips barely moving. "I want to see the world. You'd come with-" she coughed weakly, her breaths stuttering and shallow. "-with me, right?"

Gods, he would follow her to the ends of the earth and back in a heartbeat. He would cross the highest mountains with her, and walk through the driest deserts for her day and night if that's what she wanted.

"Of course I would," he said gently.

"Promise?" The word came out as a rasp.

"I promise."

Silena's eyes fluttered close, and her breaths slowed. Percy's heart constricted, his chest agonizingly tight. He shook her arm helplessly.

"Silena look at me. Talk to me-"

Then, "Percy, can you summon water?"

It was Annabeth. She was running towards them and knelt beside Percy.

The dark-haired boy nodded. He focused on the closest water supply and felt a tug. Sure enough, a ball of water hovered above his hands.

"Silena, this is going to hurt," the blonde said, gently. "But it'll help, I promise." She turned to Percy, "Clean her arm with the water. And keep summoning fresh water to wash the poison off."

Silena gasped as the water touched her shoulder. Her fingers brushed his leg weakly. Her eyes were squinted, but they were open. The stream of water became steadier, and Percy's hand stopped shaking.

"It's not worth it," Silena coughed, "You'll be weaker. Just let me-"

"No," he said through gritted teeth, focusing on summoning more water. "It's going to work, Silena."

It had to work.

The water traveled across her shoulder, thick with drakon bile. Eventually, it cleared, all traces of the venom gone.

All scars had a story behind them, and this one would be her badge of honor. The marred tissue on her shoulder a prize for tackling a drakon head first.

A tear rolled down Silena's face. "All... my fault," she grimaced.

"No it's not, Silena." He squeezed her hand gently, Reassuringly.

It was going to be okay. Silena was okay. She was alive. That had to mean something.

"What were you thinking?"

It was Clarisse. Which meant the drakon was dead.

"Cabin would...only follow you."

"So you stole my armor," said Clarisse in disbelief. She turned to her cabin mates, "And NONE of you noticed?"

None of the Ares campers dared to look up.

"Don't blame them," she said, coughing slightly.

"You charged a drakon? Why?" Clarisse said, running a hand through her stringy hair.

"All my fault," she winced. Another tear slipped down her cheek. "The drakon, Charlie...the camp-"

"Stop it!" said Clarisse. "It's not true."

Percy squeezed Silena's enclosed hand. It was wet and sticky.

He withdrew his hand quickly, his fingers dripping with inky, red blood.

"Silena, your wrist..."

"You... have to... cut- "

A scream tore from her throat, raw and piercing. She writhed on the floor, her bleeding hand trembling.

"Silena!" It might've been him. Or Annabeth. Or Clarisse.

It was probably all three of them.

"What do I have to cut?" His voice was hurried, panicked. He ran his less bloody hand through the girl's hair, trying to soothe her. And himself.

Blood streamed down her hand and onto the concrete floor, staining it a dark maroon. Like the roses in the underworld.

He needed Blackjack. Now.

"Bracelet," she groaned. It was followed by another scream, tears flowing down the girl's cheeks.

Annabeth was already there, dagger at the ready. She tried to slice through the metal, but it did nothing but scratch it. She tried again. And then again. Still nothing.

Silena squirmed in his lap. She was gasping for breaths, her other hand clutched Percy's shirt – what was left of it, anyway.

"Let me try," he said, gruffly. He uncapped Riptide before he could even take it out, the blade tearing his pocket.

The sword cut straight through the thin metal chain like a hot knife through butter. Her wrist was bloody and raw, and there was a deep gash going around it, as though the bracelet had tried to cut through her wrist.

Silena released a long and ragged breath, tears still streaming down her cheeks. "Percy, pick up the bracelet."

It was covered in blood, but the glow of the small charm could be seen. He wiped the blood off, and the sight stopped his breath altogether. The blood rushed out of his head, and the charm slipped down his palm.

On it, was a scythe engraved, the mark of Kronos.

"It's a trick, right? It's not real. It can't be," he said desperately.

Of course, it wasn't real. It had to be a trick of the light. Silena couldn't be the - No. He shook his head. He was just tired, he'd made a mistake, that's all.

"I'm sorry."

The words shattered his heart into thousands of fragments. And it was Aphrodite's words that sprang to mind.

'I wish all my daughters could break the heart of a boy as nice as you.'

He was going to be sick.

"What happened?" asked Annabeth, tentatively.

He couldn't bring himself to reply, so he just showed her the charm.

"You were the spy?" She asked, her eyes narrowed in confusion.

Silena attempted to nod. "Before... before I ever met Percy, Luke was nice to me. He was so charming. Handsome. And then I wanted to stop helping him, but he threatened to tell. He promised... he promised I was saving lives. He told me he wouldn't hurt... Charlie. He lied to me."

She looked up at him, "Forgive me."

Despite everything, he wouldn't want her to die. He'd be a dead man walking. A hollow shell, with nothing to live for.

Behind them, the battle raged on.

Clarisse looked at her cabin mates. "Go help the centaurs. Protect the doors."

As she got up, she clapped Percy's shoulder. "She helped us. Just remember that." And then she looked at Annabeth, "C'mon Wise Girl. Let's kick some Titan butt."

The blonde threw him a glance, "Take care."

"You too."

Only he and Silena remained.

"Why didn't you tell me?" he asked, voice hollow. "I would've done something."

He tore the hem of his shirt and wrapped the sweat-laden cloth around Silena's bloody wrist. Silena drew a sharp breath as he tied the ends together. The blood leaked through the orange shirt.

"Luke would've killed us both. He didn't trust me. When we all thought that you... you died, he made me put on the bracelet. It gave him a direct communication route. I couldn't just... forget-" she coughed feebly "- to Iris message anymore."

And when he had returned, she had avoided him like the plague. That was when he had first seen the bracelet.

"If I didn't answer the summons, or if I told anyone about it, the bracelet would cause... cause me some pain. And then it would start cutting through my wrist. It was designed to kill me," she finished weakly.

"Why didn't you take it off?"

"I couldn't," she rasped. "You saw what happened when Annabeth tried to cut it." And then, "You went to the River Styx, didn't you?"

Percy nodded.

"That's why you were able to cut it. The water must've done something-" She closed her eyes, and shifted so that her face was buried in his shirt.

"You're going to be fine," he said thickly. "You have to be."

After three eternally long minutes, a set of hooves approached. Blackjack had arrived, his glorious wings a blanket of hope.

It was better than nothing. It was everything.

Once the pegasus was out of sight, Percy marched towards probable death.

"She needs to be punished."

Of course, it was Zeus who said it. It wouldn't be a proper council otherwise.

"That's stupid," said Percy, causing the king of the gods to glare at him. At the same time, Clarisse growled, "Are you insane?"

The daughter of Ares had to be held back by Chris Rodriguez, who seemed to be having a tough time.

"They're both right. This is what got us in the mess in the first place," said Hermes from his throne. "If we keep punishing demigods, who can blame them when they side against us?"

Zeus gripped his lightning bolt tightly. "She worked with the Titans. How can she go unpunished?"

"She's the reason we're not rotting in Tartarus," Aphrodite spoke up. "If my daughter hadn't decided to play dress up," her gaze flickered to Clarisse, "the insolent war brats would never have turned up."

"Oi," Ares yelled. "They're the reason-"

Only the gods could argue after winning a war. He supposed he shouldn't have been surprised, given he'd never seen them have a civilized conversation.

"Enough," called Athena. "We're here to reward these heroes, are we not?"

The majority of the Olympians nodded in agreement. Some just rolled their eyes as though they couldn't believe that the demigods had done anything noteworthy (just because Hades was in the corner, it didn't mean he was invisible).

And so the conversation moved granting the heroes their respective prizes. Much better.

"You're allowed to go in, you know."

Clarisse's words had no effect on Percy, who leaned against the outer wall of the infirmary, motionless.

"Oi, Prissy," she hissed, "Are you even listening?"

"Huh?"

The daughter of Ares narrowed her eyes at him as she picked up her spear. He eyed it warily, and the girl just rolled her eyes.

"Silena," she said. "She's awake now."

Percy knew the daughter of Aphrodite had woken up a couple of hours ago. That's why he was here, and not murdering a straw dummy in the arena.

He nodded at the daughter of Ares but still didn't move.

"So then why are you moping out here?" she raised

"I don't think she wants to see me," he said slowly.

Why should she? She probably hated him. And he knows deep down, that the daughter of Aphrodite had no real reason to hate him, but he couldn't shake the thought.

It wasn't exactly rocket science that she'd befriended him on behalf of Kronos. A perfect way to spy on them, at first anyway. And then it was because of him she'd been left fighting for her life.

Maybe if they hadn't been friends, maybe if she didn't care so much, she wouldn't be teetering on the brink of death.

"Are you mental?" Clarisse threw him one of the most disgusted looks he had ever seen.

"What have I done now?"

The girl was gaping at him, a brow arched so high it almost reached her hairline. "She wants to see you."

That couldn't be right. Clarisse had to be messing with him, right?

"Don't be daft," he said.

"That's what I told her," replied Clarisse. "She didn't listen to me." Her voice dropped considerably as she muttered, "No one ever does. And they come crying to me when everything's a mess."

"She actually wants to talk to me?" he asked. "Like, you're not just joking about?"

"Yes," she rolled her eyes, "Not sure why anyone would want to talk to you."

He took a step forward, away from the pale wall.

"I'm glad you're back to your usual cheerful self," he said, his eyes narrowing.

"Trust me," she said, "it's been an absolute pleasure losing brain cells talking with you, Prissy."

She threw him one last look.

"Are you going to walk into the infirmary yourself, or am I going to have to drag you kicking and screaming?"

Percy held his hands up, surrendering. "I'm going."

"Like now?" she began slowly, "Or like..."

Ares should've been banned from having demigod children. Had they not been outside the infirmary, he would've doused her in water.

She didn't even her precious spear to save her.

"Fine," he muttered, pushing himself off the wall. "You don't need to follow me in."

"I wouldn't want to," she wrinkled her nose. "Have fun," she said as she began walking off. "But not too much fun, she's still hospitalized, after all. She's the last bed on the right."

He didn't dwell too much on Clarisse's words.

Percy trudged into the small building, cool air hitting his face. There were at least twenty ceiling fans in the small entrance, all whirring around with such speed, that they'd make deadly weapons if they were celestial bronze.

Although given the hand-eye coordination of some demigods, maybe it was for the best the fans weren't used as weapons. If they couldn't hold a sword, well, these fans would chop them up in no time.

The ceiling fans became sparse in the actual infirmary. While each bed had its dedicated fan – it was table fans, this time – not all of them were on. Only about five were on, all at varying speeds.

The infirmary had been a lot quieter over the past week or so. A lot of the demigods who had been hurt had been healed and sent back. Only a small minority remained now.

Percy's blood ran cold at the sheer number of wires. Needles poked out from the girl's left hand and arm, all connected to a supply of golden liquid.

Gods, he had never seen anything like that in the camp infirmary. It was always some nectar, ambrosia, and bandages. Never did it look like a mortal hospital.

"Hey Silena," he said quietly, as he approached.

The girl's eyes widened a fraction.

She looked frightened.

She didn't want him there. What had he been thinking? Of course, Clarisse would think it'd be funny.

"Percy."

Silena's voice shook as she uttered his name.

It had to be terror, of course it was. It couldn't be anything else.

Percy scrambled back, almost tripping over the bed beside hers.

It was hot everywhere, burning. His shirt rubbed uncomfortably against his chest, and the waistband of his shorts dug into his skin.

He needed to go. Before she told him to go. At least save himself the sheer embarrassment of being thrown out of the infirmary.

"Wait."

He stopped in his tracks, his heart beating rapidly, threatening to burst.

And it might've just been his ears hearing what he wanted to hear because she hated him. The way she looked at him a moment ago, gods, he couldn't turn back to her. Not when he was the reason for the terror in her eyes.

He took a deep breath and stepped away from her.

"Please don't go."

And she definitely spoke the words this time. They weren't a faint whisper, lost in the noise of the fans. Not a figment of his imagination.

Percy half-turned, his body facing the bed his face away from hers.

"You don't hate me?"

The words tumbled out, and he didn't quite mind. He wanted to know, needed to know.

He didn't know whether the girl shook her head, or nodded. Perhaps she did neither.

There was silence. A choking, heart-stopping silence.

Except it wasn't silent. Not really, everyone around continued about, talking to each other, healers treating patients, the whole works.

Yet Percy couldn't hear anything.

"I want to see you," she said quietly.

"You're looking at me right now," he replied just as quietly.

Because maybe she did hate him. Maybe she wanted to see the way his face crumpled as she broke his heart.

Aphrodite was probably laughing in the heavens.

There was a rustling noise. "I want to see you. Your face. Your eyes…"

His neck turned slowly, out of his command.

"Thank you," she breathed.

Silena was sat up, her head resting against a pillow propped up against the back wall. Her hair was tied up with a simple band, disappearing behind the pillow.

Her fingers played with the thin cotton sheets, crinkling them and then flattening the creases. And then crinkling them again.

"You can sit," she said, swallowing. "If you want."

He stayed standing.

"How are you feeling?" he asked.

Silena gave him a weary smile.

"You saved my life," she said.

"You saved the whole camp," said Percy. "Gods, you saved the whole world."

"That was all you," she said, glancing down. "I heard what happened at Olympus."

Why wasn't he surprised the daughter of Ares had told her everything?

"Yeah, Clarisse was the hero there," he said, with a wry smile.

"That's funny," said Silena slowly, twirling the sheets, "because Clarisse said the exact opposite."

"I think the healers have given you too much nectar."

She laughed, a tinkering sound like a fluttering bird. "She said you argued with Zeus."

"It was a team effort," he said, lightly. "Clarisse, Aphrodite, Athena-"

"My mom spoke as well?"

And it was then Percy wanted to see her eyes. Were they bright and filled with hope, or with they nervous and cloudy?

There was a small smile on her face, almost anxious.

"Yeah," grinned Percy. "She managed to convince Athena as well."

"I can't believe I missed that," she said, with a small huff. "Aphrodite arguing with Zeus-"

"And Ares," he added helpfully.

"Don't make me feel even worse," she groaned. "I would've paid a good number of drachmas to see that."

"Well, I'm sure there's always a next time," he said.

Especially since the next Great Prophecy had already been made, courtesy of Rachel.

'To storm or fire the world must fall'

Must. As in the world would end, regardless of what the heroes and gods did. Because of a storm or a fire.

Percy could cause storms.

"I'd hope not." Silena pushed the sheets away with her legs. "One titan war's enough for a lifetime."

Maybe it wasn't their Prophecy to worry about.

"So how's Annabeth?" she asked, her eyes flicking to his. Percy could've sworn there was a humorous edge to her voice.

"She's fine," said Percy. "You want to see her?"

"I'm just surprised you've left her side for this long," she said. "You're practically glued to each other."

"Are we?" he asked.

Silena nodded. "You're both just so disgustingly in love with each other."

"Are you even allowed to say stuff like that?" he asked, biting his lip. "Your mom won't kill you, right?"

The daughter of Aphrodite shrugged. "We'll find out, won't we?"

Yeah, he'd rather not. She can't have survived Drakon poison, and a cursed bracelet from Kronos himself only to be finished off by a petty goddess.

"You know," he began, "I thought you children of Aphrodite were supposed to be good at this feelings stuff."

"This feelings stuff?" She arched a brow.

"You know," he said shrugging, "like, knowing who people like and stuff."

"I'm afraid not," said Silena. And then she grinned, "Apart from being devastatingly pretty, we don't get any superpowers." Her brows furrowed slightly. "Well, some of the luckier ones end up with Charmspeak."

Devastatingly pretty was an understatement.

Despite her grin, it was her eyes that spoke volumes. The blue, like the depths of the sea, dark and unsure. Looking at him as though he had the answers she was looking for.

Percy didn't even know what the question was.

So he dives straight into the deep end.

"Was any of it real?"

He barely managed to get the words out, struggling to hold her gaze. But he did, gripping onto the bedframe for support.

The daughter of Aphrodite bit her lip.

"We weren't even supposed to become friends," she replied, her hand curling into a fist. "I was supposed to be a fly on the wall."

She could never be a fly on the wall. She commanded attention wherever she went, such was the life of a daughter of Aphrodite. A magnet to all eyes in the room.

"But I couldn't help myself," she shook her head slightly, her eyes traveling across his face. "You were just so nice, and you didn't think of me as one of Aphrodite's kids, gods-"

"What exactly are Aphrodite kids supposed to be like?"

"You know," she said, pulling the sheets tighter, "useless. A bit shallow."

"You're not useless," he said.

"Thanks, I guess?" she said. "But we are a bit useless. I worked against the gods, against you-"

"And then you saved us all," he said softly. "All of us would be dead without you."

"Percy," her voice grew anguished, "I'm the reason my friend's dead. I spied for Kronos, even though you showed me nothing but kindness."

"Beckendorf isn't your fault," he said. "I should've saved him, Silena. I shouldn't have taunted Kronos. I should've- I'm sorry."

"Don't say that," she said thickly. "It wasn't your fault then, and it isn't your fault now."

"It's not your fault either," he said.

"It is though, Percy." The soft cream sheets between her fingers looked on the brink of tearing. "If I hadn't followed Luke like some infatuated little nymph..."

But that wasn't the point. She'd switched sides. She helped the demigods in the end. Technically she'd never betrayed Percy, since she'd been working for Luke before he knew camp half-blood even existed.

It was the Titans who had been betrayed. Gods, and she'd saved Olympus.

"And then you charged a drakon headfirst," he said. "That was the stupidest, most bravest thing I've ever seen."

"Gods, I half hoped it would wipe me out, clean," she said. "An honorable sacrifice."

It would've destroyed him from the inside out. The curse of Achilles wouldn't protect him from such pain. She was his anchor to life itself.

"Your mom would've been proud," he mumbled, kicking at the linoleum floor.

Such were the gods who mourned death but discarded life.

"I wouldn't be that optimistic," she said. "I don't think anything could make her proud."

Percy swallowed.

'I wish all my daughters could break the heart of a boy as nice as you.'

Aphrodite would be overjoyed with the girl that lay in the hospital.

"We should go on a road trip."

The words slipped out before he could even process them in his mind. He looked down, focusing on his trainers. At some point, they used to be black, like the night, in sharp contrast to the bright white soles. Now though, the washed-out fabric - a blotchy grey - was marginally darker than the muddied soles.

At some point Silena said something, but he couldn't hear. Didn't want to hear the inevitable rejection.

His eyes wandered to laces, frayed into hundreds of tiny threads barely able to function. Maybe he should've used his wish on a new pair of shoes.

That would've been funny. Thought it might've offended the Olypians even more. Would've been worth-

"Percy."

She said his name sharply, as though only just realising he hadn't been paying attention.

"Yeah?"

"I've been planning the trip this whole time and you haven't heard a single word, have you?"

Nop- Wait, what?

"You actually want me to go with you?" he asked, and yeah sue him if he does sound a bit surprised.

"Obviously," she said. "Unless it was a just thing you wanted to yourself, in which case-"

"Gods no, Silena," he breathed. "I want to go with you. I promised, didn't I?"

"I know," she said shooting him a smile, "and I intend to hold you to that promise."

"It'll probably just be the two of us," he said, staring intently at the soft cotton sheets.

Silena arched a brow, "Just the two of us?"

"It doesn't have to be," he said quickly, reassuring her.

"But what if I do?"

She spoke the words in a way only a child of Aphrodite could. Posing the question not out of nervousness, but out of sheer audacity. To test him. To push him.

"Then I suppose it can be whatever you want to be."

"It's a date then," she said, her eyes sparkling. "A very long date."

"What?"

Surely she was messing with him. She was a daughter of Aphrodite, beautiful in all the ways he could think of. And he was just Percy.

"I don't just kiss any random strangers, you know."

She bit her lip, the soft flesh a deep pink. Gods, it had felt like ages ago since the balcony.

He hadn't forgotten, of course not. How could he?

"Erm, that's nice to know?"

His face burned, his eyes darting around the room and settling on a pale blue, leather-encased radio sitting on Silena's bedside table. He was tempted to flick it on to drown his embarrassment in the screechy tones that Olympus FM often referred to as music.

"You're so cute," she said, a grin taking center stage.

Percy groaned.

Silena laughed.

And gods, could the son of Poseidon get used to that sound.