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chapter forty ( the last olympian ) ❝ his mortal tether! ❞
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When I came to again, there was just pain. I felt a cool rag against my head, and when my vision returned, I saw Silena looking over me, on the verge of tears. It was summer, but I felt like I was back in a freezer, back when I had just come out of the Transition. I shivered and felt blankets over me. That only made the pain worse, and I winced. I think I was on the terrace of the Plaza Hotel, where we had set up camp for the infirmary, battle strategy and such. But my head was light, and I let it fall back.
"What ... what happened?" it hurt to speak, my voice was hoarse.
Silena sniffled, quickly wiping away the tears as she kept pressing the cloth to my head. "You got wounded pretty bad, Claire. The dagger ... it was poisoned."
I don't think the true severity of the situation hit me. "Oh ..." I murmured, trying to see my arm. I winced as I craned my neck, and saw Cain, Annabeth and her siblings surrounding me. "Um, hello ..." I managed. "What ... the bridge ... we were at the━" my stomach jolted, "━Gods, Percy━" I went to move, only to let out a stifled cry of pain. Needles stabbed through my flesh, and I fell back down, my vision becoming hazy again.
"Don't try to get up," Annabeth said, her grey eyes pained. "Okay? Just rest? Okay? They're fine. He's fine. Your siblings are still on the bridge, searching for M━" she stopped herself, and shared an uneasy glance with Cain.
"What?" I frowned, feeling that drop of my stomach again. If I wasn't so dazed, I think I would've figured it out, but right now, I couldn't think straight. It was just pain, pain, pain, Percy, pain, pain, pain━ "What are they searching for?"
Before Annabeth could answer, a voice called out from inside the Plaza:
"Later━Where's Claire?" Percy called.
Jake Mason replied, "The terrace. She's alive, man, but..."
But Percy just pushed past him. I saw him rush over with Will beside him. They pushed through the group surrounding me, and I managed a breathy smile at the sight of him. "You're okay," I murmured as Annabeth and Cain stepped back, and Will unwrapped the bandages to examine the wound.
"Yeah ..." Percy saw the wound, and he choked up. "Gods, Claire ..."
"Poison on the dagger, right?" I asked Silena weakly, and she nodded. "Yeah ... um ... pretty stupid of me, huh? But it's okay. I'll be okay."
Percy shook his head, "Hey, don't shove this off as nothing."
I gave him a look, even in my state. "Percy, I am a healer most of the time, I can tell when━ow, Will ..."
